Agenda item

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

TO ACCEPT THE REPORT AND NOTE THE INFORMATION

The Statutory Director of Social Services submitted his annual report regarding the performance of the Social Services in Gwynedd during 2023/24. The elements that were important to the individual were discussed, things that people could not live without and he referred to research carried out by the PAL (Canada) organisation where the five most important things that were common to all had been identified. He had used these five areas as a basis for his report and discussed how Social Services in Gwynedd responded to those elements – friends and family, my own home, freedom to make decisions, a role that is appreciated in society and feeling safe.

During his presentation, a short film was shared highlighting the extraordinary work of the learning disability team that was responsible for arranging and developing work opportunities. The film contained interviews with support workers and individuals who had received opportunities along with examples of the good work being achieved.

The Director thanked Marian Parry Hughes (Head of the Children's Services) and Aled Davies (Head of Adult Services) for their work. The staff of the services were also thanked with a special thank you to Catrin Thomas for her work with Supporting People and he wished her good luck in her new role. He also thanked Lois Owens (Senior Executive Officer) for assisting with the work of preparing the report.

The Chair thanked the Director for the presentation which highlighted the good work.

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

·         The letter included in the report which thanked carers for their work was inspiring – the service were thanked for their work.

·         Despite the good work being achieved, there was no reference to complaints in the report.

·         There was a wish to see learning disability work opportunity schemes extended to Meirionnydd (not just Arfon).

·         The report was full of useful information, was honest and easy to read.

·         That an 'Age Friendly Gwynedd' was needed for all ages – needed to promote this

·         There was a need to raise awareness and encourage the use of the boardmaker software.

·         The report was positive despite increasing pressures on the services.

·         There was a need for more collaboration between departments, schools and workplaces to address and respond to the increasing demand for autism diagnosis (two-year waiting list). Cost implications for this service and there was a need to cooperate across the services to have a better understanding of the situation and to share ideas.

·         Extended thanks for the third sector's work, for those residents in Gwynedd who were unpaid carers – needed to do more to support them.

·         There was a need to raise awareness of direct payments as a means of receiving care and support services – good examples across the County where this had been successful.

In response, the Statutory Director noted :-

·         That every effort was being made to emulate the work of the learning disability service team in the south of the County in response to the increase in the number of people with learning disabilities (from 44 to 99).

·         The complaints were referred to in the Further Information page at the end of the report which also included a link to the Annual Report on Complaints.

·         Although he accepted there was a two-year waiting list for autism diagnosis, the children's services dealt with the symptoms and not conditions ensuring that the appropriate support was being provided. It was highlighted that a new Autism Service had launched during 2023/24 which provided information and training to improve the understanding of autism.

·         That the work of unpaid carers was crucial to the service with a substantially high percentage of unpaid carers not being recognised – there was certainly room to thank and appreciate them for their work. Although accepting the need to do more, it was reported there were specific officers who worked with unpaid carers, introducing innovative ideas to support children and invest resources in adult hubs to support carers.

·         That the work of raising awareness of direct payments was being implemented and was certainly a way forward.

RESOLVED

⁠TO ACCEPT THE REPORT AND NOTE THE INFORMATION