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Adult Social Care & Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee - Tuesday, 1st July, 2025 7.30 pm
July 1, 2025 View on council website Watch video of meeting Read transcript (Professional subscription required)Summary
The Adult Social Care & Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee met to discuss the upcoming Care Quality Commission (CQC) assessment, the Care at Home transformation programme, and the committee's work programme for the coming year. The committee agreed to re-establish the Joint Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Priority Action Plan Sub-Group, and also noted a briefing paper on sexual health services in Bexley.
CQC Assessment Update
The committee received an update on the CQC assessment process following notification of assessment, and the CQC self-assessment. The CQC will formally review and assess local authorities' delivery of their adult social care responsibilities under Part 1 of the Care Act 20141. The CQC notified Bexley Adult Social Care of an upcoming assessment on 7 April 2025. The assessment process has three key elements:
- Information gathering, including a self-assessment and information return
- Speaking with people, voluntary and community groups, and unpaid carer groups
- A site visit
The council submitted its information return, including self-assessment, to the CQC on 2 May 2025. The on-site visit will take place within six months of the notification.
The self-assessment was structured by the four key themes from the CQC Assessment Framework:
- Working with people
- Supporting people
- Ensuring safety
- Leadership and governance
The report outlined the council's strengths and areas of focus under each theme. For example, under 'Working with people', a strength was identified as:
Delivering improved outcomes for people through strong partnerships and integrated working via Bexley Care, OneBexley, and our Partnership Boards.
An area of focus was:
We recognise that Bexley is one of the fastest-growing diverse boroughs in London and we are a council who are adapting to the changing needs of our residents. Adult Social Care is working with residents to develop plans for services that meet the needs of our changing population.
Councillor Rags Sandhu asked about critical risks and posts that had been put on hold. Jim Beale, Deputy Director for Adult Social Care, responded that he did not think there were any particular critical risks, and that posts within the Professional Standards Academy were reconfigured to fund an interim principal social worker role.
Councillor Wendy Perfect asked about developing extra care housing, and was told that there were active conversations going on, and that the council was looking at its own assets to see whether there was an option there.
Councillor Lisa Moore asked about the digital offer for online self-assessment, and was told that it would work through the website, and would determine whether the user would need to go on to the next stage, or whether it would make recommendations in relation to equipment or other things that they'd be able to do.
Councillor Nicola Taylor, Shadow Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health, asked about support for staff during the CQC inspection, and was told that there was a whole programme of support for staff, including drop-in sessions, sessions on particular themes within CQC inspection, and support from the Local Government Association.
Councillor Philip Read raised the issue of extra care facilities, and asked what had changed to enable the council to prioritise this now that it couldn't do 10 years ago. He was told that the council was now looking at its own assets to see whether there was an option there.
Councillor Peter Craske asked about staffing levels, and was told that the turnover within the formal care workforce2 was about 25%, which was a fairly common figure nationally.
Care at Home Transformation Update
The committee received an update on the Care at Home transformation programme, which aims to prevent, reduce or delay future care and support needs for people by maximising efficiency in how the council meets the needs of people who it has a statutory responsibility to support.
Alison Rogers, Director of Integrated Commissioning, reminded members that the aim was to move to a much more outcomes-based model and a move away from what is called in adult social care 'time and task'.
The contracts that were let cover reablement3 home care and conventional home care, both the care delivery in both of those areas and also trusted assessment. The committee heard that an external review had been undertaken to reassure the council that its journey was going in the right direction. The review assured the council that it had actually made more progress than a lot of places, and that the rewards were there if the council continued to progress in this way.
Councillor Rags Sandhu asked about direct payments, and was told that there had been an improvement in relation to direct payments and the take-up, and that the council was getting closer to the number that it wanted in relation to a percentage.
Councillor Lisa Moore asked about the timeline for completing the work that still has to be done, and was told that a project manager was being recruited, and that one of the first things that they'll be asking them to do, to agree that program.
Work Programme
The committee considered its work programme for the coming year.
Councillor Rags Sandhu reported on a reality check-in visit to Parkview Care Home, and raised the issue of language barriers for residents from different ethnic groups. He suggested that the council should consider the fact that there will be a point in the future where there will be more different ethnic groups coming in and needing services, and that the council needs to start planning ahead in terms of having staff with different ethnic backgrounds.
Councillor Nicola Taylor, Shadow Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health, raised the issue of vaping and NO2 canisters, and dentistry deserts in the borough.
The committee agreed to re-establish the Joint SEND Priority Action Plan Sub-Group.
The committee noted a briefing note regarding sexual health services in Bexley. Councillor Wendy Perfect asked about the higher rate of emissions for pelvic inflammatory disease, and the higher rate of terminations of pregnancy compared to London and England.
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The Care Act 2014 sets out how people should be assessed for care, and what kind of care they should receive. ↩
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The formal care workforce is the wider community home care workforce. ↩
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Reablement is a short-term service to help people regain the skills and confidence to live independently as possible. ↩
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