Agenda, decisions and minutes

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

No apologies for absence had been received.  However, it was noted that Andy Gutherson (Executive Director – Place) was unable to attend.

No interests were declared.  

Leader of the Council

Councillor M J Hill, OBE, the Leader of the Council referred to the country moving into the recovery phase from the covid-19 pandemic, with the County Council participating in the easing of restrictions.   Local authorities would be involved in the NHS's Test, Track and Trace arrangements, which included the Local Outbreak Engagement Board, chaired by the Leader of the County Council, with membership consisting of other elected representatives, and supported by the County Council's Director of Public Health.  This Board would oversee any required local lockdown arrangements. 

Executive Councillor for Commercial and Environmental Management

Councillor E J Poll, Executive Councillor for Commercial and Environmental Management, stated that since the last meeting of the Executive the County Council's household waste recycling centres had opened, and feedback from members of the public had been positive.  The staff operating the centres were thanked for their efforts.

Executive Councillor for Adult Care, Health and Children's Services

Councillor Mrs P A Bradwell, OBE, Deputy Leader of the Council and Executive Councillor for Adult Care, Health and Children's Services, stated that £5 million of the £10 million further funding recently allocated for residential care had been passported to homes, with the requirement from the Government that homes completed a 'bed tracker' on a daily basis.  The Commissioning Team was in regular contact with providers to manage any issues.  Issues with personal protective equipment early in the pandemic had now been resolved.  The Community Supported Living service and home care providers were also working well, and were providing information on a daily basis.  Contract officers were also regular contact with all other service providers.

On Children's Services, Councillor Mrs Bradwell also stated that to date 92% of primary schools had opened to all Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 pupils.  Home to transport arrangements were being managed, with social distancing rules being followed.  On 15 June, secondary schools were due to open and the County Council was providing support and advice.  Details on a targeted summer school programme were awaited from the Government.  Front line staff, such as social workers and early help workers, continued to provide support to families. 

The Family Learning Service had adapted and was continuing to support parents and families, using online services. 

Executive Councillor for Highways, Transport and IT 

Councillor R G Davies, the Executive Councillor for Highways, Transport and IT, reported that following the commencement of the Highways 2020 Contract on 1 April 2020, activity was continuing at a normal level, despite the covid-19 pandemic.  Consideration was also being given to whether any changes would be needed to the layout for pedestrians in shopping areas.

Executive Councillor for NHS Liaison and Community Engagement

Councillor Mrs S Woolley, Executive Councillor for NHS Liaison and Community Engagement, referred to the week beginning 1 June as National Volunteers' Week and thanked all the county's volunteers for their support during the covid-19 pandemic.  There were over 400 volunteer community groups, comprising 7,000 individuals, in Lincolnshire who had been providing support to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 76.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting of the Executive on 5 May 2020 be confirmed as a correct record.

(To receive a report from the Executive Director – Resources, which invites the Executive to consider the recommendations proposed by Scrutiny Panel B on the review of Overview and Scrutiny at Lincolnshire County Council, as set out in the report)

(1)       That the revised Executive-Scrutiny Protocol referred to in recommendation 1 in the reporton Overview and Scrutiny at Lincolnshire County Council be endorsed and recommended to the County Council for approval.

(2)       That recommendations 2, 3 and 4 in the reporton Overview and Scrutiny at Lincolnshire County Council be endorsed and recommended to the County Council for approval.

(3)       That recommendations 5 and 6 in the reporton Overview and Scrutiny at Lincolnshire County Council be implemented.

(4)       That recommendations 7 and 8 in the reporton Overview and Scrutiny at Lincolnshire County Council be recommended to the Head of Paid Service for implementation.

Councillor Mrs A Newton, the Chairman of Scrutiny Panel B, presented its report on Overview and Scrutiny at Lincolnshire County Council.  The report and its eight recommendations had been approved by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board on 30 April 2020.  Scrutiny Panel B's review followed the publication in May 2019 by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government of its Statutory Guidance on Overview and Scrutiny in Local and Combined Authorities.

Following its review, Scrutiny Panel B made eight recommendations and the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board confirmed that the Board had supported all the recommendations.

The Executive considered the eight recommendations in turn.  The County Council had adopted an executive – scrutiny protocol in 2016, and the report proposed revisions, which would more closely align it with the statutory guidance and the Council's existing good practice.  Thus, the Executive endorsed the first review recommendation on a revised protocol, for which the County Council's approval would be sought [see part (1) of the resolution below]. 

