a)         To receive declarations of non pecuniary interests in respect of items on this agenda

For reference:  Having declared their non pecuniary interest members may remain in the meeting and speak and, vote on the matter in question.  A completed disclosure of interests form should be returned to the Clerk before the conclusion of the meeting.

b)        To receive declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests in respect of items on this agenda

For reference:  Where a Member has a disclosable pecuniary interest he/she must leave the meeting during consideration of the item.  However, the Member may remain in the meeting to make representations, answer questions or give evidence if the public have a right to do so, but having done so the Member must then immediately leave the meeting, may not vote and must not improperly seek to influence the outcome of the matter.  A completed disclosure of interests form should be returned to the Clerk before the conclusion of the meeting.

(Please Note:  If Members and Officers wish to seek advice on any potential interests they may have, they should contact Governance Support or Legal Services prior to the meeting.)

No declarations of interest were made.

To receive and hear evidence from the Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, Director of Adult and Community Services and Integrated Care Board (ICB) regarding whether there is a substantial change to service delivery in both health and social care which may result in a ‘duty to consult’ should the Trust decide to serve Notice bringing an end to the Section 75 Agreement for the integrated care model with Torbay Council.

Members considered the submitted papers on whether there was a substantial change to service delivery in both health and social care which may result in a ‘duty to consult’ should the Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust (“the Trust”) decide to serve notice, bringing an end to the Section 75 Agreement for the integrated care model for delivery of community health and adult social care services with Torbay Council and the Integrated Care Board (“ICB”).

Whilst no decision had yet been made by the Trust to end the Section 75 Agreement, the Trust had publicly stated that its Board shall be meeting in February 2026 to consider this, and that it intended to take a decision regarding this at its public Board meeting on 5 March 2026.  The Trust is required to serve formal notice to the Council and the Integrated Care Board by 31 March 2026, which then leaves 12 months of transitional work with all three parties to move to a different operating model for delivery of community health and adult social care services.  It was due to this tight timescale, and a resolution, passed by the Sub-Board at its meeting of the 18 of December 2025 (see Minutes of Adult Social Care and Health Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Board 18 December 2025), to require the Trust’s attendance at a meeting of the Sub-Board in the new year prior to any formal decision being taken by the Trust Board to explain their reasons why they do not believe the ending of the Section 75 Agreement was a significant change, that Members of the Sub-Board were seeking assurance that there would not be a negative impact to individual’s health and social care support and in turn safety, should this change occur, which would result in a ‘duty to consult’ under health legislation.

The following people attended the meeting and provided responses to questions:

·         Joe Teape, Chief Executive, the Trust;

·         Simon Tapley, Chief Strategy and Planning Officer, the Trust;

·         Penny Smith, Chief Nursing Officer, ICB;

·         Anna Coles, Director of Adults and Communities, Torbay Council; and

·         Councillor Hayley Tranter, Cabinet Member for Adult and Community Services, Public Health and Inequalities.

Key Findings

The Section 75 Agreement (“the Agreement”) for the integrated care model for delivery of health and adult social care services has been in place for over 20 years.  This involves the complete delegation for the delivery of Torbay Council’s adult social care services to the Trust, with its Director of Adults and Community Services retaining overall statutory responsibility for those services, as well as the Trust providing community health services for the Torbay area.  The Agreement was originally between the Trust, Torbay Council and the Clinical Commissioning Group (which has been superseded by the ICB) with a risk sharing agreement in place between the three parties to maintain financial oversight.  The risk sharing agreement ceased in 2021, resultant in the Trust holding sole responsibility for the financial risk arising out of the arrangement.  A new 5-year Section 75  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46.