Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Richard A Jones and Majid Khan.

There were no items on the agenda where the public and press were to be excluded from the meeting.

Resolved:  that it be noted Councillor Kidd declared that she worked for a voluntary organisation.

[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 a report presenting the Corporate Plan 2024/25 that detailed the Council’s priorities and headline activity for the coming year, prior to consideration by Full Council on 26^th February 2024.  Members were reminded that the Plan linked to the Team Doncaster Borough Strategy, Doncaster Delivering Together (DDT) and it’s Great 8 priorities.

The Committee was also pleased to receive a brief progress update on the Community Prevention Model, particularly the feedback from consultation and proposals being developed to address key challenges, including avoiding service duplication at community level, responding to budget pressures and ensuring Team Doncaster was fully engaged.

The following areas were discussed in detail:

Delivery of ambitious targets – the Committee acknowledged that the local authority was continuing to deliver on reduced resources. Members noted the key challenges it presented including influencing and continuing to work closely and effectively with partners, when there was no formal mandate for partners to actively engage.

Promoting the Corporate Plan to staff – It was noted there were a number of established mechanisms to communicate the Corporate Plan and many other issues to the workforce, including the Chief Executive’s weekly blog, service planning, weekly team meetings, face to face briefings and communication through Heads of Service to their teams.

Supporting and encouraging employment for those with additional needs – the Committee highlighted that the local authority was already a disability confident employer and made reasonable adjustments as required, and was pleased to learn that a review of recruitment and selection was being carried out taking account of best practice for the future workforce.  It was noted that the provision of interview questions in advance of interview was an example of a possible adjustment in the right circumstances. 

It was noted there was the desire to develop a disability staff network ensuring employee experiences informed plans and a clear future framework.  It was acknowledged that improved promotion about the opportunities was already available and flexibility within employment could be enhanced by building in the lived experience. 

Priority 10 Education and Skills Strategy – It was confirmed to Members that strong governance was already established to effectively deliver on the aspects of this priority and partners included, for example, Sheffield Hallam university, Chamber of Commerce and local education providers.  It was stressed that work was being undertaken to co-produce what learning looked like both in and out of school settings.

The Committee thanked Assistant Director Chief Executives, for outlining in detail the information contained in the Corporate Plan and responding to questions.

RESOLVED that: 

1.    The Corporate Plan, be supported;

2.    The Scrutiny work plan take into account the Great 8 priorities, be supported;  and

3.    The Chair be given delegated authority to prepare the response on behalf of the Committee, be approved.

The Committee gave consideration to a report outlining the Mayor’s Budget proposals 2024/25 to 2027/28 following its initial consultation on 23rd January 2024.

The Committee used four specific lines of enquiry to assist with considering the basis and assumptions upon which the budget had been developed and how those proposals would be implemented. The four key areas considered were:

i.    To what extent are the Mayor’s proposals in line with Central Government policy, pressures and directives?

ii.    To what extent will the Mayor’s proposal ensure that the Council is able to contribute to the outcomes detailed within Doncaster Delivering Together bearing in mind the constraints detailed at i. above?

iii.  To what extent do the Mayor’s proposals demonstrate that the results of any consultation, research or other evidence have been taken into account?

iv.   To what extent are the challenges in delivering the savings within the timescales and the capacity to deliver services with reduced resources being addressed?

The Committee acknowledged that the Council is continuing to operate in a challenging and volatile financial environment that was having an impact on all the services it provides.  The Council continued to manage additional service pressures including the impact of increased demand.  The Committee also discussed and acknowledged that there would continue to be future pressures and a wider impact across the Council and that with risks, uncertainties particularly around funding, costs and income generated, it was difficult to plan.

The Committee was informed about the work being undertaken to propose a balanced budget over the next 3 years and deliver value for money services, in line with the Corporate Plan, Doncaster Delivering Together priorities, Central Government policy and savings targets.

The Committee recognised that overall, the £17.2m funding gap for the forthcoming 3-year period, the issue of rising inflation and significant uncertainties, were acknowledged as key pressures moving forward along with the challenge to deliver key services within budget.

The following areas were addressed in detail:

Housing Revenue Account – The proposed housing rent increase of 7.7% was accepted as the maximum allowed under government guidelines.  It was explained that this additional money would help fund the maintenance of housing, additional property acquisitions, and the regulation of social housing consumer standards.  Members were assured that 72% of St Leger Homes tenants on Universal Credit or Housing Benefit would be unaffected by this increase and that there were support teams in place to assist the remaining 28% that would be affected. Reference was made to potential future rent increases, and it was explained that the Government would need to consult again about future rent policy within the next 12 months.

Members heard about 2 significant changes to the HRA budget, firstly with £1 million added for work around damp, mould, and condensation (such as undertaking surveys in view of increased inquiries around this area).  There was also an additional £1.1 million added to deal with the increased cost of regulation regarding New Consumer Standards being brought in by the regulator  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Senior Governance Officer presented the Overview and Scrutiny Work Plan and Council’s Forward Plan of Key Decisions to the Committee.

The Chair summarised the following areas raised through the meetings discussion and to be noted for future consideration of the scrutiny workplan;

•               Asset Rationalisation

•               Duplication of services and partnership working

•               Growing Our Own Agenda

•               Increase in Educational Health and Care Plans (EHCPs).

•               Unaccompanied Asylum Seeker children.

•               Becoming a leader in employing disabled people

•               Greater Early Help need in view of more complexity within families.

•               More Doncaster residents moving into care homes and not staying within own homes.

•               Community Prevention Model

•               Reasonable adjustments at recruitment stage, work experience, reminder of disability charter (as signed up to at Full Council).

RESOLVED that:-

1.  The current Overview and Scrutiny Workplan and Councils Forward Plan of Key Decision be noted; and

2.  That consideration be given to the key areas highlighted during the meeting as part of the 2024/2025 workplan.