Scottish Borders Council

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Council Headquarters, Newtown St Boswells

Contact: Louise McGeoch 

Items
No. Item

1.

Welcome

Minutes:

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting of the Limited Liability Partnership Strategic Governance Group (LLPSGG).

 

DECISION

NOTED.

 

2.

Minute pdf icon PDF 76 KB

Minute of the Meeting of the Limited Liability Partnership Strategic Governance Group held on 10 November 2015 to be approved and signed by the Chairman.  (Copy attached.)  

Minutes:

There had been circulated copies of the Minute of the meeting of 10 November 2015.

 

DECISION

APPROVED the Minute for signature by the Chair.

 

3.

Matter Arising

Minutes:

With reference to paragraph 1 of the Minute of the meeting of 10 November 2015, Mrs Torrance advised Members that she had not received a response to her most recent communication regarding the appointment of a representative from the NHS to the Limited Liability Partnership - Strategic Governance Group (LLPSGG) and would therefore follow this up again in advance of the next meeting of the Group.

 

DECISION

NOTED.

 

4.

Quarterly Performance Reporting

Minutes:

4 (a)     SB Cares Budget Monitoring as at 31 December 2015

            With reference to paragraph 4(a) of the Minute of the meeting of 10 November 2015, there had been circulated copies of a report by the Finance and Commercial Director of SB Cares informing the Strategic Governance Group of the financial position for SB Cares at 31 December 2015.  A further update summary was circulated at the meeting.  Members were advised that SB Cares Senior Management Team had reviewed the progress made to deliver agreed efficiencies and new business and a profit of £471k was now predicted for Quarter 3.  With reference to expenditure, Ms Collins explained that direct costs had been higher than expected in January 2016.  Over the 2015/16 festive period, a high proportion of staff who had worked on the statutory holidays had opted to be paid rather than take the hours back at another time.  This had not been anticipated by management and was the main pressure that contributed to a loss of £75k in January 2016, giving a shortfall figure of £99k against the Quarter 3 forecast for the month.  The resultant increase in the payroll would be reflected in the figures for January 2016.  Fewer staff took holidays during the months of January and February and as this had not been factored into the figures presented in the report, it was possible that the forecast for the year would improve.  Ms Collins went on to explain that the overall income for January 2016 was in line with the forecast of £1.545m and that the revised forecast had increased by £106k due to orders received for the ability equipment for the month of February 2016.  Discussion followed and Mrs Torrance explained that, as the level of care often varied over the festive period, a review of the way in which holidays and Public Holidays were managed during these times would be beneficial to the service.  Mr Barr advised that all measures were being taken to bring the financial position back on target and he was confident that the Financial Plan would be delivered for 2015/16.  Ms Collins added that SB Cares was working with the Council's HR section to review the arrangements for Public Holiday working and Members were advised that no errors in payments had been identified.  Members requested further information about the festive period payments and it was agreed that a detailed analysis would be provided to the Group at its meeting on 17 May 2016. 

 

DECISION

(a)     NOTED:-

 

          (i)      SB Cares financial position at 31 December 2015; and

 

          (ii)     that information would be shared with Scottish Borders Council to inform the revenue monitoring position.

 

(b)     AGREED that a detailed analysis of the payments made to staff for hours worked over the festive period 2015/16 would be provided to the Group at its meeting on 17 May 2016.

 

4(b)               Key Performance Indicators for SB Cares

            (i)      With reference to paragraph 4(b) of the Minute of the meeting of 10 November 2015, there  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.

SB Cares Budget Monitoring as at 31 December 2016 pdf icon PDF 116 KB

(Copy attached.)

