Agenda and minutes

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Contact: Emily Wilcox  Democratic Services Officer

Media

Items
No. Item

110.

Apologies for Absence/Replacement Members

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor R B Parker and Reverend Phillip Johnson (Church Representative).

 

It was reported that, under Regulation 13 of the Local Government (Committee and Political Groups) Regulation 1990, Councillor R A Renshaw had been appointed as a representative for R B Parker, for this meeting only.

 

 

111.

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

All declarations of interest will be recorded under the relevant items.

 

112.

Minutes of the meeting held on 27 February 2020 pdf icon PDF 278 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED:

 

          That the minutes of the meeting held on 27 February 2020 be             approved a    s a correct record and signed by the Vice-Chairman. 

 

113.

Announcements by the Chairman, Executive Councillor for Resources and Communications and Chief Officers

Minutes:

The Vice-Chairman announced that Councillor Parker (Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board) had attended the meeting of the Executive on the 3 March and presented the comments from the Board on the Performance Reporting against the Council Business Plan 2019/2020 - Quarter 3 report; and the Council Performance Measures 2020/2021 report.

 

The Vice-Chairman thanked the Council's IMT team and Serco for the work carried out to allow the Board the opportunity to meet virtually due to the restrictions posed by the coronavirus pandemic.

 

The Leader of the Council praised NHS and County Council staff for a tremendous job to ensure Lincolnshire could get through the on-going crisis. Members were advised that the Council's frontline services had continued mostly uninterrupted due to the efforts of Council staff. The Leader of the Council also thanked the social care sector for their efforts. Local Government and Lincolnshire County Council had done a magnificent job in rising to the challenge and ensuring that services continued.

 

The Chief Executive reiterated the appreciation and gratitude for Lincolnshire County Council employees. Many staff members had been redeployed to areas that they would not usually work in in order to support services and support the vulnerable. The Chief Executive also thanked communities and Elected Members for ensuring the most vulnerable were getting the food and medication they needed during the pandemic.

 

The Deputy Leader of the Council (Executive Councillor for Adult Care, Health and Children's Services) and the Executive Councillor for Community Safety and People Management also relayed their thanks to all staff members for their efforts.

 

On behalf of the Board, the Vice-Chairman echoed the comments made.

 

114.

Consideration of Call-Ins

Minutes:

None were received.

 

115.

Consideration of Councillor Calls for Action

Minutes:

None were received.

 

116.

Draft Corporate Plan Success Framework 2020-2023 pdf icon PDF 289 KB

(To receive a report from Debbie Barnes OBE, Chief Exeutive, on the Draft Corporate Plan Success Framework 2020-2023 which will be reported to the Executive on the 5 May 2020. The views of the Board will be reported to the Executive as part of its consideration of this item)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

During this item, Councillor Mrs J Brockway declared a personal interest due to family involvement.

 

Consideration was given to a report by the Chief Executive, which invited the Board to consider a report on the Draft Corporate Plan Success Framework 2020-2023, which would be presented to the Executive on the 5 May 2020.

 

The report sought the approval of the draft Corporate Plan Success Framework 2020-23.

 

Members were advised that at the meeting of the County Council on 11 December 2019, the new Corporate Plan 2020/30 was approved. The Corporate Plan Success Framework outlined the developmental activity that would be undertaken during the first three year period of the ten year Corporate Plan and included the proposed performance indicators which were intended to demonstrate progress towards achieving the Council's four ambitions for Lincolnshire.

 

The Chief Executive acknowledged that the Corporate Plan Success Framework had been developed prior to the Coronavirus Pandemic and it was likely that there would be a requirement to update and refresh the success measures once the recovery phase of the pandemic had begun.

 

Members considered the report and during the discussion the following points were noted:

 

·         The coronavirus pandemic would impact on the future content of the Corporate Plan Success Framework 2020-23. It was confirmed that as the country moved into the recovery phase, the Corporate Plan Success Framework would need to be refreshed and the performance indicators updated to mitigate the impact and take into account any national recovery plans. A revised Corporate Plan Success Framework would be brought back to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board to reassure the Board that the Corporate Plan Success Framework had been updated to reflect the national recovery plans.

