Agenda item

To receive an overview of the integration of the Connected Communities service within Adult Social Care.

In introducing this item, Sara Sutton explained that the report provided an update on the work to make savings but also to change the shape and nature of the Connected Communities service (which was now being named the Independence and Early Intervention (IEI) Team). The aim was to focus on integration and providing support for residents at the earliest stage. This should be seen as part of the overall change and transformation agenda.

Christina Andrew, Head of Resettlement, Migration & Inequalities, explained that the slides in the agenda pack set out the background to the restructure, the vision for the new service and the financial savings that had been made and also the consultation process. The new team was based on a model of proactive support, aligning with the neighbourhood focus developing in adult social care through the localities model and the neighbourhood model being developed with health partners. The aim of the new team would be to reduce the need for adult social care packages, enable people to live independently in the community for as long as possible and to reduce the intensity of the packages where they were needed.

Christina Andrew said that there was also a focus on tenancy sustainment through a matrix management model with the housing team. Part of the funding for the service came through the Housing Revenue Account (HRA). The restructure process was in the final stages and there had been strong engagement throughout the consultation process from staff and the unions. The full £700k savings target had now been delivered, including by holding vacancies. 50% of the funding for the service was now through the Better Care Fund (BCF) meaning that there was now a significant contribution from health. There was an aim to complete integration of the service by the beginning of November with the team based in the Central locality.

Cllr das Neves commented that this saving had been a significant and challenging part of the previous year’s budget process but that the changes were leading to the kind of services that the Council would like to see more of. She hoped that neighbourhood working and some of the developments coming forward in the NHS 10-year plan would complement this change. She also welcomed the new name of Independence and Early Intervention (IEI) Team as this would avoid confusion with other services nationally.

Cllr das Neves, Sara Sutton, Jo Baty and Christina Andrew then responded to questions from the Panel:

·       Asked by Cllr Brennan whether Councillors would have a point of contact within the IEI Team for casework, Christina Andrew explained that there would be five new ‘neighbour connector’ roles in the new structure with a specific localities focus. Two each of these would be the East and Central areas, with the other one in the West area, reflecting the need in the Borough. It hadn’t yet been established exactly where they would be based for drop-ins but this would be a key part of the model. The referral pathway would therefore be a combination of the ‘front-door’ of the service but also being based in accessible locations. Communications on where these locations would be was expected to begin in October. Sara Sutton added that there was a need to triage effectively so that resources were targeted on those with the greatest need. It was hoped that the range of changes including the ‘front door’ offer and the digital offer would improve overall access to services.

·       Asked by Cllr O’Donovan where the resettlement and financial advice teams would be based, Christina Andrew said that the resettlement team would be moving over to Culture, Strategy & Communities but the operating model would not change. Sara Sutton said that, across the Council, there were a number of areas where financial inclusion and support was provided and the aim was to place that in one area. The team would move to the Benefits team where there were where there were already some income maximisation offers. 

·       Asked by Cllr O’Donovan how people would be easily able to find the right ‘front door’ to access services, Jo Baty said that it was important for staff to be well trained and supported to understand what the first contact should look like, particularly in terms of kindness, compassion and professionalism. The social care staff would be working alongside the new team and this should feel like one service rather than separate teams. She added that it was also important to be agile in the space that Connected Communities had been and to signpost to the right service at the earliest opportunity as only around 40% of people who contacted the team were eligible for adult social care services. There was also the opportunity for staff to become trusted assessors by picking up on non-statutory elements of a social worker’s role around low-level assessments, for example when someone needed some equipment.

·       In response to a query from Cllr Iyngkaran about how best to signpost, Sara Sutton said that Members Enquiries would be the main route for this, as they tracked and monitored responses. She noted that there were some separate strands such as the Homelessness Prevention Hub which would be an appointment-based face-to-face service beginning later in the year. Cllr Iyngkaran expressed concerns about the poor performance of responses to Members Enquiries and the possibility that some cases would be missed. Cllr das Neves said that this would require a different conversation about Members Enquiries but that referrals to Connected Communities could make casework more complicated to monitor. It was therefore necessary to ensure that systems directed the right things to the right places. Sara Sutton pointed out that around 40% of the Connected Communities workload had been found to be dealing with failure demand in other services which was not driving the change and improvements needed. She added that there was a new corporate solution called ‘Infreemation’ which would be rolled out shortly and would allow for greater tracking of enquiries from Members. Cllr Connor requested that the responses to Councillor emails be considered as part of this redesign of systems as Councillors were not always kept updated. (ACTION)

·       Cllr Connor suggested that the Haricare resources needed to be up-to-date and accessible in order to assist residents and professionals with signposting. Sara Sutton responded that this was being updated as part of the digital link to the ‘front door’ and that this would enable people to self-refer as well as being a valuable resource for professionals.

·       On Neighbourhood Connectors, Sara Sutton clarified that their role would not be as frontline staff but in dealing with complex cases that required multi-agency coordination and collaboration. They would also work with health partners and the voluntary sector to ensure that the local picture was well understood and documented as part of the Council’s information, advice and guidance.

·       Asked by Cllr Brennan about digital inclusion for residents, Sara Sutton said that there were a number of active digital inclusion projects across the Council and health partners. This included supporting people to use the NHS app and sessions run by the GP Federation. Through the IEI work there would be signposting to a range of offers and opportunities.

·       Natasha Benn observed that a more holistic approach to health and social care was now widely accepted and asked whether there would be a greater focus on nutrition, physical activity and physio for vulnerable people as part of this approach, in order to prevent people’s health from deteriorating. Sara Sutton agreed that this linked to the elements about ageing well and also to the Council’s Health and Wellbeing Strategy. This would be explored as part of a wider partnership approach to the neighbourhoods work. Asked by Natasha Benn whether there would be funding to support this, Sara Sutton said that there was not a specific budget but there would be the resourcing budget for the staff and then part of the partnership work would involve looking at key priorities and how various resources should be aligned. She added that there was a lot of change in this area including conversations about how the ICBs might fund prevention in a different way. Cllr das Neves reflected on examples of local service users later becoming active volunteer participants in roles that helped others to develop their independence. Empowering people to take more control and have more independence was therefore a valuable element to this approach.

·       Cllr O’Donovan highlighted the importance of the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) on page 195 of the agenda pack, in particular the KPI on the proportion of residents supported to remain independent after 6 months.

Cllr Connor summarised some key priorities of the Panel that had emerged from the discussion as:

• Building an understanding of what the role of Neighbourhood Connectors would be;
• How information about the new approach would be shared with local stakeholders that came into contact with residents with complex needs, such as GP practices;
• Establishing a clear understanding of how the various funding sources would be brought together in a coherent and stable way, including the length of contracts that would be offered;
• Ensuring the availability of up-to-date Haricare information to enable effective signposting resources for residents and professionals.
• Ensuring that all Councillors were fully informed about the new approach and how to support residents to access the service.