Minutes:

4(a)      </AI4>

<AI5>

(a)          SB Cares Budget Monitoring as at 31 December 2015

            With reference to paragraph 4(a) of the Minute of the meeting of 10 November 2015, there had been circulated copies of a report by the Finance and Commercial Director of SB Cares informing the Strategic Governance Group of the financial position for SB Cares at 31 December 2015.  A further update summary was circulated at the meeting.  Members were advised that SB Cares Senior Management Team had reviewed the progress made to deliver agreed efficiencies and new business and a profit of £471k was now predicted for Quarter 3.  With reference to expenditure, Ms Collins explained that direct costs had been higher than expected in January 2016.  Over the 2015/16 festive period, a high proportion of staff who had worked on the statutory holidays had opted to be paid rather than take the hours back at another time.  This had not been anticipated by management and was the main pressure that contributed to a loss of £75k in January 2016, giving a shortfall figure of £99k against the Quarter 3 forecast for the month.  The resultant increase in the payroll would be reflected in the figures for January 2016.  Fewer staff took holidays during the months of January and February and as this had not been factored into the figures presented in the report, it was possible that the forecast for the year would improve.  Ms Collins went on to explain that the overall income for January 2016 was in line with the forecast of £1.545m and that the revised forecast had increased by £106k due to orders received for the ability equipment for the month of February 2016.  Discussion followed and Mrs Torrance explained that, as the level of care often varied over the festive period, a review of the way in which holidays and Public Holidays were managed during these times would be beneficial to the service.  Mr Barr advised that all measures were being taken to bring the financial position back on target and he was confident that the Financial Plan would be delivered for 2015/16.  Ms Collins added that SB Cares was working with the Council's HR section to review the arrangements for Public Holiday working and Members were advised that no errors in payments had been identified.  Members requested further information about the festive period payments and it was agreed that a detailed analysis would be provided to the Group at its meeting on 17 May 2016. 

 

DECISION

(a)     NOTED:-

 

          (i)      SB Cares financial position at 31 December 2015; and

 

          (ii)     that information would be shared with Scottish Borders Council to inform the revenue monitoring position.

 

(b)     AGREED that a detailed analysis of the payments made to staff for hours worked over the festive period 2015/16 would be provided to the Group at its meeting on 17 May 2016.

 

6.

Key Performance Indicators. pdf icon PDF 99 KB

(Copy attached.)  

Additional documents:

Minutes:

4(b)               </AI5>

<AI6>

(b)          Key Performance Indicators for SB Cares

            (i)      With reference to paragraph 4(b) of the Minute of the meeting of 10 November 2015, there had been circulated copies of a report by the Finance and Commercial Director of SB Cares updating the Strategic Governance Group on the development of SB Cares Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) as at 31 December 2015.  The agreed KPIs for 2015/16 were detailed in Appendix 1 to the report.  The number of clients supported across the services to 31 December 2015 had reduced slightly and Members were advised that this was mainly due to families provided more support over the festive period.  The average number of carers supporting clients had remained consistent over this period.  It was noted that the level and complexity of care could change for clients on a regular basis and this would have an impact on these figures.  Ms Collins explained that absence levels had been identified as an area for improvement and SB Cares Senior Management had been working with the Council's HR Shared Services team to develop reports to monitor and manage absence.  The figures now produced included all staff and the revised figures showed an absence rate of 6.69% for July 2015 and 5.81% for November 2015.  With regard to the number of staff employed, Members were advised that the number of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) staff had increased by 2 and the number of staff paid had decreased by 15.  Ms Collins explained that this was due to the recruitment of permanent homecare staff employed to support additional contracts.  A "spike" in the number of staff paid was the result of back pay being paid to all staff, including relief workers.  There were 7 posts currently being recruited and included homecare staff, maternity leave cover and vacant posts due to retirement.  The report advised that KPIs for 2016/17 were being developed to monitor service quality; efficient delivery of services; sales targets; and staff.  These KPIs would include targets and would form part of the Business Plan to be presented to the Group in March 2016.

