Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors D Brailsford, C R Oxby, Mrs M Brighton OBE and Mr Andy Leary (Leicestershire & Lincolnshire Area Team).

It was noted that Councillor Jeff Summers (District Council representative) and Mr Jim Heys (Leicestershire and Lincolnshire Area Team) had replaced Councillor Mrs M Brighton OBE (District Council representative) and Mr Andy Leary (Leicestershire and Lincolnshire Area Team) respectively, for this meeting only.  

Dr's Vindi Bhandal, Sunil Hindocha, Kevin Hill and Simon Lowe, wished it to be noted that they had an interest in the Better Care Fund, as independent providers of services.

Also, Dr Simon Lowe wished it to be noted that his wife was a Director of a medical provision company and Dr Sunil Hindocha wished it to be noted that his wife was a GP.

(To receive a report from Glen Garrod, (Director Adult Social Services) on behalf of the Health and Social Care Community in Lincolnshire, which asks the Board to agree a 'first-cut' submission which describes how Lincolnshire intends to meet the national requirements in terms of spend of the Better Care Fund allocation in 2014/15, 2015/16; and to advise of the performance expected and the level of pooled budget (health and social care) is expected to reach)

Consideration was given to a revised report from the Director of Adult Social Services, which provided the Board with a copy of the Better Care Fund (BCF) document, which was the first-cut submission in accordance with national guidance.  The document represented the collective ambition of the health and social care community in Lincolnshire to further improve services and establish a more sustainable financial base in an integrated environment.

The report highlighted the core elements of the BCF, the connection between the BCF document and the Lincolnshire Sustainable Services Review (LSSR) and the process and timetable for production.  Members were advised that it was necessary for the Health and Wellbeing Board to agree a 'first-cut' submission as that described how Lincolnshire intended to meet the national requirements in terms of:

·         The spend of the BCF allocation in 2014/15, 2015/16;

·         The performance expected to be achieved; and

·         The level of pooled budget (health and social care) expected to be reached.

Appended to the report was:-

·         Appendix A – A copy of the NHS England Planning Guidance;

·         Appendix B – A copy of the Better Care Fund Planning Template – Part 1 (V12), which detailed the overall plan details, provided an agreed vision and schemes for Early Implementers and explained how the submission met the national conditions and identified any strategic risks; and

·         Appendix C – A copy of the Better Care Fund Part 2 – which described the performance measures and agreement on the use of the BCF in 2014/15 and 2015/16.  The appendix also reflected the level of ambition to pool budgets across both health and social care.

Full details of the governance arrangements were shown on page three of the agenda presented.  The Director of Adult Social Services highlighted that the 'first-cut' was to satisfy national prescribed requirements and that this had to be with NHS England for 15 February 2014, and that the final version needed to be submitted to NHS England by 4 April 2014.

During discussion, the Board raised the following issues:-

·         The inclusion in the background to the report (on page two) further information relating to the role of Local Area Team;

·         How to deal with changes to the document up to 14 February 2014. The Director of Adult Social Services advised that the document was evolving and although the Board were agreeing the document presented, it would continue to evolve up to the submission date.  The Board agreed that once the Director of Adult Social Services felt that he had incorporated all subsequent amendments, that the document should be emailed to members for comments/information, prior to it being submitted to NHS England on 15 February 2014;

·         Some members stressed the importance of the BCF and highlighted that a lot was depending on it for Lincolnshire and the LSSR.  The Director of Adult Social Services highlighted that if the submission was not successful, Lincolnshire would not lose the money, but would be offered peer support and challenge from NHS England;  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44.