The Adult Social Care, Public Health and Housing Needs Committee were scheduled to meet to discuss health scrutiny, councillor learning and development, and the committee's work plan. As part of their health scrutiny function, the committee was set to discuss the impact of funding for palliative care services for residents on the Isle of Wight. The committee was also scheduled to consider the Adult Social Care Statutory Annual Complaints Report 2024-25, and councillor learning and development.

Impact of Palliative Care Services Funding for Island Residents

The committee was scheduled to consider the impact of palliative care services funding for Island residents. The committee had previously raised concerns about funding for Mountbatten Hospice, following proposed cuts by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (ICB).

It was reported in June 2025 that a £1.4 million annual reduction in NHS funding was planned for Mountbatten Isle of Wight, with around £600,000 being cut from autumn 2025. According to the report pack, this represented a 40% disinvestment by 2026/27, impacting on the sustainability of the service.

The report pack stated that the ICB had decided in July 2025 not to withdraw £527,000 of funding for the autumn, but the larger £1.4 million reduction remained.

According to the report pack, Mountbatten Isle of Wight is the main provider of specialist end-of-life care on the Isle of Wight and supports over 2,300 Islanders daily. It also stated that the hospice is two-thirds funded by community donations, and one-third from NHS sources, and that a £996,000 emergency government grant was awarded in July 2025, but it is restricted to capital projects and cannot cover operational costs.

The committee was asked to note the report, or to put forward any recommendations based upon the information heard at the meeting.

The committee was also scheduled to focus on the following scrutiny questions:

• If funding is not sustainable, what are the plans to tackle this in the future?
• How does the ICB plan to ensure continuity of specialist palliative care services if Mountbatten has to reduce operations?
• What alternative service models or providers have been considered to mitigate the impact of these cuts?
• Are palliative care services accessible to all who need them, regardless of diagnosis, age, ethnicity, or location?
• What measures are in place to assess the quality of palliative care?
• How well are palliative care services coordinated across health, social care, and voluntary sectors?
• Are staff adequately trained in palliative and end-of-life care and is there sufficient workforce capacity to meet current and future demand?
• What mechanisms are in place to ensure meaningful engagement with voluntary sector providers in future funding decisions?
• How will the ICB monitor and report on the outcomes of any service changes resulting from the funding cuts?

The report pack included the Healthwatch Isle of Wight End of Life Care Report. Between May and July 2025, Healthwatch Isle of Wight received 984 pieces of feedback, 19% of which was related to end of life care services. Of the 188 people who contacted Healthwatch Isle of Wight, 169 were most concerned about the lack of funding for Mountbatten and the impact this would have on Island residents.

The report noted that:

People described Mountbatten not only as a palliative care provider but as an essential lifeline. They highlighted the organisation's critical role in end-of-life care, specialist clinics, counselling, family support, and wider emotional wellbeing services.

The report pack also included the ICB Palliative Care Report. According to the report, the ICB's strategic commissioning intentions for hospices includes the adoption of a uniform population and evidence-based, fair and equitable approach to commissioning specialist palliative care and end of life support services. The report stated that the new contract for hospices represents an increase in funding for the hospice sector as a whole, and is a tangible example of the ICB's commitment of the 'left shift' – pushing investment to the community and providing services closer to home, in line with the new 10 Year Health Plan.

The ICB stated that it recognised that the Island is unique both in its demographic, population and geography. It stated that there is no recognised national standard for hospice capacity per population, but that international evidence suggests the recommended capacity for palliative care to be in the region of eight-to-ten beds per 100,000. The ICB stated that it is looking to support more care in the community and care at home wherever possible, and has developed hospice capacity plans to deliver eight hospice care units per 100,000 weighted population.

The ICB stated that using weighted population takes into account age profiles of local populations, but that with the unique demographics and circumstances of the Isle of Wight, the ICB further weighted up to the equivalent of 11.7 beds/units of care per 100,000 adults, rounding upwards to 12 specialist palliative care beds/units of care, reflecting the unique nature of a health system on an island.

The ICB also stated that it has agreed to provide interim funding to Mountbatten Isle of Wight of £527,000 to enable appropriate transition to the proposed new contract from 1st April 2026, and that it has launched a revised joint monthly review meeting where it can review current contract performance and enabler transition towards the new service and contract model 2026/27.

