Issue - meetings

Cabinet agrees to:

Option 1 - Confirm the revised fee structure changes as per the 2022/2023 budget and activate from 01 July 2022 or earlier if possible, and

Option 3 - Undertake a review of the current Wightcare business model and to revert with a formal all options analysis and recommended forward plan for the unit going forwards.

As elements of 3 above, Cabinet agrees that the business model will:

·       Provide a definitive position on the regulatory requirements for the council charging structure for Wightcare as per the relevant legislation as identified by Finance.

·       Define a model for apportionment of council administrative costs to be used in relation to business units and hence applied to the business model for Wightcare

·       Define a forward business model for Wightcare taking into account the above, best practices elsewhere, predicted inflation, utility, and other costs, expected market demand for both the basic and enhances options and with regular review periods.

·       Be presented to Cabinet no later than September 2022.

It was intended to move forward with the fee increases identified in the February 2022 budget and for the Wightcare service to be reviewed as a discrete business identity. Consultation had taken place and 73% of respondents would prefer to see a fee increase as long as the same level of service was maintained. If was important that the service did not ontinue to be subsidised from elsewhere in the Adult Social Care budget. It was noted that 2200 people currently used the service and there was a lot of potential to enhance the services provided. The fees had not increased since 2018 and this had left a 36% gap in the budget which would need to be made up gradually with the aim of reaching a ‘break even’ point.

The comments of the Corporate Scrutiny Committee were noted.

The Cabinet Member for Strategic Finance, Corporate Resources and Transformational Change presented the report for Cabinet on 12 May 2022, which sought approval to confirm the revised fee structure changes and to undertake a review of the current Wightcare business model.

The Committee recognised that fees had not been increased since 2018 and services provided were discretionary. A business model for Wightcare was being developed and would be reported to Cabinet by September 2022.

RESOLVED:

THAT the report to Cabinet on 12 May 2022 be noted.