Decision details

Adult Social Care is proposing to close the Linden Court day service in Eastbourne, and merge with the Beeching Park day service in Bexhill, or support people to access alternative services in the community. The proposal is one of a number that the department has been consulting on to help close the Council’s funding gap. The results of the consultation will be shared and Cabinet will make a decision on whether the proposals go ahead or not.  

55.1     The Cabinet considered a report by the Director of Adult Social Care and Health.

55.2     It was RESOLVED to:

1) Agree the proposal to close the Linden Court Day Service for people with a learning disability in Eastbourne;

2) Agree to reprovision the existing Linden Court Day Service with the Beeching Park Day Service for people with a learning disability in Bexhill and to revise the days of opening and opening hours, as set out in paragraphs 5.13 to 5.15 of the report;

3) Agree to establish a satellite day service in Eastbourne as part of the Beeching Park Day Service offer, to be provided two days per week and to delegate authority to the Director of Adult Social Care and Health, in consultation with the Chief Operating Officer, to determine the final location for this satellite provision; and

4) Delegate to the Director of Adult Social Care and Health authority to take all necessary actions to give effect to the above resolutions.

Reasons

55.3     The Council is required to set a balanced budget. The ‘State of the County’ report presented to Cabinet in June 2024 set out a projected £55m deficit on the 2025/26 budget. Savings proposals requiring public consultation that would help to close this gap were presented to Cabinet in September 2024.

55.4     The total savings proposals for the Medium-Term Financial Plan for 2025/26-2027/28 set out in November 2024 were £20.628m, across all Council departments. The Adult Social Care & Health (ASCH) contribution to the savings total is £11.455m. In addition to these savings proposals, in order to achieve a balanced budget, the Council is also drawing on its financial reserves.

55.5     The original proposals put forward were designed to contribute to the savings required for the County Council. It is clear from the contributions to the consultation that the proposal for Linden Court and Beeching Park is not welcomed, with the vast majority of respondents disagreeing. All the feedback to the consultation has been considered and modification and mitigation of the proposal was explored where possible to address the concerns raised.

55.6     Whilst it is recognised that closing Linden Court would cause an element of disruption and potentially increase travel times for some adults that attend the service, and the parent/carers involved, the alternative provision at Beeching Park would be able to meet the needs of most adults, with alternative options to Beeching Park being available where required.

55.7     The Council will take steps to mitigate any adverse impacts of the proposal, by offering bespoke support to adults with more complex needs to help them manage this transition. This is designed to meet the specific needs of adults who would need additional support to access an alternative provision.

55.8     It is anticipated that a satellite service will initially have capacity to support up to 15 adults per week. This would ease the impact for several adults and parent/carers, offering a flexibility to how their day service provision could be provided. In the interim, this satellite provision will be offered from the existing Linden Court site until the Director of Adult Social Care and Health, in consultation with the Chief Operating Officer, determines the final location for this satellite provision.

55.9     Cabinet members have read and had regard to the Equalities Impact Assessment when making decisions related to this proposal.