Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Rachael Blake and Councillor John Cooke.

None

Declarations were made by Councillor Paul Wray by virtue that he is a member of the St Leger Homes of Doncaster (ALMO) Board.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee held on the 24th March, 20th May (Extraordinary) and 10th June 2016, be approved as a true record and signed by the Chair.

None

Mr Tim Brown attended the meeting.  It was explained that in respect of accessing the reports referred to at the previous meeting of the Committee, this was for Members to undertake themselves for them to access the truth.  Reference was made to Members looking at the veracity of statements made by a previous DMBC Officer who had been on the brink of suicide and it was added that Doncaster Free Press investigations had been blocked. 

Mr Brown made comments in relation to the Brexit vote and raised concern that people had voted in relation to immigration issues.  Mr Brown referred to his father who came here in the late 50’s and had made a significant contribution which had not been recognised. 

Remarks were made in relation to the Council’s workforce representing Doncaster’s population. Reference was made to a previous scrutiny meeting from which hate crime figures still hadn’t materialised and that the latest hate crime strategy was still being reported as being under development.  It was added how the BME Health Needs Assessment was 14 years old and added that Mr Brown asked why there was no evidence base from Public Health England and that no local authority would allow its strategy to elapse.  Mr Brown informed the Committee how he was asked to Chair the last LARs BME meeting which considered issues resulting in cuts for Doncaster BME residents.  Mr Brown expressed that it pains him that the former Mayor was held responsible for many cuts which wasn’t the case and now 6 years there had been no feedback. 

Mr Brown expressed his gratitude for tweets reporting that there had been no change since 2000 to 2015 for Doncaster within the Indices of Multiple Deprivation, it was questioned why this was and who it impacted upon.  Mr Brown raised his concern that there hadn’t been any movement over the last 15 years and someone like Mr Brown had been coming to meetings time and time again.  Mr Brown referred to the report being looked at today and stated that there was good news including the number of apprenticeships adding that he hoped the BME population was being represented.  

Councillor Mounsey acknowledged Mr Brown’s statement and referred the Committee to the 23^rd May 2016 minutes contained within the agenda pack.  Councillor Mounsey relayed a paragraph contained within the report stating that “due to the increasing diverse population in the Borough need of the aging population would change, with an expected rise in BME groups accessing formal support in the future” that “provision would require designing to meet their care and cultural needs appropriately.”

Allan Wiltshire, Head of Performance and Data explained that the tweets were provided via Team Doncaster and made in relation to an anti-poverty summit.  Clarification was made that some parts of the Borough which had seen high levels of deprivation in 2000 still showed high levels of deprivation in 2015.

Dr Rupert Suckling, Director of Public Health made reference to the BME Health Needs Assessment which  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

The Chair welcomed Officers to the meeting and invited them to address the Committee with regard to any new information, and respond to any queries in terms of budget and performance.

The report before the Committee provided an update with regard to Finance and Performance Improvement for Quarter 4 of 2015/16, and the report aimed to give a clear overview of the financial position of the Council. The report focused on the latest financial and performance information and provided an indication of the Council’s position towards the 2015/16 budget and progress made towards outcomes as set out in the Corporate Plan.  The financial position was reported as being a £1.3M overspend with 89% of service measures being at or close to target achieved.   The Chair of the Committee expressed his thanks to employees who had provided support in achieving these figures.

Finance and Corporate Services

Steve Mawson, Assistant Director of Finance, was in attendance at the meeting, and endeavoured to alleviate any concerns and respond to any queries on the matters raised by the Committee.  Some of the areas highlighted included:

·         Achieving 67% of spend with local providers.

·         Achieving 95% of PDRs

·         Slippage for Modern Productive Workforce

·         Overall Council sickness is 9.11 days lost per FTE compared to a target of 8.5 for 2015/16 – target not achieved and needs monitoring.

·         The Council’s reserves at £14.5M – not as high as before but acceptable.

Local Authorities Credit Rating – Members were informed that the Council does not have a credit rating and that local authorities that did will have issued a bond.  It was added that there had been a noticeable shift in the market and that the Council was monitoring the position carefully.  Members were told that the Council experience cash flow surpluses and that these were placed in short, medium and long term deposits.  It was commented that if rates went down too low then the Council would look to see if there were more favourable rates elsewhere. 

Outcome 5: Council services are modern and value for money – Regarding the number of identified emerging HR and OD risks, Members were informed that signs indicated that there was now more stability across the majority of Directorates across the Council.  It was explained that with planning transformation and reductions over 3 years, the Council would have a clear idea of what is coming.  It was stressed that it was vital to ensure that PDRs and day to day management activity were continued and sustained.

