Agenda item

4.1      Joan Hutton (Head of Adult Assessment and Care Management) introduced the report; the following key points were noted:

·         Two key pieces of legislation (The Children and Families Act 2014 and the Care Act 2014) had implications for the way in which transition from children’s to adult’s social care services was managed.

·         The changes brought about by the legislation provided the opportunity for further collaborative and multi-agency work to take place.

·         There were currently 553 14-18 year olds in receipt of social care services. 121 would be eligible for adult services.

·         It could be a challenge to work with young people in receipt of care services and their families, if there were already set ideas about the services and support they should receive.

·         The decision to provide residential support, following education could also be difficult.

·         77% of young people aged between 19 and 30 in out borough residential placement had been placed directly from out of borough schools and colleges.

·         The Council was building on good work with providers in the borough to increase the education and residential options available in the borough.

·         There was an increasing focus on bringing together current resource and working together (health, social care and education) at an earlier stage of the transition process.

4.2      Joan Hutton (Head of Adult Assessment and Care Management) and Aileen Buckton (Executive Director for Community Services) and Heather Hughes (Joint Commissioning Lead Complex Care & Learning Disabilities) responded to questions from the Committee; the following key points were noted:

·         The Council had a statutory responsibility to provide for Lewisham residents in out borough residential placements.

·         Partners would be working together to create a dedicated team, bringing together shared resources to manage the process of transition.

·         It was anticipated that this would deal with some of the current issues involved with decisions being made before adult services became involved.

·         The positive impact of collaborative working had been demonstrated in other local authorities.

·         Sensitive work was required to support families of young people who were not due to receive adult services after they left children’s social care.

·         The Council had a responsibility (formalised in the Care Act) to provide information and advice to people who did not meet the threshold for the delivery of services.

·         It was proposed that additional capacity for people who were learning disabled would be created in the borough, this work would not happen immediately and there would be a gradual shift to in-borough placements.

·         With demographic changes and improvements in medical care, it was anticipated that the number of young people (currently 121) transitioning from children’s to adult’s services would increase by about 20 per year.

·         There were currently approximately 600 learning disabled young people who were in receipt of day services.

·         Work was underway to create local supported living provision.

·         There would be a phased rather than a sudden change of services.

·         Two schemes were in development and provision would be in place for the beginning of the 16/17 academic year.

·         Further information would be provided about the destinations of young people leaving social care in in and out of borough placements.

·         Further information would be provided about the changing demographic of service users.

4.3      The Committee agreed to share its views with Mayor and Cabinet as follows:

·         Having considered a report about the transition of young people from children’s to adult social care and received a report from officers; the Committee recommends that further work be carried out to improve the opportunities for children and young people to access education and care provision in Lewisham that meets their needs. The Committee is concerned about the number of young vulnerable people placed outside of the borough.

·         The Council should consider working with neighbouring boroughs to ensure that a range of provision is in place for children and young people in receipt of social care.

·         The Committee also recommends that the Council take into account the need for transitional support for families in cases where children are not eligible for adult social care upon reaching adulthood.

4.4    The Chair thanked Members of the Children and Young People Select Committee for their contribution to the discussion.

4.5    Resolved: to refer the Committee’s views to Mayor and Cabinet.