Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor C E H Marfleet, and Added Members Mrs P J Barnett, Mr S C Rudman, Mr P Thompson and Dr E van der Zee.

No interests were declared.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting held on 24 November 2016 be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

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

No Call-Ins had been received.

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

No proposals for Scrutiny Reviews had been received.

(To consider any Councillor Calls for Action, should any be received)

No Councillor Calls for Action had been received.

The Chairman advised that at the meeting of the County Council on 16 December 2016, it was agreed to set up a working group on the Sustainability and Transformation Plan to explore the likely financial and other impacts on County Council services, with the appointment of the membership of the working group delegated to the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Committee.  A meeting of the working group was scheduled to be held on 30 January 2017 at 2.00 pm.  The outcomes from the Working Group would be reported to the Executive on 7 February 2017.

The Chairman also advised that towards the end of 2016, Internal Audit had conducted a review to seek assurance around the Council's overview and scrutiny committee arrangements.  The Chairman was pleased to report that the outcome of the review was 'high assurance' and the potential risk was rated green, meaning that there were no significant or high risks identified by Internal Audit. Further to this, the Chairman thanked members of the Committee and the Review of Scrutiny Working Group for all the work undertaken in reviewing the scrutiny arrangements, which had led to this positive outcome.

The Chairman highlighted that he had attended the last two meetings of the Executive, which were held on 20 December 2016 and 4 January 2017.  At the meeting held on 20 December, the Executive had considered the budget proposals and as part of this, the Chairman had presented the comments from the informal scrutiny budget workshops.  In particular, it was noted that the Chairman had highlighted the concerns around weed spraying once a year and licensing costs for Microsoft.  In response, it was highlighted by the Executive that approximately £50,000 was currently spent on weed control and that officers were looking into alternative options, but these were very limited.  In terms of the Microsoft license, it was highlighted that the cost of migrating to an alternative software platform would not have a substantial benefit due to the cost of additional training and migrating data.

(To receive a report by David Forbes (County Finance Officer), which invites the Committee to consider a report on the second budget monitoring report for the financial year 2016/17 which is being presented to the Executive on 7 February 2017)

Consideration was given to a report by David Forbes (County Finance Officer), which invited the Committee to consider a report on the second budget monitoring report for the financial year 2016/17, which was being presented to the Executive on 7 February 2017.  Michelle Grady (Head of Finance – Communities); Steve Houchin (Head of Finance – Adult Care); Claire Machej (Head of Finance – Corporate); and Mark Popplewell (Head of Finance – Children's) were also in attendance.

The report compared projected expenditure with the approved budget and provided explanations for any significant over or under spending.  Any comments from the Committee would be presented to the Executive as part of its consideration of this item.

Members were provided with an opportunity ask questions, where the following points were noted: -

·         A concern was highlighted regarding the decision to extend the borrowing repayment period from 25 to 50 years and queried whether this would push additional costs to the County Council into future years. Further to this, it was confirmed that projected estimates had shown that the longer term borrowing would start to cost the Council more after 17 years, however this would also depend on the level of borrowing in future years;

·         It was confirmed that the work undertaken for the Sustainability and Transformation Plan was funded by the local NHS;

·         The increase in levels of refunds from unspent service users' Direct Payments was highlighted, and it was queried as to whether this was related to the growth in the number of direct payments in relation to carers. Further to this, it was confirmed by officers that the legislation relating to personal budgets for carers had changed with the introduction of the Care Act 2014.  These changes had introduced a more detailed assessment which had resulted in a significant reduction in applications but these were now starting to increase;

NOTE: At this stage in the proceedings, Councillor P M Dilks wished it be noted that he was a Councillor at South Kesteven District Council.

·         The Disabled Facility Grants (DFG) was highlighted as a concern due to funding arrangements between the County Council and District Councils. A Councillor requested that consideration be given at year end with regards to the retained element held by the County Council and whether this could be used to support the district councils.  It was requested that a discussion take place with district councils about the funding for the past financial year. It was confirmed that the position for the next financial year was much clearer as all parties were working towards developing a memorandum of understanding on the expenditure of the DFG;

·         A Councillor highlighted the £1.904m underspend caused by delays in making milestone payments to Serco relating to Agresso. It was confirmed that these payments should have been made two years ago and that the payments would be made once the system was fully functional;

·         The Committee highlighted the forecasted £1.014m overspend relating to home to school transport which included  ...  view the full minutes text for item 77.

(To receive a report by David Forbes (County Finance Officer), which sets out the Council Budget proposals for 2017/18.  Comments from the Committee will be considered by the Executive at its meeting on 7 February 2017)

A report by David Forbes (County Finance Officer) was considered, which set out the Council Budget Proposals for 2017/18.  Michelle Grady (Head of Finance – Communities); Steve Houchin (Head of Finance – Adult Care); Claire Machej (Head of Finance – Corporate); and Mark Popplewell (Head of Finance – Children's) were also in attendance.

