Agenda item - Formal Public Involvement

This is the part of the meeting when members of the public can formally ask questions of the Board or present a petition.  These need to be notified to the Board in advance of the meeting.  Ring the Secretary to the Board, Mark Wall on 01273 291006 or send an email to mark.wall@brighton-hove.gov.uk

71.1.        The Chair noted that a total of 5 public questions had been submitted and that 3 of these related to Item 76, Sustainability and Transformation Plan.   In view of this he proposed to take the questions when the item was reached so that they could be considered as part of the wider discussion on the issue.

71.2.        The Chair then invited Mr. Kapp to come forward and to put his question to the Board.

71.3.        Mr. Kapp thanked the Chair and asked the following, “Will Rough Sleepers be treated under the Better Care Fund Plan (item 75) and the Wellbeing Service Contract 2017/22 (agenda item 74)?”

71.4.        The Chair replied, “Yes they are included under the model described on 115-116 of the papers (11-12 of the Better Care Plan).  With regard to the Wellness Strategy, yes, we do we want rough sleepers to be able to access the support that is available both in the IAPT and the community wellbeing service and we think it is important that people with complex needs, including people who are homeless are supported to access these services and that the services are able to respond to their needs.  This could include for example the provision of support to help people prepare for a course of treatment or offering flexible appointments in a range of locations.”

71.5.        Mr. Kapp asked the following supplementary question, “Will persons receiving Personal Independence Payments (PIPs) be required to attend treatment under the Better Care Fund Plan (item 75) or the Wellbeing Service Contract (agenda item 74)?”

71.6.        The Chair replied, “PIP funding is from the Department of Work and Pensions. It is a non means tested disability payment for either   supporting activities of daily living   (commonly called the care component) and / or mobility. It is paid via an independent assessment of needs that is not done by local social care or health services. While using such local services may be supportive of an application it is not a requirement nor essential.”

71.7.        The Chair thanked Mr. Kapp for attending the meeting and invited Ms. Ingrid Ashberry to come forward and to put her question to the Board.

71.8.        Ms. Ashberry thanked the Chair and asked the following, “Although the report recommends alternative providers for all services apart from Beaconsfield Villas it hints that this might not be possible either because of some service design to save money or some services becoming too expensive.  How much explorations of these possibilities have been done already and what reassurance can we have that the Council are committed to working with the new providers to ensure residents can stay in their homes in the long term?”

71.9.        The Chair replied, “We have carried out some soft market testing and further information regarding this is set out in the report in paragraph 6. There was good interest shown by providers, however until we tender for new service providers we do not know what the specific interest will be.  The Council are committed to working with service users, their families and new providers to ensure that changes to services are managed in a planned and sensitive way with least disruption to service users.

71.10.     We are expecting that most people will remain in their homes. However there may be some people whose needs could be met more effectively in alternative accommodation and until we carry out the procurement process we won’t know exactly what alternative accommodation or services might be available. Any changes to accommodation would only be made where people wanted to move, or where their existing accommodation did not meet their needs in the most effective way. It is important that people are given the opportunity to move to more independent living where this can meet their needs.”

71.11.     Ms. Ashberry asked the following supplementary question, “Will the Board continue to offer real choice to users for their lives?”

71.12.     The Chair stated that it was the council’s intention to involve all service users in the decisions that affected them and to consider their needs and engage with broader groups so that as much information as possible could be taken into account.

71.13.     The Chair noted that there were no further questions and thanked Ms. Ashberry for attending the meeting.