Agenda item

To submit the report of the Statutory Director and Corporate Director (attached).

Submitted – The Annual Report of the Statutory Director of Social Services for 2015/16.

In her presentation, the Director provided an overview of the performance of Gwynedd’s Social Services over the past year, highlighting those elements that had been successful, and also referring to some matters that needed to be addressed. She also provided a taste of the direction of Social Services for the future and outlined the priorities for the years to come.

She also took advantage of the opportunity to recognise the guidance and support of Cabinet Members in the care field, Councillors W. Gareth Roberts and Mair Rowlands. She thanked all staff, providers and partners for their commitment and hard work in ensuring that children, young people, vulnerable adults and their families receive the best possible services. She also thanked everyone who cared informally for a member of the family or a neighbour, noting that their contribution was invaluable.

Following the presentation, the Director responded to a series of questions / observations from members in relation to:-

·         Plans to address the shortage of severe dementia care nurses in South Meirionnydd.

·         The lack of services / problems with services in South Meirionnydd and how to address those problems in the current challenging financial climate.

·         Plans to ensure that the cohort of children who have very complex needs, but who do not receive a service from Derwen or the Council, received the appropriate support.

·         Disappointment that there was no reference in the report to Council arrangements to ensure that adults with autism received sufficient services. The Director noted that it would not be practical to include everything in the report, but that she would accept the observation for next year.

·         Importance of preventative work in the youth justice field and the need to express the Council's disappointment, through the Cabinet Member, in the statutory partnerships for reducing the funding available from them to maintain the service.

·         The number of children who had to go beyond Gwynedd to receive care. The Director noted that she was unsure of the exact figures, but she could share them with the member after the Council meeting.

·         The need for members who are school governors to address safeguarding at their governors meetings and the good work to raise the awareness of all Council staff about the safeguarding field and the need to continue to do so.

·         The time it takes to transform services.

·         Impact of challenges that faced the service on staff morale and turnover.

·         How to address the other wave of inward migration that would take place, should condition 50 of the Lisbon Treaty be realised as people returned home from the continent in order to continue to receive free medical treatment.

·         Recent news that people with mental illness who referred themselves for treatment at a local establishment were being turned away. The Director noted that she could not answer the specific observation but that she could discuss the matter with the Health Board should the member provide her with examples.

·         The Social Services' complaints procedure and appeal process. The Director noted that she could share these documents with members.

·         The work undertaken in the licensing field to ensure taxi drivers' responsibility for children they transport. The Director noted that she accepted the observation.

·         Social Services' staffing arrangements on weekends and the need to ensure that patients are not prevented from being moved from a hospital, or to a hospital.

·         A questions that had already been asked to the department regarding demography.  The Director agreed that she would obtain the information for the member.

The Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Leisure noted that several exciting and innovative developments were taking place in terms of the preventative field and it was proposed to build upon that in future. She thanked the department’s staff and noted that it was a very difficult period and a very difficult field to work within and that staff would often go beyond their role to ensure that children were safe and that vulnerable families received the support they required.

The Cabinet Member for Adults and Health thanked the Director for the comprehensive and clear report of the current situation. He noted that the Health and Well-being Act, which would set the direction for the work in future, would involve a great change and he pleaded with his fellow members to attend the series of events that were being arranged by the department to highlight the changes and implications of the act.

The Director and her staff were thanked for all their work during the year.