COUNCIL MEETING - 13 DECEMBER 2001

NOTICE OF MOTION

CARE IN THE HOME

Councillor Mrs. P. G. E. Holden-Brown to move:

"This Council congratulates our Social Services Department for achieving top assessments in the Department of Health's Annual Performance Indicators in the six areas listed below, despite having to cope with a grossly inadequate level of funding. Those six areas are:

- stability of placements of looked after children


- re-registrations on the Child Protection Register


- inspections of all children's homes


- inspections of all older persons' homes


- admissions of adults to nursing or residential homes


- admissions of older people to nursing or residential homes

This Council notes with grave concern, however, that the same Department of Health assessment placed Hampshire County council at the very bottom of the league of 150 Social Service authorities with regard to Care in the Home.

This Council recognizes the importance of care in the home in enabling elderly people to continue to live independent and fulfilling lives and that investment in this crucial area of work can also lead to savings later on when fewer people need to be taken into care or hospital.

Whilst recognizing that there may have been some inaccuracies and inadequacies in the figures this Council supplied to the Department of Health, and that there may be some inconsistency in the comparisons made between Social Service authorities, this Council nonetheless regards this as a very serious issue and resolves that the Social Care Policy Review Committee and the Cabinet bring forward appropriate proposals for the County Council budget in February.