Agenda item

A report outlining future options regarding the Social Work statutory functions under the Care Act will be carried out within the field of Mental Health.

The Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Social Services on options for the how the Social Work statutory functions under the Care Act will be carried out within the field of Mental Health in the future.

It was reported that under the current arrangements, Pennine Care Foundation Trust (PCFT) support the Council to meet its statutory requirements by managing Council Social Work staff. There is currently no formal ‘Section 75’ agreement or ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ in place. Many years ago, care co-ordination was introduced to the field of Mental Health, which saw the combining of several professional roles into a single role of a care coordinator. While this was an ambitious step towards integrated working, over the years the professional roles have been become unclear. A new Community Mental Health Framework was developed in 2019, which recommends the separation of the professional roles, as it was now recognised that people would benefit from a multi-agency approach.

Following a recent review of how Mental Health Social Work is conducted within Oldham, there is concern that the Council’s functions are not being met in full. One of the main reasons for this is the inability to recruit social workers into care coordinator roles. The PCFT have the same recruitment concerns regarding Nurses and Occupational therapists. A Greater Manchester (GM) project with Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) and the PCFT was currently underway, that aimed to bring about change and progress to the current arrangements. However, change was unlikely until at least summer 2025. PCFT in Oldham was currently in business continuity, due to significant workforce challenges, that was therefore having an impact on capacity to meet the demands the service.

Options/Alternatives considered:

Option 1 - Continue to work alongside the PCFT with no section 75 agreement or Memorandum of Understanding in place. No change to current arrangements. The report identified a number of disadvantages associated with this option. No advantages of this option were identified.

Option 2 - Continue with the current integrated arrangements and sign up to the new Section 75 agreement or Memorandum of Understanding moving forward.  The report identified several disadvantages and one advantage associated with this option.

Option 3 – Decide to bring social work staff back under council management and reduce the level of integration currently in place. This was the recommended option. The report identified the advantages of this option which outweighed the disadvantages. There would still be a defined split in professional roles, the different professions would remain co-located, which would bring the majority of the benefits of integrated working. If the Council were to step away from the integrated arrangement with the PCFT, it would allow focus on statutory responsibilities and the introduction of a robust governance and accountability framework. This arrangement would align to the arrangements between the PCFT and the other social work teams within the council. The Council would remain committed to working in partnership with the PCFT to deliver the best outcomes for our residents.

Resolved - That Option 3 of the report to bring social work staff back under council management and reduce the level of integration currently in place be approved.