Local Providers: The Committee complimented the progress that this area was making with there being 67% of local authority spend with Doncaster companies/suppliers.  It was clarified that there was a procurement system in place where three quotes needed to be obtained with one being a Doncaster firm.  Members were informed about the work undertaken outside of the tender process such as working with providers alongside Doncaster Chamber.

Adults, Health and Well-Being

The Director of Public Health, Dr Rupert Suckling, and the Director of Adults,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

The Director of Housing Services and Deputy CEO, Judith Jones was in attendance at the meeting, along with Stephen Thorlby-Coy, Head of Business Excellence in order to update the Committee with regard to any performance issues for Quarter 4.

Members noted that of the ten key performance indicators, three were currently on target, six were within acceptable tolerance levels, and one was below target. The indicator that was currently below target is detailed below:-

•        Void Rent Loss – Percentage of rent loss through vacant dwellings (lettable voids) - Members were informed that this equated to 58 days at the end of the 2015/16 financial year and reduced to 49 days at the end of May 2016.   It was explained that there had been a particular problem in Crags road due to Bedroom Tax, however, new ways of letting had been introduced and it was reported that this willshould show a reduction in the overall period.

Following the consideration of the report, Members were afforded the opportunity to pose any concerns to Officers.   The following areas were discussed: -

Effect of Universal Credit – Members raised concern about the implications of Universal Credit on residents and it was reported that currently 80-90 tenants would be effected.

Housing Benefit and paying rent – It was stated that there were a number of challenges due to the change of Universal Credit and where the money is paid direct to the claimant, St Leger and the Council.  It was added that those people with special cases would have their money paid direct to the Council.  Members were informed that work was being undertaken with a credit union although it was proving a challenge to get people signed up to them, it was noted that the Welfare Reform Group had been tasked to lead on this.

RESOLVED that the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee note the progress of SLHD performance outcomes and the contribution made to supporting DMBC strategic priorities.

Andy Hood, Head of Service for the Youth Offending Service and Leanne Hornsby, Head of Transformation and Business Support attended the meeting to present the Youth Offending Service Plan for Members consideration and comment.  It was explained that the purpose of the report was to present a new statutory, strategic Youth Offending Service Plan (YOSP) for 2016-17 for the Youth Offending Service (YOS) in Doncaster where responsibility for the discharge of the Plan lies.  It was noted that the YOSP was due for review and submission to the Board annually. 

Members were provided with a brief overview including performance and some of the key developments which had been instigated.  These included: -

·         Continued reduction in custody rate – it was reported that they had experienced their best ever custody results;

·         The creation of a new prevention service, Team EPIC, who will work to reduce first time entrants into the youth justice system and through a triage system.  Members were informed that unfortunately the creation of Team EPIC was delayed by financial pressures placed upon the YOS and the restructure of DCST services, which impacted on the number of staff re-deployed into Team EPIC.;

·         Young People who offend in suitable accommodation at the end of the order - for the second year running this figure remains at 100%.

·         Educational - Engagement by Young people who offend in suitable education, training or employment –a very aspirational target of 75% of all young people being in suitable ETE provision on the final day of their order has been surpassed.

·         Reducing Re-offending - The cohort of young people involved in the youth justice system has reduced substantially both nationally and locally. 34.5 to 36.50 & of overall cohort – still below England – when you reduce custody population – challenge to keep custody low and reoffending down.

Members were told how the plan had been slimmed down and that due to further financial reductions, the service needed to be smarter about improving service provisions with reduced resources.  Concern was also raised in respect to the Charlie Taylor report which had been suspended until the new Prime Minister was in place and that although there are ideas about the proposals it was not known how political landscapes would affect it.

Reference was made to care leavers under 18, it was explained that they received a direct service from Social Care and once they had finished with that service at 18 they didn’t needed to be tracked.  Regarding Children in Care, it was explained that although they were over-represented at 40% they were statistically more likely to offend compared to those in birth homes.  It was added that statistics were not kept for those that had been adopted although the Head of Service for the Youth Offending Service offered to look into this.

In terms of raising aspirations, Members were informed that it was about adopting a “low cost or no cost” policy and providing positive opportunities and positive peers to give young people the idea that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

The Senior Governance Officer presented the current Overview and Scrutiny work plan highlighting areas of work undertaken by the Scrutiny Panels since the last meeting.

RESOLVED that:

i.     the 2016/2017 Overview and Scrutiny workplan, be noted.

ii.    the correspondence made following its meetings held on the 10^th June, be noted.