The Director of Adults, Health and Commissioning introduced the report which outlined the performance of Adult Social Care and the progress that had been made in delivering the key priorities and actions from the 2012/13 local account. The following key facts and figures were highlighted:

·         The net budget of Adult Social Care was £43.7 million but the gross was in excess of £50 million. The difference was accounted for by fees and charges and NHS contributions to Adult Social Care.

·         That over 2000 adults and older people received Adult Social Care services.

·         Over 1030 people received a personal budget or direct payment.

·         The service was focussed on prevention and supporting communities, through the work of Local Area Coordinators, Extra Care Housing and the Telecare Service over 250 people had been enabled to live independently.

·         That the £43.7 million Adult Social Care budget was approximately 20% of the overall total budget of the Council, which meant that Thurrock was a low spend authority as the National Average was 26%.

·         That the legislation had changed, with the introduction of the Care Act 2014, Duty to Promote Wellbeing, and further changes to Adult Social Care funding were expected for April 2016.

The Director of Adults, Health and Commissioning explained that a new system called Quickheart had been introduced, and it was expected that a demonstration would be provided to the Committee in the new municipal year.

Members asked how recent budget cuts had impacted on the service, in recognition of the fact that Thurrock’s budget was smaller every year and was already less than that of the national average. In response the Director of Adults, Health and Commissioning advised that:

·         Income had been increased and full-cost recovery obtained to maintain services, such as the increase in the cost of homecare from £10.50 a day to full cost-recovery of £13.00 per hour.

·         The service had been successful in securing money from the NHS so that service levels did not have to be reduced.

·         Eligibility Criteria had been re-examined so that care was now delivered to only those with substantial or critical care needs.

In addition, the Director of Adults, Health and Commissioning advised some packages of care were no longer affordable, and although there was no easy answer, the service examined every opportunity for external funding sources.  He proposed that a further report be referred back to the Committee to examine how this could be improved in future.

There was a brief discussion on the importance of intervention to prevent cases from escalating, which in turn saved the service considerable money. The Director of Public Health added that the Public Health Report would detail further information about primary prevention.

Councillor Snell observed that the Key Performance Indicator (KPI) for the percentage of people who used the service who had control over their daily life had been interchangeable over the reporting period, and question why this was. In response the Director of Adults, Health and Commissioning explained that a third of service users were sampled and asked to summarise their experiences, which could vary due to a multitude of factors.

Members commended the work of all those involved in preparing the report, which was both informative and well presented.

RESOLVED: That the Committee praise and note the contents of the report.