The Executive also endorsed the second recommendation, which comprised a schedule of proposed deviations from the statutory guidance, together with reasons for the deviation.  This would also be submitted to the County Council for approval [see part (2) of the resolution below]. 

Recommendations three and four from the scrutiny review related to the overview and scrutiny committee structure.  These included a proposal to discontinue the Safeguarding Boards Scrutiny Sub Group and allocate its responsibilities to the Adults and Community Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee and the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee.    Reference was made to the role of external agencies on the Sub Group, such as the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), who had requested consideration be given to opportunities for the PCC to engage in partnerships with the County Council.  Alternative partnership arrangements would be explored.  The Executive agreed to support recommendations two and three, which would also be submitted to the County Council for approval [see part (2) of the resolution below].

Recommendations five to eight of the scrutiny review were also supported by the Executive, together with the plans for their implementation, which were set out in the report [See parts (3) and (4) of the resolution].  The following additional comments were made on these recommendations:

Recommendation 6 [Training for Councillors on Overview and Scrutiny] – It was also suggested and agreed that training and support for officers involved in overview and scrutiny would be explored.

Recommendation 8 [Involvement of External Organisations] – On the proposal for a requirement for contractors to provide information for and to attend overview and scrutiny committees, the role of the chairman of each committee was emphasised.  Given the significant number of contracts operated by the Council a judgement would be made on the extent and impact of the contract, before the inclusion of any such requirement.   The role of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board in holding the provider of the corporate support services contract to account  ...  view the full minutes text for item 78.

(To receive a report from the Executive Director - Commercial, which seeks approval for the entering into of a contract extension with Serco for a period of two years, with effect from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2024.

Please note: Appendix One to this report has not been circulated to the press and public on the grounds that it is considered to contain exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended. The press and public may be excluded from the meeting if the Executive wish to discuss any of the information included within this appendix)

(1)  That approval be given to the entering into of a contract extension with Serco for a period of two years, with effect from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2024 to include the following services:

·         Information Management Technology;

·         Payroll;

·         HR Administration;

·         Customer Service Centre (CSC);

·         Exchequer Services and Adult Care Finance.

(2)  That the Executive Director – Commercial, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, be delegated the authority to determine the final terms of the extension and approve the form and the entering into of all contractual and other documentation necessary to give effect to the said extension.

Consideration was given to a report by the Assistant Director – Commercial, which set out the results of a review on the possible commissioning approaches for the contract for corporate support services and sought approval for a further two year extension to the contract.   

The review on possible alternative commissioning approaches to the existing contract had considered value for money, delivered by the existing provider, Serco; and the extent of the market.  The review found that Serco had been delivering good performance: for example, Serco had only missed four of the 720 performance measures in the last eighteen months.

The review also found that there were no commercial providers undertaking the same mix of services to the public sector as those provided by Serco.  The IT market had evolved since 2018 into a multi-source model, with separate IT providers specialising in elements of IT services, which was the Council's preferred model.  A two year extension to the contract would support the Council's evolution to the multi-source model. 

Serco had also offered a series of value for money savings, totalling £5 million from 1 April 2020 – 31 March 2024 and had also worked in partnership with the County Council in response to the covid-19 pandemic, enabling circa 5,000 employees to work from home and establishing a community support advice line within two days of being requested to do so. 

For all of these reasons, the report recommended a further extension to the contract as the best means of delivering corporate support services and the Executive was further informed that the option to extend the Council's corporate support services contract with Serco for a further two years up until the 31 March 2024 had to be exercised by June 2020.

The Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board presented the comments of the Board, which had unanimously supported the recommendations.   The comments included a reference to budget being based on the predicted volumes of activity, whilst the contract charges would be based on the actual volumes of activity, although it was expected that the existing budget provision would be sufficient.  The Executive supported the views of the Board.

The Executive considered the report and during the discussion the following points were noted:

• Verbal assurance had been given by Serco that none of the Lincolnshire staff would be redeployed to support the NHS's Test, Track and Trace programme.
• Assurance was given on the financial stability of Serco, following a due diligence exercise.
• The Council would address over the coming twelve months the issue of obsolete equipment and a report would be submitted within three months, updating on progress.
• The current Lagan customer relationship management system was outdated and required upgrading or replacing.  Serco had offered to upgrade the system to a later version of Lagan at its own cost, which would provide improvements in customer insight for the Council and help the customer service staff provide a better service.  The Council would undertake analysis over the next two months to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 79.