Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor C S Macey, Added Members Emile Van Der Zee and Martin Kyle, and the Executive Director – Resources.

It was reported that, under Regulation 13 of the Local Government Committee and Political Groups Regulation 1990, Councillor K E Lee was in attendance as a substitute for the Labour Vacancy and Councillor L Wootten was in attendance as a substitute for Councillor C S Macey for this meeting only.

None were declared.

RESOLVED:

           That minutes of the meeting held on 29 June 2023 be approved as a    correct record and signed by the Chairman. 

On behalf of the Board, the Vice Chairman recorded his thanks and gratitude to the former Chairman of the Board, Robert Parker, who had stood down as a county councillor in July and thanked him for his leadership and dedication over the last six years as  the Board’s chairman and wished him well for the future. 

Members of the Board echoed the sentiments and paid tribute to former county councillor Robert Parker who had served the Council and Board well and who would be missed.

None had been received.

None had been received.

(To receive a report by Caroline Jackson, Head of Corporate Performance, which invites the Board to consider a report on the 2023-24 Corporate Plan performance for Quarter 1 which will presented to the Executive on 5 September 2023. The views of the Board will be reported to the Executive as part of its consideration of this item)

Consideration was given to a report by the Head of Corporate Performance, which invited the Board to consider a report on the Corporate Plan Success Framework 2023-24 - Quarter 1, as set out at Appendix A to the report. The Board was invited to comment on the report prior to its consideration by the Executive on the 5 September 2023.

The Board supported the recommendations to the Executive and during the discussion the following points were noted:

·       PI 36, PI 37, PI 38 and PI 39 – Household Waste – The Board welcomed that further research would be undertaken both locally and nationally on the reasons for the lower levels of waste.  The reasons suggested for these lower levels of waste included changes in behaviours, such as increased use of reselling websites and other re-use options; and household budget constraints reducing consumption.  The Board was advised that fly?tipping tended to relate more to commercial rather than household waste, so was less likely to be a cause.  Referring to the most preferred options in the waste hierarchy, prevention and re-use, the Board accepted that statistics on these were difficult to compile. 

The Board was assured that the Environment and Economy Scrutiny Committee regularly considered this topic and would continue to do so. 

·       PI 82 – Number of Businesses Supported – The Board was advised that the target of supporting 364 businesses during quarter one had been set using an assessment formula, and depending on the availability of resources the target could change for other quarters during the year. 

·       Contextual Indicator - Percentage of Schools Judged ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ – Within the context of the limited powers and resources of Lincolnshire County Council for directly improving the performance in academies, the Board was advised that the County Council was providing as much support as it could, and also aimed to use its influence as much as possible.  Individual cases were cited where the level of support provided to academies by the County Council’s officers was praised.

The Board was assured that this topic was regularly considered at the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee. 

·       PI 15 Percentage of Children in Care Living within a Family Environment – In view of the impact of unaccompanied asylum seeking children on the number of non-family placements, the Board suggested that the number of asylum seeking children be reported separately from this indicator.   

Further to the Board’s discussion, it was reported that representatives from the Home Office had been attending invitation-only local meetings, but were not generally providing satisfactory answers to residents’ questions.   The Board recorded a view that the Home Office should provide funding for all activities of Lincolnshire County Council, arising from asylum seekers.  For example, no funding was provided for age assessments, where up to eighty hours of County Council social worker time was required for each assessment, as well as the potential involvement of interpreters.

RESOLVED:

1. That the recommendations to the Executive be supported;

That a summary of the comments made  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

(To receive a report by Mark Williams, Business Change Manager, which invites the Board to consider a report on the Commissioning of The Social Care Financial Management System that is due to be considered by the Executive on 5 September 2023. The views of the Board will be reported to the Executive as part of its consideration of this item)

Consideration was given to a report by the Business Change Manager, which invited the Board to consider a report on the re-commissioning of the social care client financial management system, as set out at Appendix A to the report. The Board was invited to comment on the report prior to its consideration by the Executive on the 5 September 2023.

