To consider the above titled report.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY; The Panel agreed to amend the order of items, with the first item to be considered being Item 7. It was also agreed that Item 5 – Budget 2020/21 would then be the next item considered before proceeding with the rest of the items on the agenda.

Councillor Carroll, Lead Member for Adult Social Care, Children’s Services, Health and Mental Health, said that the report was looking at how to transform the Adult Social Care service. There were some pressures that had to be considered, particularly as there was an ageing population. There was a greater focus on prevention and community, especially with regard to isolation and mental health.

Hilary Hall, Director of Adults, Health and Commissioning, said that the programme was structured around six work streams. The focus was on delivering strengths based practise and harnessing technology to utilise it in the best way possible.

Councillor Story asked for clarity on the residents and communities that were mentioned as part of the outcomes for the programme. Hilary Hall said that it involved a wide variety of groups, including parish councils, and underlined that listening to the community was vital as partnership was important to delivering services.

Councillor Story asked if the integrated care system was a formal structure. Hilary Hall explained that it was and that the Royal Borough was a key partner in the Frimley Integrated Care System along with the other East Berkshire local authorities and health organisations.

The Chairman asked if people were slipping through the net. He was told that it was always a challenge to ensure that no one was left behind but it was anticipated that the strategy would meet the challenge. A further question asked about the timescale for the programme. Hilary Hall said that it was a transformation and therefore things would change over time. It was unlikely the programme would have a ‘final stage’.

Councillor Hunt queried the recruitment and training of staff, and asked if the programme was using agency workers. Hilary Hall said that there was not a huge number of agency staff, but in other areas they were struggling to recruit, for example in care homes.

Councillor Da Costa agreed that recruiting could often prove to be challenging but that is was good that the programme was using providers that use the living wage. She asked if there would be an external evaluation of the programme. Hilary Hall said that some evaluation would be done by the programme board and some by the Panel.

Councillor Da Costa asked a further question about dementia and what the future plan was. Hilary Hall said that it was a real issue and as part of future proofing they had an ambition to ensure that residents were living healthier for longer.

Councillor Carroll said that there was a prevention theme in the programme and that the government had recently passed a green paper about prevention, which would soon be moving to white paper, showing that there was a significant focus on prevention activities. In terms of financing, things like the Better Care Fund should be utilised, but more dedicated policy thinking was needed.

The Panel noted the report.