NORTH YORKSHIRE COUNCIL

21 FEBRUARY 2024

STATEMENT OF THE CHAIR OF CARE AND INDEPENDENCE AND HOUSING OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

COUNCILLOR KARIN SEDGWICK

The Care and Independence and Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee scrutinises the needs of vulnerable adults, older people and people whose independence needs to be supported by intervention from the public or voluntary sector and housing.

Committee Meeting on 7 December 2023

The Committee last met on 7 December 2023, in person in The Brierley Room at County Hallall.H. At that meeting, Members received detailed presentations on:

· Adult Social Care Pressures and Charging Reform (Trailblazer)

· Suicide Prevention and Audit

· Housing Strategy

· Development of the Integrated Care Systems and Partnerships that cover North Yorkshire

· A Discussion around the Kirkwood Hall Visit.

There were no public questions or statements.

Outlined below are further details in relation to some of the areas that the committee has been looking at.

Adult Social Care Pressures and Charging Reform (Trailblazer)

The Committee received an update from Anton Hodge, Assistant Director, Resources on Adult Social Care Pressures and Charging Reform (Trailblazer).This covered financial pressures, timetable and any further learning band covered the following points:

• Health and Adult Services Budget
• Main area of spend is care and support at 80.2% of the net budget
• Adult social care pressures are a national issue
• Rurality costs are high with potentially 45 mins downtime in some cases for travel
• Workforce pressures remain an issue
• Approved Provider Lists (APL) continues to cause budget pressures
• High-cost packages of care are continuing to increase
• Continuing high level of hospital discharge costs
• Work has started well in reducing the length and cost of short-term placements
• Significant reduction in one off support costs to providers
• Focus is on areas to contribute to the MTFS savings programme
• ASC Charging Reform looks to be reintroduced in late 2025

The Committee then discussed in some detail the issues and asked questions around budgetary commitments and spend and help from other authorities.

Suicide Prevention and Audit

An Update on activity, prevalence and action from Dr Victoria Turner, Public Health Consultant and Dan Atkinson, Public Health Manager.

This focussed on the following:

• All sudden deaths are shared with Public Health by the Coroner’s Office
• Patterns, trends and clusters can then be monitored helping to inform local actions and priorities
• There tends to be a higher suicide rate in early summer
• Rates are decreasing but still there is a higher proportion of male than female suicides, in line with the national trend
• Support groups and help are available as is postvention support
• Audits allow a comparison of local suicide data and trends with those identified nationally and regionally, as well as highlighting local risk factors, "at risk" groups or areas of higher incidence 
• New cross government strategy published in September 2023 to cover prevention efforts from  2023 to 2028
• Strategy prevention group consists of representatives from NYC, Police, Fire TEWV and Ambulance
• Crisis support provision

A discussion followed and the Committee asked questions around availability of data leading to possible reasons for suicide, waiting list times and for support and treatment and education in schools for teenagers.

Kirkwood Hall Visit Feedback

Feedback from the visit to Kirkwood Hall on 21^st November 2023.

As part of the remit of the Care & Independence and Housing Overview & Scrutiny Committee we look at Care Homes and Assisted Living accommodation in North Yorkshire. It was suggested some time ago, in fact before Covid struck, that we arrange a visit to Kirkwood Hall in Leyburn. A number of Committee members attended, and we met with staffand residents and looked at some of the assisted living elements being used by residents and then had the opportunity to discuss and ask questions. I think all members that attended found it very useful.

Housing Strategy

This presentation was to advise members on the housing strategy, the councils ambitions, priorities and targets and how we fulfil our role as a strategic housing authority. It was emphasised that this was not a local plan and covered the following points:

• housing conditions
• access to housing
• enforcing standards across all tenures
• enabling new homes
• delivering new homes
• enabling people to stay living in their own homes

It was reiterated that housing covered a broad area and subject matter and whilst the action plan covered the next 3-4 years,  a number of things were under way currently. It was agreed that a further meeting would be arranged for committee members to understand the housing strategy in more detail. This is scheduled for 8^th February 2024.

Development of the Integrated Care Systems and Partnerships that cover North Yorkshire

A presentation from Richard Webb on the Integrated Care Boards that cover North Yorkshire.

Richard covered the make-up and how Health and Adult services worked with the Integrated Care Systems and identified the priorities

• Place Board which the Chief Executive chairs
• Care Market
• Workforce
• Public Health
• Community Services

The Committee heard how strong progress has been made since the introduction of the Integrated Care System in July last year with good working links being developed with Lancs and South Cumbria and a strong joint working with Bradford and Craven partnerships.

Areas identified for development include:

• Home First response
• Intermediate Care
• Continuing Health Care
• Mental Health/Dementia/Autism
• NHSFTs facing challenges

Committee Workplan

Having discussed challenges facing adult healthcare across the County generally, and in particular the areas the Committee felt would be a priority in terms of Scrutiny over the next 18-24 months, the workplan has been updated to reflect this. The Committee is keen to work collaboratively and will therefore continue to link in with the Council’s Area Constituency Committees (ACC’s) to ensure focus is maintained at a local level and also the Scrutiny Board to facilitate a County wide perspective. The Committee will also continue to work closely with the Scrutiny of Health Committee allowing continued joint working around adult social care.

The next meeting of the committee will be at 10am on 28 March 2024.