Agenda item

To enable Cabinet to give consideration to a recommendation made to it by the Service Development and Delivery Committee in respect of the above.

That the comments of the Portfolio Holder are noted.

Cabinet was informed that, at the meeting of the Service Development and Delivery Committee held on 31 May 2017, the Housing Portfolio Holder (Councillor Honeywood) had introduced this item to that Committee.

The Council’s Control Centre Service Development Manager (Claire Ellington) had been in attendance and had given the Committee a presentation on the Council’s Control Centre Services. The presentation had covered the following:-

• Update on services;
• Growth over the last 7 years;
• Future risks and opportunities;
• Careline turning 30 years old;
• External Contracts;
• Statistics;
• Wristband Service;
• Key Safes;
• CCTV;
• Careline’s involvement in Emergency Planning;
• Staff Training;
• Careline - TSA Platinum Accreditation for the third year running;
• Update on the ‘Lifting’ service; and
• Recruitment difficulties.

The Control Centre Service Development Manager had also informed the Committee that the Council had been successful with a Tender submitted to Rochford District Council for ‘out of hours’ work which had been confirmed by letter that day.

Following discussion the Committee had thanked the Control Centre Service Development Manager and all of her staff at the Control Centre for their hard work and particularly for the good work in winning external contracts.

The Service Development and Delivery Committee had decided to recommend to Cabinet -

“That the Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Partnerships and relevant Officers should revisit results from a previous falls prevention project and meet with Officers at the NEE CCG in order that they should understand the value of funding a Local Authority Lifting Service, building on past and current pilot projects and the lifting service offered by Tendring Careline.”

The Cabinet had before it the following comments of the Housing Portfolio Holder made in response to the recommendation of the Service Development and Delivery Committee:

“I would like to thank the Service Development and Delivery Committee for their comments on this service but as there is currently an evaluation of the operation and benefits which may derive from the Lifting service and given that it is still early days for the service, it is somewhat premature to suggest that we should advocating the value of the service when its value is still being assessed.  Officers are in regular dialogue with the CCG and Ambulance service regarding this and other services and at present I am content to await the outcome of the evaluation of the live service before deciding on further actions.”  

Pursuant to the provisions of Article 7.08 (1.5 (ii)) the Leader of the Labour Group requested that it be recorded in the minutes that he had serious concern about Essex County Council’s decision to give notice that it was terminating contracts in relation to the prevention of falls service. He requested that this Council liaise closely with Essex County Council with regard to what future service would be put in its place. The Housing Portfolio Holder (Councillor Honeywood) undertook to take this forward.

Having considered the recommendation of the Service Development and Delivery Committee and the comments of the Housing Portfolio Holder:

It was moved by Councillor Honeywood, seconded by Councillor Turner and:

RESOLVED that the comments of the Portfolio Holder, as set out above, are noted.