·         With regards to the performance indicators, it was confirmed that the performance targets still needed to be refined using base data to set the target. If it was an existing performance indicator, the 2019/20 quarter four data would be used to set a new target. For new performance indicators, it may not be reported until quarter two of 2020/21 to enable the data in quarter one to be gathered before setting the target.

·         In relation to the aim to increase the number of pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) in mainstream schools, concern was raised about the wording of the performance indicator. Parents were worried about their children being placed in the wrong school setting, and the Council needed to reassure parents that placement in mainstream schools would only happen when appropriate. It was confirmed that children needed to be in the right place to thrive whether that was a special school or a mainstream school, and the wording for this indicator would be looked at to ensure it was phrased sensitively.

 

The Board supported the recommendations to the Executive, as set out in the report.

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.    That the Board support the recommendations to the Executive, as set out in the report.

2.    That a summary of the above comments be reported to the Executive  ...  view the full minutes text for item 116.

117.

Post-16 Transport Policy Statement 2020-21 pdf icon PDF 291 KB

(To receive a report from Teri Marshall, Education Transport Manager and Mark Rainey, Commissioning Manager - Commercial, which invites the Board to consider a report on the Post-16 Transport Policy Statement 2020-21, which will be presented to the Executive at its meeting on 5 May 2020. The views of the Board will be reported to the Executive as part of its consideration of this item)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

During this item, Councillor E W Strengiel declared a personal interest as a Director and Trustee of Lincoln YMCA, which was mentioned within the report.

 

Consideration was given to a report by the Acting Head of Service – Children's Strategic Commissioning, which invited the Board to consider a report on the Post-16 Transport Policy Statement 2020-21, which would be presented to the Executive at its meeting on 5 May 2020.

 

Members were advised that although Local Authorities were not obliged to provide subsidised transport, the Council had historically subsidised the cost of post-16 travel in Lincolnshire to support access to education and training opportunities for learners of sixth-form age. The Council currently spends £3m each financial year on transport for post-16 learners, of which £1m of income was received to offset this cost.

 

The contribution made by parents and students to the cost of post-16 transport had been maintained at £570 a year for the past three years. It was recommended that no changes be made to the rate of contribution.

 

Members were advised that an online consultation had taken place between 30 January 2020 and 1 March 2020. A summary of the responses were set out in the Executive report at Appendix 1.

 

The Board was informed that the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee would usually consider the report at a meeting of the committee but due to the circumstances surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, this had not been possible. The Committee had therefore received the report electronically and had been provided with an opportunity to consider and comment on the report prior to its consideration by  the Board.

 

The Executive Councillor for Adult Care, Health and Children's Services thanked the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee for its comments and advised the Board that since 2010 schools and colleges had received a bursary to help parents and students that were struggling to pay for transport. Officers worked with schools to ensure that students had access to transport to schools or colleges if they needed it.

 

Members were advised that the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee supported the recommendations set out in the Executive report. The Chairman of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee presented the comments that had been received from the Committee, which had been circulated to members of the Board prior to the meeting.

 

Members considered the report and during the discussion the following points were noted:

 

·         Fees for transport would be reimbursed to parents for the time schools were closed due to Coronavirus.

·         There was no evidence that education providers were not using the bursary fund to support post 16 students. This would be monitored by checking whether there was any additional contact from parents regarding payments as the Council was not made aware of how the bursary was used by education providers.

·         The £9 surcharge was low and was needed to help cover the costs to have staff to process the payments.

·         The school transport budget was overspent and an investigation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 117.

118.

Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report 2019-20 pdf icon PDF 298 KB

(To receive a report from Nigel West, Head of Democratic Services and Statutory Scrutiny Officer, which invites the Board to consider the Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report 2019-20. The report is considered in draft form by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board before a final version is put before the Annual Meeting of the Council for approval)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

10.57 Councillor Mrs J Brockway re-joined the meeting.

 

 

Consideration was given to a report by the Scrutiny Officer, which invited the Board to approve the draft overview and scrutiny annual report 2019-20 before the final version was due to be considered at a meeting of the County Council. 

 

Members were referred to Appendix A to the report where a full version of the Annual Report was available.

 

Members then received a presentation from the Scrutiny Officer, which highlighted a number of key points from the annual report. 

