Issue - meetings

Report of the Strategic Director - Social Care and Well-Being

Further to Minute No. 48 of the meeting of the Cabinet Member - Health and Social Care held on 23 December 2009, the Cabinet considered the report of the Strategic Director - Social Care and Well-Being on the capital funding received from the North West Improvement and Efficiency Partnership for the purpose of improving the efficiency of Financial Assessments.

RESOLVED:  

That approval be given to the inclusion of the funding of up to £150,000 in the Health and Social Care Capital Programme 2009/10 and it be noted that financial commitment will only be entered into as and when grant approval is gained for each phase of the project.

Report of the Strategic Director – Adult Social Services (Heath and Social Care)

The Cabinet Member considered the report of the Strategic Director of Adult Social Services (Health and Social Care) on the Common Financial Assessment Project, seeking approval to include funding received from the North West Improvement and Efficiency Partnership (NWIEP) into the Capital Programme to improve the efficiency of Financial Assessments.

The report indicated that there were 25 eligibility checks across 47 services relating to 2 needs, namely “Warm, safe and secure housing” and “Staying in general good health as long as possible”; and that a reduction in unnecessary and sometimes, stressful, contact with service users and Council overheads in relation to undertaking assessments could be achieved through data sharing between Sefton Council and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

The report also indicated that £200K had been made available (£150K to Sefton Council) to fund a project to improve the effectiveness of financial assessments in adult social care for non-residential care across the whole of the North West through the adoption of best practice guidelines and closer working with DWP. The funds would support a joint programme with Sefton, Tameside and Lancashire councils and the DWP would share Financial Assessment information; that the project would be carried out in three phases - baseline, scenario generation and process redesign, and Pilot; that the NWEIP funds would be used to employ staff to undertake the project tasks; and that staff would be a mix of Sefton employees and contractors. 

RESOLVED: That

(1)               the Common Financial Assessment Project as detailed in this report, be approved; and

(2)               Cabinet be requested to included the funding of up to £150,000 in the Health and Social Care Capital Programme 2009/10, noting that financial commitment will only be entered into as and when grant approval is gained for each phase of the project.