Minutes:
Councillor Jenkins asked:
Social care is under significant pressure across the UK. In Wales we have a strong tradition of partnership working. How is partnership working helping Newport to address some of our social care challenges?
Councillors Hughes/Marshall responded:
You are quite right- the pressures faced in social care as it is with our colleagues in health and the third sector are unprecedented and the challenges we face from an increasing demand on services, the increasing complexity of cases, changing demographics workforce pressures and of course budgetary pressures and our legal obligations coupled with the consequences and aftermath of the pandemic within the statutory framework of social care places local authorities throughout the U.K. in increasingly challenging positions where difficult decisions are made on a daily basis.
This has placed a greater emphasis on partnership working and is a shift from competition culture to a service user need guided approach to service delivery. Partnership plays an important role in ensuring quality service delivery and the concept of partnership is central to Newport’s approach to social care policy.
In May the Social Partnership and Public Procurement Bill is expected to receive royal assent. The Bill strengthens the Senedd commitment to place social partnership on a statutory footing in Wales. It will enhance the well being of people in Wales by improving public services through social partnership working, promoting fair work and socially responsible public procurement. The bill will build on Newport’s extensive history and success of social partnership and other collaborations in Newport and Wales.
In Newport we foster strong relationships with our statutory colleagues both locally, regionally and nationally. Newport works in partnership on a regional level via partnership groups like the Regional Partnership Board where Newport holds the Vice Chair position this year. This is a critical regional partnership between health and social care throughout the region that works strategically to ensure health and social care resources are used to maximum effect. The partnership between health and social care is pivotal to dealing with a wide range of issues and sharing good practice and innovation throughout the region and drives everything from our responses to the winter crisis in health and social care to delivering and sharing good practice in dementia services.
We also work closely with our colleagues in the police, fire and ambulance services and of course our colleagues in the Senedd on national social care legislation.
We have local representatives on important regional and national bodies and currently chair the eliminate agenda and represent Wales on the Social Services and Justice Boards.
Locally Newport as you will be aware has reorganised its leadership group to foster and facilitate closer relationships between its directorship that have led to strong working relationships between Education, Housing, planning and social care teams and this partnership approach carries over into cabinet itself.
We are seeing strong partnership working between Newport and the Home Office and I’d like to thank Sally Jenkins and her officers for the outstanding work they have done in supporting Unaccompanied asylum seeking children entering care in line with the national transfer scheme where Newport and Cardiff are acting for the region of Wales and collaborating with partners in Newport in ensuring a multi agency response and a strategic route to delivery. I would also like to thank our groups in Newport like the Sanctuary Project which supports our unaccompanied asylum seekers and assist us in supporting these children in settling in our community.
We also work in partnership with Housing Providers like Pobl and others that support our domiciliary care provision. These are in the main small to medium companies that provide local employment opportunities and support our local residents. We will also be aware of Growing Spaces who have worked in partnership with Newport for over 30 years and I would also like to recognise the work of Bill and the Trust throughout the recent budgetary consultation in securing a positive outcome and I look forward to working and building on this partnership in the coming months and years.
We also have strong working relationships with many other organisations including Barbados a long standing 11 year partnership in children’s social care, centric a lodge that delivers respite provision for adults and Home First and our partners in the floating support services who are working with us in delivering the Gwent wide homelessness strategy and supporting residents in the city who are homeless, ex offenders, who are experiencing domestic abuse or mental health issues and Newport manages the area planning board for substance misuse. I would also ask you to support the Violence Against Women Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence all member seminar on March 9th and listen to their excellent podcasts as part of the safer communities Wales.
You will all be aware of and many of you will have visited Windmill farm which is a fantastic partnership between local authorities, welsh government and health which will allow local authorities to care for children in their own region. We also look forward to working in partnership with Action for Children over the coming years in Newport as they develop new services in the city.
As you can see Councillor this is just a sample of the extensive and important partnership work going on in Newport and as I said earlier partnership plays an integral role in the delivery of social care in Newport and we are committed as a local authority to building on these and new partnerships moving forward.