The report described the Council's Budget Proposals based on the four year funding deal which had been announced by Government, as part of the 2016/17 Local Government Financial Settlement.  Details of the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2017/18 were attached at Appendix A to the Committee's report. 

In addition to the review of budget proposals by the Committee, it was noted that further scrutiny and consultation included:

·       All other Council Scrutiny Committees had received the opportunity to scrutinise budget proposals in detail during January 2017;

·       Budget proposals had been publicised on the Council's website together with the opportunity for the public to comment; and

·       A consultation meeting with local business representatives, trade unions and other partners was scheduled to take place on 27 January 2017.

Members of the Committee were provided with an opportunity to ask questions, where the following points were noted: -

·         With regards to the loss of £1m from the New Homes Bonus Grant for 2017/18 due to a reduction in the number of payment years from six years to five, concerns were raised about how this would affect future plans and budgets, as these would have been based on the original figures.  It was noted that the New Homes Grant was top sliced from the Revenue Support Grant and the amount received would be based on the number of houses built;

·         Clarification was sought as to why it was proposed to increase council tax by 3.95% rather than 3.99%.  It was confirmed that it was proposed to increase the council tax by 3.95%, rather than 3.99%, as the Environment Agency and Eastern Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority precept the Council so there was a need to allow for a 'safety net' for these precepts to ensure that the council tax rate was not pushed over 4%, thus triggering a referendum inadvertently;

·         In relation to the reserves, it was clarified that there was approximately £15m in the general reserves which were used as an emergency fund, and circa £50m in the Financial Volatility Reserve, which was used to balance the Council's budget.  It was proposed to use approximately £26m of the Financial Volatility Reserve to balance the budget in 2017/18.  The remaining balance in the Financial Volatility Reserve would be used to assist in balancing future budgets.  It was noted that if the council tax was not increased by 3.95% each year, then there would be a loss of circa £9.8m from the reserves each year, leading to a cumulative loss of over £27m by the end of year three;

·         Concerns were raised about the impact of reducing grass cutting and whether there was a risk that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 78.

(To consider a report by Jasmine Sodhi (Performance and Equalities Manager), which invites the Committee to consider the outcomes and measures that are the final draft Council Business Plan 2017/2018, as detailed at Appendix A)

Consideration was given to a report by Jasmine Sodhi (Performance and Equalities Manager), which invited the Committee to comment on the outcomes and measures that were the final draft Council Business Plan 2017/18, as detailed in Appendix A to the report.

It was noted that the format and content of the Council Business Plan had remained largely unchanged from 2016/17.  The changes to the content were attached at Appendix B to the report.  It was highlighted that the Executive was scheduled to consider the final draft Council Business Plan at its meeting on 7 February 2017, prior to approval by Council on 24 February 2017. 

Members were provided with an opportunity to ask questions, where the following points were noted: -

·         A Councillor suggested that performance of 'Reported incidents of domestic abuse' was potentially lower than expected due to Lincolnshire Police not recording incidents of domestic abuse as such. It was suggested that this was reviewed with Lincolnshire Police to ensure accurate reporting was taking place; 

·         A Councillor highlighted the Chlamydia diagnosis target and recommended that this should also include another measure for under 15's and over 50's, rather than focus on the outcomes framework measure of 15-24 year olds. It was suggested that these other age groups were seeing a marked increase in Chlamydia diagnosis and also had an impact on health and associated services.  Councillors also queried whether it was appropriate to have a Chlamydia diagnosis target or whether this could be a measure;

·         The 'People killed and seriously injured in road traffic collisions' and 'Children killed or seriously injured in road traffic collisions' measures were highlighted as requiring a performance trend over time to enable longer term monitoring of this area.  Concern was also highlighted as to whether the increase in road traffic collisions was directly linked to the condition of the Highway;

·         The Committee highlighted two measures which were due to be removed from the Business Plan, NEET (measure 41) and Pupils aged 16-18 participating in learning (measure 43). A Councillor requested that consideration be given to retaining both these measures at service level to ensure data was still being collated;

·         Members highlighted the 'Alcohol related antisocial behaviour' measure and requested that a comparison base measure for overall antisocial behaviour also be included;

·         The Committee suggested that the 'Domestic homicides' measure and 'repeat victims of domestic abuse' measure include a trend over time, to allow for better comparison of longer term performance.

The Chairman thanked the Equalities and Performance Manager for the detailed report.

RESOLVED

(1)  That the recommendations, as detailed in the Executive's report, be supported.

(2)  That the comments of the Committee be passed onto the Executive for its consideration. 

