36. MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting held on 8 November 2004 were agreed.

37. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

There were no declarations at this time.

38. PUBLIC QUESTION TIME

Mrs W Hague asked questions in relation to policy and payment for care. (PQ37/04)

A copy of the questions and replies given are contained in the Public Questions Register.

39. URGENT BUSINESS

The Chairman agreed to three items of urgent business as he believed members needed to be given an update.

(a) Star Rating

The Portfolio Holder advised the Select Committee that Social Services had retained their two star rating. Members thanked everyone for an excellent effort in retaining the rating.

(b) New Chairman for Strategic Health Authority

The Chairman told members that Mr Jonathan Montgomery had been appointed as the new Chairman of the Strategic Health Authority.

The Chairman reminded members that the Head of Housing, Mr Martyn Pearl, was leaving at the end of November 2004 to take up a post as Chief Executive at Medina Housing Association. The Select Committee wished Mr Pearl every success in his new job.

40. FORWARD PLAN

The Head of Select Committee and Best Value Support advised members of the items of relevance which were contained in the Forward Plan for the period December 2004 to March 2005.

The Director of Adult and Community Services advised the Select Committee that the Public Health Strategy would be deferred as the draft was not yet ready. He indicated that the Select Committee would be able to see the early work on the strategy.

41. BUDGET MONITORING REPORT AS AT END OF SEPTEMBER 2004

The Portfolio Holder indicated that the situation remained unchanged from the previous month.

The Chairman suggested that scrutiny of the budget be delayed and brought back to the Select Committee in December 2004 for a more robust scrutiny. Members believed the Government would have released funding details of the rate support grant by then which could also be considered at the same time.

42. SUPPORTING PEOPLE FIVE YEAR STRATEGY

During the debate Mr G S Kendall declared an interest an a Non Executive Director of the Primary Care Trust.

The Portfolio Holder told the Select Committee that Supporting People had brought £7.1 million to the Island. This enabled the provision of services to approximately 1300 people through contracts with 50 providers. There were strict criteria around the ways in which Supporting People funding was spent. For every £1.00 the Council spent it brought in £65.00 in grants.

The Head of Housing indicated that the strategy was required by March 2005. The Council were due to have a Supporting People Inspection in October 2004 but that had now been put back. It was believed an audit would be held in the late summer early autumn of 2005 and the outcome could contribute to the Council’s CPA rating.

There was a tri-partite agreement between the Local Authority, Primary Care Trust and the Probation Service. A separate administrative grant was received from the ODPM although it did not fully meet the costs. A sum of £130,000 was found from within the Social Services budget to make up the difference. Members asked what the input was from the other two services and were advised that both those services were having financial difficulties at the present time. The Select Committee believed that as a partnership the responsibility should be shared by all.

Members asked if the new care contracts would have an impact on the current providers. The ODPM had made it clear that as long as providers met the standards they would be able to continue working for the Council. There was some question of vulnerable people falling through the net but members were reassured that services were now being provided to 1,668 people with a belief that the figure could be quadrupled.

ACTION TO BE TAKEN BY THE PORTFOLIO HOLDER FOR ADULT AND COMMUNITY SERVICES :

The Portfolio Holder investigate the possibility of sharing the Supporting People administrative deficit, estimated to be £130,000 with the partners in the Primary Care Trust and Probation Service.

43. THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR COMPACT IN OPERATION – THE FIRST YEARS EXPERIENCE

The Chairman welcomed Sue Dovey and Marian Prowse of the Rural Community Council (RCC) to the meeting.

The original guidance had five documents and the voluntary sector were currently working on the funding and procurement codes which were important documents to the voluntary sector. They believed the Compact would be more effective if the Council allocated them a dedicated resource. Members asked what resources the Council had allocated during this financial year and were advised that the Social Services Directorate spent over £2 million per year with the voluntary sector this was mainly cash although there was some manpower allocated.

The Select Committee noted that the document should be reviewed after six months and were advised by the RCC that it had not taken place as it was the Council’s role to undertake the review. There was some discussion as to whether when the Compact was drawn up the review was sole responsibility of the Select Committee. It was believed that the review could fall within the remit of the Compact Development Group and members agreed that a report on the progress be put in the Select Committees workplan within the next three months.

ACTION TO BE TAKEN BY HEAD OF SELECT COMMITTEE SUPPORT AND THE STRATEGIC DIRECTOR OF ADULT AND COMMUNITY SERVICES

A review of the effectiveness and development of the Voluntary Sector Compact against the criteria set out in the agreement be incorporated within the Select Committees workplan within the next three months.

44. MEMBERS’ QUESTION TIME

Mr J Howe asked a question relating to patient travel and was advised that the Portfolio Holder for Transport would be contacted.

Mr R Mazillius asked if the responsibility for the pop festival now fell within the remit of the Adult and Community Services Select Committee and was advised that it still came under the Economic Development, Planning, Tourism and Leisure Services Select Committee.

CHAIRMAN