Agenda and minutes

There were no items.

There were no declarations made.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meetings held on 29^th June and 7^th September 2023, be approved as a correct 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 members of the public in attendance and no statements made.

The Committee gave consideration to a report outlining Q1 finance and performance for 2023/24.  The Chair highlighted that it was recognised the Council continued to operate in really challenging circumstances, but it continued to deliver on and had seen improvement in many of the service standard measures.  It was highlighted that this delivery was a credit to the hard working and committed workforce.

It was explained that the financial position at Quarter 1 highlighted £4.2m overspend with two key pressures in Adults and Childrens services, and were being closely monitored with the objective that a balanced budget would be achieved.

The Committee addressed the following issues in detail:

Regenerative Council

Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) – In response to a question it was explained that Central Government provided resources through the Education DSG and was maintained by the Council to support Special Educational Needs costs.  It was noted that costs associated with this were increasing significantly.  It was  advised that the Government had relaxed the DSG to assist with overspend but there was an increased worrying position that if the current flexible arrangements were to change then the local authority would be in a position where it could not continue to fund the increasing demand. It was noted this was a national challenge, not something just impacting on the City of Doncaster.

Staff Sickness – It was confirmed that staff sickness had seen a decline but it was still above target with Covid being the third largest reason for absence. However, with regard to the number of days lost due to sickness, Covid was eighth with the largest being infections, viruses and stress.  It was confirmed that when recording sickness it was not categorised as home, office or remote working.

Choose kindness movement – In response to the Committee supporting this and wishing to see it as an habitual use with the logo captured on buildings across the city, it was confirmed that it had recently been projected onto Cusworth Hall.  It was noted that the Communications Team was currently working on promoting the movement as part of the anti-bullying campaign and was looking at every opportunity to promote it.  The Panel was advised that the Choose Kindness Movement was being addressed to ensure it was embedded and complementary to equality and diversity.

Pay Offer – It was confirmed that provisions had been built into the 2023/24 budget but it was estimated, on current negotiations, there would be a £2.1m shortfall.  Therefore, it would have diverse impacts across Directorates. For example, delivering with less staff and in the long run having to be more tolerant about the time it takes to complete tasks.  Close monitoring of service standards would be undertaken.

Creating Safer, Stronger, Greener and Cleaner Communities where everyone belongs

Recycling domestic waste – A Member outlined that people could place items in the wrong bins, for example, pizza boxes and wondered how the Local Authority could incentivise people to be more environmentally conscious.  It was explained that with regard  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

The Committee received a report relating to Quarter 1 performance and delivery of St Leger Homes of Doncaster (SLHD)

The following areas were addressed in detail:

Families with children in temporary accommodation – in response to a Member questioning the number of families this related to it was explained that with regard to SLHD managed properties 155 households were in temporary accommodation including 235 children, some of which were in hotels and 2 families with a total of 3 children had been placed outside the authority.  It was noted that there were numerous reasons why families were placed outside the City including fleeing domestic abuse.  It was explained that when a family was placed in a hotel the national standard should be for no longer than a 6 week period and noted that none of SLHD families had reached this length of time.

It was highlighted that on the whole relationships between hotels and St Leger Homes of Doncaster was generally very good however, occasionally some families would not be accepted by hotels due to their past behaviour and reputation.  It was confirmed that some damage had occurred in the past to hotels used by St Leger Homes of Doncaster tenants.

Number of Full Duty Homelessness Acceptances – It was explained that this was a new target and following advice it was suggested a target of 60% should be set.  However, this was an error and the target should be around 30% therefore approval from the City of Doncaster would be sort for it to be changed from next year.   It was noted that a vast number of people were approaching St Leger Homes of Doncaster late in the day for assistance with homelessness circumstances being brought about by, for example, affordability of private rented properties.

Days lost through sickenss – in response to the Committee highlighting that it was worrying for stress, depression and anxiety being the highest reason for staff absence, it was explained that only 3.8% of this was work related.  The remainder of reasons in this category tended to be related to outside work influences.  It was noted that work related stress was taken very seriously and was subject to a risk assessment with support available through different mechanisms, for example, property services used “Andy’s Man Club” for people from a trades background.

WIFI access in SLHD community halls – It was confirmed that none of the premises had wifi. The benefits to the community if it were available were acknowledged, however, the current unaffordable financial and maintenance commitment for such a facility was noted.

RESOLVED:  that the discussion, be noted.

The Committee gave consideration to the Overview and Scrutiny Work Plan and the Council’s Forward Plan of Key Decisions.

The Chair outlined that she would like the Committee to review and Fairness and Well-being recommendations when available.

RESOLVED:  that the report, be noted.

Signed:         Chair  __________________________________

Dated:                    __________________________________