(To consider a report by Simon Wright (Principal Officer - Regeneration), which invites the Committee to consider a report on the South Lincolnshire Food Enterprise Zone and Peppermint Junction Improvements, Holbeach, which is being presented to the Executive on 7 February 2017. The views of the Committee will be reported to the Executive.  Please note that Appendix E to this report contains exempt information under paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, and discussion of this information could result in the exclusion of the press and public)

Consideration was given to a report by Simon Wright (Principal Officer – Regeneration), which invited the Committee to consider a report on the South Lincolnshire Food Enterprise Zone (FEZ) and Peppermint Junction Improvements, Holbeach, which was being presented to the Executive on 7 February 2017.  The views of the Scrutiny Committee would be reported to the Executive as part of its consideration of the item.

The Committee was advised that the South Lincolnshire FEZ would provide an opportunity to create new, purpose built employment space using a simplified planning process for the benefit of the agri-sector across south Lincolnshire.

The completion of the South Lincolnshire FEZ (the development of both Lincolnshire County Council and private owned land) would lead to the creation of approximately 59,400sq m of new business space which would in turn accommodate over 2,000 jobs.

Members were provided with an opportunity to ask questions, where the following points were noted: -

• It was agreed that this development was extremely important and exciting for the area as it would lead to traffic improvements, additional housing and create 2000 jobs. However, concerns were raised about the impact of the development on Holbeach with the additional 900 houses planned. It was confirmed that these houses would be built over a period of time and were part of the South East Lincolnshire Local Plan for the next 20 years.
• It was highlighted that the Economic Scrutiny Committee visited the site in October 2016, and was very impressed and supportive of the proposals.
• With regards to optimism bias, it was clarified that this meant that a contingency was built in to the costings in case the tenders came in higher than anticipated;
• In relation to whether there would be any student accommodation provided by the University of Lincoln on the site, it was noted that there were no plans to do so, but consideration was being given to whether there was a need for a hotel in the area, potentially on land adjacent to the old site of the National Centre for Food Manufacturing;

·         In response to a query about the impact on the county farm estate, it was confirmed that statutory notice had been served to terminate the tenancy on the part of land needed. However, it was noted that the farming business would still continue and compensation would be provided to the farmer in accordance with the terms of their lease;

NOTE: At this point in the proceedings, Councillor C E D Mair wished it be noted that he had previously been involved in the design and production of food processing equipment.

• With regards to whether there were any major concerns about the scheme, it was noted that this decision was asking the Executive to allow officers to undertake more analysis, such as the employment opportunities in the Food Enterprise Zone, and investigate the costs in more depth, such as for utilities;
• In relation to whether any analysis had been undertaken on the target market and what the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 80.

(To receive a report by Tracy Johnson (Senior Scrutiny Officer), which enables the Committee to consider both its own work programme and the scrutiny committee work programmes for 2017)

Consideration was given to a report which enabled the Committee to consider its own work programme and the work programmes from the scrutiny committees for 2017.

Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee

There were no changes to the published work programme.

Members were reminded that the Brexit Working Group would be holding its next meeting during the afternoon of 26 January 2017. 

Members supported the suggestion to cancel the meeting scheduled to be held on 27 April 2017.  It was agreed that this would be removed from the calendar closer to the date.

Adults Scrutiny Committee

The item on Extra Care Developments would be deferred to a later meeting of the Committee, a date was yet to be confirmed.  It was noted that there would be an additional item on 22 February 2017 on the Council's Graduation Pilot Submission.  In November 2015, it had been announced that all local health and care systems in the country would be required to have integration plans.  The new term for integration was 'graduation' and the Government was seeking a small number of local health and care systems to pilot 'graduation plans'.  The Executive had approved a submission to become a pilot on 4 January 2017.

Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee

There was one change to the work programme.  At the meeting on 20 January 2017, the Committee had received the outcomes from the Joint Targeted Area Inspection of the multi-agency response to abuse and neglect in Lincolnshire.  This inspection took place in October 2016 and had a particular focus on children living with domestic abuse. 

Concerns were raised by the Committee in relation to multi-agency working and the timeliness of information sharing, particularly in relation to the police.  An action plan in response to the Inspection's finding was being finalised ready for submission to Ofsted by the 7 March 2017 deadline.  The Committee had required that this action plan was considered at its next meeting on 10 March 2017.

Community and Public Safety Scrutiny Committee

There was one change to the work programme.  An item on The Director of Public Health's Annual Report 2016 had been added to the meeting scheduled to be held on 9 March 2017.  It was also noted that this meeting would be held at Fire and Rescue Training Facility, Waddington.

It was also noted that items on the Wellbeing Service re-procurement project (pre-decision)and on the Assisting Rehabilitation through Collaboration (ARK) project would be added to the work programme for future meetings.

Economic Scrutiny Committee

There was one amendment to the work programme.  A report summarising the work and outcomes of the Economic Scrutiny Committee over the last four years would be brought to the meeting on 21 February 2017.

In addition, the meeting on 21 February 2017 would be held at the Think Tank in Lincoln and would be followed by a visit to the Lincoln Science and Innovation Park.  The Committee had received a report on the Lincoln Science and Innovation Park at its meeting in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 81.