Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber - Civic Centre

Contact: Claire Heather, Senior Democratic Support Officer  023 8083 2412

Items
No. Item

54.

Apologies and Changes in Membership

To receive any apologies.

Minutes:

The Committee noted the resignation of Councillor Parnell and the appointment of Councillor Fitzhenry in place thereof in accordance with the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 4.3.

 

 

55.

Statement From The Chair

56.

LGSCO Complaint Outcome - Kentish Road pdf icon PDF 199 KB

Report of Service Lead: Legal Partnership (LGSCO Link Officer) and Service Director: Adults, Housing and Communities providing Governance Committee with an update on the outcome of 8 grouped complaints to the LGSCO relating to respite arrangements following the closure of Kentish Road, attached.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered the joint report of the Service Lead: Legal Partnership/Link Officer - Local Government Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) and Service Director: Adults, Housing and Communities detailing the outcome of 8 grouped complaints relating to 9 individuals affected by the transfer of service users from the full time respite provision offered at Kentish Road to revised respite services at other locations and/or the reduced hours of service provided at Kentish Road following a review of the closure decision taken by the Council.

 

The Committee noted that all the complaints had been upheld as maladministration (fault) resulting in injustice to the complainants. Although the fault in each case differed slightly, the nature and thematic approach taken by the LGSCO and the outcomes found merit in reporting to the Governance Committee as a stand-alone item rather than waiting for the annual complaints report later in the year. 

 

The report also provided the Committee with an update on the internal review undertaken by the Council, the “Lessons Learned” Report, commissioned from an external independent third party on the overall governance of the project from inception to decision making and outcomes which was received by the Council in May 2018 together with the progress on the delivery of the resultant action plan and the changes that had been introduced as a result of the learning from this report.

 

The Committee also noted that the Local Government Association were in attendance at the Council this week undertaking a Peer Review with particular focus on 3 areas which included the full service, a deep dive of the financial aspects of the service and the delayed transfers of care which was a “system wide” review.

 

Councillor Fielker, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care was in attendance at the meeting and with the consent of the Chair addressed the meeting along with Elected Members, Carers and Members of the Public.

 

RESOLVED

(i)  That the subject matter of the investigations, the faults identified by the LGSCO and the settlements offered by the Council and accepted by the LGSCO to remedy the complaints be noted;

(ii)  That the outcomes of the Peer Review currently taking place and the full NDTI Review be presented to both Governance and Overview and Scrutiny Committees in order that the necessary assurances can be obtained that the Service is fit for purpose moving forward.