 

The Vice-Chairman thanked Councillor R B Parker for his leadership and his work as Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board.

 

Members considered the report and as part of the discussion, the following points were noted:

 

·       The Chairman of the Highways and Transport Scrutiny Committee thanked officers and Members for their support during his first year as Chairman.

·       The Chairman of the Highways and Transport Scrutiny Committee was pleased to see positive public engagement with the Spalding Western Relief Road which had been helpful in forming the committee's recommendations to the Executive, as well as the good level of engagement with the committee from Network Rail, and the work of the project board in planning and negotiating the Highways 2020 contract had been invaluable. The Chairman looked forward to further public engagement on the topic of air pollution.

·       The Chairman of the Environment and Economy Scrutiny Committee thanked the Scrutiny Officer for his work on the report and his support to the committee during the previous year. The Chairman showed her appreciation for all those that had been involved in assisting with the 2019 flooding events and thanked the Environment and Economy Scrutiny Committee for its work to obtain the farming sector grant. 

·       Members commended the excellent report which reflected the true essence of scrutiny at Lincolnshire County Council.

·       Members emphasised the need to support farmers and help them to develop smaller outlets.

·       The Board recognised the excellent work that was carried out in securing the Highways 2020 contract.

·       The Scrutiny Officer explained that there had not been any research carried out to compare the percentage of pre-decision reports which were considered by scrutiny at Lincolnshire County Council compared to other councils. However, it was emphasised that of the 25% of decision reports which were not considered by scrutiny, many of them were decisions where scrutiny could have minimal impact.

·       The Chairman of the Adults and Community Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee thanked all those working in adult care for adapting and rising to the challenges that they faced; and commended the One Lincolnshire programme for driving forward the wellbeing of Lincolnshire residents and introducing a preventative approach to wellbeing.

·       The Chairman of the Public Protection and Communities Scrutiny Committee was pleased to see the emergency services working together at the new County Emergency Centre.

 

RESOLVED:

 

          That the Board agree the submission of the Overview and Scrutiny   Annual Report 2019-20 to  a meeting of the County Council for final approval.

 

 

119.

Scrutiny Review Report: Overview and Scrutiny at Lincolnshire County Council pdf icon PDF 1 MB

(To receive a report from Councillor Angela Newton, Chairman of Scrutiny Panel B, which invites the Board to consider the draft Scrutiny Review Report on Overview and Scrutiny at Lincolnshire County Council. Following this and subject to the Board's approval the report will be submitted to the Council's Executive).

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report from Councillor Mrs A M Newton, Chairman of Scrutiny Panel B, which invited the Board to approve Scrutiny Panel B's Scrutiny Review Report on Overview and Scrutiny at Lincolnshire County Council.

 

Members were informed that Scrutiny Panel B had undertaken the task of reviewing the Council's scrutiny arrangements following the publication of new statutory guidance on overview and scrutiny in 2019.

 

The Panel had held five meetings  and made eight recommendations to the Executive, as set out on 132 – 134 of the agenda pack.

 

The Chairman of Scrutiny Panel B thanked Councillors A H Turner, B Adams, C Matthews, R B Parker, S P Roe, M A Whittington and R Wootten for their work on the review, as well as Councillor B Young, Executive Councillor for Community Safety and People Management who participated at each meeting representing the Executive.   

 

Members considered the report and as part of the discussion the following points were noted:

 

  • The Board highlighted the importance of being able to strike a balance between maintaining a positive relationship with contractors but also being able to hold them to account if necessary.
  • It was clarified that some Scrutiny Chairmen had felt that it was  not necessary to hold meetings with Executive Councillors in order to maintain good working relationships. 
  • It was noted that scrutiny may need a review following the coronavirus pandemic in order to  adapt to new ways of working in the future.

 

RESOLVED:

 

            That the Board approve the draft final report set out in Appendix A to          the report as the final report on Overview and Scrutiny at Lincolnshire           County Council. 

 

 

120.

Overview and Scrutiny Management Board Work Programme pdf icon PDF 435 KB

(To receive a report which enables the Board to note the content of its work programme for the coming year)

 

Minutes:

This item had been circulated to the Board for information only and was not discussed at the meeting.

 

 

 

 
 
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