Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations made at the meeting.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 8th September, 2022 be agreed as a true record and signed by the Chair.

[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 at the meeting.

The Committee received the 22/23 Quarter 2 Finance and Performance Improvement Report, introduced by the Director of Corporate Resources, Debbie Hogg.

Members noted that the new style of report also now included the content formerly included in a separate report of the Doncaster Children’s Trust following the transfer of these services back into the Council. Officers had endeavoured to simplify the report and commentary had been provided on each area in an effort to make it clearer to digest for all readers and clearly outline what was going well and what was not.

In terms of the Performance, this remained on track with the previous Quarter 1 report, and 30% of indicators were highlighted as red. With regard to the budget, the Council’s finances remained consistent with Quarter 1, but these were off track and it was important that moving into the New Year, when the budget was agreed in February that this was balanced. Currently, the budget was £8.5 million off track and looking forward, there would be difficult times ahead whilst trying to manage service delivery with this costing more to deliver. There would be implications for future periods, and the cost pressures as a result of inflation would be felt.

The following areas were raised through discussions and consideration of the report:-

Regenerative Council

Queries were raised as to delivering on service standards and how this would affect the achievement of a balanced budget. Members were informed that steps would be taken to address costs. A decision had already been taken to stop any non-essential spends, and all vacancies would be looked at and only filled if essential. Business would be slowed where possible and consideration would be given to as to what changes could be made to service delivery moving forward but there would be a lot of pressure in the future with utility costs, supply chain costs, pay, and tough decisions would have to be made in terms of priorities.

Developing Skills to Thrive in Life and Work

Members made comments with regard to the strategy used for addressing absenteeism and queried whether the use of fixed penalties were effective tools. Whilst this was part of the approach, it was noted that addressing absenteeism was a multi layered plan where schools were required to work with families in order to get children back into education and keep them there. As a final step, fixed penalties were issued as a measure to encourage a return.

Elective Home Education (EHE) was raised as an issue and whether there was a correlation between this and EHCPs as the number of EHEs had increased significantly since Covid. It was acknowledged that there was no direct link, but there were a number of children who were behind in their learning and would need help catching up, but this related only to children with more prominent needs. Annual checks were in place and support was provided.

Nurturing a Child and Family Friendly Borough Everyone Belongs

As the report only covered one  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

The Committee received the Quarter 2 Performance and Delivery Update, which gave Members the opportunity to explore any issues that had arisen since the previous update.

Bed and Breakfast Placements

Queries were raised as to the number of households and families being placed in Bed and Breakfast Placements, as it appeared that this had risen since September due to the target of 40 being way under the current figure of 62.

However, Members were informed that this was a profiled target and whilst it appeared high and above target, numbers of families placed in Bed and Breakfast were decreasing month on month and it was anticipated that this would balance out as time progressed.

In response to queries regarding increasing the availability of properties, Officers commented that this was an ongoing problem and it was important that they did not look at housing in isolation. St Leger Homes simply did not nor would not have enough Council Properties to satisfy the need and it was important they worked alongside other sectors such as the private housing sector who were the biggest rental market.

Members noted that there were huge pressures in the housing area at the current time, and the need for council housing was continuing to rise. Whilst it was good news that a number of properties had been let out to singles, couples and families, 120 households still remained on the waiting list and were housed in temporary accommodation. This pressure would remain, and the private sector, would be utilised more and more so it was important that the Council built relationships with private landlords and acquire immediate solutions. Although the costs in private were much higher, the demand was huge but there was still a long way to go in terms of ensuring housing was of the right quality. This was definitely an area that both officers and Members felt needed to be improved and good relationships built in order that there was greater faith in the use of the private sector in the future.

RESOLVED that the Overview and Management Committee note the progress of SLHS Performance Outcomes, and the contribution SLHD makes to supporting Doncaster Council’s Strategic Outcomes.      

The Chair presented the Overview and Scrutiny Work Plan and the Council’s Forward Plan for information.

Councillor Gary Stapleton requested that consideration be given to the addition of Asylum Seekers as an item for the work plan due to the predictions that this would become a much bigger issue in the coming year and it was imperative that all possible was done to support them.

            RESOLVED that the Work Plan and Forward Plan be noted.