           

            (ii)      Discussion followed and officers provided clarification on a number of points.  Ms Crombie acknowledged that, in terms of recruitment, there were challenges in some areas of the Borders but she was confident that all posts would be filled.  With regard to the number of hours worked by each carer, Ms Crombie explained that this depended on the care required; in some cases a client might require 6 visits per day and because of complex needs, this could involve 2 carers for each visit.  In addition, it was noted that clients preferred familiar carers and this was also taken into consideration whenever possible.  On a point of clarification, Ms Crombie explained that when the report mentioned "FTE staff", this referred to the total number of staff on the Payroll; the "number of staff" was used in reference to the actual number of staff paid.  Members asked  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.

Care Inspectorate pdf icon PDF 122 KB

Update by the Operations Director of SB Cares on Registration of SB Cares Services with the Care Inspectorate on Inspections by Care Inspectorate. (Copy attached.)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

With reference to paragraph 5 of the Minute of the meeting of 10 November 2015, there had been circulated copies of a report by the Operations Director of SB Cares on the Inspection of SB Cares Services by the Care Inspectorate.  The report advised that four care homes had been inspected since the previous report to the Strategic Governance Group in November 2015 and two of those reports had now been issued for St Ronan's in Innerleithen and Grove House in Kelso.  Both Homes had maintained their grades and the Care Inspectorate reports noted improvements in a number of areas.  One requirement and nine recommendations had been identified overall.  These were detailed in Appendix 1 to the SB Cares report.  The recommended improvements had now been agreed with the Care Inspectorate along with an Action Plan for each service.  The two pending reports, in respect of Waverley in Galashiels and Saltgreens in Eyemouth were expected in the near future and would be presented to the Group in due course.  Discussion followed and Members agreed that it would be useful for future SB Cares reports to include both the previous and newly allocated grades side by side to show a direct comparison.  Ms Crombie provided clarification in terms of "requirement" and "recommendation" and Mr Wilson congratulated the service on achieving grades of 4 and 5 for around 95% of these reports.  The Chairman acknowledged the work of staff in the Care Homes and SB Cares Senior Management Team in achieving such quality reports.

 

DECISION

 

(a)     NOTED the report and details of one requirement and nine recommendations.

 

(b)     AGREED that future reports detailing Care Inspectorate assessment grades would include both the previous and newly allocated grades side by side to show a direct comparison.

 

8.

Amendments to Dates of Future Meetings.

Minutes:

            With reference to paragraph 6 of the Minute of the meeting of 10 November 2015, Members were advised that the dates for future meetings had been amended and were now scheduled for:-

           

            15 March 2016         -    2.30pm

            17 May 2016            -    2.00pm  (to be held in the Town Hall, Kelso)

            9 August 2016          -    2.00pm

            8 November 2016    -    2.00pm 

            7 February 2017      -    2.00pm 

            7 March 2017           -    2.00pm 

            16 May 2017            -    2.00pm.

 

            DECISION

            NOTED.

 

9.

Private Business

Before proceeding with the private business, the following motion should be approved:-

 

“That under Section 50A(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 6 of Part 1 of Schedule 7A to the aforementioned Act.”

 

Minutes:

DECISION

            AGREED under Section 50A(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 to exclude the public from the meeting during consideration of the business contained in the following items on the ground that they involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 6 and 8 of the part 1 of Schedule 7A to the Act.

 

 

SUMMARY OF PRIVATE BUSINESS

 

10.

Minute

Private section of the Minute of the Meeting of the Limited Liability Partnership Strategic Governance Group held on 10 November 2015 to be approved and signed by the Chairman.  (Copy attached.) 

Minutes:

            Members approved the Private Section of the Minute of 10 November 2015.

 

11.

Efficiencies and New Income 2015/16

(Copy attached.)

Minutes:

Members considered a report by the Operations Director SB Cares.

 

12.

Update by Managing Director, SB Cares

Minutes:

   Update Members considered a verbal update by the Managing Director of SB Cares.

 

 

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