Agenda item

The Director of Corporate Resources presented the report to Committee, which set out a range of service standards and contained a commentary in terms of the activities that the Council had undertaken and its financial position. It was noted that going forward the report for the next quarter will incorporate a section specifically in relation to the Environment Strategy recently approved by Full Council and a deep dive in relation to Covid and the impact on service delivery.

 

It was reported that the report demonstrates, that is has been a really challenging period over the last 12 months. However, the Council had a balanced position in terms of performance. Whilst there were some areas where performance had deteriorated and there remains challenges, on balance the Council e managed to maintain service standards and also deliver a balanced budget.

 

A number of questions were put to officers and answered as follows:-

 

In relation to delivering a balanced budget, it was asked what the key risks were. In response, it was reported that the Council were managing costs keenly whilst also during managing to deliver savings.In the main the Council are on track to deliver the key changes set as part of last year’s budget. Members were advised that the Council has also receiveda lot of income of through Government grants. Sales and fees charges have been reimbursed albeit not entirely as the reimbursement mechanism has a floor and ceiling, so the Council still has a cost pressure as a result of those losses of income and the most significant area that has needed attention is the Collection Fund. It was noted that the Council is predominantly funded through the collection of tax and business rates and this needs to be monitored regularly in order to make sure that the Council are taking appropriate actions and wherever possible and in a sympathetic way make sure that people are on track in terms of their direct debit payments..

 

In relation to the Collection Fund detailed on Paragraph 99 of the report, it was asked what the long term implications were and what actions were in place to improve the Councils position. It was reported that non-collection of business rates had been built into the budget and this needed to be monitored in terms of further announcements on business rate relief.

 

Issues were  raised in relation to the increase in Free School Meals whether this was likely to continue, how the Council was managing this  and what does it tell us about the employment and stability of the local economy?

 

 

In response, it was clear that free schools meals was a barometer of a wider environment consequence, so people are eligible to free school meals when they are on benefits. Doncaster has seen an increase in the number of people claiming Universal Credit which in turn has increased eligibility for free school meals. It was advised that the question was around how the economy is going to bounce back as the stages of lockdown and the road map occurs, so as businesses such as pubs, cafes and hotels start opening then people will either hopefully be back in employment which means there will be a reduction in free schools meals. However at present people are eligible for free school meals because it is part of the public safety net.

 

Living and Working

 

Questions were raised in relation to fly-tipping. In response, members were advised that with regard to enforcement there had been 8 prosecutions and 73 fixed penalty notices so the Council had been effective with regard to prosecutions. In terms of addressing this on private land, there was further potential to address this with preventative measures in terms of accessing the site and erection of bollards and fencing. The service needed to be more proactive and creative in their approach.

 

In relation to fly-tipping and littering, it was advised that there are a number of complicated elements behind it. It was advised that it was a case of being quick to pick it up. However, resources and being able to deploy and respond has been challenging. It was also recognised that education is a key factor in  prevention. It was reported that there had been a 36% increase in quarter 3, which is aligned with service impacts in relation to Covid. It was clear that this was an on-going issue and a combination of the service picking it up quicker along with preventing and restricting access and education would continue. In terms of cameras an additional 21 have been installed on the covert system, which will enable successful prosecutions.

 

Discussion took place in relation to Household Recycling Centres and the need to educate people on where to go and how to use them. It was, acknowledged that there was a need to do more to promote and provide clarity with regard to opening times of each of the centres to avoid customer disappointment.  Officers also stated that they would also investigate the problems associated with the Councillors on-line system, which was currently under review but were not aware of any problems or changes made to the on-line public recording system.

 

Questions were raised in relation to how effective the Council had been in supporting local businesses during the last quarter and how the Council intends to build on this moving forward particularly as restrictions start to lift and more businesses start to reopen. In response, it was advised that a report would be considered at the next Regeneration and Housing Scrutiny Panel detailing how businesses had been supported and information on the Chamber’s Business Support and how the Council dovetail and make sure they work together. It was advised that first and foremost with regard to effectiveness, there had been some very complex issues to deal with in terms of some of the funding streams that have switched on and off during that period. However, it is acknowledged that the Council have been effective as it has been able to administer the national schemes and then the local schemes and subsequent changes over that period to support businesses through changes in practices. Some of the support administered included: the furlough scheme, local restriction grants, which have been based on a ratable value and there has been additional restriction grants and discretionary elements that the Council have been able to provide certain sectors such as taxi drivers and home based workers. It was noted that there had been a whole raft of work done during a period of preparation for the transition of the EU exit.

 

In relation to building on this for the future, this was considered a pivotal moment as the road map has been supplied and the imminent announcement of the Chancellors Budget on the 3 March 2021, where there is some expectation of what that will mean for businesses and support. It was also noted that key dates in the road map of the opening of non-essential retail, outside drinking and dining in pubs required  the Council to work behind the scenes to build on this and work up the Town Centre Recovery Plan.

