Agenda and draft minutes

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The Chair announced to those present that the meeting would be livestreamed.

The evacuation procedure was noted.

There were no interests declared.

To approve the minutes of the last meeting held on 21 July 2026.

Consideration was given to the minutes from the Committee meeting held on 21 July 2026, with specific attention drawn to the following item:

·       Healthwatch Stockton-on-Tees – Annual Report 2025-2026: Members were reminded of the additional information provided by Healthwatch Stockton-on-Tees (shared via email on 24 July 2026) in relation to how University Hospitals Tees (UHT) had made alterations following Healthwatch input / feedback, as well as evidence of Healthwatch’s ‘you said, we did’ feedback which aimed to ensure that local people could see how it had informed the UHT programme.

AGREED that the minutes of the meeting on 21 July 2026 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Progress report for the previously completed Reablement Service review.

Consideration was given to the assessments of progress on the implementation of the recommendations from the Committee’s previously completed review of Reablement Service.

Presented by the Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (SBC) Service Manager – Strategic Commissioning, this was the first progress update following the Committee’s agreement of the action plan in February 2026.  Developments regarding those actions linked to the Committee’s recommendations deemed ‘fully achieved’ were highlighted as follows:

·       Recommendation 2 (North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust (NTHFT) reviews its discharge processes to ensure that eligible individuals who are ready to leave hospital are made fully aware of local reablement provision and are referred to it upon discharge from hospital): A review (with representation from SBC and NTHFT) of Pathway 1 (Reablement) was completed on 5 February 2026, with the pathway (from admission to discharge) mapped out and agreed by all parties.  All eligible individuals who were ready to leave hospital were made fully aware of local reablement provision and were referred to it upon discharge from hospital.  All eligible patients requiring reablement were given the current leaflet from the Trust by volunteers.  Daily discharge meetings between SBC and NTHFT continued.

·       Recommendation 5 (Regarding the future local reablement offer, SBC:

a)    provides a summary of any differences in the findings of the Peopletoo review and reablement-related commentary from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following its late-2024 inspection of SBC adult social care services): A summary was discussed at the Steering Group in June 2026 and scheduled again for September 2026 (alongside preparation for the CQC inspection and sign-off of benefits tracker).

b)    confirms further planned changes to existing service delivery (structures, workforce) and the funding required to support this, and provides assurance on appropriate training uptake for new and existing staff): A report on the proposed new structure for reablement was developed and agreed at Adult Social Care Senior Management Team on 21 May 2026, alongside changes to the way the Trusted Assessors would work in hospital to ensure people were directed to the most appropriate route.

c)     explores whether any of its existing social care workforce outside the current SBC Reablement Service structure (e.g. Community Support Workers) can be utilised to increase staffing capacity for reablement provision): A working group had looked at the options for internal capacity for reablement and had identified that:

o   For people with a learning disability, autism and mental health, delivering enablement within the teams using community support workers was the most effective option.  This was consistent with the discussions with Peopletoo (external consultants) who believed, from experience in other Local Authorities, this may be an option but were unable to provide evidence for SBC at the time.  A pilot was currently underway to test the model.

o   For overnight support, to give people the opportunity to be discharged to / maintained at home rather than to / within a residential care setting, the contract for Care at Home had been used to commission  ...  view the full minutes text for item ASCH/38/26

The Committee was presented with the Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (SBC) Annual Social Care Complaints Report 2025-2026, an annual account which reviewed SBCs handling of complaints related to adult social care over the twelve-month period between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026.  The report shared information about complaint themes and the learning taken from those complaints to improve the quality of social care services.

Introduced by the SBC Director of Adults, Health and Wellbeing, and supported by the SBC Assistant Director – Procurement & Governance and the SBC Assistant Director / PSW – Adult Social Care, reference was made to an accompanying summary document which highlighted key elements of the main annual report as follows:

·       Overall Position: SBC Adult Social Care continued to operate in a challenging environment, receiving 16,143 requests for support, providing short-term support to 5,395 people, long-term support to 3,450 people, and undertaking over 4,000 reviews during the year.  Despite this scale of activity, only 34 formal complaints were received, a slight reduction from 35 complaints in 2024-2025.

