Agenda item

In February 2015 Cabinet agreed to consult with residents, families and stakeholders on the proposal to deregister Tudor Gardens Residential Care home and re-provide it as supported living accommodation in line with the Department’s objectives to support people to have increased choice and control to live as independently as possible.  The Council has now completed a twelve-week statutory consultation on proposed changes.  This report outlines the responses to that consultation, the potential impact on the residents and resulting recommendations taking into account the feedback that has been received from service users, family members, advocates, staff and unions.

(i)         that the responses received during the consultation meetings over the 90 statutory consultation days between March and June 2015 as amended in the supplementary report, be noted;

(ii)        that approval be given to start the process to de-register Tudor Gardens as a residential care home and the re-provide as supported living accommodation for the reasons detailed in paragraphs 3.7 and 3.8 of the report;

(iii)       that approval be given to the invitation of tenders for the on site care and support services at Tudor Gardens on the basis of the pre-tender considerations set out in paragraph 7.1 of the report;

(iv)       that approval be given to the evaluation of the tenders referred to in (ii) above on the basis of the evaluation criteria set out in paragraph 7.1 of the report.

The report from the Strategic Director, Adults reminded the Cabinet that in February 2015 agreement had been given to consult residents, families and stakeholders on the proposal to deregister Tudor Gardens Residential Care home and re-provide it as supported living accommodation in line with the department’s objectives to support people to have increased choice and control to live as independently as possible.  Following a twelve-week statutory consultation on proposed changes, the report outlined the responses to that consultation, the potential impact on the residents and resulting recommendations taking into account the feedback that had been received from service users, family members, advocates, staff and unions.

With the consent of the Chair, Mr Ken Knight addressed the meeting on behalf of relatives and carers at Tudor Gardens Residential Care Home and spoke against the proposals to move towards more independent living for the residents. Mr Knight contrasted the finding in the Equalities Assessment document produced in February 2015 which stated that the impact of the proposals on the residents would be negative with the EA appended to the report now before members which now stated that the change in policy would have a positive impact on residents. He circulated a document to members which highlighted the changes between the February pre consultation report and that now before members for approval.

Mr Knight felt that all the residents needed 24/7 care and, given their mental age, lacked the capacity to understand what was on offer. He felt residents were not ready for employment and in any event, no assessments had been carried out since the home had opened in 2010. Mr Knight expressed concern that the managers and staff were leaving, claimed that one in three members of staff were on zero hour contracts and that he had no confidence in the TUPE guarantees. He was also not confident that the most successful bidder would necessarily be the best service provider.

Phil Porter (Strategic Director, Adults) in responding to the concerns put forward by Mr Knight, drew attention to an addendum to the report published before the meeting, which sought to correct and clarify perceived anomalies in the original report based on comments from Mr Knight. Regarding the change in the Equalities Assessment, he advised that following consultation, a different conclusion had been reached on the impact on residents, resulting in the change from ‘negative’ to ‘positive’. Phil Porter stated that supported living would give residents more control over the support they received, acknowledged concern over assessments and gave assurance that in the next stage of the process, the assessments would ensure that the new service fully met needs of Tudor Gardens residents.

Members expressed concern and requested clarification on the journey from negative impact to positive, the issue of residents’ capacity and the thoroughness of the consultation exercise. Members heard that it was not uncommon for the result of the Equalities Assessment to change as the result of a consultation process as efforts would have been made to address concerns raised in the first stage of the assessment and proposals changed to accommodate. Phil Porter advised that it had been made clear that this was not the end of the process but that engagement would carry on throughout the procurement exercise.

Councillor Hirani acknowledged that the de-registration process was not easily understood and explained that where some of the responses from residents had clearly indicated a lack of capacity, these had been intentionally omitted so as to avoid embarrassment. On behalf of the Cabinet, Councillor Hirani thanked Ken Knight for his contribution.

Councillor Hirani then went on to outline the advantages of supported living and that, in the light of the outcome of the consultation, it was proposed that the de-registration process would commence.  He referred to the support that would be available to residents who would have their accommodation costs met through housing benefits. Residents would also have greater security of tenure and would be assisted to make applications for personal entitlements. The number of people coming through the care system was increasing, approximately 200 in the current month, and the new proposals would allow the council to help more residents. He felt that consultation had been extensive and reminded the Cabinet that the scheme was due to go live in April 2016 and that de-registration was subject to Care Quality Commission approval. Councillor Hirani stated that the proposals were designed to offer a different mode of care, avoid duplication with the Department for Work and Pensions, benefit those of working age and promote independent living.

In response to an enquiry from Councillor Moher, the Cabinet heard that residents with high care needs would still have access to 24 hour care. On the question of capacity, Phil Porter acknowledged the varied needs of residents and assured members that the aim of the next phase in the process was to have individual assessment assisted by an advocate, provide more tailored support and ensure individual needs continued to be met through the new provision.

In response to questions from Councillor Southwood regarding Care Quality Commission monitoring and the market for service providers, Phil Porter advised that quality standards would be monitored as they would for any service the council purchased through the contract management team, the service would still be provided by a provider registered and inspected by the CQC, that there were a large number of potential service providers and that TUPE would apply.

Councillor Pavey requested a note be sent to members of the Cabinet setting out in more detail the reasons for the change in the Equality Assessment, and Councillor Hirani confirmed that a further report would come back to Cabinet at the end of the procurement process, which would evidence not only that the assessment process had informed the procurement process, but also that all needs would continue to be met.

RESOLVED:

(i)         that the responses received during the consultation meetings over the 90 statutory consultation days between March and June 2015 as amended in the supplementary report, be noted;

(ii)        that approval be given to start the process to de-register Tudor Gardens as a residential care home and the re-provide as supported living accommodation for the reasons detailed in paragraphs 3.7 and 3.8 of the report;

(iii)       that approval be given to the invitation of tenders for the on site care and support services at Tudor Gardens on the basis of the pre-tender considerations set out in paragraph 7.1 of the report;

(iv)       that approval be given to the evaluation of the tenders referred to in (iii) above on the basis of the evaluation criteria set out in paragraph 7.1 of the report.