Decision Maker: Cabinet

Outcome:

Is Key Decision?: Yes

Is Callable In?: Yes

Date of Decision: September 9, 2025

Purpose: A call-in was received for this decision, which was rejected by the Monitoring Officer as invalid.

Content: The Cabinet received a post-consultation report on the future Adult Social Care service model for day opportunities and overnight respite for adults with care and support needs.   The Council was grateful to everyone who had participated in the 15-week public consultation. The Council had listened to views, and the recommended approach had changed in consideration of this feedback, alongside further analysis on alternative options.   Day opportunities and overnight respite services were offered to support adults to live their best lives. The Council wanted personalised and inclusive support to be offered to everyone in need so that people were empowered. This might be through support to access community facilities, supported employment, volunteering or other practical support. A smaller cohort of adults with more complex needs would always need access to high quality building-based care and support at centres across the county.    Most day opportunities and overnight respite care and support was delivered successfully by delivery partners across the county, alongside a Council-run service, called the short breaks service, that provided building-based day opportunities (day centres) and overnight respite (Seeleys House).   The current service model was unsustainable and outdated, with an overreliance on building-based provision to meet needs. The Council-run services focused on the traditional building-based day centre services alone and were underutilised.  There was a need to change to ensure that there was the right community-focused provision to meet needs now and for the future; the right high-quality facilities in the right places for the smaller cohort of adults with complex needs who require building based day opportunities; and ensure cost-effective service delivery.   It was known that adults that the Council supports, and families/carers were choosing to access more community-based provision and activities outside of attending a day centre.  Over the last few years, this need and demand had translated to a wider range of provision being available, such as supported employment and access to community facilities, with greater choice for carers/families also with personal budgets being available.   While the overall number of all age adults supported by the Council to access day opportunities and overnight respite had increased, there had been a marked decline in the use of the Council-run centres. In 2020, 330 adults accessed the Council-run day opportunities and overnight respite services but now there were only 119 adults as of 1 July 2025. This represented a 64% decline in the number of adults supported by the Council-run service.   Several factors had influenced this trend. Firstly, there had been an increase in the range of alternative day opportunities provided by delivery partners, offering a more diverse range of opportunities and activities.  Secondly, there was now a stronger focus in social care practice on supporting independence of adults in communities and working to maximise opportunities such as supported employment, volunteering or other community support over traditional building-based day centres alone.  Thirdly, providers of residential and supported living had also improved their day activities offer so that there was no longer a need for adults to have to travel to separate day centres to access activities.   The new service model would enable the Council to deliver cost-effective services which was vital in the increasingly challenging financial climate that the Council faced.  It would deliver an estimated full year annual adult social care saving of £1.081m by 2028/2029, which was higher than the existing MTFP revenue saving of £0.740m. This would support the Council to continue to deliver vital services at a time of increasing financial pressures.   The new recommended service model included the following key changes:? ·       Supporting adults with multiple and complex needs to access support at the retained Council-owned centres;? ·       Setting up a dedicated learning disabilities team in adult social care to enhance specialist support; ·       Opening a new additional specialist overnight respite centre for adults under 65? in Aylesbury to provide better geographical coverage across the county, alongside the retained facility in Beaconsfield (Seeleys House); ·       Upgrading facilities at all retained Council-owned and retained centres?; and ·       Opening new additional provision for up to 30 young people with special educational needs and disabilities to access a local college from repurposing Buckingham Day Centre?.   The Council recognised that for those adults who attended centres proposed for closure, this would have a significant impact in transition.  The Council was committed to working with adults and carers to minimise disruption and individualised plans would be put in place for all adults where moves were required. The Council would continue to provide care and support for all adults at the centres proposed for closure. All adults affected could be supported at a retained council run centre.   During discussion, the Cabinet agreed that recommendation 7 in the Cabinet report should be amended to also include the deferral of the open marketing of the Burnham Day Centre building for two months to allow community groups an opportunity to prepare a bid.   RESOLVED that it be agreed to operate a specialist support service for adults aged 18-64 with care and support needs from four sites: Aylesbury Opportunities Centre, Chesham Day Centre, Spring Valley Day Centre and Seeleys House – alongside continuing to commission specialist care and support to meet need. to discontinue providing adult social care day services at three sites: Buckingham Day Centre, Hillcrest Day Centre, Burnham Day Centre, noting that all adults supported from those sites will continue to receive suitable alternative care and support. to set up a new additional overnight respite facility at Aylesbury Opportunities Centre. for £0.942m capital contingency to be used to provide the additional capital investment required to fund the recommended new service model for day opportunities and overnight respite services. to note that the overall new service model proposed should achieve capital receipts in the region of £1.7m. Any capital receipts received will be used to top up the capital contingency fund.  to repurpose the Buckingham Day Centre for use for young adults with special educational needs and disabilities for college provision. to seek a sale for the Burnham and Hillcrest Day Centre buildings through the council’s disposal process, including inviting community groups to purchase Burnham Day Centre, but defer open marketing of the Burnham Day Centre building for two months to allow community groups an opportunity to prepare a bid.