Health and Social Care Committee                                

HSC(4)-01-12 Paper 1a

Inquiry into Residential Care for Older People:  Timetable and key themes

To:              Health and Social Care Committee

From:          Committee Service

Date:                    January 2012

Purpose

1. This paper proposes an outline timetable for the Health and Social Care Committee’s inquiry into residential care for older people.

Background                                       

2. Given the wide scope of this inquiry, the Committee agreed that it would be helpful to consider a work plan for its approach to gathering of oral evidence. A proposed approach was agreed on 8 December 2011 (Paper: HSC(4)-13-11 paper 2).

3. In order to ensure that the Committee addresses all the issues listed in the inquiry’s terms of reference, it was agreed that the gathering of oral evidence would be organised in accordance with two principles:

(i) Oral evidence sessions to be arranged on the basis of interest groups; and

(ii) Particular themes, as identified in the inquiry’s terms of reference, to be allocated to specific Members to take forward for the duration of the inquiry.

Timetable

4. In order to ensure that the Committee considers a broad range of perspectives when undertaking this inquiry, it was agreed that witnesses would be invited to attend Committee on the basis of the interest group to whom they belong. A draft timetable of sessions and list of proposed witnesses is attached at Annex A, based largely on the written evidence received to date. Members may wish to suggest alternative or additional witnesses.

Allocation of key themes to Members

5. In order to ensure that all aspects of the inquiry are addressed comprehensively, it was agreed that each of the bullet points listed in the terms of reference (that is, each key theme) would be allocated to a member(s) of the Committee.

6. In practice, this would mean that the Committee would ask Member A and Member B to concentrate, for the duration of the inquiry, on gleaning information relating to the first bullet point in the terms of reference; Member C, on the other hand, may be asked to take responsibility for matters covered by bullet point two, etc.

Such an approach would not in any way prohibit Members from asking questions outside their allocated themes but would ensure protection for all themes to be covered, relative to one another.

7. The inquiry’s terms of reference (that is, each key theme) are attached at Annex B.

Proposal

8. The Committee is invited to:

- consider and agree the draft timetable for oral evidence and proposed witnesses (Annex A);

- consider and agree which Members will lead on each of the key themes identified in the inquiry’s terms of reference (Annex B).

ANNEX A

Oral evidence timetable for the inquiry into residential care for older people

It is proposed that the sessions below are scheduled between February and July 2012. Opportunities for other Committee work will also be scheduled, including time for Members to undertake public engagement work on this inquiry.

Session 1: Scene setting

· Appointed expert adviser

· Social Care Institute for Excellence /Centre for Policy on Ageing/ Joseph Rowntree Foundation

· Older People and Ageing Research and Development Network (OPAN Cymru)

Session 2: Service users, their families, and carers:   

· Older people’s forums, e.g. Pensioners’ Forum Wales

· Age Cymru groups

· Carers’ groups and organisations representing them e.g. Wales Carers Alliance

· Older People’s Commissioner

Session 3: Public sector bodies

· Local authorities/Welsh Local Government Association/Association of Directors of Social Services

· Local health boards/NHS Confederation

· Social Services Improvement Agency/ National Leadership and Innovation Agency for Healthcare

Session 4: Private sector providers

· Care Forum Wales

· Social Care Association

· Large care provider e.g. BUPA

Session 5: Third sector organisations and providers

· Crossroads

· Age Cymru/Age Alliance Wales

· Community Housing Cymru/Care and Repair Cymru

· Wales Co-operative Centre

Session 6: Professional and staff bodies

· British Association of Social Workers Cymru

· UNISON and/or Cymru/Wales Unison Social Services Forum.

· Health professionals, e.g. Royal College of Psychiatrists

· College of Occupational Therapists  

Session 7: Regulators and inspectors

· Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales / Health Inspectorate Wales

· Care Council for Wales

Session 8: Welsh Government

· Deputy Minister for Children and Social Services

· Lead officials

ANNEX B

Terms of reference for the inquiry into residential care for older people

The terms of reference for the inquiry, as agreed by the Committee on 20 October 2011, are as follows:

To examine the provision of residential care in Wales and the ways in which it can meet the current and future needs of older people, including:

- the process by which older people enter residential care and the availability and accessibility of alternative community-based services, including reablement services and domiciliary care.

- the capacity of the residential care sector to meet the demand for services from older people in terms of staffing resources, including the skills mix of staff and their access to training, and the number of places and facilities, and resource levels.

- the quality of residential care services and the experiences of service users and their families; the effectiveness of services at meeting the diversity of need amongst older people; and the management of care home closures. 

- the effectiveness of the regulation and inspection arrangements for residential care, including the scope for increased scrutiny of service providers’ financial viability.

- new and emerging models of care provision.

- the balance of public and independent sector provision, and alternative funding, management, and ownership models, such as those offered by the cooperative, mutual sector and third sector, and Registered Social Landlords.