Agenda and minutes

It was noted that the Chief Executive, having received notice under Regulation 13 of the Local Government (Committees and Political Groups) Regulations 1990, had appointed Councillor P M Dilks as a replacement member on the Committee in place of Councillor D C Morgan, for this meeting only.

Councillor C J T H Brewis declared an interest in Minute 43 – 'Library Services – Contract Award' as a library volunteer for the Sutton Bridge Library.

Councillor S L W Palmer declared an interest in Minute 43 – 'Library Services – Contract Award' as a library volunteer for the Sutton-on-Sea Library.

Councillor K J Clarke declared an interest in Minute 43 – 'Library Services – Contract Award' as a user of Bracebridge Library.

Councillor P M Dilks declared an interest in Minute 43 – 'Library Services – Contract Award' as a Member of Friends of Deeping Library.  

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting held on 14 October 2015 be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

(To receive a report by Sophie Reeve, Chief Commercial Officer and Fiona Fielding, Senior Commercial and Procurement Officer, which provides the Committee with details of the procurement activity undertaken for the county's libraries service and which makes a recommendation to the Executive to award a contract for these services.  Any comments from the Scrutiny Committee will be presented to the Executive on 1 December 2015.Appendix 5 is exempt and not for publication by virtue of Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 and/or paragraph 3 of part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 as the Appendix contains information relating to the business affairs of bidders in a confidential procurement. The press and public may be excluded for the consideration of Appendix 5. The Appendix has been circulated separately to Committee Members only)

Consideration was given to a report and presentation which invited the Committee to consider a report concerning the Library Services Contract Award, which was due for decision by the Executive on 1 December 2015.  The Executive's report could be found at Appendix A to the Scrutiny Committee's report.  The views of the Scrutiny Committee would be reported to the Executive as part of its consideration of the item.

The report presented the results of the Library Services Procurement and described the process adopted.  The Executive would be asked to approve the award of a contract to Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) and approve a number of ancillary matters.

Members were advised that driven by the need to make savings and improve services, and to comply with the Localism Act, the Council had carried out considerable work over the last 12 months so as to tender delivery of its Library Services.  Some of the key work streams had included: soft market testing; developing the procurement and contract documentation; selecting bidders; and managing the procurement through the competitive dialogue approach in such a way so as to deliver sound affordable solutions.  Members were assured that the Sounding Board, responsible for this work, had continual oversight of the procurement.  Prior to placing the contract notice the Executive had approved commencement of the procurement on 3 February 2015.

As part of the work carried out, Members were advised that the Council, in discussion with the bidders, had set an ambitious programme for transition; had drawn up comprehensive output specifications and challenging service levels and had developed a robust contract.  The procurement and evaluation was now complete and it was recommended to the Executive to award a contract to GLL.

The Chairman invited Members of the Committee to ask questions on the report and the open appendices 1 - 4, where the following points were noted: -

·      The recommendations were welcomed by the Committee as GLL would be offering an improved libraries service. However, it was queried as to why officers now had confidence in GLL running the libraries service but did not when the Committee considered the last report in January 2015. It was reported that the proposal submitted by GLL prior to February 2015 and the current bid were completely different proposals. Officers considered the previous proposal by GLL not to be a viable option. Officers' experience of working with GLL over the last year and a half had given them confidence in GLL. The Committee welcomed officers' views that GLL would be able to provide a good service;

·       It was queried whether there would be a change in opening hours.  It was reported that GLL had indicated that they wish to extend opening hours and would also extend the activities offered in libraries;

·       Concerns were raised about how many staff losses there had been so far and whether there would be further redundancies;

·       It was questioned whether the three static libraries which had closed in Coningsby and Tattershall,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 43.

(To receive a report by Andy Cook (Youth Offending Manager), which details the current performance within the Youth Offending Service against national indicators following service restructure, implemented in May 2015)

A report was considered which detailed the current performance within the Youth Offending Services against national indicators following the service restructure, which was implemented in May 2015.

The report outlined the current funding and finance position for the service and staffing resources within a multi-agency model. The report also updated the Committee of current Youth Offending Service (YOS) work streams, which contributed to prevention, reducing re-offending, reparation and safeguarding.

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

·       Members were advised that Remand Management continued to represent a significant financial risk for the County Council. The cost of young people being remanded to youth detention accommodation could cost as much as £700.00 per person, per night. This cost was passed back in full to the local authority with young people on remand also acquiring Looked after Children (LAC) status, which placed both a financial and resources burden upon the YOS and Children's Services.  Members were also advised that the County Council had little influence over the cost, as this was set by the Youth Offending Board but it was stressed that the £700 per person, per night was for those young people requiring the highest level of support;

·       Members were assured that the re-offending rates within Lincolnshire were lower than regional and national averages. However, the service would continue to focus on key individuals and be more responsive;

·       A discussion took place regarding the decision to invest in the Restorative Justice Councils Quality Mark.  Further to this, it was agreed that a copy of the report from Restorative Solutions would be shared with Members of the Committee;

·       It was acknowledged that prevention was key in improving youth offending rates.  However, this was becoming increasingly difficult with reducing resources.

RESOLVED

That the report and comments be noted.

To receive a report by Ben Wood (Programme Assistant for Strategy and Performance), the appendix of which provides key performance information that is relevant to the work of the Committee.

