York Health and Wellbeing Board

Health and Wellbeing Board	28 October 2020
Report of the Assistant Director – Joint Commissioning, City of York Council and Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group

BETTER CARE FUND ANNUAL REPORT 2019-20

Summary

1. This report is to provide the Health and Wellbeing Board with an overview of the Better Care Fund achievements during the previous financial year, 2019-20.

2. The report includes an update on the national planning timetable for Better Care Fund 2020-21.

Background

3. The background information on the BCF has been previously reported to the Health and Wellbeing Board (HWBB), with quarterly updates now the normal routine.

4. This report marks the formal review of the 2019-20 year, with an annual report set out in Annex 1.  It also provides an update on the planning timetable for 2020-21.  Members will recall, as in previous years the official guidance was published part way through the year in question.  The BCF Planning Requirements 2019-20 were published in June 2019, with the effect that the quarterly returns to NHS England & Improvement (NHSE&I) were not required for the first two quarters of the financial year.

5. The 2019-20 plan was described nationally as a ‘roll forward’ of the 2017-29 plans, with the aim of moving to multi-year agreements in the following year.   It was submitted in line with government requirements on 27^th September 2019, and approved in January 2020 (see Annex 2). The section 75 Agreement between the council and CCG was signed in March 2020. 

6. The key strategic aims remain: promoting people’s wellbeing and resilience in communities; tackling loneliness and isolation; preventing admissions to hospital and long term care; and improving the timeliness of discharges from hospital. 

Main/Key Issues to be Considered

7. The use of single year agreements by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has created an undesirable level of insecurity for service providers funded through BCF, included for individual staff members across our system where posts are subject to fixed term contracts.  The experience of receiving the policy and planning requirements mid-way through the year compounds this, and has made it difficult to refresh or significantly revise plans from one year to the next.

8. It is our understanding that the DHSC intended to publish BCF Policy and Planning Requirements to cover a four year period, from April 2020.  However, this was understandably delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and 2020-21 is being managed as a further ‘roll forward’ year.  This has again resulted in fewer returns being required, and there is therefore no quarterly reporting to NHSE&I at this time. 

9. The planning requirements for 2020-21 have not yet been issued at the time of writing.  They are anticipated during October.  It is likely that the formal submission of the plan will be required between meetings of the board, and will require sign-off by the Chair on behalf of the Health and Wellbeing Board, as has been the case in previous years.

10. We await confirmation of government plans for future years.  These will be reported to the board as soon as they are received.

Consultation

11. The BCF Plan 2019-20 was developed in a collaborative process with partners, and is co-produced with the scheme providers. 

Options      

12. n/a

Analysis

13. n/a

Strategic/Operational Plans

14. The Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy is the overarching strategic vision for York; this plan supports the delivery of the desired outcomes.

15. The York BCF Plan 2017-19 provided the foundation for the BCF Plan 2019-20.

16. This work is congruent with the Council Plan and the NHS Long Term Plan.

17. BCF schemes have been central to the COVID-19 pandemic response, and this will be the subject of a future report.

18. Implications

· Financial – BCF is a pooled fund through a Section 75 Agreement between NHS Vale of York CCG and City of York Council.

· Human Resources (HR) – many of the schemes funded through BCF are supported by staff on fixed term contracts.  The prevalence of short-term funding and fixed term employment contracts are a significant risk to the stability and continuity of our system.

· Equalities - there are no equalities issues directly arising from this report, however issues referred to in the Annual Report would have been subject to assessments of the equalities impacts at that time.

· Legal – there are none directly arising from this report, however any issues detailed within the Annual Report would have been the subject of legal advice and guidance at that time.

· Crime and Disorder  - none

· Information Technology (IT) – information technology and digital integration forms part of the system wide improvement plan, relevant representatives from statutory agencies attend the project board, and there are plans to engage non-statutory services and the patients, customers and families in our developments.  The national and regional work on this agenda guides our local work.

· Property - none

· Other – none.

        Risk Management

19. Governance processes are in place between the partners to manage the strategic risks of the BCF as part of our whole system working.

        Recommendations

20. The Health and Wellbeing Board are asked to:

i. Receive the annual report of York Better Care Fund for information.

Reason: 

The HWBB is the accountable body for the Better Care Fund. The Policy Framework requires each area to review the performance of the BCF annually.  In York we have strengthened our performance framework which is reported on a quarterly basis, and we have continued our practice of partnership evaluation events to enable all schemes to share their experience and develop the whole system’s learning, knowledge and awareness of BCF.

ii. Delegate responsibility for signing off the BCF Plan 2020-21 to the Chair and Vice Chair, supported by the council Corporate Director of People and the CCG Accountable Officer.

Reason:

The meeting date of 28th October is too early in the planning process for the final plan requirements to be known.  The submission date is likely to fall prior to the next meeting of HWBB.

Contact Details

Author:	Chief Officer Responsible for the report:
Pippa Corner Assistant Director – Joint Commissioning People Directorate City of York Council & NHS Vale of York CCG 07500973261	Amanda Hatton Corporate Director - People City of York Council Phil Mettam Accountable Officer NHS Vale of York CCG
	Report Approved	tick	Date	Insert Date
	Report Approved	tick	Date	Insert Date
Specialist Implications Officer(s) List information for all i.e Financial Officer’s name Job Title Dept Name Organisation name Tel No.
Wards Affected:  List wards affected or tick box to indicate all [most reports presented to the Health and Wellbeing Board will affect all wards in the city – however there may be times that only a specific area is affected and this should be made clear]					All	tick
For further information please contact the author of the report

Background Papers:

Better Care Fund 2019-10 Policy Framework

Better Care Fund 2019-20 Planning Requirements

Annexes

Annex 1 – York BCF Annual Report 2019-20

Annex 2 – Approval Letter York BCF Plan 2019-20

Glossary

Including abbreviations used in Annex 1

A&E – Accident and Emergency

BCF – Better Care Fund

BI – Be Independent

CCG – Clinical Commissioning Group

CYC – City of York Council

DHSC - Department of Health and Social Care

DToC – Delayed Transfers of Care

ED - Emergency Department

GP – General Practitioner

HR – Human Resources

HSG – Human Support Group

HWBB – Health and Wellbeing Board

IT – Information Technology

KPI – Key Performance Indicator

LAC – Local Area Co-ordinator / Local Are Co-ordination

MDT – Multi-Disciplinary Team

NHS - National Health Service

NHSE&I - NHS England & Improvement

RATS - Rapid Assessment and Therapy Service

SDEC - Same Day Emergency Care

VOYCCG – Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group

YTH – York Teaching Hospital