Agenda and minutes

There were no Declarations of Interest

The minutes of the meeting held on 2^nd April 2025 were agreed and signed as a true record.

There were no Matters Arising.

Report of the Director of Care, Health and Housing

The Board considered a report and presentation of the Director of Care, Health and Housing, regarding the Adult Social Care Performance – Self-Assessment and Annual Report (Local Account) 2024/25.

The Annual Report covered performance and activity for the previous year along with examples and case studies of where a positive impact to people’s lives had been made.

Since the introduction of the Local Authority Assessment Framework by the Care Quality Commission, the format of the Annual Report had followed each of the four CQC themes for inspection and the quality statements associated with these themes.

An accompanying Self-Assessment had also been produced to provide operational detail and Adult Social Care produced and published its first Self-Assessment in 2024 and both the Annual Report and Self-Assessment would be updated annually.

The approach taken to both the Self-Assessment and Annual Report demonstrated an open approach to success, challenges and where further development would take place to improve outcomes for people with care and support needs and their unpaid carers within Coventry.  The Self-Assessment also provided the opportunity to present the context within which CQC would be inspecting Adult Social Care in Coventry.

The production of the 2024/25 report had drawn on the pool of feedback and information gathered over the year from a range of sources including social care staff, Partnership Boards, Adult Social Care Stakeholder Group, providers, partner organisations and people who had been in contact with Adult Social Care, along with their families and carers.

The Cabinet Member for Adult Services, Councillor L Bigham introduced the item, thanking the team and advising of the importance of the personal stories within the Annual Report.

The Cabinet Member for Public Health, Wellbeing and Sport, Councillor K Caan, commended the strategic partnerships in sport which worked with care homes and supported mental health.

The Director of Public Health and Wellbeing, A Duggal advised the Board that relationships were strengthening between Public Health and Adult Social Care to prioritise prevention and wellbeing.

<AI1>

</AI1>

<AI2>

Members of the Scrutiny Board, having considered the report and presentation, asked questions and received information from officers on the following matters:

• Changes to the front door responses and the early help team, with a better focus on signposting and prevention had affected the numbers using low-level support and short-term support. 
• Spend had increased mainly due to the increase in the minimum wage as well as an increase in the complexity of care needs. However, the Council’s costs were generally in line with the average of other local authorities. 
• How elected members could promote the work of Adult Social Care and tell the positive story that there is to tell, to support the visibility and transparency of the service. 
• The uptake of Bridgit Care for carers had been really positive and nearly 16,000 contacts had been made since February 2025. Highest access was at weekends when other services weren’t accessible. 
• There were positive relationships with all public sector partners, including the Fire Service.
• The biggest challenge to address for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

Briefing Note of the Joint Commissioning Manager – Dementia and Mental Health

The Board considered a Briefing note and presentation of the Joint Commissioning Manager – Dementia and Mental Health, regarding training and development for Care Staff Supporting People with Dementia.

The Alzheimer’s Society recently published a report ‘Because We’re Human Too: Why dementia training for care workers matters and how to deliver it’, which expresses concern at low levels of dementia training amongst care staff – 29% nationally.

The report recommended local authorities, when commissioning adult social care services, included a contractual obligation for care providers to ensure staff undertook the Alzheimer’s Society’s dementia training programme at an annual cost of £2,000 per care home.

This briefing gave assurance to the Scrutiny Board that current training protocols for care homes were robust and appropriate within available resources. While some training delivered or procured by providers may differ in scope from that recommended by the Alzheimer’s Society, it nonetheless contributed to enhancing staff knowledge and the overall quality of dementia care.

The Cabinet Member for Adult Services, Councillor L Bigham commended the supportive partnership working in this growing and ever evolving area, where the importance of research and regular training of care staff was paramount.

The Cabinet Member for Public Health, Wellbeing and Sport, Councillor K Caan, referred to the importance of close partnership working with health partners, advising of current programmes and with a focus on prevention, in particular, early intervention.

Members of the Scrutiny Board, having considered the report and presentation, asked questions and received information from officers on the following matters:

·  Engaging with faith groups to create awareness and identify early symptoms of dementia may help overcome stigmas from different communities to enable access to services.

·  The Dementia Partnership Hub was an important partner in the provision of dementia support to the different communities within the city.

·  Numbers of care home staff receiving dementia training fluctuated dependent on staffing numbers.

·  Quality assurance visits to care homes helped to provide feedback on their care from staff, residents and their families.  Officers worked closely with social care teams working with dementia patients in the community who provide feedback on their care.

Members also requested: 

·  The proportion of staff working directly with patients with dementia who have received Level 3 or higher qualification.

The Cabinet Member for Adults, Councillor L Bigham, endorsed that 50% of care home staff in Coventry had received formal dementia training which exceeded national performance by a wide margin and that the Dementia Hub and Forget-me-Not Café in the city had received national recognition.

RESOLVED that the Health and Social Care Scrutiny Board (5):

1. Consider the information provided in the Briefing Note and appendices.

2. Identify any further comments or recommendations for the Cabinet Member.

Briefing Note of the Scrutiny Co-ordinator

The Health and Social Care Scrutiny Board (5) noted the work programme and requested the inclusion of the following items:

• Play Zones – impact on the city
• Impact of climate change on health across the city
• UHCW performance
• Public Health and Adult Social Care working together on Prevention (2026-27 Work Programme)

The Board received a presentation of the Cabinet Member for Public Health, Wellbeing and Sport, Councillor K Caan’s portfolio priorities for 2025-26, which included:

• To deliver a new Partnership Sport, Physical Activity and Movement Strategy (Community Conversations)
• Sport England Place Based Expansion funding bid submitted and secured
• To deliver the action plan for Playing Pitch and Outdoor sports strategy and Indoor Facilities Strategy
• To deliver the capital infrastructure for Playzones in 6 local communities
• To continue to grow Go CV for all residents inclusive of access
• Engaging community events for all, such as Childrens Mile, Sports Fest etc.

Members of the Scrutiny Board, having considered the report and presentation, asked questions and received information from officers on the following matters:

• All schools in Coventry had received invitations to the Children’s Mile.  Officers worked with all schools in the city to encourage and promote regular activity.
• Home educated children were  encouraged to access  sports activities.

The Cabinet Member for Adults, Councillor L Bigham, advised the Board of her portfolio priorities for 2025-26, which were:

• A focus on diversity of workforce - recruit for diversity and develop skills to meet the diversity challenge
• Digital challenge - updating technology - replacing Care Director - more accurate capturing of conversations with users and carers
• Embed strength-based work – building on team support and peer learning to develop strength-based practice of staff and people support
• Workforce resilience and supporting the wellbeing of the existing workforce.

RESOLVED that the Health and Social Care Scrutiny Board (5):

1. Consider the information shared regarding Cabinet Member priorities.

2. Consider the draft Work Programme and include the following on the Work Programme 2025-26:

·  Play Zones – impact on the city

·  Impact of climate change on health across the city

·  Performance at UHCW

·  Public Health and Adult Social Care working together on Prevention – to be placed on the 2026/27 Work Programme

Any other items of public business which the Chair decides to take as matters of urgency because of the special circumstances involved

There were no other items of public business.