A report was considered which provided key performance information that was relevant to the work of the Community and Public Safety Scrutiny Committee.  The appendices to the report provided the Committee with performance information relating to Community Safety; Libraries and Heritage and Public Health, which was aligned to the relevant priorities and performance indicators, as set out in the Council's Business Plan.

Members were reminded that in October 2014, Corporate Management Board had supported a new Performance Management Framework for the Council, which had included a proposal to use infographics for performance reporting against the Council Business.  The Council Business Plan 2015/16 had been approved by Council in February 2015 and had been organised around the 17 commissioning strategies.  Appendix A provided a list of the measures in the Council Business Plan that were within the remit of the Scrutiny Committee.  Detailed at Appendix B of the report was a breakdown of customer satisfaction information.

Officers went through their respective performance indicators within their service areas.  During discussion, the following points were noted: -

·       Members were assured that all intelligence reports were actioned by Lincolnshire Police.  It was requested that in future, the performance report provided detail on the number of actioned intelligence reports;

·       Lincolnshire Police was engaging with a number of service providers to raise awareness of domestic violence and the importance of reporting all incidences, as it was recognised that a high number of incidences were not reported or reported soon enough;

·       It was requested that the Committee received reports on Counterfeit Money in Lincolnshire and Carbon Monoxide Poisoning.  It was agreed that these requests would be discussed at the next Agenda Planning Meeting;

·       Concerns were raised by the Committee regarding the usage of illegal highs in HMP Lincoln.  Members were assured that this was an issue which was currently being looked into;

·       Members were advised that although there had been a slight increase in the number of primary fires in Lincolnshire, this was offset against the decreases in previous years;

·       In relation to the performance indicators concerning 'People killed and seriously injured in road traffic collisions' and 'Children killed or seriously injured in road traffic collisions', it was requested that the Committee received more up-to-date data as part of future reports;

·       Members were advised that the target for the performance indicator on Chlamydia diagnoses (15 – 24 years old) was based on national estimates of the prevalence of the disease.  Further to this it was suggested by a Member of the Committee that this target may not have been achieved, as prevalence in Lincolnshire may be lower than the national average.

The Chairman thanked those officers present for their detailed updates.

RESOLVED

(1)  That the performance information, as detailed at Appendix A to the report, be approved.

(2)  That the inclusion of 'Counterfeit Money in Lincolnshire' and 'Carbon Monoxide Poisoning' in the work programme be discussed at the next scheduled Agenda Setting Meeting.

(To receive a report by Nick Borrill (Deputy Chief Fire Officer), which provides the Committee with an opportunity to consider the annual Statement of Assurance on financial, governance and operational matters)

Consideration was given to a report which invited the Committee to consider and note the contents of Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Authority's Statement of Assurance 2014 -2015.  A copy of the Statement of Assurance was attached at Appendix A to the report.

Members were advised that the Fire and Rescue National Framework for England sets out the requirement for fire and rescue authorities to provide an annual Statement of Assurance on financial, governance and operational matters and to show how they have had due regard to the expectations set out in their integrated risk management plan and the requirements included in the Framework.

The Committee was advised that Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Authority was satisfied that the systems and measures it had in place with respect to financial, governance and operational matters for the period of 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015 were robust, fit for purpose and effective.  It was also satisfied that its business was conducted in accordance with the law and proper standards and that public money was properly accounted for and used economically, efficiently and effectively.  The National Framework requirements, where appropriate, had also been met.

In response to a question, Members were advised that the Service was short by approximately 30 FTE's for its target of 430 FTE retained personnel.

RESOLVED

That the contents of Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Authority's Statement of Assurance 2014 -2015 be noted.

(To receive a report by Tracy Johnson (Senior Scrutiny Officer), which provides the Committee with an opportunity to consider its work programme for the coming months)

The Committee considered its work programme report which provided details of items due to be discussed at forthcoming meetings.

It was requested that the item on Neighbourhood Policing listed for 13 April 2016 was brought forward to the meeting on 13 January 2016. 

The Committee congratulated Nick Borrill on his recent appointment to the position of Acting Chief Fire Officer.  It was noted that this would take effect from 1 December 2015.

RESOLVED

That the Work Programme and changes made therein be noted.

MEETING OF LINCOLNSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL'S CRIME AND DISORDER COMMITTEE

(To receive a report by Andy Cook (Youth Offending Manager), which informs the Committee of the planned review of the Integrated Offender Management (IOM) programme)

Consideration was given to a report which informed the Committee of the planned review of the Integrated Offender Management programme.

Members were advised that Integrated Offender Management was a significant element of the Home Office and Ministry of Justice strategy to prevent crime and reduce offending. 

The initial Integrated Offender Management model was first established nationally in 2009 and then subsequently locally led by Lincolnshire Probation Trust and supported by partner agencies.  Following the changes in adult offender management structures, which had emerged from the Transforming Rehabilitation agenda, ownership for the development of a revised Integrated Offender Management was tasked to Lincolnshire Police.

It was noted that the Reducing Offending CMB approved the bid to Corporate Management Board for a dedicated project management resource to be assigned to the Integrated Offender Management review to drive it forward and it was also noted that the individual would start in post on 12 October 2015. 

RESOLVED

That the report and comments be noted.