Agenda, decisions and minutes

The Leader of the Council welcomed everyone to the first virtual meeting of the Executive.

No apologies for absence had been received.  However, it was noted that Councillor R B Parker, the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board and Andy Gutherson, the Executive Director – Place were unable to attend.

No interests were declared.

Leader of the Council

Councillor M J Hill, OBE, the Leader of the Council, referred to the significant impact of the coronavirus pandemic and thanked Debbie Barnes for her support to the Leader for the urgent decisions, which had been required in response to the coronavirus pandemic.  

Councillor Hill confirmed that all the Council's vital services had continued and some less critical services had been suspended, with many staff redeployed to critical areas.  The Council was continuing to work with partners, for example, the NHS in Lincolnshire, the care sector, district councils and the Lincolnshire Police, on the co?ordination of the response.  The number of cases of coronavirus in Lincolnshire had been comparatively low, with the county's rurality considered to be a factor in this.  The Leader of the Council thanked all those who had continued to work delivering critical services. 

Each member of the Executive provided an update on the impact of the coronavirus on their own area of responsibility and echoed the Leader's thanks to staff, who had helped critical services continue.

Adult Care, Health and Children's Services

Councillor Mrs P A Bradwell, OBE, the Deputy Leader of the Council and the Executive Councillor for Adult Care, Health and Children's Services, advised that almost all schools had remained open for vulnerable children and the children of key workers.  Plans were being co-ordinated by the Executive Director – Children's Services for the possible re-opening of schools from 1 June 2020, in particular the arrangements for home to school transport.   

Councillor Mrs Bradwell confirmed that the County Council's Public Health Department was working closely with NHS colleagues.  The level of supply of protective personal equipment was good.  The Wellbeing Service was working well with the support of colleagues from district councils.  Homecare and residential care providers were also working well with the Council, and ensuring that discharges from hospitals of non-Covid-19 patients were made quickly.

Economy and Place

Councillor C R Davie, the Executive Councillor for Economy and Place, thanked all economic development staff at the County Council, the Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LLEP) and district councils for providing support to businesses, and helping them plan for the future.

To date £198.7 million had been distributed to businesses by the district and unitary councils in the LLEP area, which was a significant achievement as this represented 80% of the total funding available.  22% of the county's workforce had been furloughed; 70% of the workforce were working normally; and 24% of businesses had closed or ceased to trade, mainly in the hospitality or tourism sectors.  This impact represented a substantial shock to the economy of the county.  However, a 'recovery cell' was in place, and locally business leaders were optimistic on developing sustainable business models for the future. 

Highways, Transport and IT

Councillor R G Davies, the Executive Councillor for Highways, Transport and IT, advised that the Council's highways staff and contractors had adapted to the social distancing guidelines.  Highway maintenance was continuing as planned.  In relation to capital schemes,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 76.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting of the Executive on 3 March 2020 be confirmed as a correct record and be signed by the Leader. 

(To receive a report from the Executive Director – Children's Services, which seeks approval for the adoption of the Policy, as set out at Appendix A as the Post?16 Transport Policy Statement for 2020/21, and the continuation of the student/parent contribution)

(1)  That the Policy, as set out at Appendix A to the report, be adopted as the Post-16 Transport Policy Statement for 2020/21.

(2)  That the continuation of the student/parent contribution at a rate of £570 per annum (£579 if paid in instalments) be approved.

A report on the Post-16 Transport Policy Statement was introduced by Councillor Mrs P A Bradwell, OBE, the Executive Councillor for Adult Care, Health and Children's Services, and presented by Charlotte Gray, Acting Head of Service - Children's Strategic Commissioning.

The presentation stressed that the Council had a legal obligation to adopt a post-16 transport policy statement by 31 May each year, but there was no obligation for the Council to provide home to school transport free of charge to post-16 learners.   The scheme cost the Council approximately £3 million per year and the Council recovers a proportion of the cost, approximately £1 million, through a charge to parents or students, which was currently £570 per annum or £579 in instalments.

The Executive was advised that the policy had been developed in line with the statutory Guidance issued by the Department for Education (DfE) in January 2019 and engagement on the content of the policy had obtained the views of 3% of students and stakeholders and it had been concluded that most users found the policy fair and supportive.  It was proposed that there would be no changes to the policy for 2020/21 and that the contribution would remain at the same level as the previous three years.

Councillor R Wootten, as Vice Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board, presented to the Executive the statement from both the Board and the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee, which included a series of questions, to which responses had been given.  Councillor Wootten highlighted the comment on the impact of the coronavirus.  

The following points were confirmed in response to questions from members of the Executive:

• The engagement exercise had been more far reaching this year and had been targeted at specific relevant stakeholders for example it had used email addresses of current year 11 and post 16 students, as well as contacting Post 16 education providers and transport operators to seek their views on the proposed policy.
• The low response to the engagement exercise had been a disappointment, but did not represent evidence of general dissatisfaction with the policy.

The Executive stressed the importance of connecting with young people. 

RESOLVED

(1)  That the Policy, as set out at Appendix A to the report, be adopted as the Post-16 Transport Policy Statement for 2020/21.

(2)  That the continuation of the student/parent contribution at a rate of £570 per annum (£579 if paid in instalments) be approved.

(To receive a report from the Chief Executive, which seeks approval for the draft Corporate Plan Success Framework 2020-2023, as set out at Appendix B, as the next phase in organisational planning following the County Council approving a new Corporate Plan 2020-2030 for the Council in December 2019)

(1)  That the document, as set out at Appendix B to the report, be approved as the Lincolnshire County Council Corporate Plan Success Framework 2020-2023 to take effect from 1 May 2020.

(2)  That the planned revision of the Council's performance framework, which will be the subject of a subsequent report, be approved.

Debbie Barnes, OBE, Chief Executive, presented a report to the Executive on the Draft Corporate Plan Success Framework 2020-23.   Following the County Council's decision on 11 December 2019 to adopt a new Corporate Plan 2020/30 for the Council, with effect from 1 April 2020.  To meet the four ambitions in the Plan, a Success Framework for 2020-2023 had been developed, which the Executive was requested to approve.   For each ambition in the Corporate Plan, a series of measures and activities were proposed.  Reference was made to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, which would require further work on developing plans for recovery actions.  

The report had been considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board on 29 April 2020, and the Board's statement included support for the recommendations to the Executive. 

Following questions from the Executive, the following points were clarified:

• The customer service centre worked proactively and in a restorative manner to deal with issues before they reached the complaint stage and the current related measure did not recognise this and should therefore be reviewed.
• The plan focused on outcomes, and CLT was also considering how to manage productivity and outputs particularly with increased remote working.

The Executive concluded that the Plan was fit for purpose but that it required review in light of the coronavirus pandemic, which was likely to impact positively and negatively on a range of Council services and activities in the future, and this would be considered by the Executive and the Corporate Leadership Team.  

RESOLVED

(1)  That the document, as set out at Appendix B to the report, be approved as the Lincolnshire County Council Corporate Plan Success Framework 2020-2023 to take effect from 1 May 2020.

(2)  That the planned revision of the Council's performance framework, which will be the subject of a subsequent report, be approved.