Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor H Marfleet, Councillor Mrs K Cook and Reverend P A Johnson.

It was reported that, under the Local Government (Committee and Political Groups) Regulations 1990, Councillor Mrs A Newton had been appointed as a replacement member for Councillor Mrs K Cook, for this meeting only.

There were no declarations of interest.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting held on 28 June 2018 be signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

On behalf of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board (OSMB), the Chairman thanked Richard Wills (Executive Director, Environment and Economy) for his valued work to the Council over the last 18 years and wished him a long and happy retirement. Richard Wills thanked the Elected Representatives for always showing commitment and doing a great job of supporting their constituents.

Councillor B Young (Executive Councillor for Community Safety and People Management) explained it was unlikely that he would be able to submit a completed report on the Street Lighting Review by the 5^th September. It was agreed that the Board would allow more time for the submission of this report, providing that there was enough time for it to be considered at the next meeting of the Board on the 27^th September 2018.

None were received.

None were received.

(To receive a report by Sophie Reeve (Chief Commercial Officer) and Arnd Hobohm (Serco Contract Manager), which updates the Committee on Serco's performance against contractual Key Performance Indicators specified in the Corporate Support Services Contract between April and June 2018)

The Chief Commercial Officer presented a report which provided an update of Serco's performance against contractual Key Performance Indicators (KPI's) specified in the Corporate Services Contract between April and June 2018; as well as providing an update on the progress of the top 20 priority projects previously agreed by the Board.

Attention was drawn to the KPI's which had failed to meet the Minimum Service Level (MSL), and those that had failed to reach the Target Service Level (TSL).

Officers also highlighted the KPI's which had been granting mitigation relief, meaning that Serco were relieved from the application of Service Credits.

Overall, officers were pleased with the results and felt that KPI performance across the service area was generally good, with the exception to some IMT issues which were being addressed.

One Member felt that there was not enough explanation on the impacts of the KPI's that were in mitigation relief. 

The top 20 priority IMT projects were then discussed. It was noted that five of the top 20 priority projects had been cancelled, completed, or closed, allowing the Board to select five new projects to fill the gap. Officers recommended the following five projects be selected:

1.IMT-273 – CEC Gap analysis

2.IMT-315 – Implement Attachit for SNAP Surveys

3.IMT-318-808 – LFR South Park Blind

4.IMT-334 – Swap out WAP's 2018

5.IMT-380-1808 – EMPSN 10Gb & HSCN

Comments and questions from members and responses from officers included:

·       IMT-368-1806 – Members questioned what would happen to the ageing devices and asked whether they could be passed on to Children's Services. Officers explained that once data destruction had taken place, it would be possible to look into options for passing on the devices.

·      IMT-329 – Officers clarified that the recurring costs for Office 365 had not been included in the approved budget of £67,742.50

1.  IMT-317-1807 – Members highlighted the difficulty both staff and members had experienced with network access, with reports that social workers were unable to connect to networks remotely, meaning they sometimes struggled to carry out their jobs effectively. Officers agreed that there had been a long running problem with the Council's network service and work had been carried out which had improved it dramatically over recent weeks.

2.  It was felt that there should be more explanation on the criteria of selection, specifically when there was a change in the priorities.

One member felt that the following projects were important and suggested they be considered:

·    REM-IMT-001 – Microsoft Identity Management

·    IMT-361-1085 – Azure site to site

·    IMT-371-1806 – Network Monitoring Tools Implementation

·    IMT–317–1807 – Children's Services

·    REM-IMT-1807 – Securing SAP legacy data

RESOLVED:

·      That the Board were reassured about the performance of the Corporate    Services Contract

·      That the comments and suggestions from the Board be considered by officers

(To receive a report by John Wickens (Head of ICT & Chief Digital Officer), which provides an update on the soft market testing that has been undertaken regarding the delivery of IT services from 2020, and to provide a summary of the internal staff engagement sessions which have taken place to provide an understanding of future IT needs of the Council)

The Head of ICT & Chief Digital Officer presented a report which provided the Board with an update on the soft market testing that had been undertaken to help inform the Council's decision making process regarding the delivery of IT Services from 2020; and to provide a summary of the internal engagement sessions that had taken place with staff members, to provide an understanding of the current and future IT needs of the Council. The Board were invited to consider the report and provide feedback on the points raised.

