Agenda and minutes

[The Chair to welcome everyone to the meeting.]

Cllr Val Evans, Chair, welcomed everyone to the meeting and advised it was being live streamed to the press and public. A recording of the meeting would be available for viewing on the Council’s website at a future date.

[The Chair will explain how the meeting will proceed, how questions are to be asked and any matters of meeting etiquette.]

Cllr Evans explained the protocol to be followed during the meeting for asking questions.

Apologies were received from the following member of the panel:

Cllr Anwen Muston

There were no declarations of interest recorded.

[Becky Wilkinson, Director of Adult Services, to present report]

The Chair invited Becky Wilkinson, Director of Adult Services, to give the presentation Adult Social Care Fee Review Options 2023/24 to the panel. 

The Director advised the panel about the background to the developments which led to the decision to recommend the preferred option for the 2023/2024 fee uplift for external care providers.

The Director advised the panel that the fee review uplift is an annual process and Councils are required to consider a range of cost and other factors affecting the adult social care market in Wolverhampton before setting the fee.

The Director advised the panel that the Council is under a legal duty to maintain an effective and efficient operation of the adult social care markets and to set a balanced budget.

The Director briefed the panel on the changes to Governments Fair Cost of Care – Charging Reforms and how this had affected plans for the settlement of the care fee review for 2023/2024. The planned charging reforms have been delayed till October 2025, but the DHSC have mandated the Council to publish information linked to the proposals on 1 February 2023. This policy has presented a challenge in terms of sharing financial information collected previously from care providers involved in the trailblazer programme.

All local authorities are required to undertake a fair cost of care review with the view of implementing charging reforms and to understand the costs pressures affecting care providers. The Director advised the panel that there are discussions ongoing with care providers about the sharing of financial information.

The Director commented on the different national costs drivers and the feedback received from care providers about the proposed level of uplift in care fees.

The Director commented on comparative benchmarking data for West Midlands ADASS for community based serviced and residential and nursing home care fees. In feedback from care providers about the different fee options there was reference to the financial impact of increases in insurance and utility costs above the rate of inflation.

The Director commented that care providers have provided detailed information about their costs and in feedback have welcomed the ongoing Council support around PPE and the funding the cost of DBS checks. The Council is supporting care providers with recruitment and retention processes which will continue, in recognition of the challenges facing the sector.

The Director advised that the panel that there has not been a major failure of a care market provider in Wolverhampton and the sector is reasonably stable. The Director commented on the concerns about the level of fees for residential and nursing care in Wolverhampton which do not benchmark well compared to other local authorities.

The Director was concerned about quality-of-care issues in residential and nursing care settings and there is a need to consider the financial impact on this situation of any changes to the level of care fees.

The Director advised the panel that there was a care provider failure in late 2022 which led to a closure of a home as the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.