Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Majid Khan and Sarah Smith

There were no items

There were no declarations made

RESOLVED; that the minutes of the meetings dated the 10^th February 2022, 9^th June 2022, 23^rd June 2022 and 7^th July 2022 be agreed and signed as a correct record.

[A period not exceeding 20 minutes for statements from up

to 5 members of the public on matters within the

Committee’s remit, proposing action(s) which may be

considered or contribute towards the future development of

the Committee’s work programme].

There were no public statements made

The Committee gave consideration to the report received on the Performance Challenge of Doncaster Children’s Services Trust: Quarter 1, 2022/23.

Members recognised that the transfer of services from Doncaster Children’s Services Trust to the Council had only taken place recently, but explained they were particularly interested in what this meant going forward for the organisation.

In response, it was advised that the transition had gone well, and would result in a better integrated level of service for the families of Doncaster in the future.

The following areas were then explored by the committee:

Mosaic – It was noted that the transfer process to Mosaic, a new case management system, was making slow progress. Members were updated that 96% of staff had been retrained to use the system and IT were now in place to support staff with using the system.

Data Quality and Validity – The Committee were assured that the service was able to check the validity of the data input and had an understanding of the practice and performance of the team. It was explained to Members that data within the report required validation and was not yet at a stage of being recorded in the correct way.  Assurances were provided that work was ongoing to rectify this and the quality of data provided in future would continue to improve.

Performance Measure Supervisions – Members noted from the report that staff supervisions were not being recorded accurately or in a timely manner. Officers explained that a new supervision model was recently introduced, and that training on how to use the new model was being provided. It was stressed that supervisions were taking place, and it was hoped that there would be an improvement in the data provided in future reports.

Number of Referrals – It was explained that to improve information exchange and communication between partnership organisations, the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) was now located in the same building. It was anticipated that as a result, the numbers of referrals would initially rise. Officers explained that the partnerships within the MASH were developing well, and there was active work taking place to address the number of inappropriate referrals that the MASH receives.

Caseloads – The Committee was assured that officers were aware of the number of caseloads managed by individual staff and within teams. It was explained that officers could determine within teams, those staff who were part-time and those that were Advanced Practitioners, for example, in order to help manage caseload numbers the service had a Caseload Policy. It was explained that caseload numbers had risen due to high demand and the service also was experiencing a high number of vacancies. Members heard that the recruitment programme had been hindered by the transfer of the Trust to the Council, and it was expected that caseload numbers would improve as newly qualified Social Workers formed their own caseloads alongside improved recruitment levels.

Corporate Risks (Red) – In response to a question, it was explained  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

The Committee received the 22/23 Quarter 1 Finance and Performance Improvement Report introduced by the Director of Corporate Services, Debbie Hogg.

Members were advised of the new style of report to align it with the Borough Strategy, giving more prominence to the aspirations of the organisation. This gave the opportunity to consider not only current service standards but also outcomes and the longer-term ambitions of Team Doncaster.

It was explained that even though there was an increase in the number of service standards being reported on, a higher proportion were green indicating that even against a challenging operating environment, service standards had not fallen.

The significant underlying financial pressures that the organisation faced were highlighted to the Committee. It was stressed that the organisation would not be able to deliver a balanced budget and live within its means whilst delivering and maintaining the present high service standards levels.

REGENERATIVE COUNCIL

The following areas were discussed;

Rising Costs – Members were told how in order for the organisation to live within its means, all available budgets would be reviewed including re-evaluating staffing costs taking into consideration the service need, and by reviewing current vacancies. In the instance that the organisation could not manage through good housekeeping, there would be a re-evaluation of the capital programme. Projects that received grant funding such as Levelling Up and Town Deals would continue, but those projects  through borrowing would need to be reconsidered.  It was explained that it may be necessary to utilise revenue reserves in order to achieve a balanced financial position by year-end. These measures were described as a tactical response to the current situation.  Members were advised that there would be a need to look at service prioritisation for a sustainable future and that the organisation had some difficult decisions ahead.

It was advised that vacancy management would continue to be under review but staffing within key service areas would remain a priority in order to ensure that essential services were delivered. The Committee were assured that as part of the budget report, information included staffing levels in terms of decisions being taken, proposals going forward and the implications.

Overspend – It was explained that the  non-recurrent spending mitigated the overspend by recognising that borrowing was not at the level it could be. It was also acknowledged that the use of non-recurrent spend was not a negative action to take and should be used as part of a strategy.

