Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Brenda Fraser and Myrtle Agutter.

There were no declarations of pecuniary interest.

A panel member pointed out a number of  typographical errors from the 10^th November minute:

On page 2 row 12 it should read “higher Level” rather than lower level.

On page 4 point 3 it should read “if” rather than “of”

On page 8 row 3  it should read “Manager” rather than Manger

RESOLVED

The minutes were agreed by the Panel

Agreed by the Panel as a true record of the meeting

Caroline Holland gave an overview of the report stating that the paper to cabinet included information in relation to freedom passes, the cut in the public health grant as well as amendments to the February savings. The report was published before the final local government settlement; therefore some of the details are still to be confirmed.  There will be an approximate £10 million loss in the revenue support grant for the council by 2020.  Departments are trying to identify savings as far forward as possible to plan in the most appropriate way.

The Director of Community and Housing said we need to find £1.6 million of new substitute savings as some of the previous savings were not achievable. It is no longer possible to get below inflation costs from providers. The new replacement savings are in two main areas. We are bringing forward staff savings to 2017/18 and 2018/19 to 2016/17, thus making the total saving in one year 16/17 rather than phasing it over three years. This is challenging and increases delivery risks. The aim continues to be to protect frontline services. The second broad area of savings will be to de-commission services in meals on wheels, Imagine and South Thames Crossroads.

The Director said he had already reported to this panel that we are now moving into the phase where the low to medium impact savings had been realised and subsequent savings are likely to have a significant impact and be even more difficult to deliver. The Cabinet meeting in February will take into account all the comments from scrutiny as well as the results of the Adult Social Care consultation. The Director was also keen to hear the views from this meeting and all feedback would be brought together to develop the most appropriate solutions.

A panel member sought clarification that the most vulnerable people will still receive their care. The Director of Community and Housing said we have a statutory duty to meet needs. We will target scarce resources to meet the needs of the most vulnerable.  The Director also highlighted that every individual will be assessed on the basis of individual need, and officers have not been given prior targets to reduce support packages for individual customers. However, across all customers and through following a promoting independence approach,  it has been possible to reduce support overall.

A panel member asked if the department has considered sharing services with partners such as the NHS to make savings. The director reported that this is a future possibility but we will not be able to achieve this for 2016/17. In the future we will be exploring options for sharing commissioning and operational delivery.

The Chair allowed members of the public who had submitted a request in advance to address the panel.

George McAdam, Adults First

Mr McAdam said he was terrified at the cuts levied against the vulnerable and those with learning disabilities.  We should raise council tax by 2% and lessen the impact of £5 million  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The Panel noted the work programme.