 

Discussion took place with regard to charging points for electrical vehicles and encouraging people to have charging points at home. It was asked how the Council will promote energy efficiency savings in buildings in the private and rented sector, 20% being Council housing & 80% being private, so in order to promote behaviour change in Doncaster, the Council needs to be reaching out to those people in the private and rented sector to try and improve their homes.

 

In addition, it was pointed out that there had been a spate of Yorkshire Water mains bursts in Doncaster. It was asked how often gullies were cleaned by ward area and whether this was due to the poor management of water in a particular area and whether there is an economic impact on the Council.

 

In response to the question onenergy efficient homes , the vast majority of properties within Doncaster lie within the private sector.. It was advised that the Government were putting funding towards this, which has enabled the Council to utilise this for the Housing Revenue Account stock. However, there is further work to do to make this available to those people who reside in properties that are less thermal efficient in the private sector particularly rented. It was important to note, that this requires resourcing and there is a need to look at the structure to ensure we have people in place to help the Council deliver its environmental aspirations and the Climate Commission target of net zero by 2040. Officers reported that in relation to Housing, there is a big piece of work to ensure that the Council accesses as much funding as possible for those people who are in the private rented sector and home owners.

 

In relation to the recent issues with Yorkshire Water, officers were aware. In terms of gully cleaning and inspections schedules, these can be provided to Members outside of the meeting. In terms of Yorkshire Water there had been some dialogue indicating that a more joined up approach would have been beneficial and possibly prevented some of the incidents. There is ongoing dialogue with Yorkshire Water in order to address these issues.

 

In respect of the floods of 2019, there was an extensive gully cleaning programme carried out with a significant amount of investment to enhance and accelerate that programme. It was noted that if there were any particular areas that Members feel needs to be addressed they were encouraged to report these..

 

With regard to electronic charging points for cars, officers pointed out that there was a real need to promote this and part of this is the accessibility of people being able to acquire these vehicles, which were now more affordable. It was advised that there was also a need to educate people on what they can do and there could be a role to play in future planning policy. Members were advised that as part of the Capital Programme for replacement of street columns, officers were exploring the opportunity to have charging points built into the street light columns.

 

Further discussion took place with regard to fly-tipping. It was asked how Doncaster compared to other local authorities and whether there was any comparative data. Details of any cost analysis was also sought with regard to income that comes from household pick ups and what the cost has been for the extra fly-tipping, and if there was an expansion of the recycling centres would this make a difference. In response, it was reported that comparative data was available and officers have looked at that. However, that information was predominantly about response times. It was noted that there is difficulty with fly-tipping as a lot of it can be cause by the nature of the area, there may be a high prevalence within rural areas rather than urban. It was advised that this has been looked as part of the improvement programme but the likelihood is that you are not necessarily comparing the same. However, it was noted that officers have looked at what Rotherham Council are doing in terms of the structure for their services and that is useful benchmarking intelligence but what is also needed is local solution.

 

In terms of cost analysis, officers have looked at the Household Recycling Centres regarding opening times, which is an on-going piece of work as part of the improvement programme for environmental services. In relation bulky waste, it was reported that a cost analysis had been carried out but it was found that this did not correlate with a reduction in fly-tipping.

 

Learning

 

With regard to Strategic Risks detailed at page 92, it was asked what the Council were doing to ensure children achieve national standards in educational attainment and how effective have activities been across schools to ensure a consistent approach to learning in order to avoid children being left behind particularly those who are vulnerable. In response, it was reported that Members will be aware that before the pandemic, the trajectory of improvement was significant. Children have been impacted by the pandemic and the Council and schools collectively have established from the outset of the lock down a very clear focus on well-being in curriculum. It was advised that it would be remiss to think that when schools are fully open, we can go back to how it was pre-pandemic as this would not work. There has been a big push on how support is given to young people’s emotional well-being, which includes training on trauma support. It was advised that a recovery curriculum has been commenced to ensure that there is a consistent approach across all schools, which includes the remote learning offer that is more robust than it was at the beginning of the pandemic and includes young people’s access to devices.

 

It was advised that the key elements are that a number of programmes have been designed:-

 

1.         A programme on behaviour

2.         A programme on well-being, emotional health

3.         A clear focus on equity and diversity

4.         Using holiday activities as a breach – providing a real opportunity to support young people back into school

 

A question was raised with regard to paragraphs 36-46 of the report, in

relation to what aspects of family support had been identified that have

required greater focus and intervention and what will that achieve. In

response, it was advised that the 3 top presenting needs would be,

emotional, well-being and parenting and behaviour. It was noted that

family hubs have remained open throughout providing support

and the fact that the Council have taken a multi-agency approach to

welfare and support for the vulnerable. These actions will mitigate an

escalation up to the need in social care, the investment and support

that is being done in terms of intervention is critical because it stops

that escalation.

