Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 16 October 2023 be confirmed and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

None noted.

Would Members please bring their copy of the Cabinet Workbook with them to the meeting (these papers will follow)

Corporate Plan

The Executive Director for Adults and Communities referred Members to the relevant sections of the Corporate Plan and advised that an Organisation Plan outlining specific actions would be provided for discussion in the New Year.

Budget Proposals 2024/25

The Executive Director for Adults and Communities referred Members to Cabinet’s budget proposals for the forthcoming 2024/25 financial year along with an indicative medium term financial plan through to 2028/29.

Members had been consulted on savings proposals at 2 conferences held in late 2023. Cabinet would be asked to consult on a 2.00% increase in the Adult Social Care precept to provide ringfenced funding for the service area. Furthermore, the budget papers assumed that the National Living Wage for 2024/25 would be set at £11.16 when in fact a recent announcement confirmed that it was going to be £11.44, this would require an additional budget allocation for Adult Social Care. This increase would also require the Council to further review its own pay grades.

The following comments and questions were noted:

·         Members discussed issues relating to public perception of the taxation

·         A Member asked for further information relating to savings achieved by the Library Service Review.

Fees and Charges 2024/25

The Executive Director for Adults and Communities referred Members to the report setting out Cabinet’s proposals for fees and charges for the forthcoming2024/25 financial year along with details regarding new statutory and discretionary fees. Comments and questions were invited in regards to fees relating to the Adults and Health and Wellbeing portfolios. The following were noted:

·         A Member suggested that some of the fees seemed low. Members were advised that many of the fees are statutory, and the Council has no discretion as to the level. Discretionary fees had generally been uplifted with inflation.

·         A member advised that it is sensible to use inflation as a guide.

·         A Member referred to point 1.5 of the covering report, which states that The CIPFA Financial Resilience Index shows that the Council raises the third lowest level of income from fees and charges as a proportion of service expenditure of all unitary authorities. The Member asked if the proposed increases would improve the Council’s position. Members were advised that this would not be the case as other authorities are also looking as to how to maximise income.

·         A Member asked why fees and charges were uplifted by 10% when the current rate of inflation is 4.6%. Committee was advised that, in line with the approach taken in previous financial years, the standard inflationary uplift used for fees and charges was the RPI inflation factor for April of the current financial year (2023) 10.5%. All fees and charges are subject to rounding to ensure the fee value applied supports areas such as cash handling, administrative tasks and electronic payment facilities.

Financial Update - Q2 – 2023/24

The Executive Director for Adults and Communities referred Members to the Financial Update report, which provides a forecast year-end position for the Council as at Quarter 2  ...  view the full minutes text for item 61.

Discussion with representatives from Caremark.

The Assistant Director, Adult Social Care (Service Development and Integration) provided a presentation, which outlined the following:

·         A background to the service – what home care is, the type of services available and how it is monitored.

·         The process for arranging home care and financial issues.

·         The main challenges in market sustainability, and other challenges and opportunities, which include the impact of covid, fluctuation in demand, sustainability of individual providers, international recruitment and upcoming new contractual arrangements.

·         The geographical distribution of home care across the Borough

·         Home care current activity and arrangements

·         Engagement activity to date

The Chairman and Care Manager of Caremark were welcomed to the Committee by the Chair, and invited to provide Members with an overview of their work, views regarding the sector and vision for the company, as outlined below:

·         Caremark is a national company and Caremark Redcar and Cleveland is part of a national franchise network

·         Caremark Redcar and Cleveland were established in 2008 and have been working with Redcar and Cleveland Council for 15 years, during which time an excellent working relationship has developed. Caremark Redcar and Cleveland currently employs over 300 people and deliver care to 550 people across the Borough.

·         Caremark provide their staff with a career path and the opportunity for professional development, and most of the administrative and managerial staff began their careers as careworkers. Valuing care is at the core of Caremark’s philosophy and people are at the centre of the culture.

