Invitees:

Susan Cooper, Corporate Director, Social Services and Wellbeing

Councillor Phil White, Cabinet Member – Social Services and Early Help

Laura Kinsey, Head of Children’s Social Care

Jacqueline Davies, Head of Adult Social Care

Stephen Davies, Business Change Programme Manager

The Corporate Director Social Services and Wellbeing began by explaining that there would be a presentation, explaining the strategic vision, and noted that all aspects of the Directorate were in one plan. There was a line of sight with the Corporate Plan, Regional Plan, the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act 2014 and Well-being of Future Generations Act.  She explained that the plan was a detailed an extensive document that was structured to include setting the scene, children’s services, transition services (children to adulthood), adult social care services, wellbeing services and delivery of the action plan, and talked briefly on each area.

The Business Change Programme Manager went through a presentation, which he explained was based on the document.

A member thanked the Corporate Director Social Services and Wellbeing and her team for the extensive report and picked up on the point of communication, particular between the authority and Bridgend Town Council. She noted the reciprocal nature of channelling resources which the council are no longer able to fund. The Corporate Director Social Services and Wellbeing agreed that this was something which could be taken away to look at.

A member noted the statistics and the need to plan ahead and asked if the Corporate Director Social Services and Wellbeing was getting sufficient help from the Welsh Government to channel the budget and whether there was any indications of any help from the Welsh Government, for people over the age of 85.  The Corporate Director Social Services and Wellbeing acknowledge the Integrated Care Fund (ICF), which was a significant investment in our service, but noted that this was still grant funding.  The Head of Adult Social Care gave some examples whilst recognising the change in demographics.  The Cabinet Member for Social Services and Early Help noted the £9m commitment to health & social care and confirmed that what was being done for residents was second to none. He noted that the Minister had announced that Regional Partnership Boards will move towards Health Parks, and noted that the authority was geared up for this based upon the population needs assessment.

A member asked for reassurance that the health authority was paying their full share.  The Corporate Director Social Services and Wellbeing explained that this came via health but must be spent within the partnership. Money coming out of the acute sector was harder to shift. She felt that within the all Wales work, the authority had a better relationship with the partnership compared to other areas.  In term of CAMHs and Children, this was a pressured area and needs investment; the health contribution needs to be reviewed. There was a lot more work to do, but the foundations were there.

A member asked about whether an audit of future skills had been carried out and did any of our care providers see issues when we leave the EU.  The Cabinet Member for Social Services and Early Help explained that those conversations had been had yesterday.  There were indications of issues with recruitment and retention and conversations about skilling. We need to identify the importance of care worker roles and about giving them the skills for the job across Heath and Social Care. The Corporate Director Social Services and Wellbeing explained that the Social care Wales staff register and equivalent body in health, had worked together to raise awareness of the skills shortage. I-Care Wales Bridgend looked at how you recruit staff as there were concerns that people would rather go into retail. She explained that the authority was looking at growing our own.  The Head of Adult Social Care explained that there were staff shortages in adult services, occupational therapists, social workers in Children’s Services. She noted the M4 corridor and the lack of a national pay scale, with other authorities’ such as RCT giving an incentive, along with Caerphilly, who pay more. People can ultimately move around.  She further noted that there had been a concerted effort in Children’s Services and noted that they still lost staff, but often internally.  The Cabinet Member Social Services and Early Years noted the recent services of job fairs, but reiterated the lack of national pay scale.

A member commented that the size of the document did not make it easy to consult upon and noted the action plan at the end of the document was incomplete and sought clarification that this was work in progress.  The Corporate Director Social Services and Wellbeing explained that it was indeed work in progress and recognised that it did look stark, but will be populated.

A member enquired whether there was any mention of a cooperative model in social care, and felt this type of model should be encouraged e.g. direct payments, and felt this would be good to see incorporated into a long-term strategy. The Corporate Director Social Services and Wellbeing noted further work was required to develop alternative community models including cooperatives and would take that out to consultation with groups. In relation to direct payments, she was looking at trusts, and cooperatives, and felt there was opportunity here, and acknowledge that it didn’t jump out in the document enough. The Cabinet Member for Social Services and Early Years felt it would be useful to get the Wales Cooperative centre to talk to us, on a localised basis.

Members wished to make the following comments and conclusions:

A Member proposed that that communication with the larger Town Councils upon the Well-being agenda funding could identify potential ways they could connect in overlapping areas with outreach areas to reach the maximum need and not waste resources.

A Member welcomed the audit of the population but felt that an audit of skills and work was needed, with cooperation from further and higher education upon future skills and knowledge required for service delivery.

Members expressed concern about difficulty recruiting and questioned how much recruitment had been undertaken, and how regularly adult services recruitment is undertaken.

Members recognised the population needs assessment as good practice and requested that it is disseminated to Members and that the good practice of the population assessment be shared with other services.

Members recommend that the Wales Cooperative Centre be invited to present to the Authority regarding Cooperative Models.