The report provided drew attention to the two stages of engagement that had been conducted:

1.External engagement - Soft market testing

2.Internal engagement - Steps taken to engage staff/members

The soft market testing had been carried out, with five providers expressing an interest in progressing to the final stage of the engagement process, presenting a range of potential service delivery models. It was noted that the procurement principles explored with providers, officers and members during the soft market testing were now being finalised.

Officers emphasised that although the market was small it was a viable one with some credible providers. Officers were confident that if they were to go to market in December there was sufficient interest from the market for a competitive procurement to be undertaken.  

The Internal Engagement Process had involved 11 workshop sessions, nine with officers and two with members. The Head of IMT and Chief Digital Officer thanked those Members who had attended the workshop sessions. 

The Board were advised that all information had now been recorded and officers would now consider the feedback of the providers and staff in order to present a likely potential procurement option for consideration to OSMB in September 2018.

Questions and comments from members and officers included the following:

1.    It was questioned why the tactical issues were being dealt with before the    strategic elements of the process were in place. In response, officers explained that it was essential to address the immediate problems whilst still planning ahead.

2.    In response to a question, it was clarified that there was a mid-level draft in place which considered the service level strategy along with the technical strategy.

3.    The Leader of the Council explained that different options were being explored and that the strategy would look forward to the future. It was noted that the Council should have a clearer vision by April 2019.

4.    It was noted the strategy had been shared with the Working Group and the sessions had been productive and successful. The Board requested the principles of the new strategy to be shared with them by the end of the month.

5.    Officers explained that in line with the feedback gathered, the strategy would look at what needed to be in place currently as well as assessing future needs, which included investments in basic infrastructure by 2020.

6.    Members expressed concerns that there were only a small number of providers expressing an interest in delivering ICT service  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

(To receive a report from Andrew McLean (Chief Commissioning Officer), which provides an update on progress for the potential transition of the Council's Payroll/HR Admin services and Enterprise Resource Planning System)

The Chief Commissioning Officer presented a report which updated the Board on progress for the potential transition of the Council's Payroll/HR Admin Services and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system to Hoople Ltd, via a shared service agreement with Herefordshire Council.

The report focused on the outcome of recent workshops held between the Council and Hoople in July 2018; and the due diligence activities being carried out on the suitability and capability of Hoople Ltd and Herefordshire Council to deliver the service and the direction of travel of the areas reported.

It was noted that the following actions had been carried out to date:

·         The Hoople proposal and the high level project plan had been reviewed.

·         The Payroll specification had been reviewed and updated ready for completion in August

·         Engagement with schools and Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue had been established

·         System rectification design work had been completed, with improvement packages under construction

·         Officers had identified gaps in the provision in terms of how Business World On! currently operated and were concentrating on planning to how best resolve these. There had been dialogue with the relevant trade unions

·         Work had continued on the due diligence of Hoople along with Risk Management.

·         Sovereignty issues with ERP along with issues surrounding the transition of contracts had been identified as possible risks.

·         Officers had identified risks with Serco's Council supply, and were working on a continuity plan to ensure a clean transfer.

·         It was highlighted that a move to Hoople would result in a loss of Sovereignty with regards ERP, meaning the loss of a direct decision making power for the Council. Although there would still be some ability to negotiate and influence, there would be loss of overall power as Herefordshire Council would have the majority of the control. 

·         However, officers felt there was a sense of reassurance that the Hoople system was in use and operating effectively for other local government authorities and parts of the NHS.

Questions and comments from members and officers included the following:

·         One member highlighted that some services had not previously adhered to standard business practice and asked how assurance could be provided to ensure that standards and compliance could be guaranteed. Officers explained that they were challenging the process at an early stage and resolving any issues before technical elements were implemented and any new processes were set up.

