Agenda and minutes

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

            The Convener declared a personal interest in the following item.  The Vice-Convener also declared an interest by virtue of the Vice-Convener’s appointment as a representative to the Board of Aberdeen and North East Deaf Society.  Neither Councillor felt it necessary to leave the room during consideration of the matter before them.

1.      The Convener sought the Committee’s approval to withdraw item 7.1 (Single Sensory Service) from the agenda to allow an amended report to include additional information to be submitted to Council for consideration at its meeting on 19^th May, 2010.  The aforesaid updated report would, if agreed by Council, be considered with the press and public excluded from the meeting.

The Committee resolved:-

to agree to the withdrawal of the item and to the submission of an amended report on the Single Sensory Service to Council for consideration at its meeting on 19^th May, 2010.

Prior to considering the matters before the Committee, the Convener proposed that in terms of Section 50(A)(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, the items identified at Article 22 and 23 of this minute be considered with the press and public excluded from the meeting as to avoid disclosure of exempt information of the class described in paragraphs 3 and 1 of Schedule 7(A) of the Act respectively.

The Committee resolved:-

to consider the abovementioned items in private session.

The Convener sought the agreement of the Committee to consider the report on the Peer to Peer project (article 9 of this minute refers) at an earlier stage of the agenda, as the Depute Governor of HMP Aberdeen was in attendance for this item.

The Committee resolved:-

to agree to the Convener’s request.

(A)       Community Service Awards

The Committee heard the Director of Social Care and Wellbeing make reference to the National Community Service Awards and advised that the Community Service Team, Criminal Justice Social Work had been nominated for two awards in the Community and Environment categories, specifically for the Powis Gateway Community Centre and the Torry Tidy Project.

The Committee resolved:-

to convey thanks to the staff in the Community Service Team, Criminal Justice and to wish them well with their nominations.

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

            Councillor Kevin Stewart declared an interest in the following item by virtue of his membership of St. Machar Credit Union.  He did not feel it necessary to leave the room during consideration thereof.

The Committee received a presentation from Dorothy Ross-Archer, Keep Well Programme Manager, NHS Grampian in relation to the Keep Well Initiative.

Dorothy Ross-Archer (a)  advised that the Keep Well Programme was established to increase the rate of health improvement in deprived communities in Aberdeen city; (b)  indicated that the programme was a targeted health check which focused on cardiovascular disease and its main factors, intermediate clinic risk factors (for example, blood pressure and cholesterol levels), lifestyle risk factors (for example, smoking, diet, physical activity and alcohol) and life circumstances (for example, levels of income, employment and literacy); (c)  explained that the programme targeted 45-64 year olds, the most deprived 15% of the population and those at greatest risk of preventable serious ill-health; (d)  reported that the programme intends to enhance primary care services to deliver anticipatory care, identify and target those at risk of preventable serious ill-health, offer appropriate, core, evidenced-based interventions and services delivered through a mix of providers, focusing on cardiovascular disease, incorporating appropriate means of engagement with different client groups, setting clear targets for reaching outcomes and outputs and providing individual monitoring and follow-up; (e)  stated that over 850 health checks lasting 30-40 minutes had been completed in ten participating GP practices; (f)  made reference to complementary delivery models, such as the Healthy Hoose, Out-of-Hours G-Med Nurse services and the Community Pharmacy which will be in operation in Spring, 2010; (g)  outlined the menu of interventions which offered referral and signposting including Cash In Your Pocket Partnership, Healthwise Aberdeen (health literacy) and the Grampian Credit Union;
(h)  intimated that the programme would strengthen partnership working, achieve targets, share learning and best practice, improve health and wellbeing, maximise the use of skills, experiences and resources and increase patient and community engagement; and (i)  outlined the positive feedback received from patients.

Mrs Ross-Archer responded to questions from the Committee.

The Committee resolved:-

to thank Dorothy Ross-Archer for her presentation.

The Committee had before it the minute of its previous meeting of
25^th February, 2010.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the minute.

The Committee had before it the minute of meeting of the Adult Services Sub-Committee of 25^th March, 2010.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to note that in relation to Article 3, resolution (ii), relating to substance misuse referral procedures, that the word “self” should be deleted; 

(ii)        to approve the recommendations contained in the minute namely (1) that a national review of mental health services be undertaken and that this be referred to COSLA for consideration;  (2) that a review of the membership of the Aberdeen Alcohol and Drugs Partnership Committee (AADP) be undertaken;  and (3) that the AADP be asked to review the Substance Misuse Referral procedure, which was deemed to be cumbersome and inadequate;  and

(iii)       to otherwise note the minute.

