Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations made at the meeting.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee held on 12th October, 2023 be agreed as a true 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 at the meeting.

The Committee received a report providing performance information for Quarter 2 of the 2023/24 Financial Year.  The report provided feedback on successes and challenges against the 2023/24 Key Performance Indicators.

Dave Richmond, Chief Executive of St Leger Homes was in attendance at the meeting in order to respond to any questions and queries from Members of the Committee.

Members sought further information in terms of the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) as in looking at the overall picture, many of these were showing as red, but yet the narrative indicated they were travelling in the right direction.

The Committee were informed that whilst many of these were showing as red, they were in fact in the top quartile of performance nationwide, but as targets locally were very stringent, this meant they were showing as red.

KPIs 2 and 3 – Void Rent Loss - Members noted that whilst this performance was showing as red, St Leger Homes was continuing to perform well in this area.  It was explained that this was in the top quartile for the country and whilst performance was good, the aspiration was to continually do better.

It was noted that there had been a huge increase in the number of homeless across the country over the past year. Members were informed that this was within the region of 125,000 individuals in temporary accommodation, and Doncaster was following national trends in this area.  It was recognised that this continued to be an issue that needed focus going forward.

KPI 6 – Complaints - This was acknowledged as an area of concern, and in reflection there remained to be too many complaints relating to repairs and maintenance. The targets that St Leger Homes faced within this area were seen to be challenging and it was considered important to remain focused on this area and improve its position.

KPI 11 – Sickness - This KPI continued to fluctuate and whilst it was a higher level than CDC due to the number of target days, they were tracking on the same level.

KPI 12 – Local Expenditure - Members noted that this was an ambitious target, and not always achievable as the skills and availability of contractors were not always available locally. Members were informed that whilst a national company may be contracted to undertake a project, they would still look to sub-contract local tradesman, therefore meaning this KPI was still fulfilled indirectly.

KPI 13 – Number of ASB Cases - This was recognised as a major concern and it was outlined that a dedicated Anti-Social Behaviour Team was now in place, and some improvements were now being seen. This continued to be higher than the Yorkshire and Humber expectation.

Members learnt that this was often a difficult target to manage, as incidents of anti-social behaviour tended to peak through the summer months, raising the levels, before falling again through the winter.

Largely, the Committee accepted that the overall picture was still positive, and whilst the methodology was measured differently  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Lee Tilman, Assistant Director, was in attendance at the meeting and provided an update on the current financial position at the end of Quarter 2 for the 2023/34 Financial Year.

There were a number of issues that continued to have an impact on the current economic climate, including the war in Ukraine, conflict in the Middle East and whilst the inflation rate was falling, the cost of living remained high, compounded by higher interest rates and the cost of borrowing. All this impacted on the Council’s finances and would see resilience plans tested over the coming months.

The Council’s overall performance remained good and not in the same position as many other neighbouring local authorities.  It was noted that whilst Doncaster was still facing an overspend, the financial position was relatively stable. In terms of performance, it was reported that a small number of indicators were off target, but these would be kept under review moving forward.

The following areas were highlighted through questions from Members:

Regenerative Council

Members queried how the Council was liaising with schools regarding the devolution of elements of the Dedicated Support Group (DSG) to ensure that locally there were the right services in place to support children, improve outcomes and reduce costs as this was an area of concern. Members noted that SEND funding was allocated at the earliest stage which proved more successful. The new system currently in place was more coherent and with an improved decision-making process worked well. It was explained that the SEND strategy had a graduated approach, ensuring that hubs at schools worked to keep children supported in schools with the correct provisions on offer. It was raised that the DSG budget, however, was not enough and there was  a continued need to fund additional capacity.

Due to time restrictions, it was requested that written information be provided to the Committee on a question not asked around CAMHS and urgent referrals outside of the meeting. 

Councillor Rachael Blake Children’s Social Care and Equalities

Members raised the Choose Kindness initiative that Councillor Blake was championing, and concerns were noted on the small budget on offer to support this. It was responded that the scheme was largely supported by people’s good will alone and was working to promote Doncaster and its people, and that the time and effort needed to ensure that this was a success, cost nothing. It was felt that this initiative was already proving to be successful, and it was hoped this would grow as a well celebrated initiative in the future.

Councillor Lani-Mae Ball - Early Help, Education, Skills and Young People

Members asked Councillor Ball for an update on ‘Your Family Offer’ as this was a new scheme and clarity was requested on how this would work.  It was viewed as an exciting scheme and a service embedded within local communities, with a range of areas of support and information that local people could access.  Members heard that there were teams located in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

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

Members noted that the Health and Well Being Strategy would be considered at a meeting in the New Year, with more information to be communicated to Members in due course.

            RESOLVED that the report be noted.