BOROUGH OF POOLE

COMMUNITY SUPPORT OVERVIEW GROUP

18 MARCH 2008

The Meeting commenced at 7:00pm and finished at 9:07pm.

Members present:

Councillor Bulteel (Chairman)

Councillor Mrs Hillman (Vice-Chairman)

Councillors Brooke (substitute for Councillor Mason), Mrs Deas, Mrs Haines, Mrs Long, Meachin, Rampton, Mrs Walton (substitute for Councillor Ms Atkinson) and Wilson (substitute for Councillor Matthews)

Members of the public present: 0

CSG44.08APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Ms Atkinson, Mason and Matthews (with the above substitutions).

CSG45.08MINUTES

With regard to M.CSG40.08 – “Housing Revenue Account Budget and Rent Setting, Poole Housing Partnership Delivery Plan, HRA Capital Programme, Management Fee and Business Plan 2008/9” – the Head of Housing and Community Services stated that at the Meeting he had referred to a figure of 6.5% as the Rent increase for 2008/9 which had been based on the Draft Government Subsidy Determination at that time. The Government had, after that Meeting, issued its final Subsidy Determination, which meant that the rent increase for 2008/9 had been set at 5.9%.

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Meeting held on 15 January 2008, having been previously circulated, be taken as read, confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

CSG46.08DECLARATIONS OF INTERESTS

Cllr. Mrs Long declared a personal interest in M.CSG46.08s the Receiver and User of Services.

CSG47.08SUCH OTHER THE BUSINESS, AS IN THE OPINION OF THE CHAIRMAN, IS OF SUFFICIENT URGENCY TO WARRANT CONSIDERATION AT THIS MEETING

There were no urgent items of business at this Meeting.

CSG48.08OLDER PEOPLES STRATEGY “A TIME OF OUR LIVES”

The Meeting was advised that the Older Peoples Strategy had been developed as part of Poole’s Local Area Agreement and the purpose of the Strategy was to improve the quality of life for older people and to underpin the planning of all partner Agencies to meet the needs and aspirations of Poole’s increasing older population.

It was also a multi-agency response to extensive consultation that had been carried out amongst older people by partnership agencies.

Work on the Older Peoples Strategy had begun in July 2006 and from May until July 2007 the Strategy Document underwent a comprehensive public consultation exercise. The draft document was proactively disseminated to a wide range of groups and individuals across the Borough who were actively encouraged to give their views.

Since August 2007 the Older Peoples Strategy Officer Group had been working to update the Strategy in the light of the responses received during the consultation period and to move towards developing a comprehensive set of practical actions that would ensure that the Strategy became a living document that would have a significant positive impact on the lives of older people in Poole.

As a result of consultation and of new initiatives in 2007/8 at Local and National level, all chapters of the Strategy had been updated and changed. The most significant areas of change and addition were:

  • Chapter 3 – The Big Picture; addition of a new section on “Poole as a place”
  • Chapter 4 - A new Chapter on engagement called “Finding out what people want “
  • Chapters 5 to 11 – “Messages from consultation” had been updated to highlight issues raised in consultation the document and actions included to address these.
  • Chapter 7 had been focused on “ a time to get involved” and contained details of new initiatives. Issues relating to equalities and social inclusion had been included throughout the Document rather than in one chapter.
  • Chapter 12 – “ Update on practical actions” had been provided to highlight key outcomes achieved in the past year by partnership working and what was planned to achieve it in the coming twelve months. It also provided a set of key indicators by which progress could be measured.

This Section would continue to be updated to reflect work undertaken as the Strategy progressed.

The final draft of this Strategy would be presented to Poole Partnership’s Older People’s Services Steering Group on 11 April 2008. After final amendments, the Strategy would be presented to Poole Partnerships Steering Group for formal adoption and the Borough of Poole ‘s Cabinet and Council would be asked to agree this Strategy and commit the Borough of Poole to its outcome, targets and actions.

Members considered the Strategy document and Action Plan in detail and raised the following issues:

  • An objective in Chapter 10 stated that options would be investigated to secure appropriate funding to replace the taxi token scheme for those in greatest need and it was felt that this was a vital piece of work to improve mobility for older people with health or disability issues. The use of the tokens for taxis for those who could not use ordinary public transport was essential for many older people in the community,

The Meeting was advised that a joint scheme was being prepared with Bournemouth Borough Council and in addition a Strategy for Community Transport provision in the conurbation was being pursued.

Jan Thurgood, Strategic Director, suggested that a presentation could be made by Transportation Services on Transport Provision for older people in the near future.

