Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from County Councillors Tim Ashton, Susie Charles and Jennifer Mein.

Members are asked to consider any Pecuniary and Non Pecuniary Interests they may have to disclose to the meeting in relation to matters under consideration on the Agenda.

None declared.

Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on 26 February 2013 be confirmed and signed by the Chair.

Bob Stott, Director for Universal and Early Support Services and Jonathan Hewitt, Head of Quality and Continuous Improvement (both Directorate for Children and Young People) presented the report.

Bob and Jonathan reported that the performance of pupils against national standards have increased across Lancashire and currently there is no school in Lancashire which has been below the national Floor standards for more than the last 3 years.  Of those schools which had been below the floor standards before 2010 currently half are considered to be at a low level of concern, around 38% are considered to be a medium level of concern with 12% requiring intensive support and challenge.  In addition just under 60% of the schools were judged to be good in their most recent inspection by Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED).

Over the past 3 years the support for the lowest attaining secondary schools has had a positive impact on the quality of education. Of the 19 secondary schools which were below the Floor standard in 2009, 15 schools reached or exceeded the floor standard of 40% of pupils gaining 5 good GCSEs including English and mathematics in 2012. Of these schools almost half were above the floor standard in all 3 years (2009 – 2012) and around three quarters were above the floor standard in two of the 3 years. Two schools did not go above the floor standard in this 3 year period.

The current risk assessments indicate that around one third of schools are considered to be at a low level of concern, just over half judged to be at a medium level of concern with around 10% receiving intensive support.

Resolved: The Cabinet Committee on Performance Improvement noted the report.

Becki Addey and Oliver Collins, Graduate Management Trainees, presented a report on regarding the Customer Experience Project – Shared Lives Carers: Review of Assessment Process for Carers.

Becki explained that the Customer Experience Project was designed to offer Lancashire County Council services the facility to better understand the needs, experiences and aspirations of their service users to enable service improvements. 

Wave 5 of the project (December 2012 – July 2013) is currently underway and 11 projects have now been confirmed and allocated to the corporate graduate management trainees who undertake and lead on the research (supported by the Corporate Policy and Performance Team). The Shared Lives Carers: Review of Assessment Process for Carers is one of the 11 projects that is now reported to the Cabinet Committee.

Becki explained that the Shared Lives Service is family-based care provided by individuals and families which enables adults to live with a family, sharing in family and community life.  Being a Shared Lives carer involves supporting people to meet their emotional, social, health, occupational and educational needs.  The service offers costs effective high quality support to people with disabilities, older adults and people with mental health issues.

The objectives of the research project where to find out more about Shared Lives carers experiences of the assessment process, focusing on:

•  The length of the process.

•  Which services the carers wish to provide and to whom.

•  The relationships between the carer and the Shared Lives team.

•  The support the carers both received and required.

Fourteen participants from all three (Adult Social Care) localities of Lancashire were selected to be interviewed based on their location and stage of assessment.  These interviews were mostly carried out in the participants’ homes and over the telephone if more convenient.  The interviews were carried out using a discussion guide to ensure the key objectives were met.

Key Findings

•  The majority of participants are generally very pleased with the service and would recommend being a Shared Lives carer to others.

•  Many found the assessment process to be too lengthy, though they felt the questions asked were very thorough and relevant.

•  Key qualities that participants feel are important attributes of the Shared Lives team are a personable service, good communication and approachable staff.

•  The majority of participants described the support they have received as very good across all areas of Lancashire.

•  Several participants felt there is a lack of clarity on information such as the payment system, insurance, self employment and the voucher scheme.

•  Some participants felt the service needed to be better promoted to potential carers.

Recommendations

A number of recommendations were presented in the research, including:

•  Implement an ‘Introduction pack’ for carers undergoing the assessment process.

•  Support an increase in communication between the Shared Lives team and carers- recommended that contact should be made monthly.

•  Promotion of the service for potential carers through accessible channels.

•  Regular carer meetings available throughout Lancashire for all carers.

Future /  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Sally Riley, Head of Inclusion and Disability Support Service, Directorate for Children and Young People presented the report. 

Sally explained how the County Council defines the term 'Short Breaks'.  A short break is an arrangement by which the primary carer of a child with a disability is given a break from the caring role, usually for a period of at least 2 hours and usually via evenings, weekend and holiday activities.

Sally explained that prior to 2007, service delivery for children with disabilities was different, and had the following implications:

•  No service if you did not meet assessment criteria and were unable to access universal services.

•  Families fell into a hole with no support.

•  No social opportunities for children with additional needs or disabilities.

•  Families needed professional involvement to receive support and get an assessment .

•  High proportion of  these young people were failed by services and ended up Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET).

•  No support for families until a crisis happened.

However, from 2008 to 2011 a project known as 'Aiming High for Disabled Children' was introduced, which provided:

•  Short breaks for specific groups of children only – complex health and challenging behaviour / severe learning difficulties.

•  “for a regular and reliable break from caring” and “more things to do and more places to go”.

•  1,600 families receiving short breaks.

•  over 100 third sector providers involved across county.

•  £3.4m for short breaks programme for 2008/09 and 2010/11(match funded for health services).

•  £1.9m capital resources.

•  Aiming High delivered 90,874 hours

•  To 7,323 children

•  1,652 being unique children

•  By 62 providers

•  Across 12 districts

•  During weekends, weekdays and school holidays

Lancashire Break Time (LBT) was then introduced from 2011/14, which:

•  Is driven by parents through Lancashire Parent Carer Forum (LPCF) acting as commissioners.

•  Is funded by LCC - £3.5m per year in 2011/12 and 2012/13 with £0.5m under spend through more effective commissioning arrangements.

•  Has cabinet confirmed funding for 2013/14 – £3.5m

•  Is provided by third sector organisations, and;

•  Has a wider criteria for access.

Lancashire Break Time provides a range of activities, including:

Lancashire Break Time has:

•  Delivered 100,425 hours of care

•  Through 20,222 short breaks

•  To 1,980 unique children

•  By 52 providers

•  Across 12 districts

•  During evenings, weekends, weekdays and school holidays, and;

•  91% of all respondents agreed that LBT should continue during the recent Short Breaks Strategy consultation

Sally explained how Lancashire Break Time making a difference to these  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

An item of Urgent Business may only be considered under this heading where, by reason of special circumstances to be recorded in the minutes, the Chairman of the meeting is of the opinion that the item should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency.  Wherever possible, the Chief Executive should be given advance warning of any Members' intention to raise a matter under this heading.

None

The next meeting of the Cabinet Committee will take place on Friday 14 June 2013 at 2pm in Cabinet Room B.

It was noted that the next meeting of the Cabinet Committee will take place on Friday 14 June 2013 at 2pm in Cabinet Room 'B', County Hall, Preston.