To consider the report.

Members were reminded that the topic had initially been put forward by a member of the public, who had contacted Adult Services at the start of the year. Input had since also been sought from Children’s Services.

Officers were asked to outline the changes that had taken place in the six months since the question had been put forward by the resident. Kevin McDaniel, Director of Children’s Services, said the Local Offer had been revamped in order to improve residents’ right for access to information, which in turn had led to a number of services becoming much more accessible. However, he added that it had not been possible to operate some services during the Covid19 lockdown restrictions. Hilary Hall, Director of Adults, Health and Commissioning, said a comprehensive list of services support for carers was now available on the Council’s website.

Responding to a question from Cllr Da Costa, Lin Ferguson, Deputy Director of Children’s Services, said that carers or parents had the choice of accessing services themselves or asking AfC to arrange it on their behalf. In the case of a carer for a disabled child, assessments could be carried out to see what alternative care support the carer was potentially eligible for. This could include a break, including an overnight break, for the carer or child. Lin Ferguson told the Panel that 114 children up to the age of 18 had received a short break; of those, 56 were in receipt of more than one type of respite care. The Panel was told that there were 24 youngsters between the ages of 18 and 24 who were in receipt of an Education Health and Care Plan, and many of these received more than one type of respite care. Assessments had been carried out by social workers to ascertain the most appropriate level or type of support for the children. Lin Ferguson said 11 people aged up to 25 had had an increase in the provisions in their respite care packages during the Covid19 pandemic.

Cllr Tisi asked about the appraisal process for care services. Lin Ferguson said all service users were given a questionnaire to give feedback on their satisfaction on service delivery. She said it was particularly important to receive this based on users’ experiences during Covid19.

Cllr Story proposed a motion to thank the resident for raising the topic, but to note that no further review would be necessary as this would result in a duplication of work that was already being carried out. The comments made by Panel members would be noted and passed to the resident. This motion was seconded by Cllr Bateson. Cllr Da Costa requested an addition to the motion, to ensure that levels of success would be measured and asked how this could be done in future. It was agreed that officers would discuss the matter with Cllr Da Costa to agree a form of wording relating to the points she had raised.

It was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY that:

(i)            The resident should be thanked for raising the discussion topic with Adult Services

(ii)          It be noted that no further review work should be carried out as it would result in a duplication of work for officers

(iii)         All comments made by the Panel members be noted

(iv)         Officers should discuss with Cllr Da Costa the specific questions she had raised.