Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs Laura Beddow and Spencer Flower.

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 19 December 2022 were signed and confirmed as a correct record.

No declarations were made.

Representatives of town or parish councils and members of the public who live, work, or represent an organisation within the Dorset Council area are welcome to submit up to two questions or two statements for each meeting.  Alternatively, you could submit one question and one statement for each meeting.  

All submissions must be emailed in full to chris.harrod@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk by 8.30am on Wednesday 5 April 2023. 

When submitting your question(s) and/or statement(s) please note that: 

• no more than three minutes will be allowed for any one question or statement to be asked/read  
• a question may include a short pre-amble to set the context and this will be included within the three-minute period 
• please note that sub divided questions count towards your total of two 
• when submitting a question please indicate who the question is for (e.g. the name of the committee or Portfolio Holder) 
• Include your name, address and contact details.  Only your name will be published but we may need your other details to contact you about your question or statement in advance of the meeting. 
• questions and statements received in line with the council’s rules for public participation will be published as a supplement to the agenda 
• all questions, statements and responses will be published in full within the minutes of the meeting.   

Dorset Council Constitution Procedure Rule 9 

No public statements or questions had been received.

To receive questions submitted by councillors.  

Councillors can submit up to two valid questions at each meeting and sub divided questions count towards this total.   Questions and statements received will be published as a supplement to the agenda and all questions, statements and responses will be published in full within the minutes of the meeting. 

The submissions must be emailed in full to chris.harrod@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk  8.30am on Wednesday 5 April 2023.

Dorset Council Constitution – Procedure Rule 13 

No councillor questions had been received.

To consider the draft Forward Plan.

The Shareholder Committee discussed the forward plan and the following items were added:

• Policies and Procedures – TBC

Financial Outturn Report – December 2023

To consider any items of business which the Chairman has had prior

notification and considers to be urgent pursuant to section 100B (4) (b)

of the Local Government Act 1972. The reason for the urgency shall be

recorded in the minutes.

There were no urgent items.

To move the exclusion of the press and the public for the following

items in view of the likely disclosure of exempt information within

meaning of paragraph(s) 3 of Part 1 of schedule 12 A to the Local

Government Act 1972 (as amended)

The public and the press will be asked to leave the meeting whilst the

item of business is considered.

It was proposed by Cllr Andrew Parry and seconded by Cllr Gary Suttle:

Decision

That the press and the public be excluded for the following 2 items in view of the likely disclosure of exempt information within the meaning of paragraphs 1and 3 of schedule 12 A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

To consider the report.

The Interim Head of Service for Market Relationships, Major Contracts and Over 65’s introduced the report which provided an update on the activity undertaken by the Commissioners and Care Dorset since December 2022.

There were no member questions or comments that needed responding to.

The Chairman joined Members in thanking Officers for the comprehensive report and for the work that both the Commissioning Team and Care Dorset had undertaken so far.

Noted

To consider a report of the Care Dorset Board.

The Managing Director of Care Dorset introduced the report which provided a company update in regard to its operations, successes and challenges.

Officers responded to Members’ comments and requests for clarification, details included:

• In the future, as much of the Care Dorset Update reports would be made publicly available to ensure transparency. Any information that was considered confidential would be appended to the public report for the Shareholder Committee only.
• Care Dorset had made positive progress since its inception which could be evidenced by good outcomes for its users.
• A launch was being planned for October 2023, one year after the establishment of the company.
• Colleague surveys were paper-based or offered in the form of drop-in sessions which allowed better engagement with the colleagues as they were often unable to access emails during the working day. Feedback so far had been highly positive.
• In terms of recruitment, Care Dorset was running targeted recruitment campaigns across the care sector, as opposed to advertising “everywhere”, which had paid dividends so far in terms of recruiting a dedicated workforce and ensuring the delivery of positive outcomes for service users.
• Care Dorset was investing significantly in its workforce and it had identified the importance of making the care sector a desirable place to work in.

Noted

To consider the report.

The item was deferred at the request of the Managing Director for Care Dorset due to the complexities involved in ensuring that this policy was robust and compliant with the requirements as set out within the shareholder agreement.

RESOLVED

That the item be deferred until the next meeting.

To note the Business Plan.

The Managing Director of Care Dorset introduced the proposed Business Plan for 2023/24 to be approved and set out the longer-term ambitions for developing a 3-5 year business plan for adoption in 2024.

Officers responded to Members’ comments and requests for clarification, details included:

• This was a “light-touch” business plan which would span for an initial one-year period. A longer-term business plan, spanning a period of 3-5 years, would be developed over the coming months and would be presented to shareholders at a later date.
• As Care Dorset had been established as a Local Authority Trading Company with the council as its one and only shareholder, there was no requirement for it to make a profit, which meant that greater risks could be taken in order to meet the council’s care objectives, providing it was doing so on a cost neutral basis.
• The long-term business plan would be co-produced by the Council’s commissioning team and Care Dorset and it was noted that members would need to be actively involved in its development to ensure that it was fit for purpose and aligned with the Council’s strategy.
• The Managing Director explained that Care Dorset was committed to ensuring that the company was successful in terms of service delivery whilst providing value for money for Dorset residents. It was highlighted that there may be times where conflicts between these two objectives occurred and a view would need to be taken as to what took priority.
• Care Dorset was working alongside council colleagues to ensure that there was a reliable suite of data that could be monitored, which would allow greater transparency and ability to measure against specified targets. Positive outcomes were highly valued by Care Dorset it strived to ensure that this was a key measure in all that it did.
• Care Dorset was working to be an efficient organisation, although consideration was needed in terms of the impacts of decisions taken on people, particularly service-users and staff. Capital investment would form a large part of the full business plan.
• There were a few options for managing surplus income, which would be discussed in the coming months.
• Officers had worked hard to ensure that all data that had been supplied by the predecessor organisation was available to Care Dorset and was utilised in a way that would assist it in delivering its key objectives. It was highlighted that not all data had been forthcoming for various reasons, but officers were continuing to gather such data.
• Workshops would be planned to ensure that commissioning strategies were aligned with the ambitions of Care Dorset in order to secure positive outcomes for all service users.

RESOLVED

That the Care Dorset 2023/24 Business Plan be adopted.