Adult Services and Corporate Services Cabinet Members – minutes – 24 August 2009

The following items contain exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

1 (1) SOCIAL ALARM MONITORING – The Service Directors Adult Social Care and Asset Management and Culture submitted a joint report considering the possibility of Adult Social Services entering into an in house arrangement with the council’s Security Control Centre (SCC), to provide all alarm call monitoring in North Lincolnshire.

Presently the SCC provided the alarm call monitoring service to North Lincolnshire Homes tenants. The service was subcontracted to the SCC by North Lincolnshire Homes (NLH).

The provision of the alarm call system was a condition of NLH tenancy agreement and residents were obligated to pay for the service even if it was not required.

The SCC also provided a call monitoring service to customers who purchased NLH ‘Care Call Service’, there were presently over 900 people purchasing the service.

Adult Social Care had purchased some pieces of telecare equipment, which had been distributed to people referred by Care Management staff. SCC staff undertook the subsequent monitoring of any calls. At present there was no mechanism in place for reviewing if the person still required the piece of equipment, or for charging clients for the pieces of equipment.

The present hardwired system had been in place for many years and much of the equipment had broken down and was beyond economical repair. BT was undertaking a nationwide upgrade of services in North Lincolnshire sometime in 2010, it had been identified that the equipment supporting NLH tenants would not be compatible with the new upgraded network.

The future of the Housing Related Support Service was considered by the Supporting People Commissioning Body in May 2009. They proposed to contract directly with the SCC to provide the response to the alarm call system.

Resolved – That the proposal to enter into an in house agreement with the Security Control Centre for the provision of Social Alarm Monitoring services be approved.

Where there is no report this is because it is exempt, as it contains information which is considered to be of a confidential nature, as detailed in the Local Government (Access to Information) Act.