Decisions

Health and Social Care in West Sussex are working together to develop and implement a pathway for people who are medically fit for discharge from acute hospitals but who may have continuing health or social care needs. People meeting these criteria and who do not require 24 hour care would be supported to return home immediately through this ‘Home First’ pathway without having their care needs assessed in hospital.  The service will provide support to meet people’s immediate needs at home whilst an assessment is completed. Following this assessment the need for ongoing support will then be considered. The aim will be to maximise the use of community support and to enable people to remain living as independently as possible.

This decision commissions hospital discharge social care services, which will form one part of the multi-agency support that will be provided to patients on their return home.  This includes plans to provide a county wide cohesive service that aligns with health services and enables the ‘Home First’ care pathway to be fully implemented across West Sussex.

The Executive Director People Services has approved the commencement of procurement activities to source a new hospital discharge care service and to proceed to let the contract for service commencement from April 2020, as set out in section 2 of this report.

This report seeks approval by the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources to commence the procurement process for the provision of a Commercial Property Agent. 

The County Council commenced a programme to acquire commercial investments following approval of its Asset Management Policy and Strategy in August 2018.    It has since acquired two commercial investment properties for revenue return one in Crawley, in November 2018 and one in Hove, in February 2019.

Procurement of a Commercial Property Agent is now proposed via a mini competition from the Homes England Property Professional Services Framework.  The Agent will advise the County Council on the acquisition of additional property for its investment portfolio and manage the portfolio, including provision of advice on performance, lease renewal negotiations and rent review negotiations.

The Cabinet Member has endorsed:

1.   The commencement of the procurement process for the provision of a Commercial Property Agent services contract for a period of 3 years, with the County Council having the option to extend the contract for a further period of up to 6 months (maximum contract period 3.5 years) subject to satisfactory contract performance, review of consultants’ capacity, and/or a major review of the professional services needed or the portfolio; and that

2.   Authority is delegated to Director of Property and Assets to award the contract to the bidder submitting the most advantageous tender in terms of quality and price.

4.1     The Director of Law and Assurance reported that, further to minute 10 of the last meeting, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman had written to the County Council again, to ask the County Council to comply with its original recommendations in relation to the case previously considered by the Committee.

4.2     The Director advised that as the findings could not be rejected other than through judicial review, he recommended that the County Council should comply with the recommendations of the Ombudsman, that an apology be made, £400 be paid and that procedures should be reviewed. He advised that the Education and Skills Service had now accepted this and he did not consider that accepting the recommendations would set a precedent as each case is individually assessed and it remains the case that the Council does not agree with but accepts the findings.

4.3     The Committee noted the Director’s advice as Monitoring Officer. The Committee remained concerned about the implications of the findings of the Ombudsman, but did not consider it appropriate to consider a judicial review into the matter. It noted that the alternative provision eventually provided for the student concerned was now proving effective and that it was providing a good educational outcome.

4.4     Resolved – That the Ombudsman’s recommendations on the education complaint case be agreed – that the Council will:

(1)     Apologise to Mr and Mrs X for not fully considering alternative approaches to ensuring an education for their daughter from April to July 2017;

(2)     Pay them £400 to recognise the loss of educational opportunity during this period, to be used for the benefit of Y’s education;

(3)     Remind relevant staff that the duty to provide alternative education may arise for reasons other than exclusion and illness.

6.1     The Committee received a report by the Director of Law and Assurance (copy appended to the signed minutes), which set out a proposed Annual Report for submission to the County Council.

6.2     The report was introduced by Charles Gauntlett (Senior Advisor, Democratic Services) who advised that the report was positive, with little casework during 2018-19.

6.3     The Committee welcomed the report as it highlighted the successful approach to conduct and standards by members of the County Council. It was hoped that the County Council’s good practice could be shared with other local authorities in the area.

6.4     Resolved – That the draft report be approved for submission to the County Council on 18 October 2019.

5.1     The Committee received a report by the Director of Law and Assurance (copy appended to the signed minutes), which set out proposals to implement two areas of best practice as defined by the Committee for Standards in Public Life.

5.2     The report was introduced by Charles Gauntlett (Senior Advisor, Democratic Services), who advised that it was proposed to add an explicit wording to the registration of interests form that a member would ‘confirm that I agree to abide by West Sussex County Council’s Code of Conduct’ as well as give notice of their interests. He confirmed that the other proposal was to add a list of other bodies which the Council owns or has set up to the Annual Governance Statement, confirming that they abide by the Nolan principles of openness.

5.3     The Committee welcomed the proposals and agreed that these would address the two gaps identified in the County Council’s best practice on standards. It asked that the declaration to be added to the registration of interests form be highlighted in bold type.

5.4     Resolved –

(1)        That the proposed amended wording to the registration of interests form in the appendix to the report be approved for use after future by-elections and elections, in bold type.

(2)        That the Director of Law and Assurance be asked to list separate bodies within future Annual Governance Statements, together with confirmation that they abide by the Nolan principles.

7.1     The Committee considered a report by the Director of Law and Assurance (copy appended to the signed minutes), which provided an update on referrals made through the Confidential Reporting (Whistleblowing) Policy.

7.2     The report was introduced by the Director of Law and Assurance, who invited the Committee to note the four referrals made and the outcomes from them. He advised that recommendations were to change the name of the Policy to the ‘Whistleblowing Policy’ and to publicise it to staff and through staff groups.

7.3     The Committee supported the proposal to rename the Policy as the ‘Whistleblowing Policy’ as it was plainer English. The proposals to publicise the Policy were also supported and it was emphasised that efforts should be made to publicise it to all staff. The Committee also asked for future reports to include a table of the number of cases from the previous year, to give some comparison information.

7.4     Resolved –

(1)        That the report be noted.

(2)        That the Confidential Reporting Policy be renamed the Whistleblowing Policy.

(3)        That the policy be promoted to all staff, including school staff, through appropriate methods of communication.

(4)        That staff groups be invited to provide feedback on staff perceptions of the policy and its effectiveness as a route for raising concerns and in meeting the primary obligations of confidentiality and no adverse consequences.

The Community Initiative Fund is a County Local Committee (CLC) administered fund that provides assistance to local community projects.

The Director of Law and Assurance, in consultation with the Chairman of Adur County Local Committee and the Chairman of the Performance and Finance Select Committee, has used his delegated powers under Standing Order 3.45 to approve the following CIF Applications:

396/A – Beach garden development (The Shoreham Beach School Parent, Teachers and Friends Association), £750.00 - towards purchasing child-height planters and wicker dens for outdoor reading. 

399/A – Welcome to the Morris Side! (Sompting Village Morris), £552.11 - including contribution towards civic venue hire for ‘Have A Go’ sessions open to the public, purchasing three first aid kits and the production of recruitment flyers. 

In May 2019, the Chief Fire Officer agreed to commence the procurement of 35 vehicles to replace those currently provided to staff to support operational cover through a Flexi Duty System (FDS) (OKD_03_19/20).

The total value of the purchase of vehicles, including emergency response conversions and livery, is expected to be approximately £750,000. Funds have been allocated to the purchase of these vehicles through the Fleet Asset Management Plan.

A procurement process, compliant with West Sussex Standing Orders and European Union Procurement Directives, has been undertaken and the (Acting) Chief Fire Officer has awarded the Contract to the successful bidder.

The (Acting) Chief Fire Officer has approved the award of the contract to purchase 35 vehicles (with emergency response conversion) from Volkswagen Group United Kingdom Ltd trading as Skoda UK.