View from the Chair Feb 2020
Welcome to the first View from the Chair of 2020.
Following the challenges experienced last year regarding replacement internal transport, I am pleased to report that the Board have agreed an alternative approach resulting in a combination of the leasing and purchasing of vehicles. Whilst the delays have been frustrating, we do now have a way forward that will allow us to procure the vehicles in a timely manner. This will enable the people we support to access more activities and enhance our services.
Our January Board meeting had a focus on the overall performance of the company. Our Finance Manager Sue Gormley reported on the company's profit and loss (P&L) position which provided reassurance to Board members. In addition, Sue reported the company's progress against the key performance indicators (KPI's) at the third quarter of the year. The Board are very pleased with the progress made in the Performance Framework, known as 'the scorecard' and look forward to witnessing further progress over the coming months as it underpins our Strategic Framework 2025.
In line with our governance arrangements and Wirral Council Shareholder Agreement, Jean and I presented our Five-Year Business Strategy to the Shareholder Board in January. I am pleased to report the Business Strategy had been approved – this will be available from our website in due course.
In addition, we also produced and presented our Annual Plan for 2020-2021 against the backdrop of the Wirral Commissioned Contract, which has presented some significant challenges.
Since the Board, Jean and I have met with the Shareholder Board and the Adult Social Care Overview Scrutiny Committee to explain the impact, risks and consequences to the financial challenges placed on Wirral Evolutions Ltd. Whist we have made some progress, the company will need to reduce costs within the service to meet the Councils financial challenge. We expect the approval of the Annual Plan by the end of March. Further updates will be provided as we agree plans with the commissioning team.
At Board we also had a valuable conversation around stakeholder groups and engagement. We were pleased to hear that our Speak Up Be Heard group continue to make great progress and the group is growing in confidence and strength: well done to all involved.
Jean and I also met with a representative group of Parent and Carers to understand more on how we can improve communication and engagement further. From this meeting we have agreed to reshape and restart a Parent Carer Group, working together to agree the purpose, structure and schedule for meetings throughout 2020. We are very keen to encourage a wider membership. Jean and I will attend these meetings where possible to ensure a direct link with this group to the Board.
Please contact: admin@wirralevolutions.org if you can spare some time and would like to get involved
Jean reported to Board that Wirral Evolutions have been asked by Mencap to be part of their consultation process around meeting the needs of people with learning disabilities. This will be a great opportunity for us to collaborate with another organisation and raise our profile as an influencer.
Board Members were pleased to receive a comprehensive set of satisfaction results from our recent surveys that were undertaken by the people we support, our workforce (paid and voluntary) and the parent, carers and charity members. We are thrilled to receive such positive responses and the feedback will help us focus on areas that require further improvement. The results will be available on our website in March and will form a large part of the Annual Report 2019-2020 which will be produced for July 2020. We would like to say a big thank you to all who participated and together we can achieve more.
Mike Naden – Chair of the Board
3 March 2020