A discussion will be held.

Contact: Stephen Chandler, Director of Adult Services Tel. 01743 253704 or Dr Julie Davies, Shropshire CCG Tel. 01743 277500.

37.1    In addition to documents that had previously been circulated to all Board Members by the Chairman on the Revised Better Care Funding Guidance and Planning, (including templates, technical guidance and the Local area briefing on BCF plans July to October 2014), the Board received two further papers; a report on the Better Care Fund; a copy of a PowerPoint presentation and a draft mapping diagram setting out visually the role of the Health and Wellbeing Board – copies attached to the signed minutes.

37.2    The new guidance published in July 2014 was welcomed, whilst it was noted that it was now very prescriptive in parts and in a little ambiguous in other areas.

37.3    Kerrie Allward, Better Care Fund Manager, introduced and amplified the report, specifically highlighting four areas; 

·       The new guidance – what had changed

·       New Guidance – what are our areas of focus

·       Developing a ‘golden thread’

·       Governance

37.4    There were two main changes in the new guidance; firstly Payment for Performance (P4P) would be linked to reducing emergency admissions only and there was an expectation that plans would set a minimum target of 3.5% reduction in emergency admissions. Secondly there was an expectation of stronger plans that demonstrated true integrated working and could be tracked through the financial model.

37.5    Stronger plans needed to include;

o   Clear vision and schemes to deliver the vision – the ‘golden thread’ through to the H&WB Strategy, the CCG Strategy and deliverables

o   The case for change – key themes

o   A plan of action – to be detailed and robust

o   Strong governance – local arrangements in place to track interventions and their impact

o   Alignment with acute sector and wider planning

o   Protection of Social Care needed to be articulated more clearly

o   Engagement – stronger emphasis and provider commentary to be made.

37.6    Under the new guidance the revised process was detailed.  It was noted that details of General Support and Tailored Support were due out that week and it was generally agreed that if Shropshire could get Targeted Help from the Task Force it would be welcomed, whilst it was noted there was no mechanism in place for this at the moment.

37.7    Members agreed that following the new guidance, areas of focus should be as follows;

Ø  Demonstrating a ‘golden thread’ – a robust common and integrated approach for the local area.

Ø  7 Day Working – articulate the detail and activity to happen, so can evidence it’s use.

Ø  Financial Modelling – to link in to the ‘golden thread’ and tie in metrics to those schemes

Ø  Stakeholder Engagement – collate all information on this into one place.  Articulate in a planned way and place greater emphasis on this.

37.8    In relation to the potential loss of funding if targets for emergency admissions were not met, it was agreed that a risk share plan should be developed and that plans be made so that all eventualities were covered.

37.9    In response to a question about whether or not Shropshire was aligned with Telford and Wrekin, officers replied that yes Shropshire was, especially on the big ticket items, whilst it was acknowledged that T&W were approaching the BCF very differently to Shropshire.  Therefore it was agreed that it was important for the language used to be able to be tracked back to the BCF and to have a glossary of terminology at the end of the document and to use visuals as far as possible. Identification of commonality between the two plans was needed to ensure that strategic alignment across organisations was clear.

37.10  The Chairman asked if everyone understood what ‘governance’ was and what it meant and there was a general consensus that everyone did.  She emphasised that it was important for everyone to be clear about this so that the BCF submission could be signed-off, at least in principle, at the special H&WB meeting arranged for 11 September, prior to its final submission on 19 September 2014.  In the interim, if anyone had any queries or questions they were urged to contact Kerrie Allward, Better Care Fund Manager directly, who also undertook to circulate a copy of the current governance arrangements to everyone for clarity.

RESOLVED:

a)    That the Board discussed and understood the new BCF guidance and confirmed available resources to deliver the submission and subsequent service transformation.

b)    That the Board discussed the key areas of focus for the development of the Shropshire BCF including the ‘golden thread’ and governance, 7 day working, financial modelling and stakeholder engagement.

c)     That the Board discussed and confirmed the vision, purpose, outcomes and themes as provided on the one page mapping diagram, circulated at the meeting.