Issue - meetings

34.1     The Chair introduced the report and outlined that the purpose of the report was to allow the Committee to consider the call-in in relation to the decision by Cabinet regarding the proposal to close the Linden Court Day Service for people with a learning disability and merge it with Beeching Park day service.

34.2     The Committee considered the call-in and the information contained in the report. A summary of the questions raised, and comments made is given below.

• Impact of decision on a future unitary authority Some Members raised concerns about the potential financial impacts of the proposal on a future unitary authority, including a potential increase in residential care costs for individuals who would not be able to access alternative provision. Some Members also expressed concern that this proposal could impact on vulnerable people’s emotional wellbeing which would increase demand for local health services, including specialist provision such as the NHS Sussex Partnership Foundation Trust Learning Disabilities service and, subsequently, increase costs for a future unitary authority. Some Councillors expressed the view that there needed to be more financial assessment of any impacts on a future unitary authority, including increased demand for residential care.

In response, the Director of Adult Social Care and Health (ASCH) recognised the concerns and the impact of all the ASCH savings proposals on clients, carers and families but noted that these were put forward in light of the need for the Council to deliver its statutory duties to meet Care Act eligible needs and to deliver a balanced budget. In relation to the agreement in principle between ESCC and the district and borough councils, there was no formal agreement yet in place and final proposals for a unitary authority would not be submitted until September 2025. He also noted that potential impacts of decisions on a future unitary authority had been considered by the Scrutiny Committee and at Cabinet and confirmed that there were no anticipated impacts of this proposal on any future unitary council. In response to concerns about increased demand for residential care, the Director clarified that there was no anticipated increase to residential care needs as a result of this proposal due to the reprovision of care for those with eligible needs.

• Impact of decision on districts and boroughs - Some Members raised concerns about the potential financial impacts of the proposal on district and borough councils, including a potential increase on demand for Revenue and Benefits services if people needed to pay more for care. Some Members expressed the view that there needed to be more financial assessment of any impacts on district and borough councils. In response, the Director confirmed that there were no anticipated impacts from this proposal on district and brough councils and no anticipated increased costs for clients’ care.
• Use of consultations - Some Members raised concerns about the responses to the public consultation in relation to the proposal, noting that the majority of respondents either strongly disagreed or disagreed with the proposal to close  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34

Report by the Director of Adult Social Care and Health

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  ...  view the full minutes text for item 55