Agenda item

(To receive a report by Carolyn Nice Assistant Director (Adult Frailty and Long Term Conditions), which invites the Committee to consider an Executive Councillor Report concerning Payment Arrangements for Residential Care and Residential Care with Nursing.  The comments of the Committee will be presented to the Executive Councillor prior to taking the decision)

Consideration was given to a report by Carolyn Nice (Assistant Director Adult Frailty and Long Term Conditions)), which invited the Committee to consider a report on Payment Arrangements for Residential Care and Residential Care with Nursing, which was due to be determined by the Executive Councillor for Adult Care, Health and Children's Services on 10 July 2018.  It was advised that the views of the Committee would be reported to the Executive Councillor, as part of her consideration of the item.

The Assistant Director (Adult Frailties and Long Term Conditions) advised that the Executive Councillor's report presented the outcome of a review of the Council's payment arrangements for residential care and residential care with nursing following findings and recommendations made by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. 

The report also sought a decision from the Executive Councillor on whether to accept the recommendations of the Ombudsman and change the payment arrangements to provide for no involvement in the collection of payments of Third Party Contributions or implement a modified form of its current payment arrangements for Third Party Contributions and Resident Contributions subject to variations being made to the Council's contract.

In response to a question, the Committee was advised that the review of the payment arrangements, referred to in option (c) as detailed in the Executive Councillor's report, was part of the usual contract process, and would be due to take place in 2020/21 in any event.  The Committee was further advised that a review of the payment arrangements might be necessary in advance of 2020/21, for example in response to revised legislation or exceptional circumstances.  Following this advice, the Committee agreed to suggest that the wording of option (c) might be revised to reflect the possibility that a review of the payment arrangements might take place in advance of 2020/21.

The Committee was given a further explanation of the legal position on statutory guidance, as set out in paragraph 5 of Appendix A to the report, and acknowledged that a cogent reason for departure from the statutory guidance had been set out in Appendix B to the report.

The Committee was provided with an opportunity to ask questions, where the following points were noted: -

·         Other local authorities had adopted a variety of approaches to their payment arrangements for residential care and residential care with nursing;

·         It was confirmed that the Ombudsman's report related to a single complaint and this should be borne in mind within the context of the overall number of service users;

·         There had been no increase in complaints similar to the one that had led to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman report, since the publication of the report by the Ombudsman on 11 January 2018;

·         The expected publication of the Government Green Paper on Care and Support for Older People in the autumn of 2018 might impact on the national policy and the legislative position. 

RESOLVED

That support be given to recommendations (1) and (3), as set out in the report.  Of the three options in recommendation (2), the Committee recorded its support for option (c) and suggested that the wording might be revised to reflect the possibility that a review of the payment arrangements might take place in advance of 2020/21.