MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE SCRUTINY COMMITTEE HELD AT COUNTY HALL, NEWPORT, ISLE OF WIGHT ON THURSDAY, 20 APRIL 2006 COMMENCING AT 6.00 PM

 

Present :

 

Cllrs Geoff Lumley (Chairman), William Burt, Mike Cunningham, Deborah Gardiner, Brian Mosdell

 

Co-opted Voting Members Present:

 

Mr Anthony Marvin

 

Co-opted Non Voting Member Present :

 

Mr Bob Blezzard

 

Also Present (Non voting) :

 

Cllrs George Brown, Dawn Cousins, Patrick Joyce, Erica Oulton, Lora Peacey-Wilcox, David Pugh, Susan Scoccia, Andy Sutton, Arthur Taylor, Margaret Webster, David Williams

 

Apologies :

 

Cllr Heather Humby, Mrs Sue Poston

 

 



                 

32.             MINUTES

 

RESOLVED:

 

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 23 March 2006 be confirmed.

 

33.             DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

 

A written declaration of personal interest had been received from Mr Bob Blezzard relating to Sandown Town Council, Sandham Middle School, and Unison. 

 

Cllr Deborah Gardiner declared a personal interest as she was in paid employment for Unison.

 

34.             PUBLIC QUESTION TIME

 

There were no public questions.


35.             WORK PLAN ITEMS

 

The Committee considered the scoping document for the Wightcare enquiry (SC06/06) which would look into the financial circumstances of Wightcare and the proposal to transfer the Council’s in-house service to a private sector provider. The enquiry would investigate whether the proposal was in the best interests of service users and the local economy.

 

The Committee considered the scoping document for the Strategic Partnering enquiry (SC07/06) which would enquire into the business case commissioned from PA Consulting for the potential strategic partnering of Council services. The enquiry would examine if any such proposal was in the best interests of service users and the local economy.

 

The Committee considered the scoping document for the 2006/07 Revenue Budget Efficiencies (SC08/06) which would look into the delivery and impact of the 2006/07 Councils Revenue Budget efficiencies for the financial year.

 

RESOLVED :

 

THAT the scoping documents for Wightcare SC06/06, Strategic Partnering SC07/06, and 2006/07 Revenue Budget  Efficiencies SC08/06, be agreed.

 

36.             WIGHTCARE ENQUIRY – SC06-06 – FORMAL EVIDENCE SESSION

 

            The Committee invited Wightcare Homecare Organisers Mrs Bunce, Mrs Moore and Mrs Rankin to give evidence to the Committee on the in-house service provided by Wightcare.

           

            The Wightcare Homecare Organisers informed Members that in an independent Audit the service provided by Wightcare had been praised. They believed that retaining the Wightcare service in-house was in the best interests of public users as Wightcare staff were equipped to deal with a wide range of situations including dementia and medication. The Council also had a statutory duty of care. The Wightcare Homecare Organisers expressed concern that if the Wightcare service was privatised, vulnerable people would be at risk during times of staff shortage.   

           

            The Committee heard that while the Organisers working hours had been cut from 37 hours a week to 25 hours a week staff continued to work 37 hours, with the additional hours unpaid, to ensure vulnerable people received care. The Committee were informed that this commitment was not evident in the private sector.

           

            Members were informed of the importance of continuity between carers and clients. The Wightcare service distributed details to clients informing them of the name of the carer who would call and at what time. Members were informed that this was not thought to be a service provided in the private sector.

           

                        The Committee expressed an interest in obtaining a copy of the independent Audit regarding the Wightcare service. 

 

            The Wightcare Homecare Organisers informed the Committee that efficiency savings could be made by relocating the offices away from Bugle House and by utilising existing skills to become a more competitive service.

 

            The Committee noted inconsistencies between carer’s wages and unit costs. The task and finish group would investigate this further and visit the Wightcare offices as part of the enquiry.

           

            RESOLVED :

 

                          i.       THAT the evidence received from the Wightcare Homecare Organisers be noted.

 

                        ii.                  THAT a copy of the independent Audit regarding the Wightcare service be obtained as part of this enquiry.

           

37.             STRATEGIC PARTNERING – SC07/06 – UPDATE

 

Members invited the Acting Chief Executive to give evidence to the Committee on progress with Strategic Partnering.

 

The Acting Chief Executive informed the Committee that the report from PA Consulting had been received on Thursday 13 April 2006 but had lacked appendices. It had been delayed as the methodology had not been complete.

 

The report would be presented to the Aim High Strategy Group on 25 April 2006 and would then be published. Directors would consider the report on 2 May 2006 to consider how best to implement the recommendations. The report would then be discussed at the Joint Consultative Meeting and also with middle managers. Members of the Committee were assured that the report would be available for consideration at the next Scrutiny Committee.

 

RESOLVED :

 

THAT the update on Strategic Partnering be noted.

 

 

 

CHAIRMAN