Adult Social Care Statutory Annual Complaints Report 2024-25

The committee was scheduled to consider the Adult Social Care Statutory Annual Complaints Report 2024-25. The report provides information on the number and type of complaints received by adult social care for the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 and the actions and learning adopted to continuously improve the services provided to residents.

From 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 adult social care received 5371 new requests for support. During this reporting period, it supported 323 people to go into permanent residential or nursing care. As of 31 March 2025, the council were providing 276 direct payment personal budgets and 1942 managed accounts to provide care and support for people at home.

The report stated that adult social care received 65 new complaints, which equates to just over 1.2% of the number of new requests for support during this period.

Of those matters that were not upheld, full and reasoned explanations were provided to the complainants showing that the correct processes had been followed, and that the person(s) had been advised and supported appropriately by adult social care staff.

Themes of the complaints which were either upheld or partly upheld in this reporting period included communication, provision of advice and information, and delay.

Examples of the type of complaints upheld or partly upheld in 2024 / 2025 included:

• Communication: a Wightcare system failure in raising an alarm, messaging failures regarding a proposed care home move, failure to respond to telephone contact, a confidentiality breach during an enquiry.
• Delay: a delayed occupational therapy assessment, delays within a section 42 safeguarding enquiry process, a delayed annual review.

In all cases where the entire complaint (or any element of it) has been upheld, an apology has been offered and, where appropriate and necessary, other steps have been taken to remedy the concerns raised.

In the 2024 2025 reporting period, 6 complaint matters were considered by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO). 4 complaint matters were completed by the ombudsman during this reporting period. In 1 case the ombudsman found fault in the council's actions, and in 3 cases, the ombudsman decided not to investigate the matters brought to them.

The report stated that there is a quarterly report for the adult social care quality and performance meeting which reflects on the lessons learned from complaints, how these have been adopted in practice and the impact this has for people and their experience.

The report also stated that the nominated complaints officer works closely with social workers to identify and support a person to access formal advocacy support should this be required for the complaints process.

The committee was asked to note the report.

Councillor Learning and Development

The committee was scheduled to consider a report setting out the learning and development activity recommended to be undertaken by members of the committee, as outlined in the Councillor Development Policy 2021-2026.

The report stated that service committee learning and development plans are crucial for ensuring effective governance and enabling councillors to perform their duties competently. It also stated that these plans aim to provide councillors with the necessary knowledge, skills, and resources to fulfil their roles, promoting good governance and strengthening councillor-officer relationships.

The report pack stated that all learning for councillors is available on the Councillor Development area on the Learning Hub and learning has been allocated to committee members as part of their 'My Learning' tab.

The following initial learning and development was deemed essential:

• Information Security
• Data Protection Essentials
• Health and Safety Essentials
• Equality Diversity and Inclusion
• Introduction To Safeguarding Children
• Prevent
• Safeguarding Adults Level 1
• Understanding Local Government Procurement
• Dementia Awareness
• Dignity and Respect
• Councillor Information Session - Housing Register: Understanding the Banding
• Councillor Information Session - The Changing Role of the CQC and an Overview of the Assurance Framework
• Attendance at annual ASC and Housing Conference
• About public health
• Introducing public health: Introduction | OpenLearn - Open University

The committee was asked to approve the content of the report and begin to undertake the learning and development required of them, and to discuss and agree any new learning to be added to the committee requirements.

Committee Workplan

The committee was scheduled to receive and consider its upcoming programme of work. The work plan included the following upcoming decisions:

• Health Scrutiny (Topic TBC) - 30 Oct 2025
• Household Support Fund Delivery Plan - 30 Oct 2025
• Service Performance and Improvement (Q2) - 30 Oct 2025
• Domestic Abuse Strategy - 30 Oct 2025
• Health Scrutiny (Topic TBC) - 18 Dec 2025
• Health Scrutiny (Topic TBC) - 19 Feb 2026
• Service Performance and Improvement (Q3) - 19 Feb 2026
• Director of Public Health Annual Report - 19 Feb 2026
• Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy - 19 Feb 2026
• Housing Strategy - Update and Refresh - 19 Feb 2026
• Housing Allocation Policy - 19 Feb 2026