To receive a presentation on the response to the Notice Of Motion which was raised at Full Council on 26th February 2025 regarding securing telecare services, and meeting the Challenges presented by the Analogue to Digital Upgrade by 2027.
Minutes:
The committee received a presentation on the response to the Notice Of Motion which was raised at Full Council on 26th February 2025 regarding securing telecare services, and meeting the Challenges presented by the Analogue to Digital Upgrade by 2027, from Curtis Vickers, Head of Integrated Commissioning, and Alice Clark, Programme Lead - Living well for longer.
Councillor Clowes, the proposer of the Notice of Motion, thanked officers for work which had been done to date on the issues set out in the Notice of Motion. Councillor Clowes said that a formal and multiagency approach was required to bring forward the upgrades needed to ensure that the digital upgrade was a success, and to ensure that vulnerable residents were not left without connectivity during power outages. To ensure that residents were able to stay at home for longer, a better digital provision would be required.
Councillor Kolker, the seconder of the Notice of Motion, reiterated points made by Councillor Clowes, and noted that digital infrastructure was not as good as it needed to be, and a contingency plan was required to help those who needed it.
During the presentation, Members were updated that:
· In November 2017, UK communications providers announced intentions to retire copper analogue telephone landline networks and replace with digital lines using a broadband connection. For most customers, the upgrade was expected to be complete by January 2027.
· Digital telecare provided a more reliable service. The transition to digital telecare devices was important to reduce the risk of some telecare users losing this service when telephone lines go digital.
· The risk with digital landlines was that they may not function in a power cut unless there was a backup power system, so appropriate mitigations were required.
· There were 520 Analogue Council-owned lifeline base units currently in use in Cheshire East (as of 4 March 2025).
· To date, Cheshire East Council had data sharing agreements signed by four of the major telecom providers (BT/EE/PlusNet, Virgin media/O2, Sky and Vodafone.
· Major telecoms providers would not start to migrate vulnerable customers in Northwest region until the summer / autumn of 2025.
· Telecoms providers had shared communications with customers regarding the switchover and providers were taking additional measures to safeguard telecare users.
· Cheshire East Council had already:
· Stopped the sale and purchase of analogue telecare devices.
· Phased out the redeployment of analogue alarm devices in circulation.
· Ensured that residents had analogue equipment which functioned: any issues with connectivity to the Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) were picked up by the ARC team and local service engineers would investigate/resolve. Telecare service provider had a robust onboarding process for any new digital telecare devices.
· Ensured that ARC platforms were interoperable.
· Cheshire East Council was in the process of:
· Sharing data to ensure telecare users were correctly identified, and the necessary safeguards put in place.
· Only migrating telecare users to digital landline services if they had a compatible and functioning telecare solution in place.
· Identifying telecare users who were the most at risk.
· Raising awareness of the digital switchover among telecare users and support networks.
· Improving awareness of adoption of best practice approaches and guidance among social care providers, and awareness of the digital phone switchover among social care providers.
· Liaising with telecom providers to obtain their migration plans.
Members were updated that in addition to those who have telecare services provided by Cheshire East Council, there were likely to be others who had privately sourced devices, who may also be impacted by the switch over.
Members were briefed that every local authority would have its own Business Continuity (BC) Plan, and Cheshire East Council frequently updated its BC Plan to take account of new sets of circumstances, however it was difficult to know who was and wasn’t vulnerable due to quickly changing personal circumstances. It was noted that social care providers and local resilience forums would also hold their own BC Plans, and Cheshire East Council needed to link in with them, and the BC Plans of Town and Parish Councils, and this would continue to develop during the digital transformation and switch over.
It was noted that during a loss of power event, digital telecare devices had a backup battery which would last between 36 – 48 hours, and that if a device ran out of battery, an alert would be sent to the telecare service provider.
The importance of lobbying central government on the issue was noted, and it was suggested that draft communications to service users are shared with the committee ahead of wider publication.
It was noted that some of the outcomes requested in the Notice of Motion fell outside of the scope of the Adults and Health Committee and it was requested that other Service Committees were consulted.
RESOLVED: (Unanimously)
A friendly amendment was accepted by the proposer and seconder for recommendations 1 and 2.
That the Adults and Health Committee acknowledge and note that:
1. The Council continues to implement the National Telecare Action Plan, and its outcomes as follows:
· No telecare user will be migrated to digital landline services without the communication provider, the customer or the telecare service provider confirming that the user has a compatible and functioning telecare solution in place.
· Use of analogue telecare devices is phased out to ensure that only digital devices are being used.
· Telecare users, their support networks and their service providers understand what actions they need to take.
· Stakeholders collaborate to safeguard telecare users through the digital phone switchover.
2. That the data acquired through implementation of the Telecare Action Plan is recognised and continues as the baseline for further work with other vulnerable residents:
· To identify those communities with no/poor digital access (black spots).
· To identify other vulnerable residents (e.g. older residents, residents still dependent on analogue phones, residents’ dependent of 2G and 3G that are also being phased out) and expand the data base.
That the Adults and Health Committee note a statement of intent to:
3. Design and distribute a Residents’ Safety Toolkit – providing advice, guidance and practical support, to enable residents to better prepare for periods of power or signal outages.
4. Lobby Government to further invest in those areas that have little or no digital access, in particular to ensure that residents in rural or otherwise isolated areas are not excluded from accessing effective digital services that would enable them to stay in their own homes for longer.
5. Work with NALC, CHALC, Town and Parish Councils to develop their own Local Resilience Plans, utilising local knowledge and skills to further mitigate the impacts of extreme weather events or other local, critical incidents.