Agenda item

To discuss the progress update of the Better Care Fund reset work and actions taken since the last report.

Paul Robinson, Midlands and Lancashire Commissioning Support Unit, NHS provided a progress update of the Better Care Fund reset work and actions taken since the last report.

The Board noted that the Lancashire Better Care Fund Board is now in place and operating well, bringing improved oversight and coordination of both the business as usual and the reset work, and is working to progress the three key priority areas agreed.

Since the last update, an initial scoping session has taken place regarding the focus on the Disabled Facilities Grant and associated opportunities, with several actions commenced following the discussions.

Discussions are continuing with the national Better Care Fund Support team, regarding the level of focus of the support offer to Lancashire. 

Following the presentation, the following comments/issues were discussed:

· The Integrated Care Board in July 2023 has taken the decision to create a   delegation arrangement to prioritise the Better Care Fund and mature the   relationship between the NHS and the County Council.

· There will be a lot of support nationally to carry out the spending review.

· There is also going to be some national consultation on how the Better Care   Fund could be better and as a Health and Wellbeing Board it needs to ensure   that a response is provided.

· Need to ensure collaborative spend is being maximised to have the impact.

· The Disabled Facilities Grant will also be discussed at the workshop on 8   September with the Chief Executives from across Lancashire.

· There needs to be a move beyond reporting to being able to demonstrate   where fundamental decisions are being taken and to start to use it to shape   the community offer going forwards.

· In terms of the support the Regional Better Care Fund Team are to   Commission the provider for a fixed period for two years.

·  The Children's Disabled Facilities Grant work has not commenced yet and   that key stakeholders need to be identified across the districts, other   organisations and communities and build from there.

· The report needs to be given a different narrative that starts and ends with   people.

· 20 providers are taking part in a workshop on 6 September 2023 to help   them focus on the voice of the people that receive their support and to utilise   the information received about their customers, to feed into the way that   decisions are made about this work.

· The outcomes or the impacts that the fund was initially set up to achieve and   how success is measured.

· Understanding what impact £70 million is going to achieve.

· It was agreed that regional support should be sought for change models and   what actually works.

· If a baseline review is carried out there needs to be a critical challenge of all   spend.

· There needs to be a fundamental review and it needs to be illustrated in a   way that makes sense and engages people.

· Carry out benchmarking against national initiatives to enable a local   understanding and what to do next.

· In terms of the Children's Disabled Facilities Grant it should be for families   and how they are supported in order for them to continue to live as healthy   a life as possible.

· The Integrated Clinical Academic Training (ICAT) model is referenced in the   plan and needs to be reviewed and monitored as it progresses.

Resolved:  That the Health and Wellbeing Board:

i)  Received the report and commented on the progress to date.

ii)  Identified any queries prompted by the report.