Social Work And Health Committee - 17/06/2002

At a MEETING of the SOCIAL WORK COMMITTEE held at Dundee on 17th June 2002.

Present:-

COUNCILLORS

Councillor Betty WARD, Convener, in the Chair.

The minute of meeting of this Committee of 20th May 2002 was held as read.

Unless marked thus * all items stand delegated.

I ADVISORY COMMITTEE (SOCIAL WORK) OF 6TH FEBRUARY 2002

The minute of the above meeting, a copy of which is appended hereto, was submitted for information and record purposes.

II MINOR CAPITAL AND PLANNED MAINTENANCE WORKS 2002/2003

There was submitted Report No 539-2002 by the Director of Social Work seeking approval for the City Architectural Services Officer to obtain offers and tenders and for the Director of Support Services, in conjunction with the Director of Social Work, to accept those offers and tenders for Minor Capital and Planned Maintenance Works up to a total cost of 235,000.

The Committee:-

(i)agreed that the City Architectural Services Officer be authorised to obtain offers and tenders for the Minor Capital and Planned Maintenance Works; and

(ii)agreed that the Director of Support Services, in conjunction with the Director of Social Work, be authorised to accept the offers and tenders as recommended by the City Architectural Services Officer for those works.

III NEW MONIES TO COMBAT YOUTH CRIME

There was submitted Report No 535-2002 by the Director of Social Work seeking approval of proposals to spend new monies which had been made available to combat youth crime and advising of summary details of the proposed development of restorative justice services. This initiative would be part of a range of new services under the umbrella of Dundee's Youth Justice Strategy.

The Committee:-

(i) noted the content of the report; and

(ii)agreed payments up to the value of 53,000 for SACRO (Safeguarding Communities: Reducing Offending) to expand its restorative justice service.

IV DEVELOPMENT OF SERVICES FOR VICTIMS OF YOUTH CRIME

There was submitted Report No 536-2002 seeking approval for a proposed partnership between Dundee City Council Social Work Department and Victim Support to develop a dedicated service for victims of youth crime. This new initiative would be part of a range of new services under the umbrella of Dundee's Youth Justice Strategy.

The Committee:-

(i) agreed to note the contents of the report; and

(ii)agreed payments up to the value of 30,230 for Victim Support to establish a Development Officer for victims of youth crime.

V IMPLEMENTATION OF FREE PERSONAL AND NURSING CARE; ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR COMMUNITY CARE SERVICES

Councillor Ian Borthwick declared an interest in this item and took no part in the discussion thereafter.

There was submitted Report No 534-2002 by the Director of Social Work advising of the statutory responsibilities of the Local Authority to implement free personal and nursing care and seeking approval to introduce eligibility criteria and priorities for access to, and provision of, community care services.

The Committee:-

(i)noted the new statutory duties that would pass to the Local Authority and the arrangements that have been put in place for free personal and nursing care as detailed in the report; and

(ii)agreed the introduction of eligibility criteria as outlined in the report.

VI WELFARE MEALS SERVICE

There was submitted Joint Report No 532-2002 by the Director of Social Work and the Director of Finance seeking authority to extend the current meals service provided by the Social Work Department to include meals currently prepared by home care workers in service users' homes and advising that the increased volume of meals would require the City Council to facilitate Tayside Contracts' intention of developing a new kitchen production facility at Claverhouse Industrial Estate.

The Committee:-

(i)agreed to discontinue the preparation of meals by Social Work staff in service users' own homes which would take effect when the new kitchen facility was fully operational;

(ii)agreed the allocation of capital expenditure of 200,000 for adaptations to an industrial unit at Claverhouse Industrial Estate for Tayside Contracts to use as a kitchen facility for the provision of a meals service to the Social Work Department;

(iii)agreed that the Director of Economic Development be authorised to enter into appropriate leasing arrangements with Tayside Contracts;

(iv)agreed that the Director of Social Work concludes formal agreements for the full specification and conditions of contract including costs for the meals service to be provided by Tayside Contracts once the proposed new facility was available to provide the service;

(v)agreed that the Director of Social Work submit a report to a future meeting of the Social Work Committee providing a detailed analysis of the budget and staffing implications of an extended meals service; and

(vi)agreed that the Director of Environmental and Consumer Protection submit a report to a future meeting of the Environmental and Consumer Protection Committee which recommends appropriate monitoring arrangements and the financial and staffing implications thereof to ensure that food safety procedures are adhered to throughout the Council.

BETTY WARD, Convener.

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