Tory finance chief quits York Executive

Mystery surrounds consultants contract

The Conservative Councillor responsible for City finances has abruptly quit his post. The announcement came only days after the Council released details of a hitherto confidential consultancy contract.

In 2014 a small consultancy firm, run by a former City Council employee, had been awarded a contract to project manage the older person’s accommodation project. This is the programme which will see existing elderly person’s homes like the one at Oakhaven closed and replaced by larger privately run “mega homes”. Part of the programme would see elderly person’s accommodation built on the Lowfields school site.

The consultants contract was to have run from 1^st January 2015 until 31^st December 2015. The contract was extended to 31^st March 2016 with a total value of £130,000.

In response to a Freedom of Information request the Council says it does not hold any information to indicate “which Directors and Councillors were involved in the letting of the contract, and any extensions thereof” nor can they ” provide copies of all appropriate decision meeting minutes or notes – including copies of any invitation to tender adverts”!

The contract had an “output” specification. This meant that payments were made to the consultancy only when agreed targets and milestones had been met.

The Council was also asked about its current policy in engaging employees, consultants and contractors who seek to be remunerated via a private company.

They replied;“There is currently no policy which specifically deals with this question. Each assignment will be considered individually and advice is provided on the employment implications by human resources or the procurement team”.

In March 2016, the Council, now under coalition control, decided that further work was needed on the older person’s project. They decided to let a further consultancy project covering the period 31^st March 2016 – 30^th March 2018 using the services of NEPRO This is a local government “spin off” company run from Sunderland. It effectively procures and manages contracts let on behalf of local authorities.

The Council have admitted that “The decision to use NEPRO is an officer decision and was made by the Council Management Team on 7th May 2014. As this is a legally compliant framework, the terms and conditions are pre-agreed. Suppliers on the framework have already agreed to these terms and conditions, therefore no further steps were deemed necessary to ensure transparency of individual contracts agreed through the framework.

The new contract was handed to the same consultant who had held the old contract since January 2015.

It appears that no Councillors were involved in the decision nor is there any evidence that the employment of NEPRO has been reviewed during that last 3 years. It is unclear what proportion of contract costs are retained by NEPRO or indeed what value they add, in a situation where an existing contractor is simply reappointed to a role.

The new contract had a potential value of £216,000.

£54,000 was paid out in 2016 during the first 9 months of the contract.

The contract is again based on “outputs” being achieved (see below).

While output contracts can have advantages, they are an opaque system and unsuitable for activities where taxpayers opposition to proposals must be overcome before payments are released. The temptation may be to prioritise financial gain over the views of residents.

This happened with the decision to build on the Lowfields playing fields, where lobbyists were urged to influence consultation results and a, misleading, report gave the impression that the NHS had agreed to fund a new health centre on the site (see here).

It hadn’t.

The lack of engagement by senior Councillors in the contract letting process at the York Council is a concern. So is the lack of, publicly accessible, records of decisions taken about contract letting.

With spin off companies not subject to FOI regulations, this means that large sums of public money can be committed to controversial projects with minimal accountability.

York Council seeking “community health champion”

As part of work to support residents in their communities and empower people to get involved in healthy activities, the council is inviting residents to apply to be a community health champion.

The Council says that a ” community health champion is a volunteer, who with training and support from the council can help improve the health and wellbeing of their families, communities or workplaces by:

Motivating and empowering people to get involved in healthy activities
Creating groups to meet local needs
Directing people to relevant support and services.

As part of a pilot scheme, community health champions will work closely with City of York Council’s Public Health team and raise awareness of health messages amongst communities, support older people and help to create supportive networks and environments for residents, making a real difference to their lives”.

For more information on this opportunity visit www.york.gov.uk/volunteeringopportunities,call 01904 553377 or email yorwellbeing@york.gov.uk.

Separately local residents groups have been told about another project.

Local Area Coordination

0511-0908-1722-5910_Black_and_White_Cartoon_of_a_man_Helping_His_Elderly_Father_clipart_image The Council says that “Local Area Coordination is an internationally recognised evidence-based approach to supporting people as valued citizens in their communities. It enables people to pursue their vision for a good life and to stay safe, strong, connected, healthy and in control. As well building the skills, knowledge and confidence of people and the community.

