Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Mrs K Cook, Councillor Mrs W Bowkett, Patricia Barnett (Parent Governor Representative) and Stephen Rudman (Church Representative).

It was reported that, under the Local Government (Committee and Political Groups) Regulations 1990, Councillor C J T H Brewis had been appointed as a replacement member for Councillor Mrs K Cook; and Councillor C R Oxby had been appointed as a replacement member for Councillor Mrs W Bowkett, for this meeting only.

There were no declarations of interest.

RESOLVED:

          That the minutes of the meeting held on 26 September 2019 be         approved as a           correct record and signed by the Chairman. 

The Chairman reported that he had attended a meeting of the Executive on 1 October 2019, where he had presented the Board's comments on the Capital Budget Monitoring Report 2019/20 and the Revenue Budget Monitoring report 2019/20; highlighted the Adults and Community Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee's comments on the Housing Related Support Services; the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee's comments on Commissioning of Supported Accommodation: Children's Services; and the Highways and Transport Scrutiny Committee's comments on Highways 2020 Contract Award Decision.

Members were advised that the Chairman of the Roundabout Sponsorship and Advertising Scrutiny Panel had also attended the Executive meeting to present the final report from Scrutiny Panel A on Roundabout Sponsorship and Advertising. The Executive had supported the idea of a countywide sponsorship scheme which had been proposed by the Panel.

Members were informed that the Chairman, the Executive Councillor for Community Safety and People Management, and 6 other members of Scrutiny Panel B had attended the East Midlands Councils Scrutiny Conference on 4 October 2019, which had included workshops on the new statutory scrutiny guidance, questioning skills and chairing skills. Scrutiny Panel B would be discussing the outcomes and lessons learned from the conference at its next meeting on 30 October 2019. An interim report from Scrutiny Panel B would be reported to the Board meeting scheduled for 19 December 2019.

None were received.

None were received.

(To receive a report from Verity Druce (Commercial Manager), which provides a timetable for the development and approval of the Corporate Plan, updated draft content and summarises the feedback from the first OSMB working group meeting)

Consideration was given to a report by the Commercial Manager, which provided a timetable for the development and approval of the Corporate Plan, updated draft content and summarised the feedback from the first Overview and Scrutiny Management Board (OSMB) working group meeting.

Members were advised that the Council was in the process of creating a new Corporate Plan to outline Lincolnshire County Council's vision and strategic ambitions; what success for Lincolnshire means and what the Council intended to do to achieve success for Lincolnshire.

The Corporate Plan working group had met on the 30 September 2019. Feedback had been provided at Appendix A to the report.

Members received a presentation which detailed the following:

·       The Background and Council decision to date

·       The Development and approval process

·       The External Stakeholder Engagement activity

·       The Council's proposed vision, remaining unchanged – working for a better future

·       The Council's proposed ambitions – people and communities will have high aspirations; the opportunity to enjoy life to the full; thriving environments and good value Council services

·       The next steps for forming the Plan.

Members were referred to the full draft Corporate Plan, which was set out at Appendix B to the report.

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

·       Members were advised that officers had communicated with district councils via the Chief Executive/Leaders meetings that took place between Lincolnshire local government authorities. Feedback from district councils had been positive. A member requested that a copy of the agenda for the meeting of Chief Executives and Leaders be circulated if possible.

·       Relationship managers had engaged with parish councils through a grouping system. It was felt that the set timescales did not allow officers to meet with each individual parish and town council to seek feedback on the Plan. A member requested that a copy of an agenda for the parish and town council group be circulated if possible and clarity be provided on who was represented, how often they met, how they were communicated with, and what the purpose was of the group. 

·       It was suggested that there was an opportunity for dual-hatted members to actively engage with the district councils regarding the Plan.

·       Concerns were raised over the wording of some of the ambitions set out in the draft Corporate Plan being too definitive, with words such as 'must' and 'will' being used. It was questioned whether ambitions should be included if they weren't 100% achievable, and whether there could be legal challenges if ambitions were not achieved. Officers agreed to discuss this with the Chief Legal Officer and provide an answer to the Board.   

·       Officers advised that the ambitions set out in the draft Plan were seen to be aspirational and in line with the Corporate Plans of other local authorities.

·       The Commercial  Manager explained that the Council was engaging with the Lincolnshire's heritage services as a way of communicating with the voluntary and community sector, via face to face and electronic communication.

·       One member suggested that the Council  ...  view the full minutes text for item 52.

(To receive a report from Sue Maycock (Head of Finance – Corporate), which considers the outcomes from the financial risk assessment for 2018/19 and updates the risk assessment to help determine an appropriate target level for the Council's general reserves for 2020/21)

Consideration was given to a report by the Head of Finance - Corporate, which provided an update on the Council's review of financial risk assessment for 2018/19, as well as an update on the risk assessment used to help determine an appropriate target level for the Council's general reserves for 2020/21.

Members were advised that the net total value of the Council's financial risks was £14.011m, which was the equivalent to 2.89% of the Council's budget. This was a slight increase in comparison to the last assessment which took place in October 2018.

