A report providing the Committee with an update on the Better Care Fund Funding planning template, which was completed for the financial year 2019/2020 and submitted in September 2019 in line with requested timescales.

The Executive Director of Social Care and Health submitted a report providing the Committee with an update on the Better Care Funding planning template, which had been completed for the financial year 2019/2020 and had been submitted in September 2019 in line with requested timescales.  A table setting out supplementary information in relation to the Better Care Fund budget and spend was attached to the report at Appendix 1.  The report also included a table that provided a summary of how the Better Care Fund budget would be spent in 2019/20.

The report explained that the return had covered details of the plans to utilise the Better Care Fund and how Adult Social Care and Health services planned to use these funds in an integrated way to maximise system impact, pending NHS England agreement.  The funds had to be used to support the locality to meet the four Better Care Fund targets and the use of the funds had to be jointly agreed.  The four targets were as follows:

·         Reducing the number of placements made in residential and nursing homes;

·         Reducing the number of delayed transfers of care;

·         Reducing the number of people that returned to hospital within 90 days of their discharge;

·         Reducing non-elective admissions to hospital.

The report explained that the timing of the return and the Better Care Fund quarterly returns did not align with Health and Wellbeing Board meetings and this was compounded by short timescales to collect and draft the complex responses that were required by NHS England.  The report therefore recommended that the sign off of all future Better Care Fund returns be delegated to the Executive Director of Social Care and Health and the Clinical Commissioning Group Director of Operations for Reading in consultation with the Lead Councillor for Health, Wellbeing and Sport and the Lead Councillor for Adult Social Care.

Resolved –

(1)     That the report be noted;

(2)     That the content of the Better Care Fund submission (A summary Appendix 1 attached), which was submitted in September 2019 in order to comply with national deadlines outside of the Board meeting cycle be noted;

(3)     That the Executive Director of Social Care and Health (Reading Borough Council) and the Director of Operations (Clinical Commissioning Group) be granted delegated authority to sign off Better Care Fund returns in consultation with the Lead Councillor for Health, Wellbeing and Sport and Lead Councillor for Adult Social Care;

(4)     That the Better Care Fund planning return 2019/20 be submitted to the Health and Wellbeing Board for formal adoption.