Item 2

AT A MEETING of the ADULT SOCIAL CARE POLICY REVIEW COMMITTEE of the COUNTY COUNCIL held at The Castle Winchester on Wednesday, 28 September 2005

PRESENT

Councillors: R.C. McIntosh (Chairman); E.F. Gale MBE (Vice-Chairman);

Mrs C. Bailey; M.F. Cartwright; A.G. Dowden; Mrs J.K. Frankum; R. Hughes; S. James; M. Kemp-Gee; A.R. Ludlow; Mrs A.M. McNair Scott; E. Neal

Also in attendance Councillor Mrs P.G. Banks (Executive Member for Adult Social Care)

13. DECLARATION OF INTEREST

Members were mindful that, where they believed they had a personal or personal prejudicial interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting, they should normally at the time of the debate declare their interest, and having regard to the circumstances described in paragraphs 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the County Council's Code of Conduct, consider whether to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed..

Councillor A.R. Ludlow declared a personal interest in Item 7 when Adult Protection Arrangements were raised as he is Chairman of North Hampshire Primary Care Trust.

14. MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting of the Adult Social Care Policy Review Committee held on 27 July 2005 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Concerns were expressed by some members over the content of minutes and the Chairman agreed to look into the matter.

15. CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS

The Chairman welcomed Chandra McGowan and Mary Robertson.

16. MEMBERS' QUESTIONS

There were no Members' questions to this meeting.

17. DEPUTATIONS

There were no deputations to this meeting.

18. COMPLETING THE CIRCLE IMPLEMENTATION

The Director of Adult Services presented a report updating Members on the consultation and involvement Strategy for Completing the Circle (Item 6 in the Minute Book) she outlined the implementation process, gave examples of recent active consultation and involvement and the timescales for implementation.

RESOLVED:

That the report and timetable for implementation of Completing the Circle be noted and dialogue with the Completing the Circle group when established be welcomed.

19. ANNUAL REPORT ON ADULT PROTECTION ARRANGEMENTS

The Director of Adult Services presented a report on the partnership arrangements with Portsmouth and Southampton City Councils following the publication of "No Secrets" in 2001 (Item 7 in the Minute Book). She gave examples of two situations that had recently occurred and outlined the details contained in the multi-agency management committee report 2005, the progress made in developing an effective response to the issue of the protection of vulnerable adults from abuse, the development of the training of staff involved, monitoring the prevalence of abuse in Hampshire, raising awareness of adult protectors, future development and priorities and the financial implications of adult protection work. Members were appreciative of the work that had been done on adult protection to date and were keen to see further action being taken. It was suggested that a task group be set up to review issues.

RESOLVED:

That:

(i) The report and measures taken to date to improve adult protection be welcomed.


(ii) A task and finish group comprising of Councillors Mrs C. Bailey,
A.G. Dowden, Mrs J. Frankum and E. Neal be set up to review adult protection and look at the financial implications, prevention measures and what further action could be taken and report back to a future meeting.

20. RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION

The Director of Adult Services presented a report on the recruitment and retention of sufficient staff of acceptable calibre to provide services for vulnerable people in Hampshire (Item 8 in the Minute Book). She put recruitment and retention in a national context and gave details of statistics, the recruitment strategy and retention initiatives.



RESOLVED:

That the report be received and welcomed.

21. HOME CARE SERVICE AND MODERNISATION

The Director of Adult Services presented a report on proposals for the home care service to move the majority of its business from providing long-term maintenance care to the provision of a short-term assessment and reablement service (Item 9 in the Minute Book). She gave details of the research that had been carried out, the consultation process, terms and conditions for home care staff, the financial implications and the impact assessment. The implementation of the consultation process had previously been agreed by the Executive Member for Adult Social Care. Members were keen to see a measurement of the outcomes of the pilot scheme and were content that the independent sector was happy with how it was going.

RESOLVED:

That the Executive Member for Adult Social Care be advised to endorse the proposals for the home care service to move the majority of its business from providing long-term maintenance care to the provision of a short-term assessment and reablement service subject to the completion of the consultation process.

22. TELECARE INTERIM EVALUATION AND NEXT STOPS

The Director of Adult Services presented a report outlining Hampshire's Telecare pilot projects and information about the forthcoming preventative technologies grant (Item 10 in the Minute Book). She showed Members examples of telecare equipment, explained the preventative technology grants that would become available over two years from 1 April 2006 and the future plans. Members welcomed the proposals.

RESOLVED:

That the Executive Member for Adult Social Care be advised to approve the recommendation contained in the Telecare Interim Evaluation and the approach set out for the Preventative Technologies Grant.

23. THE COMMITTEE'S WORK PROGRAMME

The Director of Adult Services presented the Committee's forthcoming work programme (Item 11 in the Minute Book).

RESOLVED:

That the report be received and noted.

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