Transportation for older people was a significant issue and it was vital not to consider only the transport corridors as lots of older people were deprived of bus services and subsidies had to be looked at to provide proper services in communities.

A Member stated that:

  • Page 1 of the Action Plan stated that there would be no closures of Care Homes with over 45 bed space capacity but this gave the impression that Care Homes below the threshold would be closed.

John Dermody responded by stating that in the modern era it was not viable to have Care Homes with under 45 bed space capacity and due to economies of land and scale, viability was the issue in the private sector. The Core Strategy would take account of the securing of land provision and changes of use.

  • Page 2 of the Action Plan referred to an outcome, which showed a “decrease in the number of vacant retail premises and provision of a mixed retail offer” but Planners had said that this could not be controlled and it was due to supply and demand. There were no guarantees that empty premises could be utilised.

Kat Watters, Strategic Planning Services, stated that this was an aspiration and she would ask colleagues how this was being developed.

  • Page 17 of the Action Plan related to the “training of community representatives to offer ongoing financial advice”; there was a concern as to the information, which was being provided.

Kat Watters replied stating that this was merely sign posting for clients and detailed financial advice would not be given.

  • The Strategy was all about what could be done for older people but there should be more emphasis on how older people could contribute. There was nothing included in the Action Plan on how older people could volunteer etc.

Kat Waters agreed to consider this further.

  • Page 25 of the Strategy related to life expectancy of people living in the 16 electoral wards of Poole. The information supplied differed widely between Wards that if one lived in Alderney, this was below 78 years of age, whereas in Broadstone it was over 83 years of age.

Jan Thurgood, Strategic Director, stated that she had been discussing these issues with Dr. Adrian Dawson, the Director of Public Health, to analyse the statistics. Some work had been carried out on what caused the differences and there was a need to consider further lifestyle issues and “takeup” of screening opportunities. It was felt that Members could benefit from a presentation by Dr. Dawson on this issue. A Member felt that a lot of work had been done by Sheffield University but that more needed to be done on Health Inequalities.

  • Monitoring of the Action Plan was essential and a Report back to the appropriate Group/Committee was requested.
  • Consideration should be given on how this Strategy was communicated to older people.
  • It was pointed out that since Christmas 2006 there had been 6 deaths caused by fire in the Borough due to the lack of smoke detectors and faulty electrical equipment. Free checks were available from the Dorset Fire and Rescue Service but it was felt that an opportunity was being missed with Care Organisations who could undertake assessments, especially by Occupational Health Visitors.

John Dermody responded by stating that a more holistic assessment had already been undertaken in the pilot Partnership’s for Older People’s Project area which was now being rolled out across the whole Borough and an opportunity that Health Care Assistants could incorporate safety issues in their Occupational Health Assessments, in liaison with the Fire Service.

RECOMMENDED that

(i)The report be noted and the above comments and amendments be incorporated in the Strategy and Action Plan;

(ii)The final version of the Older Peoples Strategy be referred to the Poole Partnerships Older Peoples Services Group and it be recommended for approval to Cabinet and Council; and

(iii)Officers be thanked for their excellent work on the preparation of this Strategy.

For: Unanimous

CSG49.08POOLE ADULT LEARNING

The Head of Culture and Community Learning presented a report recommending the establishment of a Joint Member Working Group to consider the creation of a single Adult Learning Service across Poole and Bournemouth.

The Meeting was advised that Bournemouth and Poole both provided Adult Learning Services and had a similar range of learning opportunities and similar characteristics. A number of Senior Management vacancies in Bournemouth’s Adult Learning Services had created opportunities for bringing the Services closer together. In Poole, over the last two years, an efficient and stable Service had been created which was well serviced. Now was an appropriate time to explore the opportunities of creating a single service. Issues would be developed through the process of a Working Party and the Meeting was advised of the numerous advantages for Learners in the conurbation from this way forward, such as:

  • Better access to information
  • Improved curriculum offer
  • Improved efficiency

The Process would be for a Joint Member Working Group to review the pros and cons of a merger and bring a recommendation forward to each Council for formal approval. If a merger was recommended by the Working Party and formally agreed by each Authority, a Governance Structure would be set up and a single Management Team for the service created as quickly as possible. The majority of staff and resources within the two organisations could remain in each Authority during this initial stage. A new Management team would then develop and implement a detailed Plan to bring the various Staffing, Programming and Resource Management elements of the two Services formally together, perhaps over 12 to 24 months.

