The Health and Adults Care Scrutiny Panel of Hounslow Council met on the 11th of November 2024 for a meeting that included a presentation on the way the council commissions adult social care and a discussion of the panel's aims for the year.

Commissioning and Contract Management of Adult Social Care

James Hearn, the council's Senior Joint Commissioning Manager, was scheduled to deliver a presentation to the panel that would give an Outline of Commissioning and Contracting work carried out by the Council.

Councillor Lily Bath and council officers Steven Forbes and Martin Waddington were scheduled to address the panel to describe The Strategic Direction of Commissioning in the Council.

The panel was then scheduled to discuss the presentations given by the commissioning team.

Panel Deep Dive Terms of Reference

The meeting also included time for the panel to discuss its terms of reference for the 2024-2025 municipal year.

The draft terms of reference explain that the panel will be focusing on the way the council commissions adult social care.

This municipal year, the Health and Adult Care Scrutiny Panel will look at how commissioning and contract management for adult social care takes place at the London Borough of Hounslow.

The document describes the council's approach to adult social care, explaining the role of the council in providing it, and describing the types and quantities of care that are commissioned.

The Market Position Statement, outlines the current care market for adults in Hounslow. It also provides an overview of the services that the London Borough of Hounslow commissions. A pertinent example of this is how the Council commissions over 16,000 hours of home care each week for approximately 1,200 clients alone. The Council also commissions services such as extra care and supported housing; supported living; care home services and carer support services.

The document goes on to list five questions that the panel intends to try to answer during the year:

1. What is the commissioning approach taken at the London Borough of Hounslow;
2. How does the London Borough of Hounslow award Adult Social Care contracts;
3. How are these contracts managed and monitored and what metrics are used for this purpose;
4. What impact do current staffing levels in certain providers have on the delivery of our contractual obligations;
5. What mechanisms exist to ensure that providers are providing adequate services to residents.

It concludes by describing the panel's intention to use the information it gathers during the year to make recommendations to the council.

The panel will then make recommendations on ways that the Council might manage its commissioning and monitoring of Adult Social Care contracts.

Notes of the previous meeting

The notes of the panel's previous meeting on the 8th of July 2024 were scheduled to be noted.