The Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee met to discuss the proposed closure of New Tyne residential care home, review the first quarter performance and resources report, and plan their work programme for the coming year. The committee scrutinised the proposal to cease direct provision of residential services at New Tyne, and requested more information on risk CR58, council wide programmes in place to support people, and lobbying activity regarding concerns in Adult Services. They also requested clarification on healthy weight measures for children, and for Public Health to share recent school reports covering smoking and other health matters.

Future of New Tyne Residential Home

The committee considered a proposal to close New Tyne, a 20-bed residential care home in Worthing, as part of the council's Future Care programme. The programme is reviewing the approach to providing directly provided residential services in West Sussex.

The proposal recommends that the Cabinet Member for Adults' Services approves the cessation of direct provision of residential services at New Tyne and declares the building surplus to requirements. An options appraisal would then be carried out regarding the future use of the site by the Council's Assets Team.

The report stated that West Sussex County Council has been strategically commissioning care for older people rather than providing it directly since 2005. New Tyne is the only residential service for older people that the council provides directly. The report also stated that the cost to the council of running New Tyne exceeds the cost of commissioning beds in a similar residential setting, with potential on-going annual savings of £460,000 if the proposal is approved.

The committee considered the rationale for the proposal, its impact on service users, families, and staff, and whether there is suitable alternative capacity within the market. An Equality Impact Assessment was undertaken, which found that ceasing services at New Tyne would not cause any additional risk to residents.

Performance and Resources Report - Quarter 1 2025/26

The committee examined the Performance and Resources Report for Quarter 1 of 2025/26, which sets out the finance and performance position as at the end of June 2025.

Adult Services Portfolio

As of the end of June, the Adult Services Portfolio is projecting an £8.0m (2.7%) overspend. The report noted that the Adult Services Portfolio commenced 2025/26 with significant financial risk, largely due to the potential cost impact on independent care providers following changes to employer national insurance contributions¹ announced by the government. Of the seven performance measures, 43% are reporting as 'green', 14% as 'amber' and 43% as 'red'.

The committee requested that, in relation to risk CR58, the action plan be circulated when available to the committee, and that Adult Services provide the committee with information on lobbying activity in regard to concerns in Adult Services. They also requested an update at the next meeting regarding a description on the council wide programmes in place in Adult Services to tackle issues to support people.

Public Health Portfolio

As of the end of June, the forecast for the Public Health and Wellbeing Portfolio is a balanced budget. Of the 10 performance measures, 20% are reporting as 'green', 30% as 'amber' and 50% as 'red'.

The committee requested that Public Health clarifies what Measure 6 (Healthy weight of 10–11-year-olds) covers, and that the service monitors this data by measuring against progress rather than by comparison to other councils, and for a short briefing note to be provided on this. They also requested that, in relation to Measure 61, for Public Health to share the recent school reports covering smoking and other health matters when available to the committee, and provide more information to councillors about the role of trading standards.

Work Programme Planning and Possible Items for Future Scrutiny

The committee agreed its draft work programme and reviewed the Forward Plan entries relevant to its remit.

The committee agreed to a plan for the item relating to mental health for the next meeting, which included:

• Understanding the commissioning of mental health services across West Sussex
• Plans for changes/transformation plans for partners
• Clarification of key performance indicators (KPIs) and current performance against the KPIs
• Transitions inclusion of those both moving from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) to adult services
• Prevention of children and young people's mental ill health

The committee also discussed the need for scrutiny of social prescribing² as a result of local GPs struggling to commission services due to lack of clarity around available funding. The committee requested that maternity services in Sussex be included on the work programme due to the recent report into ongoing failures of maternity care in England.