·         In terms of geography, the Borough is broken down into 3 regions, each one led by a regional manager. Where possible, workers are local to the region in which they live.

·         The biggest challenge for the sector is recruitment and retention, with particular problems retaining staff. A care workers day normally starts at 7am, and care is operated until 10/11 at night, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Care workers are expected to travel round different locations and houses, quite often as a lone worker, and must have a high level of training to achieve the level of responsibility required for the role. Workers regularly report that they don’t feel recognised and the sector as a whole is undervalued, with payment of minimum wage being the standard nationally.

·         Workers report that they can achieve better pay and conditions in the service and retail sector, and frustration is voiced by staff who love the job but struggle to manage on minimum wage and zero-hour contracts.

·         The uplift of the minimum wage should begin to close the gap between the care and retail sectors.

·         In terms of other challenges, financial sustainability and the need to grow a thriving business was further cited, as was the difficulty in recruiting drivers with access to their own vehicles. Drivers were particularly required in rural areas, although car ownership amongst employees was low owing to the cost of buying and running a vehicle, and where staff did have access to a car, there was reluctance to use it on some  ...  view the full minutes text for item 62.

The Director The Director of Public Health for Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland provided a verbal update which included the following:

Oral Health

In Children, the extraction of decaying teeth is the most common cause of under 18 hospital admissions in England, and poor dental health is linked to poverty and can impact on school attendance. The Tees Oral Health Promotion Team are working with the community to provide support and advice.

Access to dental care is a significant issue in Redcar and Cleveland, and has reduced from 62% (2020) to 47% (2022) for children and 61% (2020) to 45% (2022) for adults.

The Government have announced support for expansion of water fluoridation in the North East.

As part of the ensuing discussion, issues relating to the future of NHS dentistry, neurodiversity and tooth care and public health funding were considered. A Member also noted that oral health in adults is also important, as poor dental health is associated with heart disease. Head and neck cancers are also more prevalent in areas of poor dental health.

Tees Valley Anchor Network

Tees Valley Anchor businesses, including local Councils, hospitals and Universities, are those that are unlikely to move location. The purpose of the Anchor Network is to bring the organisations together to consider more carefully how resources are spent and how commissioning is used to add local value. This might include encouraging the use of local supply chains and inclusive employment.

Consultation is ongoing, via a questionnaire to other Anchor Networks.

Public Health Strategy

In response to the Middlesbrough Council Best Value Notice scrutiny of Local Government finance has increased, and the strategy will ensure that the public health grant is allocated against appropriate areas.

The public health approach to community development was considered as part of the ensuing discussion; NOTED.

The Assistant Director for Adult Social Care (Operations), Assistant Director for Adult Social Care (Service Development and Integration) and Assistant Director for Health and Communities provided a presentation outlining performance information for Q2.

As part of the ensuing discussion, issues relating to mental health self-assessments, S42 enquiries, DOLS applications and the targets for housing adaptations were considered.

Members made a request for a food bank collection point to be re-established in the Civic Centre; AGREED.

As part of a discussion relating to children’s access to vaping products, Committee were advised that vapes are a useful tool in smoking cessation for adults, but vaping amongst children and those who have not previously smoked is a significant national problem; NOTED.

A representative of the Crustacean Deaths Collaborative Working Group provided an update on work undertaken to date; NOTED.

Cllr Ovens provided an update on work undertaken by Cleveland Fire Authority; NOTED.

Further to the request for additional information relating to DOLS statistics, Members requested a presentation on DOLS to be provided at a future meeting.

Requests were also made for sessions to be organised relating to mental health awareness, safeguarding and dementia-friendly training; NOTED.

Members were advised that the minutes were provided following a request at Borough Council for further information on the work of Live Well South Tees Board; NOTED.

 A Member requested that consideration be given to changing the terminology relating to dementia, particularly where it is associated with the label Elderly Mentally Infirm, which is considered to be an outdated term; NOTED.