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 apologies for absence had been received from Cllr David Beacham and Helena Kania.

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).

None

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 Gina Adamou declared a personal interest in relation to agenda items 7 and 8 by virtue of one of her daughters working in Haringey as a social worker.

Cllr Gina Adamou declared a personal interest in relation to agenda items 7 and 8 by virtue of one of her daughters being a teacher.   

Cllr Gina Adamou also declared a personal interest in relation to agenda items 7 and 8 by virtue of her son working in the teaching and education sector.

There were no disclosable pecuniary interests or prejudicial interests declared by members.

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

None

To approve the minutes of the Adults and Health Scrutiny Panel meeting held on 29 September 2016.

AGREED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 29 September 2016 be approved as a correct record, subject to the bullet points on page 8 / minute 26 (Commissioning for Better Outcomes – Presentation) being reworded to read:

During discussion, reference was made to the following:

-       The fact care workers had lodged a case at the employment tribunal to complain that a number of contractors had not paid their staff the national minimum wage for work carried out in the borough.

-       The Panel was informed that the tribunal was ongoing. However, it was noted the Council had paid contractors enough money through contract fees to ensure all live-in carers could receive the national living wage for 24 hour care provided. In addition, it was noted the council required all contractors to obey minimum wage law, including remuneration for travel time.

-       The Panel was advised that the Council no longer had in place any contracts with Sevacare, following serious concerns raised by the Care Quality Commission in April 2016.

This report provides an overview of the financial performance of the services within Priority 2 (Enable adults to live healthy, long and fulfilling lives) as at the end of Quarter 2, 2016/17.

David Tully, Head of Finance, Adults and Children, provided an overview of the financial performance, at the end of quarter 2 (2016/17), of services managed by the Director of Adult Social Services and the Adults focussed services managed by the Director of Public Health and the Assistant Director of Commissioning.

The Panel was informed that services contributing to Priority 2 outcomes, set out in Haringey’s Corporate Plan 2015-18, were forecast to overspend by £12.8m in 2016/17. The summary forecast positions for: Packages of Care (Adults); Directly provided services (Adults); Other Adults Social Care (Adults); Commissioning Budgets; and Public Health Budgets, set out in Table 1 of the report, were noted. 

Mr Tully explained that the projected overspend confirmed difficulties in delivering savings measures on time, and, in particular, being able to contain demand for adult social care. It was noted that there had nonetheless been reductions in expenditure, albeit not at the pace or scale expected by savings targets.

The Panel was informed care packages for Adults were significantly overspent (by 11.5m) and that this would have been £5m more had there not been agreement from Cabinet in September 2016 to allocate funding from contingency. Beverley Tarka, Director Adult Social Services, advised that cost of care in 2015/16 had been higher than anticipated because of increasing complexity of need as well as increase in numbers of people assessed for care and support plans.

In response to questions, the Panel was informed that care purchasing spend was based on actual open cases at 1 April 2016, forecast new cases during the year, at 2015/16 levels of activity, less the natural rate of closed packages during 2015/16. It was noted the forecast cost had taken into account the expected impact of all transformation projects in 2016/17, reflecting actual changes in activity levels as the year progressed, to produce a variance of £11.5m.         

The following issues were considered in relation to demand pressures:

-       Care purchasing and direct provision budgets were overspent due to higher than anticipated demand.

-       Increasing client numbers, particularly those requiring relatively high levels of care, was noted as being the key reason for the gap. However, it was recognised that there were additional pressures on costs for particular types of provision and that wider market conditions were expected to have an impact.

-       The pressures being experienced in Haringey were consistent with wider national trends in health and social care, with demand for services far outstripping resources. 

-       The importance of rebalancing resources, as part of the 2017/18 – 2021/22 MTFS, to support growth/demand pressures in adult social care.

To help improve understanding of the demand and budget pressures relating to adult social care the Panel requested further information, via briefing from the Corporate Delivery Unit, on: how the number of residents presenting for council support had changed; how the number of clients and service users had changed; and how unit costs and wider market changes had contributed to budget pressures.

In terms of Directly Provided Services, the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37.

This report gives details of the proposed scrutiny work programme for the remainder of the municipal year.

Christian Scade, Principal Scrutiny Officer, provided an update on the proposed work programme for the remainder of the 2016/17 municipal year.

AGREED: That subject to the additions, comments and amendments, referred to under the Priority 2 Budget Position item, the areas of inquiry  outlined in Appendix A of the Work Programme Update be approved and recommended for endorsement by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

To consider any items admitted at item 3 above.

None

The following dates are listed in the diary: 1 December 2016; 20 December 2016 (Budget Scrutiny); and 6 March 2017.  

The Chair referred Members present to item 10 as shown on the agenda in respect of future meeting dates, and Members noted the information contained therein’.