Agenda item

23.1     The Director of Adult Social Care and Health highlighted the separation of budgets and areas of search for savings between the East Sussex Better Together (ESBT) area and the rest of the county and the difference this makes to the proposals. In the ESBT area the Council and Clinical Commissioning Groups have agreed a joint Strategic Investment Plan (SIP) and pooled budget from 2017/18 which enables savings to be considered across the entirety of the health and care budget. In the High Weald Lewes Havens area work is underway to align budgets but they remain separate, meaning that balance must be achieved within the ASC budget only.

23.2     In response to a question, the Director clarified that for universal services the budgets have been divided up on a population basis. Other service budgets have been divided based on need.

23.3     The committee considered each set of proposals in turn:

Savings outside ESBT

·         It was noted that the Connecting for You integration programme is at a much earlier stage of development than ESBT and, because there is not yet agreement with regard to pooling resources there is not the same ability to manage demand differently and avoid cost. This results in a focus on shorter term savings similar to what was seen across all parts of the county pre-ESBT.

·         Concern was expressed that cuts to assessment and care management could lead to further costs and therefore further savings being required in future.

·         It was confirmed that the ASC levy had already been taken into account in the medium term financial plan for next year.

·         It was suggested that the committee’s focus could be on the level and nature of impact of proposed savings.

·         Concern was expressed about the potential loss of staff in a context of rising demand.

ESBT savings

·         It was noted that the focus in ESBT on investment in community services results in a different outcome in terms of savings proposals, but the service changes remain very challenging to implement.

·         Additional description of how savings will be achieved in practice was requested in order for the committee to gain assurance around delivery. The Director confirmed that proposals would be developed further in some areas to demonstrate how savings will be achieved.

·         It was noted that some investments will save money elsewhere reflecting the ESBT aim to divert the flow of activity and ‘invest to save’.

·         The Director confirmed that a more detailed breakdown of savings across the schemes, particularly in terms of the savings attributed to ASC, could be provided.

·         The Director confirmed that reviews of care packages are built in but that it may be possible to look further at the role of locality teams in reviewing ongoing support across all agencies.

23.4     The Committee RESOLVED to:

1)    note that the RPPR Board had been arranged for 12 December;

2)    In relation to savings outside ESBT, have particular focus on clarifying the impact of proposals and any possible mitigation; and

3)    In relation to savings within ESBT, request further detail and breakdown of savings.