The Committee had before it, by way of remit from the Housing and Environment  Committee of 13^th April, 2010, a report by the Director of Housing and Environment which had sought approval of the Grampian Joint Health Protection Plan for the period 1^st April, 2010 to 31^st March, 2012. 

The report (a)  advised that the Council had worked closely with partners in NHS Grampian, Aberdeenshire and Moray Councils and other agencies to deliver services to protect the health of the Grampian population; (b)  indicated that the Joint Health Protection Plan provided an overview of health protection priorities, provision and preparation for NHS Grampian, this Council, Aberdeenshire and Moray Councils as requested by the Public Health Etc (Scotland) Act, 2008;
(c)  explained that the Plan supported the delivery of the Grampian Health Plan 2010-2013 and the Community Plans for the three Councils; (d)  outlined the national and local priorities for health protection and the actions covering the next two years; and (e)  had appended the Grampian Joint Health Protection Plan which provided additional detail in relation to planning, infrastructure, resources and operational arrangements, capacity and resilience and public involvement associated with the Plan.

The Housing and Environment Committee had resolved:-

(i)                  to approve the Joint Health Protection Plan;

(ii)                to instruct the Director of Housing and Environment to continue to implement the health protection priorities outlined in the plan; and

(iii)              that the report be referred for information to the Social Care and Wellbeing Committee.

The Committee resolved:-

to note the report.

            DECLARATION OF INTEREST

            Councillor Donnelly declared a personal interest in the following item by virtue of his membership of the Peterhead Prison Visiting Committee, but did not consider it necessary to withdraw from the meeting.

With reference to Article 9 of the minute of its meeting of 29^th October, 2010, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Social Care and Wellbeing which provided information in relation to a project that would help people coming out of prison with challenging lifestyles to aid their community integration by identifying a wide range of support in communities linked to making life changes for themselves.

The report (a)  advised that the project would help men and women who were subject to short-term imprisonment or early release to become healthier, financially stable and job ready through mentoring, advocacy, skills development, supportive through care and peer support; (b)  revealed that funding from the mainstream budget of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) accounted for the majority of the overall project spend in Year 1, and totalled £160,000 comprising some £140,000 for staff costs of the new team, and a one-off allocation of £20,000 as a contribution to the cost of the project; (c)  indicated that support in-kind from other partner organisations had been made and would be enhanced by the work undertaken by the Bridges Project; (d)  explained that the total cost of the implementation of the project in Year 1 would involve a revenue contribution of £20,000 from the City Council, and would be regulated by a new Service Level Agreement by the Council and the SPS; (e)  stated that officers in discussion with the SPS and other partners had investigated the creation of a small-scale multi-agency support team project to be managed and financed by the SPS which would work flexibly across a seven day week and be linked to the creation of a women’s community unit at Craiginches Prison; (f)  indicated that, if approved, the intended start date of the team would be 1^st May, 2010 which would work from prison, community facilities and learning bases to support, advise and mentor offenders and ex-offenders but also be assisted by a wider team involving partner agencies; (g)  outlined the key tasks to be undertaken and explained that a small number of participants would be nominated by the prison, and through project review, deliver on a series of outcomes to benefit the individuals involved; (h)  explained that it was proposed that the project team would be overseen by a multi-agency Project Steering Group from participating organisations that had agreed to take the initiative forward; and
(i)  outlined the proposed membership of the Steering Group, which included Aberdeen City Council, as well as its terms of reference and the intended outcomes from the Peer to Peer Project.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       endorse the formation of the Aberdeen Peer to Peer Project, and the proposed membership and terms of reference of the multi-agency Project Steering Group;  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

With reference to Article 5 of the minute of the previous meeting of
25^th February, 2010, the Committee had before it a joint report by the Director of Social Care and Wellbeing and the City Chamberlain, which provided information and progress on three projects, namely, Rosewell House, the Integrated Drugs Service at the Timmer Market site and the new Children’s Residential Unit.

