Agenda item

The Health and Social Care Sub-Committee is asked to review the information provided in this report and at the meeting, to reach a conclusion on the following:-

1.      Are the budget savings within Adult Social Care achievable?

2.      Does the leadership team have sufficient line of sight over the savings programme?

3.      Is there sufficient political oversight over the savings programme?

4.      Are the financial monitoring systems in place sufficient to allow effective tracking of the budget?

5.      Are the performance monitoring systems in place sufficient to allow any unforeseen impact, as a result of the savings programme, on vulnerable residents to be picked up and addressed at an early stage?

The Sub-Committee considered a report on the 2021-22 budget for Adult Social Care. The information was provided to allow the Sub-Committee to form an opinion on the deliverability of the savings proposed and to reassure itself that there was sufficient oversight and control of the budget. A presentation was delivered to accompany the report. A copy of the presentation can be found on the following link:-

https://democracy.croydon.gov.uk/documents/s29251/Budget%20Presentation.pdf

Following the presentation the Sub-Committee was provided the opportunity to ask questions on the information provided. The first question asked whether the Council’s IT systems were sufficient to allow effective budget monitoring. It was highlighted that there was a new monthly monitoring process in place, along with a new system, which made budget monitoring more effective. The new system was still being embedded within the service, but so far it appeared to be more user friendly.

A question was asked about the move to direct payments and in particular how this was being communication to people to ensure they understood their options and how the system worked. It was acknowledged that direct payments could be challenging for some people, but a new system had been introduced that sped up the process. A working group had been set up to manage the direct payment process, including ensuring the availability of clear information and advice as well as tracking it through the system. It was noted that there had been a slight increase in the number of people opting for direct payments due to the pandemic, who wanted to buy in their own care.

In relation to the budget and in particular the recent history of overspends, it was questioned whether there was sufficient capacity in the Adults budget for 2021-22 which could be used as a contingency for unforeseen circumstances. It was confirmed that movement had been built into the budget, which alongside stringent budget monitoring processes, allowed unforeseen spikes in demand to be identified at an early stage and resources allocated accordingly.  There was an improved process in place for monitoring risk and if an identified saving could not be achieved, there was an expectation that this would be replaced by an alternative saving.

It was noted by the Chair that the budget would continue to be an area of scrutiny throughout the year and officers needed to give further consideration to how best to demonstrate they were managing their budgets effectively.

The Cabinet Member, Councillor Campbell, was asked how she was able to retain political oversight over the delivery of the Adults budget and whether there was collective Cabinet responsibility on budget deliverability. The Cabinet Member advised that she met with the Executive Director on a weekly basis to review progress. She also attended regular meetings with the finance team to discuss the budget. It was planned that the Executive Director would attend future political Cabinet meetings to feed into the wider context of budget delivery.

In response to a question about whether the Cabinet Member met with officers working on the frontline of the service, it was advised that she had attended staff briefings. From these it was clear that staff morale was low and the workload continued to be very heavy. It was important for staff that councillors were visible and took the time to engage.

As a follow-up it was questioned how the Cabinet Member and the management of the service engaged with service users. It was advised that contact was maintain through every point of contact with the public, right across the care system. The Council worked with the Croydon Adult Social Services User Panel (CASSUP), the Learning Disability Partnership Group and other forums to engage with the views of service users. Going forward, more could be done on the Council’s commissioning activity to look at how contractors engaged with service users and used co-design as part of their approach to service provision.

It was confirmed that the recruitment for a new Director of Adult Social Services had commenced, with the role being advertised. An announcement on the appointment would be made once this recruitment process had been completed.

It was noted that there could potentially be unintended consequences from the increases being made to a number of charges, and as such what was being done to monitor this. It was confirmed that all service users were means tested to determine what they would need to pay. Social workers worked with individual residents around their assessment, to help them maximise their income by claiming all the benefits available to them.  The charging policy was part of the Care Act and people were charged for social care in line with this policy. In order to deliver a balanced budget it was important for Adult Social Care to maximise its income as well as its savings.

At the conclusion of this item the Chair thanked the Cabinet Member and officers for their engagement with the questions of the Sub-Committee and the information provided.

Conclusions

Following the discussion of the information provided on this item, the Health and Social Care Sub-Committee reached the following conclusions: -

1.     Although it was very early in the year, The Sub-Committee agreed that the evidence provided about the deliverability of the budget was encouraging, but it would need repeated scrutiny throughout the year to ensure this remained the case. 

2.     It was agreed that a report should be prepared for the Sub-Committee later in the year to evaluate the impact budget savings were having on staff.

3.     Although the use of social media to communicate with the public was to be encouraged, this should not be at the expense of other more traditional communication methods.