Agenda item

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

The Board reviewed the Work Programme of four of the Scrutiny Committee Work Programmes:

Adults and Community Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee:

The Chairman of the Adults and Community Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee highlighted the recent work of the committee, and outlined the committee's prospective work programme.

Members were invited to ask questions, in which the following points were noted:

·       The Leader of the Council explained that the Government had given assurance that they would continue the work on the fair funding review. It was noted that that there had not been any progress made on the Green Paper for Adult Care.

Children's and Young People Scrutiny Committee:

The Chairman of the Children's and Young People Scrutiny Committee highlighted the recent work of the committee, and outlined the committee's prospective work programme.

Members were invited to ask questions, in which the following points were noted:

·       It was clarified that the Policy under Section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983 was due to be reported to Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee as it concerned inpatients around mental health and disability. It was noted that that the policy would only apply to a small number of children compared to adults.

·       It was noted that 83% of Lincolnshire pupils were placed in a school rated by Ofsted as outstanding or good, which was above the national average.

Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire

The Chairman of the Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire highlighted the recent work of the committee, and outlined the committee's prospective work programme.

Members were invited to ask questions, in which the following points were noted:

• Concerns were raised over the performance of the Thames Ambulance Service and whether it would be beneficial to switch to an alternative provider.

            The Chairman of the Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire explained          that the Committee had made clear to the CCG that they should procure an             alternative provider, however the CCG had to date indicated that there needed         to be contingency arrangements in place before they could issue a notice of           contract termination.   

·       The Head of Paid Service confirmed that there had been discussions between officers which had considered alternative strategies and alternative procurement approaches for the ambulance service. 

·       It was suggested that the Healthy Conversation engagement sessions could have been better advertised to members of the public. The Health Scrutiny Committee had been pushing for better advertising of these sessions. It was felt that there was a role for Councillors to advertise these events.

·       The Chairman of the Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire highlighted the importance of engaging with the Public on Healthy Conversation, to ensure that the services in Lincolnshire could be improved.

·       It was suggested that providing an excellent health service within Lincolnshire would mean that Lincolnshire residents would be more likely to use the services offered within the county, rather than travel outside of the county to receive health care. 

Public Protection and Communities Scrutiny Committee:

The Chairman of the Public Protection and Communities Scrutiny Committee highlighted the recent work of the scrutiny committee and set out the committee's prospective work programme.

It was noted that all Members had received an invitation to visit their local fire stations.

Members were invited to ask questions, in which the following points were noted:

·         It was suggested that tackling Domestic Abuse should be a high priority for the council, as it was a complicated issue in which many agencies were involved in dealing with.

·         It was requested that Members be provided with some guidance on how to spot the signs of domestic abuse, modern day slavery and other safeguarding issues. It was agreed that this be looked into further.

·         It was agreed the contact details for all council services be circulated to all Members of the Council. 

·         It was highlighted that the recruitment and retention of on-call firefighters was a national issue.

·         Members were informed that the council's customer service centre provided a 24 hour service and could provide all necessary information for a first point of call for somebody suffering from domestic abuse.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the Board were satisfied with the previous activity and future work programmes of the Adults and Community Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee; Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee; Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire and the Public Protection and Communities Scrutiny Committee;

2.    That the contact details for all council services be circulated to all Members of the Council.