DCST Overspend – Members were informed that now DCST had transferred to the Council, there would be better control over decisions and resources including managing the back office function more effectively. It was explained that the transfer of teams were still in its early stages but a further integration plan would be developed during the coming months.

Out of Authority (OOA) placements were reported as having the greatest overspend due to rising costs and rising demand. The service being brought in house would mean that further rigor could be implemented in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

The Committee received the Quarter 1 Performance and Delivery Update 2022/23 Quarter 1 report, which gave the opportunity to provide Members an over view of the successes and challenges during the previous months.

Members of the Committee then explored the following topics in more detail;

Void Rent Loss – It was highlighted that in terms of rent loss, quarter 1 had seen the organisations best performance for 6 years, and it showed that rent was being paid by occupants. In answer to a question on void rent loss, it was explained that the organisation was a little way off where it wished to be, however, was performing the best by far in comparison to other South Yorkshire neighbours. It was said that the biggest risk for turning round a property, was the condition that the property was returned in, and it was hoped that staff would recommence property visits within the next year. It was added that for some properties, there was a problem with re-letting due to location and people’s fears of anti-social behaviour.  Due to issues within the local neighbourhood, there were 3 properties in Edlington that were unable to be let at present, but it was hoped that investment would make them lettable again.

Evictions from private rentals – It was noted that there had been an upswing in private rental evictions primarily due to affordability issues. National statistics showed an increase in private rental costs during the last year, and the number of families now struggling to pay their rent was increasing as a result.  Members heard how the numbers of people in temporary B&B accommodation was now higher than pre-pandemic levels, therefore the organisation was trying to use more of its own housing stock to bolster what was available.  However, this meant that those properties used for temporary housing could not be used for lettings.

Members were also reminded that the numbers of people presenting as homeless had risen fourfold since the pandemic, and that the authority had supported SLHD with additional staff and financial support to help manage demand.  Mermbers were informed that SLHD were now undertaking work on homelessness prevention, looking at the causes of homelessness and the support options that people have, if homelessness cannot be prevented.

In answer to a question, it was explained that there were plans to expand the housing stock by building new properties which would take time and unlikely to resolve the issues that the organisation currently faces.

RESOLVED:- that the report, be noted.

The Committee considered the Complaints and Compliments Annual Report 2021/2022.

Members then asked questions on the following areas:

Increase in complaints – Members recognised there had been increase in complaints received across all four organisations compared to the previous year 2021/22 and it was explained this was because during Covid the volume of complaints and communications from the public had significantly decreased. Particular peaks in complaints over the four organisations were noted as; 

o          DMBC (licensing service) – This is due to delays in service and dissatisfaction when contacting the service. However the service were reinstating the telephony contact.

o          SLHD (repair appointments) - The rollout of a Repairs Excellence Model was underway to improve communications with customers.

o          DCLT (service delivery) - This was particularly around swimming lessons.  It was explained that since Covid, the Trust struggled to recruit swimming instructors resulting in cancelled lessons, which was also a national issue.

o          DCST (corporate complaints) - The demand for resources continued into this reporting year, but there had also been staffing issues for the service.  Members were told how priority had been given to safeguarding and statutory areas, but this led to delays in non-statutory issues being dealt with and a rise in complaints.

Service improvements – The Committee were advised that Doncaster Council and its partners have dedicated staff providing expert advice on handling communications and complaints, capture performance information and work with teams to reduce complaints. However, it was dependent on what the organisation was dealing with during the year as the types of complaints changed year-on-year.

DCST complaints – An overall increase in complaints within DCST was noted and it was reported there were a number of complaints received around fostering.  Members were assured these had been addressed and there was now a focus on improving this service.

DCLT complaints – In addition to the increase in complaints relating to swimming lessons, officers also advised that there had been a number of complaints about the external collectors (that collected direct debits on the organisations behalf).  The Committee was told that the process had moved in-house to give customers a better service and prevent further complaints.

Complaints and corporate complaints – Members were reminded of what the organisation recognised as being a complaints and corporate complaints.  This was described as an expression of dissatisfaction that effected a customer or group of customers.  It was explained that customers might contact the organisation about a missed bin collection or report a pot hole, which would be classed as a service request.  However, if the organisation failed to act on those requests then the customer would have the opportunity to submit a corporate complaint. 

RESOLVED:- that the report, be noted.

The Chair presented the Overview and Scrutiny Work Plan and the Councils Forward Plan of key decisions.

RESOLVED:- that the report, be noted.