Issue - meetings

Cabinet Member: Adult Services

Forward Plan Ref: 2011/105

Contact: Samantha Chapman, Project Manager, Business Systems Team Tel: (01865) 323642

Report by Director for Social & Community Services (CA12).

(The information contained in the report is exempt in that it falls within the following prescribed category:

3    –    information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

It is considered that in this case the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, in that such disclosure would prejudice on-going negotiations and disadvantage the company concerned.)

The care management IT system used by Oxfordshire County Council in its provision of Adult Social Care is blue screen Swift (commonly known as Swift), supplied by Northgate.  Swift was installed by the County Council in 1999, with numerous subsequent upgrades since then.

The Adult Social Care System Review in 2010 established that our current system provision will not adequately sustain the changes emerging from the Transforming Adult Social Care programme, or the efficiencies and savings being demanded from the service generally.  In addition to this, Northgate have indicated that they are no longer developing additional functionality for Swift – other than those mandated by legislative changes - and will eventually stop supporting the system entirely.

£2m is included in the Capital Programme for a new Adult Social Services system to be financed through prudential borrowing.  The cost of the borrowing was intended to be met from efficiency savings to be achieved as a result of implementing the new system.

The Business Case for the replacement of Swift has now identified that it does not make sense to opt for the full scale replacement of Swift with a completely new system. The report proposes an upgrade to Northgate’s latest iteration of their care management system – AIS (which stands for Adults Information System) and seeks approval for the approach taken.

Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to

agree that the County Council should upgrade to Northgate’s latest version of their care management system – AIS.

The Chairman indicated that the report containing exempt information had been circulated to and considered by Cabinet Members and remained confidential for the reasons set out on the agenda. However he was satisfied that the matter could be discussed and a decision made in public.

Councillor Jenny Hannaby, Shadow Cabinet Member for Adult Services commented that the when considering the Transformation of Adult Social Care the Adult Services Scrutiny Committee had stressed the importance of adequate ICT and that enough funding be included to provide proper support of the new arrangements. A figure of £2m had been included and she was concerned that the latest proposal not to go for a new system was based on the need for savings and was concerned as to whether it would jeopardise the Transformation agenda.

The Cabinet Member for Adult Services in introducing the report stated that It should be an enabler and that was why the money had been set aside. However circumstances changed and that business case was no longer feasible. The alternative proposed in the report was feasible and he was confident that it would deliver what was required.

John Jackson, Director for Social & Community Services referred briefly to the history of the existing system and outlined the options that were set out more fully in the report. He noted that with a new system there was always significant risk and that he saw no evidence of benefits to outweigh that risk. The important point was to achieve a better system than currently and key to that would be the early engagement with staff.

RESOLVED: