Decision details

9.1       The Cabinet considered a report by the Director of Adult Social Care and Health together with comments from the People Scrutiny Committee Review Board

9.2       It was RESOLVED to –

            1) agree to the proposed changes to the Learning Disability Directly Provided Services set out in the report; and

            2) delegate to the Director of Adult Social Care and Health authority to take all necessary actions to give effect to the implementation of the above recommendations.

Reason

9.3       It is acknowledged that feedback has been received from clients, parents and carers opposing the proposals that have been put forward.  Officers have made some changes to the original proposals to accommodate the views of clients, parents and carers where possible and appropriate.

9.4       It was noted that everyone who is affected by the proposals would be offered an individual review; early indications suggest that 58 peoplemay experience a total withdrawal of services provided directly by Learning Disability Services and a further 158 people would experience a reduction to the support they currently receive, 27 of whom would experience a decrease in support from more than one service. The proposals include a transitional period, for people in the latter group, to ensure that they experience a consistent level of support from at least one service until April 2019.

9.5       The views of clients, parents and carers reflected concern about a potential loss of skilled staff. Through careful and considered staff engagement in the consultation process, it is anticipated that these proposals would allow for the retention of the majority of staff, with voluntary redundancy used to release staff who wish to move on, thus achieving the required level of reduction without a detrimental effect on service quality.

9.6       The Cabinet has therefore agreed to implement the proposals as set out in Appendix 2, Table 1, of the report. This will reduce the overall cost of Learning Disability Directly Provided Services whilst maintaining high quality in the remaining service provision.