Issue - meetings

To submit the report of the Statutory Director of Social Services.

The content of the report presented by the authority's Statutory Director for Social Services was noted.

The report was submitted, noting that it had been some year for Social Services in Gwynedd, with the workforce facing challenges. It was highlighted that two years had passed since Foden's arrest, and that the work had been heavy on everyone, including Councillors.

It was explained that this report was statutory in order to report on the work being done and all staff were thanked for their work. It was emphasised that the work of the Child Practice Review had been very challenging over the last year, with both departments completely shook. Despite the awful things, it must be emphasised that good work is being done and take pride in the workforce who work so hard. It was expressed that the celebration is mitigated by the impact of what has happened and this needed to be acknowledged.

Six original principles were highlighted which safeguards the Council, i.e., empower, prevent, safeguarding, balance, protect, work in partnership and accountability.

It was emphasised that there was no "us" and "them" when talking about social care as anyone could need the service. It was explained that a huge increase had been seen in the demand and this was highlighted in the data and the most prominent was the number of referrals to the children's department. When looking at safeguarding, it was noted that the magnitude of the work was almost 8,000 referrals, which highlighted the additional pressures on staff to respond to the need required. It was emphasised that only one miscreant was needed to make a mess of the whole system.

Attention was drawn to the progress made in direct payments, noting that it was hoped that further progress would be seen over the coming years. Through this progress, it was noted that more people would be living in their community, but the flip side of that, people were constantly waiting for domiciliary care.

The incredible plans that had been achieved over the years were highlighted, which had endless new projects. It was noted that the Council had received a Gwynedd Age Friendly Accreditation and that they had received money to continue with the work. It was expressed that a New Care Academy had been launched, with success seen with recruitment and some tens of people taking advantage of the training. It was explained that the Llechen Lân research was looking at Gwynedd's demography, looking at how this could respond to future challenges. It was emphasised that a work programme would be discussed soon. It was noted that the number of people with disabilities in work had doubled, which enabled people to earn a wage and dignity, and hopefully this would double again. It was explained that progress had been made in the use of technology (Technology Enabled Care/TEC). As a result, it was noted that there were many things to be proud of.

It was expressed that problems continued with the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), as waiting lists were lengthy. Nevertheless, following the recommendation of the Care Scrutiny Committee, it was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8