Agenda item

The purpose of this presentation is to update the Panel on the progress of work-stream delivery aimed at securing a sustainable future for adults and all age disability services.

Richard Eyre (Programme Manager) to present; (Copy of presentation attached)

The Panel were updated on the progress of the ADAPT programme, including the workstream model and efficiencies. Members were reminded that there had previously been a presentation on ADAPT to the Panel in November 2017, and that the presentation would cover much of the same material with updates on progress.

Members were informed of the scope of the ADAPT programme and the national context within which it was operating, highlighting the CQC State of Care 2017 report. The Panel were informed of the plans to conform to the Council’s new locality model in order to implement a change in the service to prevention and early intervention, which was a move from the service being reactive. The Panel were told of plans to better integrate with Gateway and Housing services as part of a ‘whole family’ approach. The Programme Manager informed the Panel that one of the key principles behind this was the idea of ‘a Life, not a Care Plan’, which meant focusing on individual outcomes to enable people to live as independently as possible.

The officer detailed the key focuses of the programme as being efficiencies, transformation, managing within their means and working to correct budgets. The Panel heard further information on how the programme was working to improve the service’s financial wellbeing; this included a revised Charging Policy and making more information available to Self-Funders to ensure better care and support was utilised.

The Panel were informed of changes made to the workforce to achieve efficiencies and to improve workflow. The changes made included a restructuring of the division and senior management to bring together various functions, as well as a reduction in agency staff from 35% to 15%. This included the introduction of the new ‘Front Door’, using a contact centre staffed by Social Workers, staff from the contact centre, and the Gateway Service to provide better information and triage. The Panel learned the programme had already achieved half of the planned efficiencies in the workforce reform and transformation workstream for 2018/19.

The officer updated the Panel on the work being done to introduce Digital Pathways which had begun by updating all of the relevant webpages to give service users better information and advice. The Panel were informed about the introduction of the E-marketplace which aimed to enable residents, carers, self-funders and direct payment users to source care services in one place; this provided all the relevant information users would need and provided access to direct purchase of the services from providers. The final aspect of Digital Pathways was AskSara, which was a localised version of the Disabled Living Foundation’s daily living tool.

In response to questions from Members regarding how this would improve delays in equipment being delivered for users, the Programme Manager told the Panel that work had been undertaken to better integrate colleagues across departments; in cases where the client had a Social Worker, they were able to chase equipment orders on the clients behalf. The Panel raised concerns about the ability of users to access the new ‘Front Door’. The officer informed the Panel that the model being used had been successfully trialled in Leeds, and balanced digital and face to face interaction to reach as many users as possible. The Chair queried what the timeline for the introduction of the ‘Front Door’ was, and Members were informed that work was still ongoing for the full implementation and that the project was working on user testing with CASSUP.

The Panel were informed of intended improvements to the 25-65 disabilities operations, which looked to build upon the existing direct payments offer, alongside increased employment opportunities for residents with disabilities and mental health issues. The programme looked to reduce the use of residential placements for people with disabilities by improving supported living.

The Panel queried the number of users enrolled in direct payments and raised concerns regarding the difficulty of getting users on to them. The officer informed the Panel that around 12% of users were on direct payments, but that the aim was to increase this closer to the London average of 24%. The Panel were informed that a new project was in the process of being drawn up to address this, which aimed to work with existing providers.

The Panel were shown a breakdown of the planned efficiencies for the next three years, alongside the efficiencies already achieved in the 2018/19 municipal year. Panel Members raised concerns about historic overspends in the Division and that efficiencies achieved in the current financial year could be lessened if spending increased toward the end of the year. The Programme Manager agreed that future spending was hard to predict, but that the overspend in the previous year had only been 0.3%, with many of the efficiencies for the year already achieved as expected.