Venue: Room 4, Victoria Halls, Helensburgh
Contact: Katie McKenzie Tel. No. 01546 604511
No. | Item |
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APOLOGIES Minutes: Apologies for absence were intimated on behalf of Ian Ross, Christopher
Valentine and Councillor Elaine Robertson. |
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DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST Minutes: There were
no declarations of interest. |
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SOCIAL WORK AND FREE PERSONAL CARE EXPENDITURE AND GAE PDF 82 KB Additional documents:
Minutes: The
Committee considered a report providing further information with regard to
aspects of the report on Social Work expenditure/GAE submitted by the Head of
Strategic Finance to the Council on 28 June 2006 and also to the further report
submitted to the Audit Committee on 13 July 2006. Decision The
Committee agreed: 1.
To
note the further information provided in the report, and to commend the Head of
Strategic Finance and the Head of Integrated Care for the clarity of the
information provided. 2.
To
note:
(i)
That
with the exception of 2003/04, overall expenditure on Social Services has
exceeded GAE.
(ii)
That
in terms of expenditure on older peoples services, the Council has
significantly underspent its allocation in the past
six years, with the exception of 2002/03; the underspend
last year being £2.7 million and a projected underspend
of £4.9 million in the 2006/07 budget, almost 20% of the GAE allocation.
(iii)
That
in relation to expenditure on Children and Families, the Council has
significantly overspent the GAE allocation; last year by £4.5 million and a
projected overspend by £4.5 million in 2006/07 budget.
(iv)
Specifically
in respect of free personal care, that since its introduction, the Council has
spent significantly more than GAE in each financial year. In 2005/06, £5.9 million was spent on free
personal care compared to a GAE allocation of £3.8 million.
(v)
Despite
the recurrent overspending in respect of free personal care compared to GAE, a
further £902,000 is currently required on a recurring basis to fund 137 people
on the waiting list.
(vi)
The
Scottish Executive guidance on free personal care circular CCD5/2003 which
states inter alia –
i.
Clause
10 – Food and Diet ‘Food preparation and provision of meals are not
included. However assistance to manage
special diets and the assistance with the preparation of specialist meals [e.g.
pureed foods] is included
ii.
Local
authorities will need to have in place agreed eligibility criteria for
assessments of need and priorities for the provision of and access to services
based on need. Many authorities will
have these in place already and there is no requirement on authorities to
change these arrangements. Following a
needs assessment, payment towards personal care should commence when the
authority is in a position to arrange or provide the required services. It is important that people receive services
on the basis of prioritising the care needs of older people rather than on
individuals’ ability to pay.
(vii)
The
cost implications of Council run care homes on the Social Services budget. The cost in 2005/06 accounting for 22% of
£20.3 million expenditure on older peoples services.
(viii)
That
the Council is undertaking a strategic view on Social Work which is due to
report in October 2006 and which should contain recommendations on this issue
to the Strategic Policy Committee, and a report on the review should be
considered by the Audit Committee in December 2006. 3.
To
recommend that the strategic review of social work include a Value For Money
audit and options appraisal of Council run care homes. 4.
To
recommend to the Strategic Policy Committee that in future there should be a
report within the ‘Budget Pack’ by the Head of Strategic Finance advising of
the comparison between GAE allocation and proposed budget allocation for the
current, previous and future years, disaggregated by individual service
category within departments. (Reference:
Report by Head of Strategic Finance dated 26 June 2006, Reports by Director of
Community Services dated July and September, Circular No. CCD5/2003 and Free
Personal Care Enquiry – Correspondence from COSLA, submitted). |