Local Area Coordination supports people who may feel vulnerable due to age, frailty, disability or mental health needs.

City of York Council will be taking forward the programme in York and shortly be recruiting three Local Area Coordinators to work in the following areas: Tang Hall, Westfield and Huntington & New Earswick. The Local Area Coordinators will take time to get to know you, your family/ carer and community.

If you would like to find out more and are interested in getting involved and making Local Area Coordination a success in York please come to one of our informal community awareness raising events shown below”.

New Earswick Folk Hall – Monday Feb 6^th 4 – 6pm
Acomb Explore Library – Thursday Feb 9^th 5 – 7pm
Tang Hall Community Centre – Friday Feb 10^th 4 – 6pm

“It will be fine to drop in but to enable us to plan the sessions please contact Jack Derham on email jack.derham@york.gov.uk to register your planned attendance.

If you have any queries please contact Joe Micheli, Head of Commissioning (Early Intervention, Prevention and Community Development) on 01904 554477 or joe.micheli@york.gov.uk “

At there moment there is little substance to the plans.

There are no fact sheets indicating the scale of the problem, no indication of how success will be judged and no targets.

What precisely the workers will actually do on a day to day basis has also yet to be defined.

However, anything that can be done to combat the isolation felt by vulnerable people in our community is welcome and we hope that the Council will quickly refine and explain their plans

Spotlight on York NHS finances as Acomb GP surgery looks to extend

Freedom of Information response confirms no discussions held regarding Priory Surgery move to Lowfields site

With the NHS Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group (YCCG), which buys services for people in York, heading for a £24 million overspend this year, the spotlight is being turned on some major investment decisions.

The Estates and Technology Tranformation Fund provides investment for General Practices to improve premises and technology.

Grants can be between 30% and 100% of the capital cost.

Part of the purpose of this programme is to “help practices establish infrastructure which enables sufficient routine appointments at evenings and weekends to meet local demand alongside effective access to out of hours and urgent care services”

All schemes have to be implemented by March 2019.

On 2nd June 2016 a local commissioning committee meeting in York decided which projects to bid for. Some have since been added to the approved national list.

The national improvement list for 2016/17 authorises funding for extension work at the Front St (Copmanthorpe), Posterngate and Priory (Cornlands Road) surgeries. The Cornlands Road scheme could cost around £800,000 and would fund an extension for a “new patient lounge” and facilities to “manage long term conditions”.

Four new build schemes are also listed for York. They are located at Wheldrake, Jorvik/Gillygate South (Terry’s site), Huntington and Priory (Burnholme Health and Well Being campus).

In deciding its priorities, the YCCG had to observe national policies, They are set out here click

The guidance says “It is not anticipated, at this stage, that a further national round of submissions will be offered as it is expected the fund will be fully committed and the pipeline fully populated following this second invitation for schemes”.

The situation at the Priory practice on Cornlands Road came to the fore in the autumn when the York Council agreed to allocate a site at Lowfields for the practice to move into.

Priory had already been working with the Council on providing health facilities at the Burnholme school site on the other side of the City.

Although NHS documents (see below) reveal that the current Cornlands Road premises do require improvement, the local YCCG nodded through the extension scheme in June.

In a response to a Freedom of Information request the YCCG says,

“The CCG and practice have had no meetings about the relocation” of the surgery to Lowfields.

So, it seems that – with the deadline for funding applications now passed – there is little chance of a health centre being built on the reserved site at Lowfields in the foreseeable future.

…. and there is now even less justification for building on the Lowfields playing fields!

York plea, “Help your neighbour over festive period”

Please think of vulnerable friends and neighbours over the festive period.

stonegate-christmas-3-18th-dec-2016 It’s estimated that over half a million older people in the UK spend Christmas Day alone*.

Top tips for supporting older or vulnerable neighbours, friends and relatives, include:

Make sure they’re warm enough – the temperature in their home should be at least 18 degrees C, particularly if they are not mobile, have long term illness or are 65 or over, and they may need to wear several layers of clothes to stay warm.
Try to make sure they have regular hot meals and drinks throughout the day.
Check that they have enough medication to last the period that their GP practice is closed, so they don’t risk getting ill if they run out.
Information about social groups and activities for older people is available through www.connecttosupport.org/york or by contacting Age UK York on 01904 627995.
Christmas can also be a particularly difficult time for people living with dementia. For information about how to support people with dementia over the festive period, visit www.alzheimers.org.uk and search for ‘tips for Christmas support’.
For more information about Age UK’s national Spread the Warmth campaign visit www.ageuk.org.uk or see www.york.gov.uk/winter for more information about keeping well during winter.

The cold weather can have a significant impact on people’s health and residents are being reminded of the services available to them this winter.

Pharmacies across the city can offer confidential, expert advice and treatment for a range of common illnesses such as colds, flu, minor rashes and pain relief. They can also help answer any questions you may have about the medication you are taking. Many pharmacies are open late into the evening and all have a consultation room so you can speak in private.

Residents can also get advice from NHS111 before contacting their GP, the fast, easy and free NHS non-emergency number. NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Call 111 if:

you need medical help fast but it’s not a 999 emergency
you think you need to go to A&E or need another NHS urgent care service
you don’t know who to call or you don’t have a GP to call
you need health information or reassurance about what to do next.

*figures based on research carried out by Age UK in 2011

Lowfields residents form action group to oppose playing field development

A new residents action group has written to Executive Councillors asking them to oppose development on a school playing field at a meeting tomorrow.

Residents had been told by the Council that only the built footprint of the old Lowfields school site, would be developed but that promise now seems likely to be broken.

A petition has been sent to the Council.

Residents are threatening to refer the matter to the Ombudsman as officials have not reported the results of a door to door survey of opinion, taken in the autumn, to tomorrows meeting. The survey had revealed strong opposition to the development of the playing field.

Questions have also been raised about to the role of the NHS and Police Commissioner in the plan which involves the relocation of a local GP surgery and the re-siting of Acomb Police station.

York Council set to close Willow House elderly persons home

Members of City of York Council’s Executive will consider plans for the next phase of the Older People’s Accommodation Programme on Thursday 24 November, when they receive the results of the consultation at Willow House older persons home and decide if the home should close.

Between Monday 26 September and Friday 4 November residents, relatives, carers and staff at Willow House were invited to take part in a six week consultation on the option to close the home in Spring 2017, as part of plans to modernise accommodation for older people in the city.

If the proposals go ahead, Executive will also be asked to approve that the Willow House site be put up for sale to generate a capital receipt to support the wider Older People’s Accommodation Programme.

The programme seeks to address the needs of York’s fast-growing older population, by providing modern facilities which deliver high quality care and support an improved quality of life. It also aims to make the best use of the city’s existing Extra Care housing, making it more accessible for people with higher care needs by increasing the support available at each location and by replacing the council’s out-dated Older People’s provision, with more modern accommodation.

The consultation on proposals to close Willow House engaged residents, relatives and staff. A number of issues, concerns and queries were raised during the consultation, which have been considered and factored into the Older People’s Accommodation Programme. Everyone affected by the consultation was offered the opportunity to talk on a one-to-one basis about the proposals.

Residents were also able to discuss the options open to them, based on their individual needs, including housing extra care housing or moving to an alternative care home.

The Moving Homes Safely Protocol has also been shared with residents. The protocol was used to support residents and their families through the closure of Oakhaven and Grove House and seeks to minimise any stress for individuals by focusing on the needs of each resident. If Executive approve plans to close Willow House it is advised the protocol is used again so that residents’ moves are carefully planned and managed.

Martin Farran, Director of Adult Social Care, City of York Council, said: “We recognise that this consultation process can be an unsettling and upsetting. Throughout this process we have been working closely with residents, staff and their families, to make sure they have the support and advice they need.

“The focus of the Older People’s Accommodation Programme remains clear: to support independent living at home and equip York with the accommodation and care that it needs for the future. Our residents are of paramount importance and the actions we take now will ensure that they – and future generations – will have the best possible quality of life and ensure that we can meet the needs of York’s ageing population.

“Whatever decision is taken by the Executive, we will continue to support residents, relatives and staff throughout the process.”

Executive will take place on Thursday 24 November at West Offices from 5.30pm and is open to members of the public or is available to watch live online from: www.york.gov.uk/webcasts

To find out more about the report, or to attend, click

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