Agenda item

To consider the decisions made by the Executive on 14 December 2010 in relation to the above item, which have been called in by Councillors Alexander, Boyce and Simpson-Laing in accordance with the provisions of the Council’s Constitution.  A cover report is attached setting out the reasons for the call-in and the remit and powers of the Scrutiny Management Committee (Calling In) in relation to the call-in procedure, together with the original report to and decisions of the Executive.

Members received a report which asked them to consider the decisions made by the Executive on 14 December 2010 in relation to proposals for a remodelled reablement service, as part of a wider strategy to meet the challenges of changing demographics within the City.

Details of the Executive’s decision were attached as Annex A to the report.  The original report to the Executive was attached as Annex B.  The decisions had been called in by Cllrs Alexander, Boyce and Simpson-Laing, on the grounds that:

·        Agreed changes to the current in-house provision have not been fully implemented, resulting in a skewed comparison between in-house and private service provision in terms of cost, changes which would improve face to face contact time within the in-house service.

·        The Executive's decision to proceed with a twin-track approach is flawed, on the basis that the necessary information with which to properly compare in-house and outsourced service provision is not yet available.

·        Inadequate consultation has taken place and should be extended once full proposals based on sound evidence have been presented to the Executive at a future meeting.

·        The report gives no detail on the likely impact on the Hospital Trust due to potential changes in the levels of discharges and re-admissions.

·        There is an apparent lack of consultation with the Council's partners given that neither the Deputy Chief Executive nor the Chairman of the Hospital Trust knew anything about the proposals.

·        The report includes no evaluation on how outsourcing of the Reablement Service has worked in other local authority areas, of which there are very few across the whole of the country, on issues such as satisfaction levels among customers on level of service, staff expertise etc

Calling in Members call for the decision to be delayed until such time as the aforementioned evidence can be produced and properly considered, and after proper consultation has taken place.

Members were asked to decide whether to confirm the decisions of the Executive (Option A) or to refer them back to the Executive for re-consideration (Option B)

Cllr Boyce addressed the Committee on behalf of the Calling-In Members.  She highlighted the contradictory nature of the Executive’s decisions, which gave approval to proceed with outsourcing at the same time as examining the possibility of keeping the service in-house.  She also noted the problems reported by customers of private service providers.

In response to questions from Members, Officers confirmed that, although representatives of York Hospital Trust had been involved in discussions on the proposals, there had been no formal consultation with the Trust.

Following a full debate, Cllr Watson moved, and Cllr Firth seconded, that Option A be approved.  Four Members voted for this proposal, and four voted against.  The Chair then used his casting vote in favour of the proposal and it was

RESOLVED: That Option A be approved and that the decisions of the Executive be confirmed.

REASON:      In accordance with the constitutional requirements for called-in matters, and in view of the fact that the Executive is not due to make a final decision on this matter until 15 March 2011.