Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors A Bridges, R J Hunter-Clarke, C E H Marfleet, P J O'Connor and Mr P Thompson (Church Representative).

No interests were declared.

Reference was made to the progress made by the Scrutiny Review Group (Minute 31 refers) and Members raised concerns that the findings of the Group, and the review document itself, had not been shared with the Committee.  The final review document would be considered at Full Council on 18 December, 2015 in the first instance. 

Officers assured Members that the Committee would have an important role in overseeing the recommendations from the review after it had been received by Full Council.  It was agreed that the final report be distributed to members of the Committee as soon as it had been received.

RESOLVED

That the minutes be approved and signed by the Vice-Chairman as a correct record.

(To consider Call-Ins, should any be received)

No call-ins had been received.

(To consider proposals for Scrutiny Reviews, should any be received)

There were no proposals for scrutiny reviews.

(To consider Councillor Call for Actions, should any be received)

No Councillor Call for Actions had been received.

(To receive a presentation by Steve Brookes (Lincolnshire Broadband Programme Manager), which will inform the Committee of the current status of the Broadband programme since the last update received at the meeting on 18 June 2015)

The Committee received a presentation from Steve Brookes, Lincolnshire Broadband Programme Manager which provided a status update on the broadband programme since the last update received on 18 June 2015.

During the presentation, the following points were noted:

·         83% of homes passed for broadband were running at superfast speeds;

·         To explain the uptake of broadband, an example was given that of a typical community of 460 homes, which would require one cabinet, 260 would receive superfast broadband and approximately 200 would not because they were located too far away from the cabinet.  These homes would be picked up at a later stage in the roll-out programme;

·         The cost to the scheme in phase one was £255 per premises passed for broadband;

·         Phase two, which would tackle more rural areas, would be more expensive at £752 per premises passed.  Each cabinet cost, on average £28,000 to install, so more premises per cabinet were required to ensure better value for money;

·         On completion, the project would provide Lincolnshire with better coverage than comparable rural counties such as North Yorkshire or Norfolk;

·         Pole mounted cabinets had been trialled in North Yorkshire and Suffolk.  The Council would attempt to persuade BT to use pole mounted cabinets more as the Council wanted good value for money from BT;

·         Quickline had provided broadband to certain premises in the West Lindsey area on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and Officers were trying to find out which properties they had supplied to ensure all homes were covered;

·         Residents in Saxilby had seen problems with 4G technology interfering with FreeView, however it was reported that a filter could be fitted, free of charge to properties affected which would alleviate this;

·         Customers using ADSL technology had a slower service now, in certain areas and customers with different ADSL suppliers (eg TalkTalk), however this was entirely a BT issue and Steve Brookes would be meeting with Victoria Atkins MP for Louth and Horncastle to try and resolve these issues.  It was also suggested that a letter be written on behalf of the Committee to MPs highlighting the issue;

·         The Government had stated it would be a legal right for everyone to have broadband of at least 10mbps by 2020 and new, fixed, wireless technology could provide the answer for this.

The Committee thanked Steve Brookes for his work on the project on behalf of their constituents.

RESOLVED

That the presentation be noted.

(To consider a report by Tracy Johnson (Senior Scrutiny Officer), which invites the Committee to consider the content of its own work programme and the work programmes of the Council's other scrutiny committees)

Councillor Marc Jones, Executive Councillor for Finance and Property was present to discuss defibrillators and winter pressures, issues which had been raised at a previous meeting of the Committee.

At present there were no defibrillators available for use at County Offices or other County Council buildings. It was also noted that County Offices did not have a deaf alert system.  The Committee discussed, with Councillor Jones, the logistics and pre-requisites of installing defibrillators such as:

·         How many should be in each building;

·         Where should they be situated to be most useful;

·         Who would service them;

·         How much would they cost, including servicing;

·         Would the Council need a policy to clarify the above before purchasing them.

It was widely felt that progress could often be halted by the need to write policies and procedures, when the appropriate action could just be taken and resolved.

Councillor Jones noted the points made by the Committee and agreed to report back to Members, in writing, before the next meeting.

i)             Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee

The Committee discussed the next meeting on Monday, 21 December, 2015 and whether, with no additional items scheduled, it should be cancelled.  This sparked a debate regarding the purpose of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee and its role within the Scrutiny Function.  Members were reminded that the Committee would have a key role within scrutiny once the outcome of the Scrutiny Review had been implemented.  The Committee agreed that a discussion of the Scrutiny Review should be added to the agenda for its meeting on 21 December 2015.

In addition to this, the Committee also wished to see the Meeting of Scrutiny Committee Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen re-formed as it would discuss the cross-cutting issues that overlapped with the Committee.

For its meeting on 28 January 2016, the Committee agreed to add the following to the agenda:

·         Outcomes and Actions from the Review of Scrutiny;

·         The Boundary Review; and

·         The Budget.

It was highlighted that there had been national changes to rules concerning FGM (Female Genital Mutilation).  It was agreed that updates regarding the issue should be sent to the Chairmen of Scrutiny Committees to make Councillors aware in their role as corporate parents.

ii)            Adults Scrutiny Committee

There were no changes to the items listed for 9 December 2015. 

The Committee was looking to schedule an item on Adult Care to Seasonal Resilience at its January meeting.

The Committee was also looking to schedule items on IT Support for Adult Care and Adult Care Workforce Development at future meetings.

iii)          Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee

There was one amendment to the work programme: the report on the potential closure of Saltfleetby Primary School had been deferred from the meeting scheduled for 4 March 2016, to the meeting on 15 April 2016, with the Executive Councillor decision now being taken on 29 April 2016.

iv)        Community and Public Safety Scrutiny Committee

There was one amendment to the work programme.  A report on Neighbourhood Policing had been brought forward  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.