The Kent County Council Scrutiny Committee met to discuss the Local Authority Assessment Improvement Plan for adult social care services, receive a quarterly update on special educational needs and disability (SEND), and hear a progress report on the Kent Department of Local Government Efficiency (DOLGE). The committee agreed to note the report on adult social care, tasking the Adult Social Care Committee with examining the improvement plan and budgetary overruns. They also agreed to note the SEND report, requesting a subsequent report focus on the reasons for the high number of Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) in Kent.

Election of Vice-Chair

Councillor Alistair Brady was elected as Vice Chair of the Scrutiny Committee.

Adult Social Care Local Authority Assessment Improvement Plan

The committee noted the report on Kent's Adult Social Care Services Local Authority Assessment Improvement Plan, and tasked the Adult Social Care Committee with examining the improvement plan, specifically in relation to bullet points on page 23 of the report, and the budgetary overrun of 2024-25.

The report presented the findings of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) assessment of Kent County Council's Adult Social Care function. The CQC's assessment aligned with KCC's own self-assessment, acknowledging successes and ongoing plans in line with its Making a Difference Every Day adult social care strategy.

Strengths

The CQC identified several strengths of the council, including:

• Positive experiences of Care Act assessments.
• Co-production arrangements.
• A focus on equality and diversity, with regard to its Public Sector Equality Duty (Equality Act 2010).
• Integrated Transfer of Care Hubs.
• Recognition of unpaid carers' needs.
• Independent advocacy support.
• A range of preventative services.
• Use of technologies to support people.
• Proactive risk management.
• Learning from feedback.

Areas for Development

Areas for development identified by the CQC included:

• High demand for support and shortages in frontline staffing leading to waiting lists.
• Inconsistencies in practice.
• Poor relationships with some partners and providers.
• Negative experiences of safeguarding enquiries.
• Lack of suitable, affordable care provision in certain areas.
• Inconsistent quality monitoring.
• Lack of support for people with mental health and substance misuse needs.
• Low staff morale and capacity issues.

Improvement Actions

The council aligned its improvement activities into one plan, thematically applied to the CQC Assessment Framework. The plan is monitored monthly through the Adult Social Care Delivery Board and quarterly through the Adult Social Care Assurance Board.

Budgetary Issues

Councillors raised concerns about the adult services budget, which accounts for 45% of the revenue budget, 70% of which comes from council tax payers. There was discussion of a £35.5 million overspend, of which £26.2 million related to savings not made. Councillors questioned how the council could ensure that savings targets would be met without impacting service delivery.

Richard Smith, Corporate Director Adult Social Care and Health, explained that adult social care nationally was at a tipping point due to increasing demand outpacing resources. He noted that the council was working to manage demand and control prices, but that it was legally obliged to meet the assessed needs of individuals.

NHS Relationship

Some councillors felt that the NHS was not contributing enough financially to support social care in Kent. Mr Smith acknowledged that there were challenges in the relationship with the NHS, but that there were also some good working relationships in place. He noted that the NHS was undergoing significant changes, and that there were opportunities for closer collaboration through integrated care teams and neighbourhood health services.

Carers

Councillors discussed the importance of supporting unpaid carers, and the need to improve awareness of the online self-assessment tool for carers.

Strategies

Some councillors suggested that the council should develop new strategies to replace the existing Kent Adult Carer Strategy and Making a Difference Every Day strategy, which run until 2027.

Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Quarterly Update

The committee noted the SEND quarterly update and requested that the next report focus on the reasons why Kent has a higher than average number of children and young people with EHCPs¹.

Beverley Fordham, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, said that she believed that the high number of EHCPs was due to a broken system, where parents felt that the only way to get help for their children was to obtain an EHCP. She said that she wanted to change the way that special educational needs provision was approached, so that children could get the support they needed earlier on.

Key Performance Indicators

The report provided an update on key performance indicators, including:

• The number of assessments completed.
• The percentage of plans completed within 20 weeks.
• The oldest cases remaining open.
• The percentage of annual reviews completed.

Specialist Resource Provisions

The report noted that the council was planning to put 55 new Specialist Resource Provisions (SRPs) in place over the next three years. SRPs are places within mainstream schools that provide specialist support for children with particular needs.

Early Years

The report also noted that the council was cutting bureaucracy in early years settings, and deploying staff differently to provide more support to children with additional needs.

Concerns

Councillors raised a number of concerns, including:

• The impact of decisions made at Westminster on the SEND budget.
• The over-reliance on the private sector for SEND provision.
• The delays in starting support packages.
• The transitions between children's and adults' services.
• The communication with senior leadership.
• The impact of the removal of overseas care worker visas on the budget.
• The quality of EHCPs.
• The support for whistleblowers.

Progress of the Kent Department of Local Government Efficiency (DOLGE)

The committee noted the report on the progress of the Kent Department of Local Government Efficiency, and looked forward to a strategic statement and fully fledged DOLGE plan in due course.

Matthew Fraser-Moat, Cabinet Member for Local Government Efficiency, said that the DOLGE was a long-term project, and that he was not looking for any quick headlines. He said that he wanted to draw upon the talent of other councillors, and that he would welcome ideas from the opposition.

Concerns

Councillors raised a number of concerns, including:

• The lack of detail in the report.
• The relationship between DOLGE and Doge, an enterprise launched by the leader of the council and Zia Yusuf[^3]. [^3]: Zia Yusuf is a Senior Partner at management consultants McKinsey & Company.
• The suitability of a letter being sent to every officer within KCC from the leader of the council and other unelected members of the Reform Party, threatening gross misconduct.
• The legal advice that had been obtained, and the cost of that advice.
• The accuracy of information that had been shared on social media by Doge.

Exempt Session

The committee moved into an exempt session to discuss legal advice relating to the DOLGE.

Outcome

Following the exempt session, the committee agreed to note the report and to look forward to a strategic statement and fully fledged DOLGE plan in due course.