Decision Maker: Argyll and Bute Council
Is Key decision?: No
Is subject to call in?: No
Councillor A Morton, seconded by Councillor
Green had given notice of the following motion:-
Motion
The Council:
1. Notes the Budget decisions made at March
meeting of Argyll & Bute Health and Social Care Partnership’s Integrated Joint
Board meeting, which result in a need for further savings in excess of
£2million to be identified
2. Notes that the 2017/18 overspend by the
H&SCP, as reported in January, amounts to £2.9million with loan support now
required from both the Council and NHS Highland. This is in the context of a
national reported overspend of circa £67million with 23 partnerships across
Scotland forecasting an overspend
3. Acknowledges the support and protection
given by the Council to social work services - while the budget for social work
services has increased overall by 1.08% since 2014/15, there has been a 4.27%
overall reduction in the budget for all other council services
4. Notes that Argyll & Bute H&SCP
faces significant challenges, including:
a. a shrinking and aging population which
increases demand while creating difficulties in the recruitment and retention
of staff;
b. delivery across a huge geographic area,
including 23 inhabited islands;
c. a substantial proportion of their budget
that is outwith their direct control (such as GP contracts, and recharges from
other health boards);
d. maintaining core local hospital, acute
and GP out of hours services delivered in multiple rural hospitals with unique
recruitment challenges and cost burdens
5. Agrees that the Council Leader should
write to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport:
a. regarding the impact of current finances
on the delivery of local services
b. highlighting the unique position the
challenges detailed above create for the H&SCP
c.
recognising
that the budget pressures being faced by the H&SCP right now are preventing the timescales needed for community-driven
transformation, and welcoming the commitment from the Cabinet Secretary to
provide support for the H&SCP
d.
acknowledging
that the Council and NHS Highland currently face their own financial pressures
and are not in a position to provide additional funding, and asking the
Scottish Government to consider reassessing the funding levels provided for
Health and Social Care in Argyll & Bute, alongside support for transformation.
Decision
The Council agreed the terms of the submitted
Motion.
Publication date: 27/04/2018
Date of decision: 26/04/2018
Decided at meeting: 26/04/2018 - Argyll and Bute Council