Agenda item

Report CS17114

The Committee considered a report outlining the performance of the Adults Passenger Transport Service contract which had been awarded to Greenwich Service Plus Limited for a period of three years and nine months from 1^st December 2015.  The former Bromley team of bus crews and office staff had been transferred to the new provider as part of the contract set-up which had enabled continuity of the service and minimised the impact of the change on service users, and an Equality Impact Assessment had been conducted with service users prior to the implementation of the £15 return journey charge. 

The Adult Passenger Transport Service supported older people and adults with learning disabilities to travel to and from day care centres and other locations.  There were currently 354 users of the service which included a small number of authorised one-to-one carers, and ad hoc journeys were also undertaken as necessary to support the care of clients.  An agreed method of performance monitoring and Key Performance Indicators had been put in place from the outset of the contract which included spot checks and a range of contract monitoring meetings.  It had been identified that the contract was being provided to a high standard and that there were no issues relating to collection and arrival times other than minor changes that fell within the specification requirements.  Where difficulties had arisen with individual clients, the provider had been wholly supportive and staff had acted professionally and had gone beyond their duty to ensure the safety and wellbeing of their clients.

The Director: Adult Social Care reported that there had been a decrease of 16 users of the adult passenger transport service in the past year, and that 11 of these users were self-funders.  Where service users qualified for a Direct Payment and chose to access day centre provision, their Direct Payment included the cost of the return journey charge.  The potential for the Adult and Child Passenger Transport Services to work more closely together was being reviewed, but capacity and the overlap of operational hours had been identified as an issue.

In considering the report, a Co-opted Member was concerned that service users, particularly self-funders may have been ‘priced-out’ of using transport services following the introduction of the £15 return journey charge.  The Co-opted Member highlighted the need to assess the impact of service users choosing not to access day centre provision on their carers, as this provided a valuable respite opportunity.  The Director: Adult Social Care confirmed that service users were still choosing to access day centre provision and that a review was undertaken when a service user discontinued any service to ensure that their care needs continued to be met.  The Local Authority was working with day centres to ensure that their offer was meeting the changing needs of service users.

A Co-opted Member underlined the possibility of service users pooling Direct Payments to fund specialist provision to meet their needs and in discussion, Members generally agreed that this should be explored.

The Chairman requested that a report be provided to a future meeting of Care Services PDS Committee on the Adult Passenger Transport Service and day centre provision, including the reduction in service users.  Additional information on the Adult Passenger Transport Service would be provided to Members following the meeting.

RESOLVED that the performance of the Adults Passenger Transport Service contract and the ongoing developments to meet service need be noted.