Agenda item

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

To accept the report.

The Statutory Director of Social Services presented her annual report regarding the performance of the Social Services in Gwynedd during the previous year.

The Director noted that, due to the pandemic, 2020/21 had been a very different year to previous years, and a year that no-one would wish to see repeated ever again. She sympathised with everyone who had lost loved ones to the virus, and thanked every one of the county's care workers who had gone above and beyond to provide the best possible care for the residents.  She also noted that the joint-working across Gwynedd had been an inspiration for everyone, and that we had seen the best of the people of Gwynedd, be they staff, volunteers, champions in the communities or elected members.

She noted further that despite the challenges faced because of the pandemic, she was proud to note that the performance of social services for the past year had once again been positive.   However, as they had focused on coping with the Covid-19 crisis, some priorities had slipped somewhat, or had been put to one side for the time being.   Consequently, the report focused on how the department had responded to the pandemic and how they had continued to maintain and provide the essential services, and also developed and provided new services.

She explained that there was an army of hard-working staff and managers behind this performance, as well as carers who were family or friends, foster parents and volunteers.   The pandemic had demonstrated that having robust care services in the communities was vital, and it was greatly hoped that policies and arrangements etc. in the future would highlight that the care sector was just as important as the health services.

She emphasised that she and the heads of department would closely monitor the effect of last year on the staff in the long term and the short / medium term.  There was mental health support available for the staff. We must be alert to the needs of individual staff, and try and anticipate any future problems. The pandemic had also left its mark on the county's population in terms of employment, loneliness, depression etc., and the Supporting People Board was looking at well-being issues, and had learned from the experiences of Covid in order to ensure that we responded in the best possible way. 

She added that good performance was not possible without political and corporate support, and she thanked all the members for their work throughout the year in supporting, challenging and offering observations and new ideas.  She thanked the two Cabinet Members involved in the care field, Councillors Dafydd Meurig and Dilwyn Morgan, and thanked the Leader and the rest of the Cabinet, and the Chair and members of the Care Scrutiny Committee for their continued assistance and support.  She also took the opportunity to thank the Head of Adults, Health and Well-being Department and the Head of Children and Families Department, and the senior managers and managers.  She further thanked other departments in the Council for their willingness to step in and support the social care work over the past year.  She gave particular thanks to Dilwyn Williams for his leadership and support during his time as Chief Executive, and noted that she looked forward to working with Dafydd Gibbard, the newly-appointed Chief Executive.

To close, she noted that 2021 would also be a challenge, but by working together and sharing and offering ideas, she was confident that they could continue to offer the best service to the people of Gwynedd.

Members were given an opportunity to ask questions and offer observations.  During the discussion, the following matters were raised:-

·         It was noted that the Gwynedd Test, Trace and Protect department had done exceptionally good work.

·         It was noted that no matter how hard the Council worked, especially in the area of mental health, they would not be able to achieve their mission unless the Health Board had enough staff, and they emphasised the need to train doctors and nurses in Bangor, jointly between the Hospital and the University.

·         The two care Cabinet Members thanked the Director for her support and leadership, and they thanked all members of staff, especially the front-line staff, for all their work and their personal sacrifice at times, for the benefit of the vulnerable people of Gwynedd.

·         The staff were thanked for their willingness to assist the members to respond to enquiries by the public.

·         It was noted that the effects of the pandemic would last for years, and they called on fellow-members to assist with the burden in support of the officers and the people of Gwynedd.

·         In response to a question regarding the Department's capacity to face the problems we will face in the future in light of Covid and Brexit, it was explained that the matter of recruitment in the care field had been included on both Departments' risk register. There were no easy solutions to this, but we must make this matter a priority, in partnership with the Health Service.  We had to have the funding from the Government to ensure that we could pay fair salaries across the entire sector. It was unclear as yet what kind of service would be required in light of the experiences with Covid, but it was important that we were able to be responsive and answer some of the problems in the most constructive and proactive way possible. 

·         A member queried what kind of response there had been to the recent national and local campaigns to recruit workers in the care sector, and questioned what could the members do to promote this. In response, it was noted that the campaigns had improved the situation. They believed that more could be done, and there might be scope to have more of a local feeling to some of the posts too, so that it was possible to support anyone who was slightly anxious to apply for a post in a council or with a provider.  The members' role could be key in that respect. The social workers must be taken into account too, ensuring that enough of them were supported to complete a higher degree to enter the field.  The Care Scrutiny Committee would undoubtedly keep an eye on the work that was happening, and anyone who had ideas on how to improve the recruitment systems and the campaigns were invited to make contact with the Department to discuss further.

·         It was asked how the Council could support those people who are on the line and cannot get financial aid from anywhere. In response it was explained that the Supporting People Board were working in this direction, as it included specific work streams on employment, poverty, mental health, well-being etc. but this could be discussed further with the member outside the meeting. 

RESOLVED to accept the report.

The Director was thanked for her presentation.