The Board supported the recommendations to the Executive, and in response to a question on the impact of re-tendering the contract, the Board was advised that the existing contract provided a level of flexibility which was beneficial, for example there had been improvements during the current contract.  Furthermore, the market for this type of activity was limited.  Re-tendering would in event require a short extension to the contract, and if an alternative supplier were to be chosen, there would be a need to test compatibility with the existing partner systems, such as Mosaic, and the need to retrain all staff on a new system.

RESOLVED:

1. That the recommendations to the Executive be supported;

That a summary of the comments made be passed on to the Executive as part of its consideration of this report.

(To receive a report by Michelle Grady, Assistant Director – Finance, which invites the Board to consider a report on the Revenue Budget Monitoring 2023/24 (Quarter 1) which is being presented to the Executive on the 5 September 2023. The views of the Board will be reported to the Executive as part of its consideration of this item)

Consideration was given to a report by the Assistant Director – Finance, which invited the Board to consider a report on the Revenue Budget Monitoring Report 2023/24 (Quarter 1) as set out at Appendix A to the report. The Board was invited to comment on the report prior to its consideration by the Executive on the 5 September 2023.

The Board supported the recommendations to the Executive and during consideration of the report, the following point was noted:

·       In relation to the £9.4M contingency funding set aside for education transport in the 2023/24 budget, it was confirmed that this should be more than sufficient to cover the full year cost. This figure was based on the volume of transactions and the costs for the contracts and inflation. It was highlighted that cost pressures were being seen on the Children’s Services budget in relation to the transport of children and families for family time. The cost base would be reviewed when the 2024/25 budget was being set to ensure it was right for the following years.

RESOLVED:

1. That the recommendations to the Executive be supported;

That a summary of the comments made be passed on to the Executive as part of its consideration of this report.

(To receive a report by Michelle Grady, Assistant Director – Finance, which invites the Board to consider a report on the Capital Budget Monitoring 2023/24 (Quarter 1) which is being presented to the Executive on the 5 September 2023. The views of the Board will be reported to the Executive as part of its consideration of this item)

Consideration was given to a report by the Assistant Director – Finance, which invited the Board to consider a report on the Capital Budget Monitoring Report 2023/24 (Quarter 1) as set out at Appendix A to the report. The Board was invited to comment on the report prior to its consideration by the Executive on the 5 September 2023.

The Board supported the recommendations to the Executive, and during the discussion the following points were noted:

The Board recommended that the Executive considered the potential for supplementing the funding for the drainage investigation and flood repairs capital project, either from the Development Fund or any unallocated funding streams, to allow further schemes to progress.

The Board also recommended that it may be useful to include in the two budget monitoring reports, specific examples of how small percentage changes in monetary value could have a big impact on the Council to demonstrate why the Council needs to hold the reserves and contingencies it does.

As part of the Board’s consideration of this item, the following information was confirmed:

·       In relation to the Children’s Services investment block in Table 1 of Appendix A, the drop from £5,710,405 in 2023/24 to £50,000 in 2024/25 was likely due to the application of grant funding in the capital programme from the Department for Education for basic provision and maintenance of school buildings, and the completion of capital projects such as for the special school provision.

RESOLVED:

1. That the recommendations to the Executive be supported;

That a summary of the comments made be passed on to the Executive as part of its consideration of this report.

(To receive a report by Nicola Calver, Member Services Manager, which invites the Board to consider the draft Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report for 2022-23)

Consideration was given to a report by the Member Services Manager, which invited the Board to consider the Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report 2022-23, as set out at Appendix A, prior to its consideration at the Council meeting on the 15 September 2023 for final approval.

Consideration was given to the report and during the discussion the following points were noted:

• The Board commended the well-presented and easy to read report which was public friendly.
• Members were pleased that 79% of all decisions were being considered by a scrutiny committee and commended the positive culture of scrutiny at the Council and the weight and thoroughness given to the scrutiny process, highlighting the power of scrutiny.
• The Board reflected on the availability of GP appointments across the County as well as the number of appointments missed. It was agreed that further information be circulated on the number of GP appointments missed.