The report demonstrated a positive complaints culture, with complaints viewed as an important source of learning and service improvement rather than solely as a measure of dissatisfaction.  Feedback had led to changes in practice, procedures, training and communication across several service areas.

·       Key Performance Highlights: Data showed that:

o   Complaints reduced slightly from 35 in 2024-2025 to 34 in 2025-2026.

o   Over half of all complaints (56%) were resolved through Early Resolution (where staff made contact with the complainant to resolve an issue) compared with 46% in the previous year.

o   90% of Early Resolution complaints were resolved within the target timescale.

o   No complaints were received regarding commissioned care services during the year, suggesting concerns were generally being resolved locally by providers before escalation.

o   Adult social care complaints considered by the Ombudsman did not require investigation because the Council had already acknowledged fault and implemented remedies.

·       Complaint Themes: The most common complaint theme remained care planning and assessment (10 complaints recorded), with service accessibility and availability remaining unchanged at five complaints.  An increase was noted in safeguarding-related complaints (rising from two to five) – the result of a change in how these were recorded to align with Care Quality Commission (CQC) themes.  However, the report highlighted that learning from these cases had already been used to strengthen practice and improve processes.

·       Complaint Outcomes: Of the 34 complaints received, 19 were resolved through Early Resolution, two were upheld in full, eight were partially upheld, four were not upheld, and one complaint remained active at year-end.  Where fault was identified, remedies included apologies, reassessments, policy and procedural changes, staff guidance, improved communication and, where appropriate, financial redress.

·       Learning and Service Improvement: The annual report evidenced tangible improvements as a result of complaints.  Examples included:

o   Improved guidance and support around Court of Protection processes.

o   Better recording of legal information and appointment of a Deprivation of Liberty champion.

o   Enhanced consultation and communication during DoLS  ...  view the full minutes text for item ASCH/39/26

To receive a further update on developments around this initiative, with specific focus on the role and achievements of the Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (SBC) Care and Health Recruitment and Training Co-ordinator.

Following the previous update at the last meeting in July 2026, the Committee received a further presentation on developments in relation to the Tees Valley Care and Health Innovation Zone, with specific focus on the role and achievements of the Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (SBC) Care and Health Recruitment and Training Co-ordinator.  Introduced by the SBC Assistant Director – Inclusive Growth and Development, and supported by the SBC Employment & Training Hub Manager and the SBC Care and Health Recruitment and Training Co-ordinator themselves, a presentation was given which covered the following:

·       Creating the Workforce Needed for Future Growth (Why work, health and wellbeing matter to economic prosperity): Several benefits were highlighted – good health and wellbeing; people being able to access and sustain employment; higher skills, productivity and earnings; business growth and economic prosperity; increased household income and financial security; improved health, wellbeing and life chances.

·       Supporting Workforce Growth (Focus on Care & Health): By creating pathways into health and care careers, workforce shortages were simultaneously addressed, improving employment outcomes for residents who may also face health inequalities.  This resulted in a virtuous cycle where better health, higher incomes and increased health literacy contributed to healthier families and communities over generations.

·       Workforce Context and Opportunity: Of the Borough’s population (circa 197,000), 120,000 were of working-age.  Some 8.5% of residents were Managers, Directors and Senior Officials (higher than the North East average) and 35.6% were educated to degree level or above.  However, 16.4% of the population were ‘income deprived’ and the Borough was the 50^th most income deprived in the country (in the top 15%).  6.8% had no qualifications at all.

The overall rate of economic inactivity of working age residents was 27% (GB average was 21.4%).  Low wages and low skills were particularly prevalent in certain labour market groups and locations, and the Borough had the second highest NEET (not in education, employment or training) rates in the country.  These factors highlighted the importance of creating accessible pathways into health and care careers, particularly for young people, residents facing barriers to employment, and those seeking to progress their skills.

·       Vision For The Tees Valley Care & Health Innovation Zone: A transformational place for health, care, skills and opportunity, which would create better connections (between Teesdale to Stockton and the wider Tees Valley), create jobs (estimated at 9,000) and deliver skills, tackle health inequalities, stimulate innovation (involving an Innovation Campus comprising academic research and medical school), and support sustainable and healthy places (e.g. community allotments).