It had been proposed that, given the financial uncertainties faced by the Council beyond April 2020, the Council agree a general reserve balance of £16.000m for 2020/21, which would be 3.3% of the 2020/21 budget requirement and within the target range of 2.5% to 3.5%.

Officers assured Members that they would continue to monitor the risks during the financial year and remedial action would be taken if risks began to materialise.

Members were referred to Appendix B to the report, which set out the Council's financial risk register for 2018/19.

The Executive Director – Resources referred members to paragraph 1.4 of the report, which set out the main changes that had led to the proposed value of the Council's risks. Members were advised that these changes would be contextualised in the budget report in February 2020.

Members were invited to highlight any comments that they wished to make to the Executive on the target level of general reserves for 2020/21, of which the following points were noted:

·         Officers advised that they had tried to decrease the level of contingencies for next year's budget in order to achieve budget savings.

·         It was clarified that the increase in general reserves was a result of the uncertainties in government funding. Officers expected to receive confirmation on funding in December 2019. 

·         Members were assured that any proposed level as a result of confirmation of further funding would be reflected in a verbal report to the Executive.

·         It was suggested that any excess funds could be used to provide other essential council services.

·         One member suggested that it would be beneficial for the reserves to amount to around 3.5% of the budget, rather than 2.5%. It was felt that it was important to be prudent due to uncertainties in funding.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the report be noted;

2.    That a summary of the comments made, as set out above, be passed on  to the Executive for its consideration in making budget proposals for consultation at its meeting on 17 December 2019.

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

Adults and Community Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee

The Chairman of the Adults and Community Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee referred Members to the Committee's prospective work programme. Members were advised that since publication of the report, the following changes had been made to the work programme:

·      The item on Homes for Independence Strategy had been deferred from 27            November 2019 and provisionally listed for 26 February 2020.

·           The item on Home Based Reablement Procurement had been brought forward    from 26 February 2020 and was now listed for 15 January 2020, as a decision   by the Executive on this was programmed for 4 February 2020. 

Members were invited to ask questions on the Adults and Community Wellbeing Work Programme, in which the following points were noted:

·         It was agreed that the presentation on One You Lincolnshire that was presented to the Adults and Community Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee on the 9 October 2019 be circulated to the Board.

·         It was clarified that the One You Lincolnshire service focussed on providing support to those who wanted to make changes to their lifestyle, rather than seeking out those with complex needs and providing support to assist.

·         It was noted that Lincolnshire was generally above the national averages for the amount of people smoking and being overweight. 

·         Members were informed that extra funding had been received to cope with winter pressures, and assurance had been given that there were plans in place to manage pressures as much as possible.

·         Members were pleased that the Delayed Transfer of Care rates had dropped significantly.

·         Members welcomed and supported the work on Team around the Adult.

·         The Chairman of the Adults and Community Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee agreed to look into mortality and morbidity rates for Lincolnshire in relation to councils who have a lower percentage of people who were overweight and smoking.

·         It was agreed that a report on preventing Alzheimer's be considered as a possible item for the work programme.

Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire

The Chairman of the Health Scrutiny Committee informed members of the following:

·         The Committee had completed its programme of items as part of the local NHS's Healthy Conversation 2019 engagement exercise, which was due to close on 31 October. The Committee would be considering the report on the outcome of the Healthy Conversation, in advance of the full consultation by the NHS in 2020. 

·         The Committee had received a report on the Community Pain Management Service – Connect Health, which had outlined the commissioners' reasons for the problems with the community pain management service.  The commissioners had provided assurances that the contract was not like the non-emergency patient transport contract, where the performance of the contractor had been poor for over two years.  The Committee had requested a further report in January 2020, to seek assurances that the patients were receiving better treatment for their pain.

·         In relation to Urgent and Emergency Care, the Committee had received information which showed that the number of ambulance arrivals at Peterborough City Hospital from the NG31, NG32 and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 54.

(To receive a report which enables the Board to consider and comment on the content of its work programme for the coming year, to ensure that scrutiny activity is focussed where it can be of greatest benefit)

The Head of Democratic Services and Statutory Scrutiny Officer set out the Board's prospective work programme.

Members were advised that the Executive meeting scheduled for 3 December 2019 had been cancelled and the items listed for that meeting would now be considered at the meeting on the 17 December 2019.

It was agreed that the item on the Performance of the Corporate Support Services Contract would now be reported to the December meeting of the Board, and the Work Programmes of the Children and Young People; and Public Protection and Communities Scrutiny Committees be moved to the November meeting.

Members were informed that Scrutiny Panel A was actively seeking a new topic. It was suggested that a feasibility study into a Park and Ride facility in Lincoln be considered as a topic.

The Chairman advised that the next meeting of Scrutiny Panel B (Review of Overview and Scrutiny) was scheduled for 30 October 2019, which would review feedback from the East Midlands Councils Scrutiny Conference. The Chairman encouraged any Members who had attended the conference to submit feedback to be reviewed. 

RESOLVED:

            That the work programme, as discussed, be agreed.