RESOLVED:

That the Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report 2022-23 be accepted and agreement be given to the submission of the report to the meeting of the County Council on 15 September 2023.

(To receive a report by Nicola Calver, Member Services Manager, which invites the Board to consider a proposal from the Highways and Transport Scrutiny Committee for a potential scrutiny review on Traffic Management in Lincolnshire)

Consideration was given to a report by the Member Services Manager which invited the Board to consider a proposal for a scrutiny review on Traffic Management in Lincolnshire, as set out in the report.

Consideration was given to the report and during the discussion the following points were noted:

• The Board supported the proposals for a review on traffic management in Lincolnshire and reflected on the challenges experienced by the public due to traffic management and other highways issues.
• Members commended highways officers who went above and beyond to resolve issues and hoped the review process would further improve the time taken to resolve issues. 
• It was also suggested that the review focused solely on traffic management rather than the enforcement of policy or performance management of highways issues.
• The list of all highways works were available to view on the Council’s website, which included Traffic Regulation Orders (TRO’s). Members were to contact the Member Services Manager to obtain a list of TRO works which would be uploaded to the members portal.

RESOLVED:

1.      That agreement be given for Scrutiny Panel B to undertake a scrutiny review on Traffic Management in Lincolnshire as soon as it is practical to do so;

2.      That the draft terms of reference for the scrutiny review, as set out in Appendix B, be agreed, subject to the consideration of the comments made by the Board, as above and finalisation by Scrutiny Panel B.

(To receive a report which sets out the work programmes of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee and the Public Protection and Communities Scrutiny Committee in accordance with the Board's agreed programme)

Consideration was given to a report by the Chairman of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee, which outlined the recent activity of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee and its future work programme.

Further to report, the following changes to the work programme were reported:

• A pre-decision scrutiny on Children and Young People Online Mental Health Support had been added to the 20 October 2023 agenda prior to a decision by the Executive Councillor for Children’s Services, Community Safety, Procurement and Migration, between the 27 October and 4 November 2023.
• An exempt pre-decision scrutiny item had been added to the 20 October 2023 meeting for a three class extension to Saxilby Primary School. This would be a decision by the Leader of the Council between the 23 and 27 October 2023.
• A pre-decision scrutiny item on Alternative Provision at the Myle Cross Site had been added to the meeting on 1 December 2023 prior to a decision by Councillor Mrs Bradwell between the 8 and 15 December.

Consideration was then given to a report by the chairman of the Public Protection and Communities Scrutiny Committee, which outlined the recent activity of the Public Protection and Communities Scrutiny Committee and its upcoming work programme.

Further to report, the following changes to the work programme were reported:

• The report on the outcomes of His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services Inspection of Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service had been deferred from 19 September 2023 to 31 October 2023. This was because Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue were still waiting for the report from His Majesty’s Inspectorate.
• A report on the LCC Coronial Toxicology Contract had been added to the agenda for the meeting on 12 December 2023. This was for pre-decision scrutiny prior to a decision by the Executive Councillor for NHS Liaison, Integrated Care System, Registration and Coroners between the 15 and 22 December 2023.

Consideration was given to the update and during the discussion the following points were noted:

• One Member expressed disappointment at the delay in the funding review for Citizens Advice Lincolnshire. The Chief Executive and the Leader of the Council apologised for the delay in the review which was a result of complexities in reviewing the level of demand for the service now that referrals for free school meals and holiday vouchers were made through citizens advice. Members were advised that conversations with Citizens Advice were ongoing to ascertain the level of demand and support needed. It was likely that performance management methods would be put in place once funding was agreed.

RESOLVED:

1)      That satisfaction be given to the activity of:

a.      the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee; and 

b.      the Public Protection and Communities Scrutiny Committee. 

2)      That satisfaction be given to the planned work programme of: 

a.         the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee; and 

b.        the Public Protection and Communities Scrutiny Committee. 

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

The Board noted the work programme.