Agenda item

To note the details of urgent action taken by the Leader of the Council.

Agreed:-

(1.1)  that the following details of the urgent action taken by the Leader of the Council be noted:-

(1)     to approve the submission to the Department of Health and Social Care documents relating to the outcome of the Cost of Care exercise for 18+ Domiciliary Care and 65+ Residential and Nursing sectors consisting of:

• Cost of Care Table,

• Spend Report,

• Cost of Care Report and

• Market Sustainability Plan (provisional and final)

(2) To authorise the Director of Adult Social Care authority to make necessary changes to the Cost of Care documents before final submission, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health, given the strict deadlines set by the Government.

(3) To approve publication on the Council’s website of the process undertaken by the Council in relation to the Cost of Care exercise and the resultant Market Sustainability Plan in line with the requirements laid down by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

(4) To note the potential impact and pressure on the Council’s budget should the Government not make sufficient additional funding available to the Council to meet the financial burdens associated with sustainable rates as a result of the Cost of Care exercise for the 18+ Domiciliary Care and 65+ Residential and Nursing care homes sectors.

(5) To endorse the position that the Council takes into account the outcome of the Cost of Care exercise and available Government funding together with sound judgement, evidence and a negotiation process when setting a Fair Cost of Care and assessing market sustainability and the delivery of legislative duties under Section 5 of the Care Act.

(6) To endorse the position that further progress towards reaching the median cost over three years will not begin until government funding is confirmed and will be phased in line with the additional government funding received.

(7) To approve the remaining 2022/23 allocation of the Cost of Care Grant be used to further uplift the Domiciliary Care, Extra Care, Promoting Independence and Rapid Response/ Wrap Around services hourly rate from £16.00 per hour to £16.92 per hour in recognition of significant market pressures being faced, and for this to be backdated to 1 September 2022 and to be in place until 31 March 2023.

(8) That the Director of Adult Social Care be delegated to determine how any surplus Cost of Care grant mentioned in 1.7 is spent in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health.

(9) Note the general inequity in treatment and likely risk of destabilisation within markets deemed out of scope by the Cost of Care exercise.

(10) To approve the completion of further market analysis for out of scope markets (Supported Living, Complex Residential and Nursing Care and Day Care, and) to mitigate risk noted in recommendation 1.9.

(11) To note the inequity in the hourly rate for Direct Payments falling a year behind the Council’s Domiciliary Care rate and to agree to a further paper being brought to Cabinet to address this.

Details of the urgent action taken by the Leader of the Council was noted.

Reasons for recommendations

Each local authority has been asked to complete a Cost of Care exercise for 65+ residential and nursing homes and for Domiciliary Care (otherwise known as Home Care) for people 18+ by 14 October 2022 to better understand the sustainability of fee rates. In addition, the Government requires Councils to complete a provisional Market Sustainability Plan (MSP) to establish how they will close the gap, if one exists, between current fee rates and the findings of the Cost of Care exercise.

Alternative options considered

The Council does not have to submit the outcome of the provisional Market Sustainability Plan or Cost of Care exercise to the DHSC, however to not do so would mean that it will have to pay back the grant of £1.25 million that it has received, of which £456,315 has already been spent.

Agreed that the following details of the urgent action taken by the Leader of the Council be noted:-

(1)          to approve the submission to the Department of Health and Social Care documents relating to the outcome of the Cost of Care exercise for 18+ Domiciliary Care and 65+ Residential and Nursing sectors consisting of:

• Cost of Care Table,

• Spend Report,

• Cost of Care Report and

• Market Sustainability Plan (provisional and final);

(2)          to authorise the Director of Adult Social Care authority to make necessary changes to the Cost of Care documents before final submission, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health, given the strict deadlines set by the Government.

(3)          to approve publication on the Council’s website of the process undertaken by the Council in relation to the Cost of Care exercise and the resultant Market Sustainability Plan in line with the requirements laid down by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC);

(4)  to note the potential impact and pressure on the Council’s budget should the Government not make sufficient additional funding available to the Council to meet the financial burdens associated with sustainable rates as a result of the Cost of Care exercise for the 18+ Domiciliary Care and 65+ Residential and Nursing care homes sectors;

(5)  to endorse the position that the Council takes into account the outcome of the Cost of Care exercise and available Government funding together with sound judgement, evidence and a negotiation process when setting a Fair Cost of Care and assessing market sustainability and the delivery of legislative duties under Section 5 of the Care Act;

(6)  to endorse the position that further progress towards reaching the median cost over three years will not begin until government funding is confirmed and will be phased in line with the additional government funding received;

(7)  to approve the remaining 2022/23 allocation of the Cost of Care Grant be used to further uplift the Domiciliary Care, Extra Care, Promoting Independence and Rapid Response/ Wrap Around services hourly rate from £16.00 per hour to £16.92 per hour in recognition of significant market pressures being faced, and for this to be backdated to 1 September 2022 and to be in place until 31 March 2023;

(8)  that the Director of Adult Social Care be delegated to determine how any surplus Cost of Care grant mentioned in 1.7 is spent in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health;

(9)  note the general inequity in treatment and likely risk of destabilisation within markets deemed out of scope by the Cost of Care exercise;

(10)   to approve the completion of further market analysis for out of scope markets (Supported Living, Complex Residential and Nursing Care and Day Care, and) to mitigate risk noted in (9) above;

(11)   to note the inequity in the hourly rate for Direct Payments falling a year behind the Council’s Domiciliary Care rate and to agree to a further paper being brought to Cabinet to address this.