The report (a)  explained that the projects were included within the Non-Housing Capital Programme, previously approved by Council and aligned to Social Care and Wellbeing Services; (b)  indicated that monies required to fund the capital programme were achieved through external borrowing, capital receipts and grant income; (c)  advised that the General Fund had adequate resources available to finance the capital spend in 2009/10; (d)  explained that the overall cost of capital was calculated on a Council-wide basis and the impact on the Council would be included within the summary report to the Finance and Resources Committee;
(e)  stated that it was important that approved projects were managed and monitored in a robust way to ensure there was accuracy in relation to expenditure projections, thereby enabling the Council to calculate and evaluate the overall need for and cost of borrowing; (f)  advised that the spend to the end of February, 2010 only reflected the payments made and processed, however, it included commitments that had been made which would be due to be paid by the end of the year; and (g)  outlined in the appendix, previous spend, expenditure as at 28^th February, 2010 and the forecast out-turn for the three projects.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee note the content of the report in relation to the projects outlined in the appendix.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

With reference to Article 6 of the minute of the previous meeting of
25^th February, 2010, the Committee had before it a joint report by the Director of Social Care and Wellbeing and the City Chamberlain, which provided information on the current year’s revenue budget performance for Social Care and Wellbeing Services and outlined areas of risk and management action.

The report (a) advised that the total Social Care and Wellbeing budget amounted to approximately £112m net expenditure; (b)  indicated that based upon present forecasts, it was anticipated that the financial performance of the service would result in an adverse movement on the Council finances overall of £1.6m;
(c)  explained that this position would be reflected in the overall financial monitoring for the Council when it is reported to Finance and Resources Committee at the end of this committee cycle; (d)  advised that there had been favourable movement in the overall position as a result of the management actions taken with the current projections now indicating a potential overspend of 1.4%; (e)  indicated that there continues to be significant pressure on the Adults Community Care Budgets, with care commitments currently £3.5m above budget; (f)  stated that this position reflected additional pressures on needs led services, however, there had been a reduction of £0.3m since the last report; (g)  explained that there were also significant pressures on the Children’s Residential School and external fostering budgets with significant increases in referrals to Children’s Services over the last twelve months, together with large increases in the number of children on the Child Protection Register; (h)  advised that commitments for external residential and fostering services were currently £2.5m above budget; (i)  indicated that since February, 2010, the overall projection at this time had increased by £300,000, due to staffing and other running costs increasing by £650,000, commissioning services reducing by £725,000 and income reducing by £375,000; and (j)  had attached as appendices, the overall budget for the service and detailed analysis in respect of services managed by the Service Director and the Heads of Service.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       note the report on the forecast out-turn and the information on areas of risk and management action that is contained therein; 

(b)       instruct officers to continue to review budget performance and report on service strategies;  and

(c)        instruct officers to report in due course, on the actual out-turn compared to budget following completion of the 2009/10 financial statements.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

With reference to Article 6 of the minute of the previous meeting of
14^th January, 2010, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Social Care and Wellbeing on the development of a suite of performance indicators for Social Care and Wellbeing, as specified in the directions from Audit Scotland and the progress in developing a wider Performance Management Framework for the Social Care and Wellbeing Service, including the development of a wider suite of local performance indicators.

The report (a)  advised that Audit Scotland has made a substantial change to the Statutory Performance Indicators (SPI’s) which local authorites must report for the 2009/10 and 2010/11 year; (b)  indicated that the number of defined SPIs across the Council has reduced to 25 (from 58 in 2008/09); (c)  explained that the Audit Scotland Direction for 2009/10 required that local authorities publish a range of performance information sufficient to demonstrate that it was securing best value across a defined range of services and criteria; (d)  had attached the list of SPIs relevant to Social Care and Wellbeing and performance report which demonstrated how service capacity, resources and people were managed to deliver service priorities; and (e)  stated that work was ongoing within the service to establish further performance indicators particularly where they could be related to outcomes and to targets.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       approve the draft Statutory Performance Indicators listed at Appendix 1 of      the report;

(b)       note the performance data reported at Appendix 2; and

(c)        note that a further report would come to the next Social Care and Wellbeing Committee which would contain the new Performance Management Framework and the full suite of local performance indicators for the service for 2010/11 and beyond.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the recommendations; and

(ii)        that Performance Indicators contained within the balance scorecard report be grouped in terms of service delivery.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Social Care and Wellbeing which outlined the finalised proposals for the management structure and functions of the Social Care and Wellbeing service.

The report (a) advised that the cost of the proposed management structure would be met from existing resources within the 2010/11 budget, taking account of savings agreed by the full Council on 10^th February, 2010; (b) outlined the previous structure and explained that it was fit for purpose for the period of time which it served;
(c) explained that a strategic commissioning framework and a community engagement strategy had been created and approved by the Committee which has dynamic strategies which would be able to adapt and change with changing need; (d) indicated that whilst the Contracts and Commissioning team would be responsible for the process of contracts and commissioning, the decisions about what actually requires to be commissioned lies with operational managers and practitioners; (e) stated that it was proposed to split the Adult Services including Criminal Justice and Older People into two Heads of Service, one for Adult Services comprising services for substance misuse, mental health, learning disability and criminal justice and another Head of Service with responsibility for older people, and rehabilitation services including long term conditions; (f) advised that there had been significant discussions with health colleagues in relation to the proposed structure and they were satisfied that the division of Social Work services into specific care groups would facilitate positive joint working with Health and clearer points of contact; (g) outlined the Children’s Services structure which has followed a themed approach including, Children in Need, Reception and Protection Services, Young People’s Care and Accommodation, Alternative Family Care and Family and Community Support; (h) indicated that the Social Care and Wellbeing Service was a large and complex service comprising 1,700 staff; (i) made reference to a number of posts and teams which were to be merged, converted or deleted; (j) explained that the Operational Support Manager would continue to report to the Director under the new proposals and take responsibility for ensuring the smooth running of business support to the whole service including staffing, accommodation and property management and providing the interface with Human Resources, Finance and Corporate Communications; and (k) attached the proposed management structure chart for the Social Care and Wellbeing Service.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       agree the management structure and functions of the Social Care and Wellbeing service; and

(b)        agree to provide delegated authority to the Director of Social Care and Wellbeing to implement further restructuring below the management structure and in accordance with Council policies and procedures for Trade Union consultation and managing organisational restructuring, thereby enabling delivery of the agreed 2010/11 budget savings.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations subject to amending recommendation (b) above to include that consultation be undertaken with the Convener of the Committee, in respect of further restructuring.

The Committee had before it a joint report by the Directors of Social Care and Wellbeing and Education, Culture and Sport which sought the Committee’s approval of the proposed future planning and governance arrangements to strengthen the delivery of integrated children’s services in the City.

The report (a)  advised that the 2009, the Children and Young Peoples Strategic Planning Group (CYPSPG) had reviewed of the governance and planning to support the delivery of integrated children’s services in the City; (b)  indicated that the review considered the governance and resource management arrangements in place locally to deliver the Integrated Children’s Services Plan “For Aberdeen’s Children”; (c)  explained that one-to-one interviews were held with 20 members of the CYPSPG and the Children and Young People’s Services Management Group (CYPSMG), including elected members, the Education, Culture and Sport and Social Care and Wellbeing Directorates, NHS Grampian, Grampian Police, and Aberdeen Council of Voluntary Organisation who represented the third sector;
(d)  stated that as a result of this, the following recommendations had been put forward:-

·                    Improving outcomes for children and families;

·                    Overseeing the effective use of resources;

·                    Roles and accountabilities of partners in delivering improvements set out in the Integrated Children’s Services Plan;

·                    Effective consultation, engagement and involvement of key stakeholders;

·                    Supporting local capacity building and capability development;

·                    The governance and principles of the partnership; and

·                    Managing risks and exercising controls

(e)  made reference to the large memberships of the CYPSPG and the CYPSMG which were not conducive to effective task-orientated strategic planning;
(f)  advised that following a meeting of representatives from key agencies, it had been agreed that governance and membership of the strategic planning structure should be designed around key outcomes, and that membership of the management group should be at a more senior level within the strategic planning group; (g)  indicated that there was also unanimous agreement that the proposed strategic planning structure would be fit to take forward key messages emanating the Getting It Right For Every Child pathfinder model being developed in Highland Council; (h)  outlined the key messages which were agreed to be important in driving forward these changes; (i)  stated that a series of seminars led by the proposed Integrated Children’s Services Partnership and Management Group had been arranged to deliver key messages to staff, with further events being organised for teams within localities and associated school groups to ensure the change in practice was embedded at all levels; and (j)  had attached as appendices, the structure diagrams showing the current and proposed governance structures for Integrated Children’s Services as well as the proposed membership for the governance structure and a diagram detailing the Committee reporting arrangements for the Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       agree that the integrated children’s services strategic planning structure should be designed around key outcomes;

(b)       agree that the number of planning and working groups within the structure and the membership thereof, should be significantly slimmed down in order to assist an  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Social Care and Wellbeing which outlined the proposed increases and changes to fees and allowances to foster carers, kinship carers, adopters and carers who provide supported lodgings, curator-ad-litem’s/reporting officers and panel chairs.

The report (a) advised that in line with the decision taken during 2005/06, Aberdeen City Council paid the fostering allowance rates recommended by the Fostering Network and it was therefore proposed that the Committee adopt the revised rates with effect from 1^st April, 2010; (b)  indicated that the rates for the coming year remain unchanged from those paid in 2009/10; (c)  explained that the payment for skills scheme had been in operation since 2003/04 and pays a fee to foster carers in recognition of the service they provide; (d)  proposed that in line with the 0% increase to the allowances as determined by the Fostering Network, that there be no change to the existing level of fee paid to foster carers;
(e)  recommended that adoption allowances remain unchanged in accordance with the foster allowances; (f)  advised that as is common to most local authorities, the chair of Aberdeen City Council’s Adoption & Permanency Panel and the Fostering Panel were independent of the Local Authority; (g)  indicated that it was proposed to increase the allowance of £76.25 per panel by 1.5% to £77.40, which represents an annual cost of £3,715.20 based on 48 panels per year; (h)  explained that the rates payable to Kinship Carers, those carers who were related to the child or who have a pre-existing relationship and who the social work service has been actively involved in placing the child, would remain unchanged for the coming year;
(i)  advised that work was undertaken with Aberdeenshire Council to ensure a consistency of fee for curator ad-litem and reporting officers as both authorities tend to access the same curator’s and reporting officers, (j)  indicated that it was proposed to increase the current fee of curator ad-litem and reporting officer by 1.5%, an increase which would be met from existing budgets; (k)  stated that the Council operates a supported lodgings scheme that was accessible to vulnerable young adults aged 16 to 25 who have previously been looked after and who would benefit from living with a family or single person; (l)  proposed that the fee of £205 paid to the person providing the lodgings (the carer) per week remains unchanged in order to attract and retain carers; and (m)  had attached as an appendix the Adoption Allowance Policy.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       approve with effect from 1st April, 2010, there be no change to the level of the Fostering Allowance, Payment for Skills fees, Adoption Allowance, Kinship Carer Allowance and Supported Lodgings Allowance; and

(b)       approve with effect from 1st April, 2010 an increase of 1.5% to the fees for Chair of the Adoption/Permanency and Fostering Panels and the reporting officer/curator-ad-litem fees.

The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Social Care and Wellbeing which outlined the positive feedback received from the Care Commission following their recent annual inspection of the Fostering and Adoption Service.

The report (a)  advised that the Fostering and Adoption Service was subject to an annual inspection from the Care Commission which measured the performance of the service against the National Care Standards introduced in 2006; (b)  indicated that the inspection was carried out over a two week period in November, 2009 and focused on four areas chosen by the Care Commission which differ each year;
(c)  outlined the significant challenges which the Children’s Services has had to contend with over the past year; (d)  explained that in spite of these challenges, self-assessment suggested that meaningful progress in developing and improving the quality of the service had been made with a number of performance areas assessed having moved from Level 4 (Good) to Level 5 (Very Good) (Care services are graded on a scale of 1 – 6); (e)  made reference to verbal feedback received from inspectors which acknowledged the significant progress made by the service over the past year, in particular they were very positive about the way service users and carers had been involved in development of the service and the changes which have stemmed from this engagement; (f)  revealed that the inspection reports, which have now been received, had ratified the service’s own assessment and scored the service as being very good in five of the inspection areas and good in three areas; (g)  advised that two recommendations were made by the Care Commission in terms of the Fostering Service and work was already underway to progress these; (h)  indicated that the progress and positive inspection was testimony to the hard work of the staff in the Fostering and Adoption Service as well as that of adopters and foster carers; and (i)  appended details of the inspection report grades.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to note the outcome of the recent Care Commission inspection which graded the Fostering and Adoption Service as being very good in five of the focus areas and good in the remaining three focus areas; and

(ii)        to convey its thanks to Graeme Simpson, Service Manager, and other staff within the Fostering and Adoption Service, as well as carers.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Corporate Governance which sought the Committee’s approval to appoint to the Aberdeen City Council’s Legal Representative Panel an additional legal representative under Category 1 (Safeguarders) in terms of the Children’s Hearings (Legal Representation) (Scotland) Amended Rules 2009.

The report (a)  made reference to the Children’s Hearings (Legal Representation) (Scotland) Rules 2002, which explained that persons would be appointed to act as a legal representative where the Children’s Hearing or business meeting consider that one or more of the Court of Session’s stated criterion apply and also to ensure that children’s rights may be vindicated and in the interests of justice; (b)  explained that the rules were extended to support the effective participation of relevant persons where it is considered they would otherwise be unable to effectively participate in a Children’s Hearing; (c)  advised that this had resulted in a significant increase in the number of cases where legal representatives have been appointed; (d)  outlined the procedure for making an appointment of a legal representative to a Children’s Hearing and the process of reclaiming the costs and fees from the Scottish Government for undertaking the work; (e)  described the two recruitment eligibility categories for persons to act as a legal representative which included the category that solicitors holding practising certificates must be appointed to a local authority panel of Safeguarders; (f)  made reference to the appointment of Safeguarders; and (g)  revealed that in terms of the regulations, the Council was required to consult with the Chairperson of the Children’s Panel and the Sheriff Principal on appointments to the Panel, with both indicating that they were content with the appointment of Mrs. Hayley Mullen as a Legal Representative under Category 1 (Safeguarder).

The report recommended:-

that the Committee approve the appointment of Mrs. Hayley Mullen as an additional Legal Representative to the Legal Representative Category 1 (Safeguarder) Panel until 30^th October, 2011.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Committee had before it a business case by the Director of Social Care and Wellbeing which sought approval to establish a fixed term post of Criminal Justice Support Worker – Women’s Service.

The report (a)  made reference to the allocation of Scottish Government funding of £45,000 to Aberdeen City Council’s Criminal Justice Social Work Service to enhance services for women offenders; (b)  proposed that the post be created with the potential to fill it on a seconded basis, for a fixed term period of 51 weeks with the remit being comprehensive, from early intervention to high end need; (c)  explained that the Scottish Government had made £100,000 available to each Community Justice Authority (CJA) to enhance services for women who offend following which, the Northern CJA chose to allocate £45,000 to the Council in recognition of the disproportionately high number of women from Aberdeen city who were incarcerated in HMP Cornton Vale, both sentenced and on remand;
(d)  indicated that the impact on the current year’s revenue/capital budget would be £32,268, including on-costs; and (e)  explained that the funding would be made through the Section 27 grant arrangements.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee approve the creation of a Criminal Justice Support Worker post.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Committee had before it a business case by the Director of Social Care and Wellbeing which provided details of the successful outcome of a bid from Aberdeen City Criminal Justice Social Work Services to deliver the Caledonian System on behalf of the Northern Community Justice Authority (NCJA), and sought authorisation to recruit to the posts required.

The report (a)  advised that the Caledonian System was developed in response to the national strategy to address domestic abuse in Scotland, which recognised the prevalence of domestic abuse and the harm caused to women and children; (b)  indicated that the system offered a unified response to domestic abuse through specific programmatic work with male perpetrators sitting alongside specialised services for women and children who have been harmed by domestic abuse; (c)  stated that the goal was to reduce the prevalence of domestic abuse and its impact on children, families and communities in Scotland; (d)  explained that the Caledonian System which had already been piloted in three areas was launched on 18^th November, 2009 by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice with the NCJA being one of only three successful applicants; (e)  revealed that Aberdeen city would deliver the system in partnership with Aberdeenshire Council, building on the experience of partnership working developed through the delivery of the Community Sex Offender Groupwork Programme; (f)  advised that should the outcomes from the system prove positive, it is envisaged that it would be extended to Highland in the first instance with staff from both Aberdeenshire and Highland being invited to participate in the planning and steering groups, thereafter the system will be opened up to the remaining local authorities within the NCJA; (g)  explained that initial funding had been made available as part of the Criminal Justice Social Work Services monthly grant allocations to the NCJA with £140,098 being approved for the men’s programme and £156,572 for the women and children’s service for 2010/11 (total £296,670); (h)  indicated that payment to Aberdeen City Council would be made via Section 27 grant funding arrangements; (i)  stated that of the 8.5 full-time employee (FTE) proposed posts up to six main grade Social Workers would be seconded on a one day a week basis, with funding used to provide backfill; (j)  proposed that the post of Interim System and Service Delivery Manager be established for the period of three months to assist in developing the infrastructure for the delivery of the system;  and (k) advised that the impact on the current year’s revenue budget was £248,091 including on-costs, as follows:-

