Agenda and minutes

Venue: Civic Hall, Leeds, LS1 1UR. View directions

Contact: Steven Courtney (0113) 24 74707  Email: steven.courtney@leeds.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

147.

Declaration of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests

To disclose or draw attention to any disclosable pecuniary interests for the purposes of Section 31 of the Localism Act 2011 and paragraphs 13-16 of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

Minutes:

There were no disclosable pecuniary interests declared to the meeting, however the following matter was brought to the attention of the Scrutiny Board:

 

-  Councillor B Selby advised that a close family member was employed within the local NHS

 

Councillor B Selby remained present for the duration of the meeting.

 

148.

Apologies for Absence and Notification of Substitutes

To receive any apologies for absence and notification of substitutes.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Alice Smart, Councillor Eileen Taylor, Dr John Beal (HealthWatch Leeds) and Mr Richard Taylor (HealthWatch Leeds).

 

Notification had been received that Councillor Asghar Khan was attending as a substitute member in place of Councillor Alice Smart and Councillor Ron Grahame was attending as a substitute member in place of Councillor Eileen Taylor.

 

149.

Delivering the Better Lives Strategy in Leeds: Proposed next steps - Draft response to the proposed closure of The Green pdf icon PDF 117 KB

To consider a report from the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development presenting a draft Scrutiny Board response to the proposed closure of The Green.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Head of Scrutiny and Member Development submitted a report which presented a draft Scrutiny Board response to the proposed closure of The Green.

 

The following were in attendance:

 

-  Councillor Lisa Mulherin, Executive Board Member (Health, Well-being and Adults)

-  Cath Roff, Director of Adult Social Services, Leeds City Council.

 

The Principal Scrutiny Adviser briefly introduced the report and the Chair provided the following background information for members’ consideration:

 

·  In January 2016, the Scrutiny Board had received and accepted a request for scrutiny around the proposed closure of The Green.

·  The Scrutiny Board had agreed to consider the issues in more detail through a working group, which met in March 2016.

·  Details of the working group meeting, along with an initial draft consultation response were presented to the Scrutiny Board at its meeting on 19 April 2016.

·  Following comments from the Executive Board member, the Director of Adult Social Services and members of the Scrutiny Board at that meeting, a redrafted consultation response was now submitted for the Board’s consideration.  The redrafted response took account of the comments made at the previous Board meeting, alongside further information presented by the Care Quality Commission to the Scrutiny Board. 

·  The purpose of the meeting was for the Scrutiny Board to:

o  Consider its draft response and recommendations (as presented); and,

o  Taking account of any further advice from the Director of Adult Social Services and the Executive Board member, agree its final response.

 

The Chair acknowledged the significant budgetary pressures and challenges facing the Council and Adult Social Services.

 

In addressing the Scrutiny Board, the Director of Adult Social Services provided a range of information, including:

·  Taking current occupancy levels into account, alongside the impact of implementing a national living wage, the closure of The Green would generate savings of £278,000.

·  The current and future budgetary pressures on Adult Social Services and the ‘potential squeeze’ on preventative services (which currently accounted for approximately £15M from a £200M net budget).

·  The national access to care requirements within the Care Act 2014.

·  A current review of staffing being undertaken.

·  Potential financial pressure on the Third Sector in Leeds.

 

In addressing the Scrutiny Board, the Executive Board Member made a number of comments, including:

·  The Council’s continued attempts to protect services provided by Adult Social Services in a very challenging financial environment.

·  The significant demographic pressures facing Adult Social Services.

·  The consultation launched in the autumn of 2015 was a genuine attempt to listen and gather views on the proposals set out in the Executive Board report in September 2015.

·  The consultation responses were being analysed and would be presented to Executive Board in June 2016.

 

Representatives of the petitioners were in attendance and invited to address the Board.

 

The Scrutiny Board had a lengthy and wide ranging discussion on the draft report and the information and advice provided at the meeting.  Some of the key areas of discussion were:

 

·  The lengthy and genuine consultation process.

·  Clarification on the revisions to the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 149.

150.

Date and Time of Next Meeting

Wednesday, 18 May 2016 at 9.30am

Minutes:

Wednesday, 18 May 2016 at 9.30am (no pre-meeting)

 

(The meeting concluded at 10.40am)