In response to a question on how the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) funding was used, the Head of Culture and Community Learning responded by stating that two core Grants were received from the LSC, one for Further Education on such things as Infrastructure, the payment of Tutors and Resources and the second Grant was used for less formal Programmes which were not normally accredited. In addition, full cost courses were available and it was emphasized that these would not take place without the support of LSC courses by having the Infrastructure already in place. Concessions would still be available if any freed up finances, brought about by efficiency savings in the joint working, could then be reinvested – a nil budget situation currently existed. The LSC had supported the way forward and funding would not suffer by any efficiencies. Any profits from LSC funded courses would be used for community/leisure courses as was the case at present. Any joint working could combine targets and funding and it was felt that these aspects could be dealt with more easily with the LSC in the future.

A Member asked what Bournemouth would bring to the process and contribute in view of the high standard of service provided in Poole?

The Head of Culture and Community Learning responded by stating that Bournemouth had Tutors in some areas that Poole currently did not, so this would bring a wider range of services to the community. There were some conflicts in prices but Courses could be amalgamated to bring sinergies to the Service. It was also felt that joint working could bring reinvestment in more curriculum areas and provide better management overall. The Merger was seen as a positive way forward in Bournemouth but the Review would see if there were any hidden “icebergs” in the process.

A Member felt that an early report should be submitted to Members to give an indication on the progress of the process and that reassurances could be given. It was felt that outcomes and objectives could be incorporated in the Terms of Reference for the Working Party.

In response to a question on the difference in pricing structures and concessions in Poole and Bournemouth, the Meeting was advised that both services had the same priorities and there were no conflicts here. Concessions were available currently on “Access to Leisure Courses” and there would be real sinergies in joint working and conflicts in pricing would be overcome as a result.

A Member felt that there was confusion in that the purpose of the Report was stated as being “to consider the creation of a single Adult Learning Service” whereas the recommendation called for “ to oversee the preparation of a plan for a single joint Adult Learning Service”. It was felt that at this stage a Working Party should be established to consider joint working and then it was for the Council to decide whether it wished to proceed further. Experiences with other joint working had shown there to be issues from this way of working and it was felt that this was a worrying trend with few advantages. In this case some residents would have to travel further if Courses were combined but it was felt that it was essential for Courses to stay local and that this was not the right time to proceed with joint working.

A Member clarified the situation by stating that Officers were merely asking for a Working Party to be set up to consider joint working and this needed to be the first step.

A Member felt that the Process was time sensitive and that there was a need for the Working Party to report back urgently on the work which it had been set, in approximately three months.

  • Concerns were raised as to Asset Management of the two Administration Centres at Slades Farm and Oakdale and that these needed to be included in the process.

Jan Thurgood, Strategic Director, felt that there would inevitably be efficiencies in bringing the Service together but it was too early to consider asset management at this stage as this was something that should be considered at a later stage if Cabinet agreed to the proposals.

A Member felt that Accountability/Governance arrangements and resources/ ICT were issues, which needed to be addressed at the outset.

RECOMMENDED that Cabinet be asked to:

(i)approve the creation of a Joint Member Working Group for Poole and Bournemouth to explore the possibility of a single Joint Adult Learning Service and to ensure that any proposals maximize benefits for Learners and Local Residents;

(ii)a report giving an indication on the progress of the process be made within three months of the working party being set up; and

(iii)Group Leaders be asked for nominations to the Working Party (two Conservative and one Liberal Democrat).

For: Councillors Brooke, Bulteel, Mrs Deas, Mrs Haines, Mrs Hillman, Rampton and Mrs Walton.

Abstained: Councillors Mrs Long, Meachin and Wilson

CSG50.08PERSONALISATION AND EFFICIENCY – TRANSFORMING SOCIAL CARE 2008-2009

The Head of Adult Social Services Commissioning and the Head of Social Care and Wellbeing presented a joint report on the key elements of the Government’s Policy changes in Adult Social Care, as set out in recent Circulars.

In December 2007, the Government had published a concordat entitled “Putting People First” which set out a vision of fully integrated Health and Social Care system, achieved not by structural reform but by organisations coming together to redesign local systems around the needs of citizens. This was followed in January 2008 by the Local Authority Circular “Transforming Social Care” which gave more detailed commentary and guidance. In 2006 a White Paper had been published entitled “ Our Health, our Care, your Say”.

In particular, it was envisaged a personalized Adult Social Care System. Further more, the “Our Health, our Care, our Say” White Paper had four goals, namely:

  • improved access to community services
  • better prevention and earlier intervention for improved Health and Wellbeing
  • more choice, and a stronger voice of the public and users
  • better, integrated services for people with long term needs, creating a high quality care service.

The “ Putting People First” concordat, similarly had aims which were: