THE TIME TO CARE CHARTER was not adopted by Councillors at Monday’s (Feb 9) Cabinet Meeting.

Cllr Paul Miller: Put forward
Notice of Motion.

A Notice of Motion put forward by Cllr Paul Miller asked that the council should adopt the Charter which would have been launched from February 16.

Cllr Miller spoke of the need for the authority to make adult care a priority for the authority but, Cabinet members were concerned of the implications of accepting the Charter and said they would need to know more information before they could sign up to it.

Cllr Paul Miller said: “What we’ve tried to do is quite clearly set out what we would like to see being delivered from the Adult Social Care team going forward in Pembrokeshire. This document talks about the flexibility of carers to support their clients and whether they are given the appropriate time within the scheduling of visits to do that.

“In terms of time allocated to visits I accept what we are asking for is a greater meeting of needs of the client to the time allocated to visits. In general that means the end of fifteen minute visits but I do accept the directors report that there are some fifteen minute visits that are appropriate. There are significant concerns from carers that their time with clients is limited by travel times not being appropriately factored into the schedule.

“We’re also convinced that there are examples in Pembrokeshire of home carers not being paid the minimum wage, that is completely unacceptable but it is something that we need to be mindful of. This is about doing more for people in Pembrokeshire but for me it is a question of priorities and this needs to be a priority for us as an authority.”

Council Leader Jamie Adams said: “I recognise that many of our ageing residents are in danger of becoming vulnerable but I think it is important that we recognise, not just the financial framework, that we get the model of care right.

“There are fundamental aspects of that model of care that need to be put in place before we consider signing up to this.”

Cllr Simon Hancock said: “This is very much a valid part of social care and wider political discourse and I agree with his comments, something we would all agree with, we want to protect the most vulnerable, we want to protect people in the community and give them low-level community services. We all share the same philosophy as to how the model of social care is and should be. There are six providers that we commission that pay the living wage but as Paul illuded to, this is a question of cost. Preliminary figures show that if we signed up to this, it would cost us a minimum of £155,000 in extra expense and a full procurement exercise would have to be carried out and that would also have significant associated costs. Everybody in this room would agree we would love to have everybody on a living wage. We don’t pay living wage to all PCC employers. We are never complacent but there is a lot more work and a lot greater understanding to receive clarity before we as an authority could bind ourselves to this charter.”

Cllr Sue Perkins added: “I support everything that has been said but we couldn’t sit here and vote for something without knowing the costs. I would like to know a huge amount more information.”

Cllr Miller responded: “I would also like to understand exactly what this would cost. This is broader than just paying the living wage although it is a key part of what we are seeking. We need to make sure we are providing the best possible level of care to people in Pembrokeshire. For me this needs to be a priority for this authority.”

Cllr Adams said: “There is not a desire to dismiss the points you have made which are valid and worthy of consideration but a quick fix is going to be very difficult. I’m a bit worried that we are being pushed into effectively signing on to a document that is slightly meaningless, simply because we’re pushed on a timescale. There is a lot of change currently within adult social care. I am keen that we keep a watching brief on this.”