Agenda item

Report of the Director of Integrated Adult Social Care, (IASC/23/180) on proposals for the future Council contribution to the Wellbeing Exeter Partnership Fund, attached.

An impact Assessment is also attached for the attention of Members at the meeting and is available on the web at - Wellbeing Exeter Partnership - Impact Assessment.

The Health and Adult Care Scrutiny had also considered this matter, at its meetings on 13^th June 2023 and also at a special meeting on 27 July 2023, the minutes of which can be found here.

RESOLVED that the Council contributions to the Wellbeing Exeter Partnership Fund be ceased, as outlined in option 1 at section 4 of the Report.

(Councillors Biederman, Brazil and Whitton attended in accordance with Standing Order 25(2) and spoke to this item).

The Cabinet considered the Report of the Director of Integrated Adult Social Care, (IASC/23/180) on proposals for the future Council contribution to the Wellbeing Exeter Partnership Fund, the Report having been circulated prior to the meeting in accordance with regulation 7(4) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012.

The Cabinet noted the work of the Council in achieving financial sustainability and focussing on the things the Council must do. In developing a savings Strategy, the Council had tried wherever possible to reduce investment that limited the impact on residents, communities and partners. However, there were still difficult choices to make, but the Council had acted as a system partner and engaged with those potentially impacted, including all District and City authorities across Devon and being active in conversations that sought solutions.

Whilst the Report recommended the withdrawal of funding from Wellbeing Exeter, it was not a withdrawal from working in partnership with the VCSE, or Exeter City Council.

The Report outlined the establishment of Wellbeing Exeter, the previous funding arrangements and the three main services provided. The Council’s current funding commitments to Wellbeing Exeter were coming to an end, and in February 2023 Wellbeing Exeter’s commissioning organisations came together to make decisions about its future role in the city and the wider health and care system.

Exeter City Council had been preparing a funding prospectus with the aim of recruiting additional philanthropic investors and a new organisational form such as a Community Interest Company for April 2024 and beyond and the Council committed to working with Wellbeing Exeter to do this.

The recommendation of the Report meant that people with eligible needs as defined within the Care Act would continue to have eligible needs met.

The table set out in section 4 of the Report set out the analysis of options for the future Council contribution towards the Wellbeing Exeter Fund. With every option, the Council remained committed to working with partners to bring more funding into Devon to support them to deliver statutory duties.

Option 1 was to cease funding, option 2 was to do nothing and option 3 was to find alternative funding sources. In all cases the impact and financial implication was highlighted. Section 7 of the Report summarised the financial considerations of the proposals, noting that the cost of the Council’s contribution to the Wellbeing Exeter Partnership fund had been £395,000 per year, reducing in 2023-24 to £270,000.

Section 5 of the Report outlined the Consultation that had been launched on 9 March 2023 on the ‘Have Your Say’ page of the Council website. A Report to the Health and Adult Care Scrutiny Committee further provided an overview of the public consultation process, the level of engagement and the themes of the feedback received.

The Cabinet noted that the budget for 2023/24 did not include funding for options 2 and 3 and financial pressure of £270,000 would be experienced in the current year. They further noted that whilst the Council had contributed to the Wellbeing Exeter Partnership Fund since its inception, through the Integrated Adult Social Care budget, the service did not directly contribute to adult social cares statutory duty to meet eligible needs.

The Cabinet further noted that the Health and Adult Care Scrutiny had also considered this matter, at its meetings on 13^th June 2023, where an update on the Integrated Adult Social Care consultations on service changes was given.

An impact Assessment had been circulated for Members at the meeting and was  available on the web at - Wellbeing Exeter Partnership - Impact Assessment. This also highlighted potential mitigations for the impacts of the decision on users and the community.

The matter having been debated and the options and alternatives and other relevant factors (e.g. financial, sustainability and carbon impact), risk management, equality and legal considerations and alignment with the Council’s Strategic Plan) set out in the Director’s Report having been considered:

it was MOVED by Councillor McInnes, SECONDED by Councillor Hart, and

RESOLVED that the Council contributions to the Wellbeing Exeter Partnership Fund be ceased, as outlined in option 1 at section 4 of the Report.

(NB: The Impact Assessment referred to above may be viewed alongside Minutes of this meeting and may also be available on the Wellbeing Exeter partnership - Impact Assessment).