Agenda item

(To receive a report by Justin Hackney, Assistant Director, Specialist Services and Safeguarding, which invites the Committee to consider a report on the Section 75 Agreement for Learning Disability which is due to be considered by the Executive on 1 March 2022. The views of the Committee will be reported to the Executive as part of its consideration of this item)

Consideration was given to a report by the Assistant Director - Specialist Services and Safeguarding which invited the Committee to consider a

report on the Section 75 Agreement for Learning Disability which was due

to be considered by the Executive on 1 March 2022.

The Committee was advised that a Section 75 Agreement was a legal agreement between local authorities and NHS bodies which allowed one party to delegate delivery of specified functions to the other party if those arrangements would lead to improved outcomes.

The Learning Disability Section 75 was a commissioning agreement that created a pooled budget and appointed a lead commissioner and also provided for an integrated assessment and care management function for Adult Social Care and Continuing Health Care.

The report proposed that Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) be the lead commissioner and the host for the pooled budget and the associated integrated arrangements. The existing Learning Disability Section 75 agreement formally ended on 31 March 2022 and there was no provision to extend the existing agreement past this date.  It was therefore proposed that a new agreement be developed and agreed for 1 April 2022 for an initial period of 5 years, with the option to extend for a further two years subject to agreement by both parties.

As part of the report, the Committee received a presentation, which included the following details in relation to report:

• Details of the commissioning of the agreement
• The expenditure and forecasted budget for 2022-23
• The individual benefits of the agreement, which included a more joined up experience of care for adults with a learning disability; an identified key worker; a single care and support plan; an integrated approach to quality assurance of care; strong assessment and review performance and promoting and supporting integrated working
• Other benefits of the agreement
• Details of the agreement between Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) as the lead commissioner and Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group

The Committee supported the recommendations to the Executive and during the discussion the following points were noted:

·       The section 75 agreement provided good value for money and was a showcase for close partnership working with the local NHS.  This was likely to develop further as part of the Integrated Care System arrangements, where it was important that local authorities should act as equal partners with the local NHS, rather than adult care being subsumed into the NHS. 

·       The Committee welcomed the partnership working and the benefits of the service were emphasised

·       It was hoped that a disputed case would be resolved amicably between partners,  however there was an escalation process and a resolution clause in place should it need to be used.

·       The section 75 agreement had the benefit getting the most from the expertise in both the County Council and the NHS.

·       The section 75 agreement’s resilience was demonstrated by its maturity, reflecting refinements and developments over the previous decade, which put both partners in a strong position with any future legislative changes.

·       Innovation should continue be enabled in the future and the government’s integration white paper (Joining up Care for People, Places and Populations, the Government’s Proposals for Health and Care Integration) intended to reduce bureaucracy in future integration arrangements and not stifle innovation.

·       The importance of timely and efficient assessments, both at initial contact and as a review, was stressed. 

·       The joint commissioning group had an equal presence from both LCC and the NHS.

·       There was a termination clause in the agreement which required either party to provide 12 months’ notice should they wish to end the agreement at any time.

·       Members emphasised that the detail and complications of such agreements often restricted innovation.

RESOLVED:

1. That the recommendations to the Executive be supported;

That a summary of the comments made by the Committee be reported to the Executive as part of its consideration of this item.