Agenda item - Caring Together: Moving Towards Integration Position Paper

RESOLVED:

That the Board:

1.    Approves the Council and CCG to align budget-setting processes for 2019/2020 in relation to primary and community care, public health, adult social care and children and families social care; while acknowledging not all financial streams are within joint Council and CCG control.

2.    Authorises officers from the CCG and Council to start in 2019/2020 the development of a 4 year Medium Term Financial Strategy to enable greater cooperation and understanding and a more integrated approach to strategic financial planning.

3.    Requests that Officers bring a report on joint commissioning intentions to the Health & Wellbeing Board meeting in November 2018.

30.1      The Executive Director, Health & Adult Social Care and Chris Clark introduced the report. They sought to stress the positive foundation on which the report was built such as the CCG coming out of special measures and achieving a ‘good’ rating and the hospital coming out of financial special measures. The report suggested a direction of travel and was not a formal proposal.

30.2      Councillor Mears stated that while she welcomed the promise of closer integration she felt that it was a process that should have started sooner. She was concerned that there was a lack of scrutiny of the budget without a specific Adult Social Care Committee.

30.3      The Executive Director, Health & Adult Social Care responded that the current committee structure did provide scrutiny through both the Health & Wellbeing Board and the Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee and he hoped that the report represented the start of a new more transparent process for budget setting.

30.4      Councillor Page stated that he was concerned by the developments across the country where large areas of services had been contracted out. He asked officers to confirm that the report was about working together and not about enabling outsourcing.

30.5      The Executive Director, Health & Adult Social Care stated that his understanding of an integrated care partnership was public sector organisations working together with a range of partners.

30.6      In response to Councillor Page, Chris Clark stated that the CCG had a duty to develop a policy for commissioning based on clinical priority, this policy would sit alongside the CCG and Council’s joint commissioning strategies. He also stated that he would be happy to bring this policy to the Health & Wellbeing Board through the Chair.

30.7       RESOLVED:

That the Board:

1.    Approves the Council and CCG to align budget-setting processes for 2019/2020 in relation to primary and community care, public health, adult social care and children and families social care; while acknowledging not all financial streams are within joint Council and CCG control.

2.    Authorises officers from the CCG and Council to start in 2019/2020 the development of a 4 year Medium Term Financial Strategy to enable greater cooperation and understanding and a more integrated approach to strategic financial planning.

3.    Requests that Officers bring a report on joint commissioning intentions to the Health & Wellbeing Board meeting in November 2018.