Agenda item

That the update report and that the affected services were now closed be noted.

The Cabinet had agreed on 20^th September 2021 to close the remaining adult social care directly provided services consisting of Lavender Court, Respond and Priors, Phoenix and The Pines day centres.  The Lead Member for Social Care and Public Health and the Executive Director of People (Adults) introduced an information report on the progress of closure.

The report set out in detail the progress made on the three worksreams of re-assessing client needs and identifying alternative provision; staff consultation regarding proposed closures; and service de-registration and premises hand back.  Good progress had been made regarding client re-assessment and alternative provision.  It was noted for example that of the seven residents of Lavender Court, three had moved in supporting living placements and four into alternative residential provision.  All but one continued to live in Slough, and the other individual had moved out of the area to be closer to family.

In relation to day care clients, forty-three people had alternative services put in place following their re-assessments and the remaining individuals either no longer wanted traditional day care of no longer required support from the Council.  The details of the staff consultation were summarised and it was noted that eleven staff had applied for alternative roles within the Council and six had been successful.  Thirty-seven staff had been made redundant. 

The report set out the lesson learned, which included early communication and engagement; robust audit trails; and the value of pre-decision scrutiny.  Lead Members welcomed the approach that was taken and commended the Officers involved.  The report was noted.

Resolved –  That the update report and that the affected services were now closed be noted.