Agenda item

The Presiding Member informed colleagues that the Leader would present the Annual Report of the Director of Social Services.

The Leader informed Council that the Strategic Director, as the designated Director for Social Services, had a statutory duty under the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 and as amended by the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016 to produce an annual report to the Council.

The report must set out the personal assessment of the Director of Social Services of the performance of Social Services in delivering its social care functions during the preceding 12 months.

The report covered the period of 2022/2023. Guidance on the format of the report was currently a matter of consultation with Welsh Government. This year, the Director used a combination of case studies and examples from staff to demonstrate the work of Social Services.

During this period, the restructured Senior Management team became established. The delivery of social care during 2022/2023 was profoundly impacted firstly by the work to recover from the pandemic, followed by the cost-of-living crisis.

Despite the significant issues and challenges of 2022/2023, the Director of Social Services was satisfied that the Council continued to comply with its statutory duties.

The Leader was pleased to note that despite the difficulties of 2022/2023, Social Services staff were able to look beyond the day-to-day demands and delivered innovation, continued their development of services, and strove for excellence.  The Leader emphasised the effort that Social Services staff make, and the importance of understanding the exceptional service provided.

The statutory annual report reflected the Director’s personal assessment of the performance of Social Services and was, therefore, being presented to Council for information purposes.

Throughout the report, the Director of Social Services emphasised the commitment, enthusiasm, and determination of staff to deliver the best possible services. The Leader thanked all staff for their outstanding work and commitment during this period and their continued efforts to deliver quality social care for our residents across the city.

Comments from Councillors:

§  Councillor M Evans echoed the comments of the Leader and added that the report was clear and concise.  Councillor Evans also requested that future reports provide percentages to contextualise the figures.

§  Councillor Drewett mentioned that he had seen the hard work put into the report in Performance Scrutiny Committee – People and knew the in-depth quality of the excellent work that the Social Services team provided for Newport and congratulated the Director of Social Services on her report.

§  Councillor Hughes thanked the Strategic Director - Social Services for producing the report and all those who have made contributions to its completion, including scrutiny committee. Councillor Hughes reflected that this was a challenging year for Social Care as society continued to deal with the repercussions of Covid. Demands on services increased at a time when the Council faced unprecedented budgetary and workforce challenges nationally as well as the impact of the cost-of-living crisis.

Councillor Hughes noted that Newport continued to comply with its statutory duties and remained innovative and committed to transforming services with priorities focussed on prevention and inclusion, collaboration with partners, strong engagement, and the wellbeing of staff. In Newport, strong leadership and committed staff are the backbone of services and the Council recognised their efforts in supporting residents through these incredibly difficult times.

Councillor Hughes also thanked the prevention and inclusion services, carers and community connectors and welcomed those staff who had joined the Social Services team; Social Services has over 870 staff in full-time equivalent employment, and they deserved the thanks of the Council.

Councillor Hughes thanked the Strategic Director for sharing the individual case studies with Council colleagues, which reflected the experiences of those who engaged with staff. Social Services often deal with people when they were in desperate situations and Councillor Hughes was confident that staff work their hardest to make a positive difference.

Councillor Hughes also thanked colleagues in health, the voluntary and third sector for collaborative efforts to support residents and looked forward to strengthening those partnerships.

§  Councillor Cockeram stated that it was vital to have case studies within the report to show the outstanding work carried out by Social Services and thanked the Director and the team for their contribution.

Resolved:

That Council

1.      Noted the Annual Report of the Director of Social Services.

2.      Commented on the content of the Annual Report of the Director of Social Services.