Agenda item

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

To accept the report.

The Statutory Director of Social Services presented his annual report regarding the performance of the Social Services in Gwynedd during the 2022/23 year.

The Director thanked his predecessor in the post, Morwena Edwards, for her thorough work before her departure in summer 2022, and to Lois Owens (Senior Executive Officer) for her assistance in preparing the report.

Members were given an opportunity to make observations and ask questions. 

The Leader thanked the Director for the inspired presentation which highlighted the guidance he was providing, and for the easy-to-read report which included real and wonderful examples of the work that is happening.  Furthermore, he noted that the statistics on the front page of the report were astonishing, but again highlighted the importance of the work, and he emphasised that the members were incredibly grateful to the committed staff who made miracles within tight budgets.

The Leader's gratitude was echoed by many other members, and the following matters were raised by individual members:-

Hope was expressed that the next Annual Report would include the protocol being developed by the Department at present on how to help people who suffer a fall and are unable to access an ambulance for hours. 

The work being done to ensure dignity and respect for young carers was welcomed and it was asked how many of them had received the ID card, and whether there was potential for this to be expanded?  In response, it was noted that it was likely that the vast majority of the 121 young carers who were in receipt of support were using the card, but that he would contact the member with the exact figure.

It was asked how much collaboration took place between the Council and the organisations that support people with mental health problems in the countryside, such as the DPJ Foundation and Tir Dewi.  In response, it was noted that he could not provide a definitive answer, but that he could get back to the member with the information. Nevertheless, it was confirmed that the Service attempted to work in partnership with any organisation that promoted mental health, particularly in the countryside.

Referring to paragraph 24 of the report, it was enquired what was the impact of the 9 social worker posts that were vacant at the beginning of January.  In response, it was noted that:

·           That the Council employed around 150 social workers and 30-40 occupational therapists, and that the exact figures could be provided for the member.

·           That the vacant posts created a challenge for the Service in terms of reaching people who demand a service and an assessment, but that this was managed to be done with the social workers, since we had no other option.

·           That all types of other things were going on in the background, such as the situation regarding training and the number of students who went on to train as social workers.

·           That it was a huge challenge to get students to go to Bangor University to follow the social work course, as was the case with the Occupational Therapy course.

·           That the Council currently had 4 occupational therapy trainees as well as approximately 6 social work trainees at any given time.  This went part of the way to fill the gap, but the demand on the service was increasing.

·           As the Department's ability to provide assessments was becoming more challenging, it was decided to invest slightly more in workers without the qualification, but who work with eligible practitioners and who are able to carry out some of the lighter duties to ensure that people could be seen sooner and safeguarded.

·           That the challenges to recruit carers was even more profound and this was the reason why the number of vacant posts were so high in the Adults Department.  Despite the recent increase in carer salaries, fewer people were available in Gwynedd to do this type of work, and it would not be possible to provide care for every person in Gwynedd for the years to come.

·           That there was a need to look at alternative ways of providing services in the future, such as Direct Payments, use of technology and robotics, promoting small community enterprises and promoting people and communities to look after themselves.

It was noted that they looked forward over the coming months to see how the work of evaluating how the new domiciliary care model was working.

It was noted that the report provided a good picture of the Service, but that the role of councillors was to go after the things that were not in the report.  Concern was expressed about the 40 complaints received about the service, and although it was acknowledged that this was a small number in comparison to the volume of work completed, it was asked how the Department dealt with those complaints.  In response, it was noted that:

·           He disagreed that the report conveyed a flawless and perfect picture of the Service and that the astonishing figures had been included there to draw attention to the challenges. There was no room to take pride in some of the statistics. There was a need to do more, and Social Services in general had committed to do more.

·           That there was a statutory complaints procedure in place to ensure that we received feedback and respond to any concerns so that we did not repeat mistakes.

·           That two officers worked specifically in the field of complaints - one in the Children's Department and the other in the Adults Department.

·           That an annual report was being prepared on the complaints, and that this could be shared with the members.

RESOLVED to accept the report.