·       Supporting the Sector to Address Shortages & Creating a Talent Pipeline: The SBC Care and Health Recruitment and Training Co-ordinator played a key role in supporting employees, Tees Valley residents, and education providers across the whole Tees Valley footprint.  This was achieved through 1:1 careers guidance, signposting people to education, training and qualification opportunities, supporting recruitment and retention by connecting people to employers, supporting workforce upskilling and career progression, supporting the development of the Tees Valley Care and Health Innovation Zone, and arranging events  ...  view the full minutes text for item ASCH/40/26

To consider information in relation to this scrutiny topic from the Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (SBC) Adults, Health and Wellbeing directorate.

The first evidence-gathering session for the Committee’s review of Protection of Property considered initial information from the Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (SBC) Adults, Health and Wellbeing directorate.  Presented by officers from the SBC Adult Social Care department, information included:

·       Legal definitions interpretation: The Council had a duty (under Section 47 of the Care Act 2014) to protect movable property where statutory conditions were met.  This applied when an adult was having needs for care and support met in a way that involved the provision of accommodation or had been admitted to hospital (or both), there was a danger of loss or damage to the adult's movable property, the adult was unable (either temporarily or permanently) to protect or deal with the property, and no suitable arrangements had been made by others to safeguard the property.

·       Reasonable steps: The Act did not define ‘reasonable steps’, though in practice, this meant proportionate actions necessary to prevent foreseeable loss or damage.  Examples may include the securing of doors and windows, removing valuables and important documents to safe storage, arranging disposal of perishable items, ensuring utility issues or obvious hazards were addressed, and liaising with family, attorneys, deputies, or landlords.  Section 47 permitted actions that were reasonably necessary to prevent or mitigate loss or damage.

·       Movable property: Although not specifically defined within the Act, guidance provided to staff involved possessions that could be moved and were not part of the land or building.  Examples include removal of money and financial documents, jewellery / medals / watches, furniture and personal belongings, legal documents (such as wills and funeral plans), and household contents.  Visiting officers provided intervention necessary to protect the individual's interests, and were given guidance on what actions should be taken.  However, for some items, the visiting officer needed to make a judgement on what was valuable.

·       Identification of eligible individuals: Referrals were mainly from adult social work teams and, occasionally, health partners, with eligibility dependent on property risk and absence of other alternative suitable arrangements.  An individual may fall within Section 47 where they had been admitted to hospital and could not manage their home, or they had moved (permanently or temporarily) into residential or nursing care, lacked capacity (or were otherwise unable to decide themselves), and there was no family member, attorney, deputy or other representative able and willing to protect the property.

·       Support provided: The Council would arrange to gain authorised access to the property and ensure keys were secured (locks may be changed where necessary).  Initial visits were made to take inventories and photographs of the property, checking any required maintenance and identifying any risks.  The Adult Social Care Financial Services (ASCFS) team would address any repairs and see that valuables and documents were removed and stored securely in a designated safe.  The visiting officers would record all actions for audit purposes (note: there was currently no system to capture this work, therefore folders on word documents, desktops and spreadsheets were utilised).  Where possible, visiting officers  ...  view the full minutes text for item ASCH/41/26

CHAIR’S UPDATE

The Chair reminded Members of the forthcoming University Hospitals Tees (UHT) Annual General Meeting (AGM), details of which had recently been circulated to the Committee.

WORK PROGRAMME 2026-2027

Consideration was given to the Committee’s current work programme.  The next meeting was due to take place on 20 October 2026 and was scheduled to include the first overview and performance report focusing on Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council (SBC) Public Health, the latest CQC / PAMMS quarterly update, and the annual Care and Health Winter Planning item.  The next evidence-gathering session for the ongoing Protection of Property review would also take place.

Members were reminded of the following documentation which had recently been circulated to the Committee:

·       University Hospitals Tees (UHT): Following a request by the Tees Valley Joint Health Scrutiny Committee at its last meeting in July 2026, UHT had provided further information in relation to waiting lists and cancer performance.

·       Care Quality Commission (CQC): Further to the publication of the latest Adult Inpatient Survey (2025) by the CQC in August 2026, results for North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust (NTHFT) were relayed.

AGREED that the Chair’s Update and Adult Social Care and Health Select Committee Work Programme 2026-2027 be noted.