Venue: Committee Rooms A/B - Neath Civic Centre. View directions
Contact: Stacy Curran 01639 763194 Email: s.curran@npt.gov.uk
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Minutes: The
Committee noted the minutes. |
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Open Front Door Presentation PDF 162 KB Presentation
of the Head of Children’s Services Keri Warren Minutes: The
Committee received a Presentation on the topic “The Front Door” which is the
one point of access for all referrals to Adult Services. Members
asked what happens after 5pm if assistance is required when the office is
closed, Officers explained the Emergency Duty Team are on call from 5pm, they
would assess the call and action any urgent safeguarding issues and then refer
to the relevant service the following day. Members
asked what was the reason for the decrease in the numbers of
caseloads per worker from 27 to 14. Officers
explained that the process has been changed to assess the needs of the service
user at the point of contact to enable the appropriate service to be put in
place or referred to the third sector if appropriate. Also, supervision with staff has been
improved so that cases are monitored and referred to the appropriate service so
as a result the backlog has been cleared and now cases are allocated as they
are received. Officers
thanked the Committee for allowing the Gateway Team to give a presentation. |
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Forward Work Programme 2018/19. PDF 157 KB Minutes: Members
mentioned the Autism report has been put down for November but were told this
was being brought to Committee in September, Officers stated they said this
would be brought in November and the minutes were incorrect. |
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Pre-Scrutiny Minutes: The
Committee scrutinised the following items: Cabinet
Board Proposals 4.1
Director’s Annual Report The Committee received information in relation to
the Director’s Annual Report as contained within the circulated report. Members congratulated officers on a very positive
report but commented that should the report not contain the difficulties that
the directorate is facing in the current economic climate. Members also thanked officers for the careful
financial planning and asked whether any underspends are kept within the
directorate. Officers confirmed that the
underspend was kept within the directorate
and contributed to any savings required. Members asked what geographical areas do the Local
Area Co-ordinators cover. Officers explained that the aim is to have a Local
Area Coordinator across every area of
NPT. An additional post has recently been recruited to so there are 6 across
the Neath Port Talbot area Members also queried what happens in the areas that
are not covered by a Local Area Co-ordinator, Officers explained that the
service is still available in those areas but the role of the Local Area
Co-ordinator is to underpin those services. Members asked if there was any data available on
the impact and outcome of the Local Area Co-ordinator pilot areas, Officers
explained that data is currently being gathered across the pilot areas with
work being undertaken to develop a data base to ensure all information will be
available in future. Members asked why on the satisfaction responses 72
carers assessment were undertaken but none received support, Officers explained
that Carers could be offered a variety of support from different organisation.
The assessment could identify the need for a sitting service which would be
provided by the third sector but that would not show up on system. Discussion
are currently taking place with our partners in the third sector on how we
could record this information for all to access. Members asked if the word promoted contained within the document on Page 23 could be changed
because it suggests that the Carers Assessment is not a statutory requirement
of the Local Authority. Officers
explained that the word promotion was used to promote the rights of carers to
have the assessment but agreed that an alternative would be found to replace
promoted. Members asked if the All Wales Comparative data
could be brought to Committee to enable Members to be able to compare Neath
Port Talbot with other Local Authorities., Officers explained that no All Wales
Data has been received from the Welsh Government and previously the data has
been 2 – 3 years old by the time of receipt. Officers confirmed that they will
speak to Welsh Government to find out the current position and highlight the
need to have this comparative data. In
addition Members asked that the Cabinet Members present today raise with the
Welsh Government. In relation to The Rapid Adaptation Grants Scheme,
members asked how quickly is very quickly. Officers explained they will email
members with the information. Members referred to the Performance Measure/Indicator table on Page ... view the full minutes text for item 4. |
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Access to Meetings Minutes: RESOLVED: That pursuant to Section
100A (4) and (5) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded for
the following items of business which involved the likely disclosure of exempt information
as defined in Paragraph 14 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A to the above Act. |
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Pre-Scrutiny Minutes: The
Committee scrutinised the following matters: Cabinet
Board Proposals 6.1 Contractual Arrangements For Neath Port Talbot Carer Related
Services The Committee received information in relation to
Contractual Arrangements for Neath Port Talbot Carer Related Services as
detailed in the circulated report. Members asked in relation to risk management, it
reads ‘there are no further risk management issues’, members asked what are the
other risks, Officers explained there is an error with the wording and should
read ‘other than those risks already mentioned’. Members queried why are Carers Assessment
undertaken by an independent agency, Officers explained that Carers are more
comfortable discussing their needs with an independent person rather than their
own Social Worker. Members asked if Carers have the option to have the
Carers Assessment undertaken by Neath Port Talbot staff rather than the Carers
Service, Officers explained that there would be a time delay in the Assessment
process if it was provided Social Services, Health and Housing staff eg Social Worker.
Neath Port Talbot Carers Service undertakes the assessment quickly and
it works very effectively. Following scrutiny, the Committee were supportive
of the proposals to be considered at Cabinet Board. 6.2
Review of Homecare Services The Committee received information in relation to
the Review of Homecare Services as detailed in the circulated report. Members asked why was there a difference in the
costs from the last time the proposal was before Committee, Officers explained
that the last proposal was not implemented and since then some of the costs
have changed and we are now providing a very specialist service. Officers stated they will bring back the results of
the review to this Committee. Following scrutiny, the Committee were supportive
of the proposals to be considered at Cabinet Board. CHAIRPERSON |