·         In response to a question, the Chief Commissioning Officer clarified that as there had been not yet been any formal agreement to transfer to Hoople, the Fire Brigade's Union had not yet been consulted. At this stage, there had only been discussions with those directly affected. 

·         Members were largely concerned with the loss of sovereignty as a result of a transfer to Hoople.

·         Officers clarified that the Council did have sovereignty within the current Serco contract and that should a contract with Hoople be established, there would only be the power to influence decision, rather than having a direct decision making power.

·         Members were assured that the sovereignty  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

(To receive a report by Jasmine Sodhi (Performance and Equalities Manager), which presents the Council Business Plan performance for Quarter One. The report and views of the Board will be presented to the Executive on 4 September 2018.)

12:03pm – The meeting reconvened

The Performance and Equalities Manager invited the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board to consider a report on the Council Business Plan for Quarter One 2018 – 2019, prior to it being presented to the Executive on 4 September 2018. 

In relation to the performance measures against the Council Business Plan 2018 -2019, attention was drawn to the recommended changes to measures 59 'carers supported in the last 12 months per 100,000 population'; 122 'Percentage of requests for support for new clients aged 65 or over, where the outcome was long term support services'; and 115 'Deprivation of Liberty'. It had also been proposed that an alternative measure would replace measure 6 'Alcohol related violet crimes', following discussion with the relevant Executive Councillors.

It was explained that the data for 'Reduce Carbon emissions' was unavailable but was expected to be reported in the Quarter 2 Performance Report.

The Performance and Equalities Manager referred Members to Appendix A of the report, which provided a summary of the measures to which the target had not been achieved in Quarter 1.

The Chairman requested that the Chairmen of the Adults and Community Wellbeing; Environment and Economy; and Public Protection and Communities Scrutiny Committees provide a statement on indicators under the remit of their committee which had not met their Quarter 1 Target. It was agreed that these statements would be reflected in any comments made to the Executive on this item. 

Questions from Members and responses from Officers included:

·         With reference to measure 31 – 'percentage of alcohol users left drug     treatment successfully', Members asked for clarification as to whether the measure referred to alcohol or drug users as the measure seemed to be conflicting. The Performance and Equalities Manager agreed to look into this further. 

·         In relation to Measure 1 – 'Illicit alcohol and tobacco seized', a Member commented that they had noticed a reduction in trading standards officers incidents which could have resulted in targets not being met.

·         One councillor also questioned whether a reduction in staffing was to blame for Measure 1 'Illicit alcohol and tobacco sized' not being met. In response, it was clarified that targets were set directly by the service with relation to their capacity, so staffing levels would have been reflected within the targets.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the recommendations to the Executive, as set out in the report be supported

2.    That the Chairmen of Adults and Community Wellbeing; Environment and Economy; and Public Protection and Communities Scrutiny Committees provide a statement on indicators under the remit of their committees which had not met their quarter one target, which would be passed to the Executive

(To receive a report from Fiona Thompson (Service Manager – People Management) which provides a progress update on actions taken by both Corporate functions and Director Areas to address issues raised by the results of the Employee Survey 2017)

The Service Manager (People Management) provided a progress update on the actions taken to address issues that the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board had previously raised from the results of the Employee Survey 2017.

The report highlighted the following key areas of corporate focus and the findings and actions:

·         IMT

·         Property

·         Insights into the cause of lower participation rates in some areas and actions to improve these

·         The drivers for 23% of participants not feeling they have opportunities to develop both personally and professionally and actions to improve this

·         Actions to improve levels of awareness of: employee benefits; work of other director areas; and the performance and appraisal system

The Service Manager (People Management) also outlined the Service Areas key themes and actions which included:

·         An ongoing project to encourage greater engagement and inclusion from the Retained Firefighters. Actions had been added to address the communication issue in relation to participation rates.

·         Briefing sessions which had been held with Children's Services teams to discuss the service outcomes and there was commitment to improving IT kit and action had been taken to roll this out in a phased approach.