·        System and Service Delivery Manager - £55,219;

·        System Administrator - £16,962;

·        2.5 FTE Men’s Group Workers - £79,107;

·        3 Women’s Service Workers - £72,602; and

·        1 Children’s Service Worker - £24,201

The report recommended:-

that the Committee approve the creation of 8.5 FTE posts outlined at (k) above.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Committee had before it a statement of committee business prepared by the Head of Legal and Democratic Services, which also contained the business statements for the Children’s Services and Adult Services Sub-Committees for information.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to remove item 4 (Equally Well and Keep Well) from the statement;  and

(ii)        to otherwise note the dates on which a number of reports were expected.

The Committee had before it for consideration, a motions list prepared by the Head of Legal and Democratic Services.

The Committee resolved:-

to note the motions list.

In accordance with the decisions recorded under article 2 of the minute, the following items were considered with the press and public excluded.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Social Care and Wellbeing which outlined the progress of resettlement of Aberdeen City Council clients from NHS Grampian’s Elmwood assessment and treatment facility for people with learning disabilities and mental health support needs.

The report (a)  advised that a budget of £750,000 had been identified for the resettlement of 10 long term patients at Elmwood which had now increased to £1,000,000 on an annually recurring basis; (b)  explained that the facility located close to the Cornhill Hospital site opened seven years ago with a view to the unit offering short term intervention, although some people transferred from the long stay Ladysbridge Hospital; (c)  stated that in subsequent years, Aberdeen City Council had seen some of these original Ladysbridge patients joined by other patients from the community; (d)  advised that the Elmwood project began in September 2007 when there were 10 patients for whom Aberdeen City Council had responsibility and who had been ready for discharge for some time with no appropriate facility identified; (e)  indicated that the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland wrote to the Chief Executive in 2008 informing him that they were considering “escalation measures” toward Aberdeen City Council in relation to the lack of progress in identifying appropriate options in a community setting for the individuals concerned; (f)  indicated that this lack of resolution was in part due to the assessments of the individuals being hospital focused rather than community focused, which resulted in a view that there was a need to find hospital type facilities in the community; (g)  explained that a screening assessment tool known as HALO was used to establish an indicative cost of the support packages required from these earlier assessments, which indicated that a community service would cost an average of £200,000 per individual per year; (h)  revealed that it was necessary to reassess these individuals, therefore a jointly funded project between the City Council and NHS Grampian saw Essential Lifestyle Plans completed for all ten of the original Elmwood patients; (i)  explained that a contributing factor to why these people had not moved earlier was that existing services would not have been appropriate for them and there would have been a high risk of the service ultimately breaking down; (j)  advised that more personalised support plans were developed that saw estimated annual support costs reduce to £750,000 from £2M which was originally estimated; and (k)  made reference to the remaining clients within the unit and the work to be undertaken to plan for their discharge, specifically highlighting the delay in receiving risks assessments which were to be undertaken by a qualified psychologist.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee note the development of this project.

The Committee received a verbal update and some further clarification on the report from the Director.

The Committee resolved:-

(  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

The Committee had before it a business case by the Director of Social Care and Wellbeing which (a) informed the Committee of developments in relation in relation to the M-Soft IT system known locally as Grampian Equipment and Adaptation Service (GREAS), which had been implemented in Equipment Services throughout Grampian; and (b) sought approval for the conversion of a fixed term post which was set up to implement and support the system to permanent status.

The report advised that the full year impact on the revenue/capital budget was £32,292 (minimum) and £36,878 (maximum), including on-costs.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee approve the conversion of the GREAS Administrator’s post from fixed term to permanent status.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

- COUNCILLOR JAMES KIDDIE, Convener.