Agenda, decisions and minutes

At this point in the meeting the Cabinet Member is asked to declare any personal, prejudicial or disclosable pecuniary interests they may have in the business on this agenda.

The Cabinet Member was invited to declare at this point in the meeting any personal or prejudicial interests she might have in the business on the agenda. No interests were declared.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 24 April 2012.

RESOLVED:       That the minutes of the last Decision Session of the Cabinet Member for Health, Housing and Adult Social Services held on 24 April 2012 be approved and signed by the Cabinet Member as a correct record.

At this point in the meeting, members of the public who have registered their wish to speak at the meeting can do so.  The deadline for registering is 5.00pm on Tuesday 31 July 2012.

Members of the public may register to speak on:

·        An item on the agenda;

·        An issue within the Cabinet Member’s remit;

·        An item that has been published on the Information Log for the current session.  Information reports are listed at the end of the agenda.

With the agreement of the Cabinet Member, Councillor Cuthbertson spoke in opposition to the recommendations in agenda item 4 (Changes to Eligibility Criteria for Adult Social Care). He drew the Cabinet Member’s attention to two written representations which had been submitted by Councillor Aspden and the Liberal Democrat Group.

He thanked the Cabinet Member for holding a public decision session to discuss this issue but raised concerns over how the consultation process had been conducted, including the design of the form and the way it had been brought to public attention.

He agreed with the view expressed by York Older People’s Assembly, that low level intervention at modest needs level can help sustain independence for longer and that any short term financial gains should be set against the costs of having more people fall into the “substantial” or “critical” needs bands because they lose this crucial support. He suggested that savings could be made elsewhere in the budget to protect social care and expressed the view that this option had not been thoroughly explored.

He confirmed that the Liberal Democrat Group formally opposed the recommendation to change the eligibility criteria for adult social care from Moderate, Substantial and Critical to Substantial and Critical.

This report reflects on public consultation and seeks Cabinet Member approval to change the eligibility criteria for adult social care from Moderate, Substantial and Critical to Substantial and Critical.

RESOLVED:       That option 1, “to agree the change to City of York’s Eligibility Criteria to Substantial and Critical and confirm that £150k a year will be invested in alternative support within the community to help meet moderate level needs” be approved

REASON:               To protect the needs of that the needs of those people with higher needs and to develop alternative support for those with moderate level needs that promote their wellbeing and independence.  To support the change to more community based and user led support as part of the personalisation agenda.

The Cabinet Member considered a report which updated her on the public consultation and sought her approval to change the eligibility criteria for adult social care from Moderate, Substantial and Critical to Substantial and Critical.

The Assistant Director (Assessment and Safeguarding) introduced the report and responded to specific queries from the Cabinet Member.

The Director of Adults, Children and Education stressed the need to respond to demographic changes and in particular the increased numbers of older people and life expectancy of those with long term needs. He welcomed the proposed  £150,000 reinvestment into early intervention services but recognised that this should be used to supplement and enhance the rich range of services which were already available. He confirmed that the proposed changes would not affect a customer’s right to assessments (including carers assessments), access to telecare, or the right to access the re-enablement service – all of which would be unaffected.

The Cabinet Member advised that this was an important but difficult decision to make, noting that over 85% of councils had already taken the decision to change the eligibility criteria with more expected to over the next few years. She confirmed that she had read the comments submitted by other organisations and the Liberal Democrat Group and taken these into account in coming to a decision.

She assured Members that no changes would be made to a customer’s support until a review had been undertaken with the individual.

She confirmed that some of the savings would be reinvested in alternative community and voluntary sector support for those with moderate level needs and this provided the opportunity to be developed as part of the personalisation agenda.

RESOLVED:       That option 1, “to agree the change to City of York’s Eligibility Criteria to Substantial and Critical and confirm that £150k a year will be invested in alternative support within the community to help meet moderate level needs” be approved

REASON:               To protect the needs of those people with higher needs and to develop alternative support for those with moderate level needs that promote their wellbeing and independence.  To support the change to more community based and user led support as part of the personalisation agenda.

This report looks at the activity governed by the Housing Act 1996, the Homelessness Act 2002 and the City of York Council’s Homelessness Strategy 2008-13 in respect of the financial year 2011/12.  The primary focus is to report on prevention work, the trends of statutory homelessness, Youth Homeless Services and the work of the Resettlement Services and Housing Registrations Team to outline service developments throughout the year and future targets.

RESOLVED:       (i)      That the contents of the report be noted.

(ii)      That the priorities for 2012/13 as set out in paragraph 9 of the report, the targets and the forthcoming plan be agreed.

REASON:               To ensure the council continues to meet its statutory responsibilities and supports the most vulnerable in society.

The Cabinet Member considered a report that looked at the activity governed by the Housing Act 1996, the Homelessness Act 2002 and the City of York Council’s Homelessness Strategy 2008-13 in respect of the financial year 2011/12.  The primary focus was to report on prevention work, the trends of statutory homelessness, Youth Homeless Services and the work of the Resettlement Services and Housing Registrations Team to outline service developments throughout the year and future targets.

The Service Manager (Homelessness) drew the Cabinet Member’s attention to paragraph 6 of the report which stated that the Housing Options Team have seen an increase in demand for services which has been evidenced by an increase of 76 percent in contacts at Customer Service Centre 3350 this year, with a similar increase the previous year. With regard to appendix 1 (Homelessness Performance 2011-12) she stated that the figures were pleasing.  She referred the Cabinet Member to paragraph 9 of the report which listed the work which would be given priority within the team in 2012-13 and which included the re-provision of Ordnance Lane.

RESOLVED:       (i)      That the contents of the report be noted.

(ii)      That the priorities for 2012/13 as set out in paragraph 9 of the report, the targets and the forthcoming plan be agreed.

REASON:               To ensure the council continues to meet its statutory responsibilities and supports the most vulnerable in society.