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No. | Item |
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Declarations of interest from Members Minutes: The
following Member made a declaration of interest at the commencement of the
meeting: Cllr S Reynolds: Report of the Director of Social Services Health
and Housing re: Consultation on the Social Services Budget and Draft Savings
2018/19 as she is a trustee of Canolfan Maerdy and Director of Y Banwen. |
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Consultation on Social Services Budget and Draft Savings 2018/19 PDF 210 KB Minutes: The
Committee received information concerning the savings proposals for the Social
Services Budget and draft savings for 2018/19 as contained within the
circulated report. Andrew
Jarrett was welcomed to the meeting, the first in his new role as Director of
Social Services Health and Housing. He explained that the Forward Financial
Plan required savings of £4.55m from the Social Services Directorate. It was
stated that the main ‘pillars’ of savings are planned to be via the Asset Based
Approach and Direct Payments. Members
noted the current climate of austerity but stated that to allow for full
scrutiny, detailed breakdowns of costs needed to be included in the report
alongside the percentage each proposed budget saving is representing. The
Director of Finance explained that generally the savings required represent a
10% budget cut and that there are not individual ‘pots’ of money to be
allocated against each savings target, but an overall pot from which all
savings will be delivered. Members remained concerned about the level of detail
contained within the report and felt they could not perform robust scrutiny of
the proposals with this level of detail lacking. The
Chief Executive stated that the level of detail included in the proposed budget
savings strategies was not unique to the Social Services Directorate and that
fuller detail would be added to the proposals as they develop and reminded the
Committee that the Council have a legal requirement to set a balanced budget.
The discussion at today’s meeting is to inform the consultation on the budget
proposals before the Council’s final budget is put before Council for
approval. Budget Monitoring will then be
undertaken on a regular basis where the spend and performance in relevant areas
can be considered. The
Director of Finance explained that the Budget Book is available for all members
to view should they so wish and that if the Committee required more advance
involvement in the budget setting process for the next financial year then this
could be arranged. SSHH801
Direct Payments Members
asked if the ‘gremlins’ in the system had been ironed out such as delays in
assessment and issues with flexibility. It was explained that the service is
continually evolving and improving and Members were pleased to note that a
Direct Payments Social Worker is now in post and that there is currently no
waiting list from the ‘front door’. Members asked how long it takes on average
from referral to assessment and looked forward to the Direct Payments Task and
Finish Group which will be held later in the year where further detail will be
considered. It
was asked if Direct Payments would be ‘offered’ or ‘pushed’ to service users
and it was explained that information would be offered in a positive way to
ensure the service provided is in the best interest of the service user. Members queried the statement that Direct Payments puts the service user in control as they felt that some service users are not able to make their own decisions. ... view the full minutes text for item 2. |