Agenda and minutes

Please note that this meeting may be filmed or recorded by the Council for live or subsequent broadcast via the Council’s internet site or by anyone attending the meeting using any communication method. Although we ask members of the public recording, filming or reporting on the meeting not to include the public seating areas, members of the public attending the meeting should be aware that we cannot guarantee that they will not be filmed or recorded by others attending the meeting. Members of the public participating in the meeting (e.g. making deputations, asking questions, making oral protests) should be aware that they are likely to be filmed, recorded or reported on. 

By entering the meeting room and using the public seating area, you are consenting to being filmed and to the possible use of those images and sound recordings.

The chair of the meeting has the discretion to terminate or suspend filming or recording, if in his or her opinion continuation of the filming, recording or reporting would disrupt or prejudice the proceedings, infringe the rights of any individual or may lead to the breach of a legal obligation by the Council.

The Chair referred Members present to agenda Item 1 as shown on the agenda in respect of filming at this meeting, and Members noted the information contained therein’.

It was noted that apologies for absence had been received from Cllr Gina Adamou and Cllr Stephen Mann.

The Chair will consider the admission of any late items of urgent business (late items will be considered under the agenda item where they appear. New items will be dealt with as noted below).

There were no items of urgent business put forward.

A Member with a disclosable pecuniary interest or a prejudicial interest in a matter who attends a meeting of the authority at which the matter is considered:

(i) must disclose the interest at the start of the meeting or when the interest

becomes apparent, and

(ii) may not participate in any discussion or vote on the matter and must withdraw from the meeting room.

A member who discloses at a meeting a disclosable pecuniary interest which is not registered in the Members’ Register of Interests or the subject of a pending notification must notify the Monitoring Officer of the interest within 28 days of the disclosure.

Disclosable pecuniary interests, personal interests and prejudicial interest are defined at Paragraphs 5-7 and Appendix A of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

Cllr Pippa Connor declared a personal interest in relation to agenda item 7 – Priority Two Budget Monitoring Report – by virtue of her sister working as a GP in Tottenham.  

To consider any requests received in accordance with Part 4, Section B, Paragraph 29 of the Council’s Constitution.

None.

To note that the minutes of the meeting held on 18 January 2016 will be reported to the next meeting on 1 March 2016.

It was noted that the minutes of the meeting held on 18 January 2016 would be reported to the next meeting on 1 March 2016.

This report is to inform the Adults and Health Scrutiny Panel of the financial performance of the Priority Two Services (Adults Social Care, Commissioning and Public Health). It is based on the financial position as at the end of quarter three (month nine).

The Chair informed the Panel that, in October 2015, the main Overview and Scrutiny Committee had agreed that each Scrutiny Panel could, during the course of the year, undertake a review of their areas overall service and financial performance.

Katherine Heffernan, Head of Finance, explained the main directorates contributing to Priority Two outcomes, set out in Haringey’s Corporate Plan 2015-18, were Adult Social Services, Commissioning and Public Health.

The Panel was informed that:

Ø  Information published with the agenda was based on the financial position at the end of quarter three (2015/16).

Ø  There were no significant variances against the Priority Two elements of Commissioning or Public Health.

Ø  As reported to Cabinet in January 2016, there was a significant forecast out-turn variance for Adult Social Services of a £12.9m overspend.  

The Panel considered how the out-turn variance for Adult Social Services was made up, the factors leading to the variances and action that was being taken to address the issues.

In response to questions, Ms Heffernan explained that there was a significant underspend against Assessment and Care Management and other services. The Panel was informed there had been underspends in staffing across a number of areas but especially in relation to Occupational Therapy and Social Workers, where the Council had experienced difficulties in recruitment. Beverley Tarka, Director of Adult Social Services, commented that action to address this had included work to develop a recruitment and retention strategy for the Adults Social Services workforce. During discussion, reference was made to the following:

Ø  Issues concerning pay, training and support in relation to recruitment, retention and staff turnover, including the pros and cons of employing agency workers and contractors and the use of “golden hellos”. 

Ø  The impact of the National Living Wage on the care sector.

Ø  The impact of staffing underspends in relation to care packages and costs.

The Panel considered a table, at section 5.3 of the report, that highlighted how the out-turn variance for Adult Social Services was made up. The Panel noted that the main overspend related to care purchasing, where both volumes and costs had continued to rise, and that savings assumptions made in the medium term financial strategy had taken longer to embed than originally estimated. The following issues were discussed:

Ø  The costs associated with care purchasing.

Ø  The work that had been done by the Council to address inflation up-lift and to enact a Fair Fee process.

Ø   The costs associated with implementing the Care Act 2014.

Ø  Issues in relation to supply and demand concerning an ageing population and an increasing number of residents having complex care needs. 

Ø  The Council’s Market Position Statement.

Ø  Information and analysis of Haringey’s local provider market for residential and nursing care in the borough.

In response to questions and concerns about the diversity and scale of savings required, Ms Tarka referred the members of the panel to section 5.9 of the report. It was noted that over the course of the year various actions  ...  view the full minutes text for item 93.

To consider any items admitted at item 3 above.

There were no new items of urgent business.

To note that the final meeting of the municipal year will take place on 1 March 2016 at 18:30 hrs.

The Chair referred Members present to Item 9 as shown on the agenda in respect of future meeting dates, and Members noted the information contained therein’.