·         The roll out of new tablets for Children's Health had been successfully completed and the order for Phase 1 or the Social Care and early help tablets had been approved with an estimated start date of the beginning of September.

Overall, the Board noted that work was underway to address themes raised in the Employee Survey and many of the issues had already been identified and planned ahead of the survey results, with IMT remaining the most common issue.

Comments and questions from members and responses from officers included:

·         One Member suggested that reminders to complete the survey could be displayed on television screens within the authority in an attempt to increase engagement.

·         Officers acknowledged that more work needed to be done to engage the Fire and Rescue employees and access by a mobile phone would be a good way to engage if this was possible. 

·         One Member highlighted that there had been employee development sessions offered in the past but these had not been well attended.

·         The Chairman requested that the Board received an update on progress in six months' time. It was explained that there was due to be a progress update on the Council Workforce Plan in October 2018 so it may be possible to combine the two reports. Officers agreed to look into this further and agree the best approach.

RESOLVED

          That the report and comments made be noted.

(To receive a report which sets out the work programmes of the Adults and Community Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee; and Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire in accordance with the Board's agreed programme)

The Board reviewed the Work Programmes of two of the Scrutiny Committees:

Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire

The Chairman of the Health Scrutiny Committee highlighted the continued concerns of the Committee regarding the provision of Children and Young People Services at Pilgrim Hospital. An interim model of care had been implemented and was maintaining 97%. However, with staffing rotas remaining fragile, he emphasised that the Health Scrutiny Committee would seek reassurance that the contingency arrangements were fully worked through, in case the interim model were to fail.

It was noted that the Committee continued to be frustrated that it had not been possible to consider the Acute Services Review element of the Lincolnshire Sustainability and Transformation Partnership and there had been an item added to the Committees Work Programme for September to provide feedback on the consultation plan.

In response to a question, the Chairman of Health Scrutiny explained that there had been no discussion about the stockpiling of medicine as it had currently been seen as a national issue, but there may be an opportunity for the committee to look at this further. 

Adults and Community Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee

The Board were advised that there were no changes to the future Work Programme as listed in the report. 

It was noted that following recommendations from the Board, provision had been made within the Committee's work programme for the five commissioning strategies under the remit of the Committee. The Specialist Adult Services and Adult Safeguarding strategies would be considered on the 5^th September, and a further three strategies would be considered on the 10^th October.

One Councillor requested a definition of adult frailty which was agreed to be circulated via email to the Board following the meeting.

RESOLVED:

That the Board was satisfied with the content of the Work Programmes for the Adults and Community Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee; and the Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire.

(To receive a report which invites the Board to approve the terms of reference and completion dates of the two scrutiny reviews)

The Head of Democratic Services invited the Board to approve the terms of reference and completion dates for both the Roundabout Sponsorship and Advertising and the Transitions Scrutiny Reviews.

As parts of the review would involve aspects of developing the economy, it was agreed that the Roundabouts Sponsorship and Advertising Scrutiny Panel would engage with the Environment and Economy Scrutiny Committee as well as the Highways and Transport Scrutiny Committee.

RESOLVED

1. That the terms of reference and a completion date of the 11^th March 2019 for the review of Roundabout Sponsorship and Advertising (Scrutiny Panel A) be approved
2. That the terms of reference and a completion date of the 28^th March 2019 for the review of the Transitions (Scrutiny Panel B) be approved
3. That, in addition to reporting to the Highways and Public Protection Scrutiny Committee, the Roundabout Sponsorship and Advertising Scrutiny Panel would also submit a report to the Environment and Economy Scrutiny Committee

(To receive a report which enables the Board to consider and comment on the content of its work programme for the coming year)

The Board was provided with an opportunity to review its own Work Programme.

The Head of Democratic Services advised that there had been no additions to the Work Programme since the last meeting. It was agreed that a further item to provide an update on the Employee Survey would be added if necessary. 

RESOLVED:

1.    That the Board was satisfied with the content of the Work Programme 

2.    That a further item to provide an update on the Employee Survey be added to the Work Programme if necessary