NORTH YORKSHIRE COUNCIL

 

20 May 2026

 

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

 

The Care & Independence Overview & Scrutiny Committee scrutinises Adult Social Care, Public Health and related services, including performance, policy development, service transformation and the experiences of people who draw on support.

 

Since my last statement to Council, the Committee has met once on 20 April 2026. The following items were considered:

·          North Yorkshire Safeguarding Adults Board Annual Report

·          Update on Living Well Review

·          Update on Complex Care Delivery

·          Hospital Discharges Update

·          CQC Inspection – Outcomes & Action Plan

·          Older People’s Champion – Annual Report

 

We had a number of public participants attend and speak at our April meeting about their concerns in relation to the planned closure of Reeth Medical Centre, as a result of the retirement of the GP and Practice Nurse.  Members of the Committee subsequently attended an extraordinary meeting of the Scrutiny of Health Committee on 8^th May at which the closure and plans for future delivery of primary care in that area was discussed.

 

The North Yorkshire Safeguarding Adults Board’s Annual Report was well received, with the Chair of the Board providing a detailed overview of the Board’s work throughout 2025-26.

 

The Committee received an update on the current position, performance and ongoing review of the Living Well Service.  We noted the objectives for the three phases of the ongoing Review and requested a further update once work has been completed to create a Target Operating Model for the next 5 years.  We also noted the reduction in core services and learnt there had been no uplift in budget for some time, which had resulted in a reduction in staff as staffing costs increased. 

 

The Committee welcomed the update on Complex Care, noting the progress made across the three programme areas, in particular the expectation that a finalised model for a Multi-Agency Team Around the Person’ approach (MATAP) would be in place by Autumn 2026.

 

We continue to keep a watching brief on hospital discharges and were pleased to note that plans are underway to dramatically increase the use of step-up step-down beds across the county.

 

The Committee welcomed the integration of CQC actions into existing practice, performance monitoring and assurance activity, to enable the required improvements to be delivered through business as usual and allow progress on those actions to be mapped through the directorate’s improvement journey.

 

Finally, North Yorkshire Council’s Older People’s Champion presented her annual report for 2025-26 detailing her involvement in the many activities, events, and services available across the county, for the benefit of older people.  We suggested it would be helpful if her report were circulated to Parish Councils to help promote the wide range of activities and events available across the County.

 

 

COUNCILLOR BARBARA BRODIGAN