 

 

A further question related to safety of children and staff when they

return to School and whether there is a difference between the

Council’s responsibilities for Academies and those schools that are

Locally maintained. In response, members were advised that one of

the huge benefits of the last year is that the Council have worked

collectively with schools and all of them have engaged, support has

been given in equal measure whilst recognising the Council has the

absolute responsibility for maintained schools because essentially they

are all Doncaster Children. It was also noted that the Council are

receiving the level of confirmation that all guidance in relation to the

pandemic is being adhered to by all schools.

 

Discussion took place on career choices for young people and what the council is doing in relation to working with businesses whilst working in partnership with schools with the view of giving children the choices or opportunities to make good of themselves for example open days or businesses going into schools and promoting at job fares. In response, members were aware that the Education and Skills Strategy 2030 has been approved and this was now underway and the points made are embedded within that Strategy. It was advised that in summer 2020, a fare was devised with businesses albeit virtually and the Council will be looking to escalate that and the Council are implementing a number of programmes for widening participation. This includes supporting young people whether that be mentoring them in order to access apprenticeships or giving them information on how to access Universities of their choice and working very closely with Chamber and businesses directly in schools.

 

A question was raised with regard to children in the referral units being in a more acute position than other pupils within the schools and whether these children will be in a better position shortly. It was advised that one of the things the Council has done through working with all schools including pupil referral units was the reintegration programme. This is a 12 week programme which enables the Council to support those very specific needs of young people both in the referral units and in other alternative provision to ensure they are getting the support they require. There has been a real focus around that wrap around support from the leaders in the referral units along with the Councils own team.

 

Caring

 

Officers were asked if there was any evidence that families and communities are taking on increased caring provision during the lock down. In response, it was advised that there was evidence of this, and this would be expected to be the case with family carers understandably seeking to protect people that they care about. The Council are trying to support carers in this process. It was reported that a lot of work had been undertaken with the Mayor’s Sprint Plan, in relation to making sure the Council gets support out and awareness to carers about the offer and the support that is available to them. The service has also been picking up carers that have stood down social care services because they have been around to provide the care themselves and felt the need to protect them form the risks of transmission.

 

It was asked whether officers were seeing a greater number of people wanting to remain in their own homes and was this creating more pressure on certain parts of the budget.. It was advised that it creates uncertainty in the context of the budget it is difficult and is probably inappropriate to draw conclusions. For some people because they have been able to take further caring roles because employment arrangements have changed it has created in financial terms for some people less draw on adult social care but for other people there has been greater intensity and risks around breakdown and the need to be involved more. Officers advised that what the Council cannot do is take for granted a positive budgetary shift which will also be disrespectful to carers in Doncaster who have been going through a difficult period. It was advised that it was about keeping in contact with carers in communities and no assumptions have been made at this stage.

 

Members asked how successful the mass test and trace and vaccination programme has been to date. In response with regard to test and trace, it was identified that there were a number of measures of success and in terms of mass testing and the community testing offer that the Council has for people without symptoms. Since the first site went live, there has been over 13,500 tests undertaken, 76 of which were positive so this is comparable with what other areas have seen in terms of the positivity rate. However, more testing has been available in Doncaster than in other South Yorkshire Authorities. It was also advised that Doncaster has devised a mobile testing facility, which has been used to support the testing of Doncaster’s Homeless population and those currently living in hotels and that is being used by the Department of Health and Social Care as a model of good practice. This has also been shared with Yorkshire and the Humber and being communicated to Devon and other areas. Members were advised that the programme has been successful in terms of testing but also in terms of people being able to access broader services that the Council and partners offer.

 

In terms of the vaccination programme, it was reported that data was now being published on a weekly basis publicly available on the total number of vaccines being delivered in Doncaster by CCG and Gps and this number was now over 75,000. It was advised that what the Council has not seen in the public domain yet is how the total number of vaccines relates to the total number of people who are eligible. From conversations with the CCG, it was noted that the percentage was in the 90% range for the majority of groups but further details were required on this and also be able to understand the reasons for not coming forward for a vaccination. Members were advised that given the operational challenge in terms of delivering the programme where vaccine supply is on a week to week basis officers were confident they are delivering the vaccine that we are getting supplied in Doncaster.

 

It was mentioned that there had been a call for volunteers to carry out the test, track and trace at centres across the borough. It was asked if enough volunteers had come forward and whether they were represented as a community as a whole. Members were advised that for testing, the Council were using paid staff centres, some Council staff have been aligned and thanks should go to all colleagues in the Council that have released staff to do that. In terms of the vaccination centres, there is a pool of volunteers including many elected members, which has been coordinated through the Cultural and Leisure Trust.. It was acknowledged that there will always be a need for more volunteers as some may need to return to work once restrictions start to ease.

 

Members wished to commend the good work carried out throughout the pandemic and it was clear that it has been exemplary with regard to communication through social media, the right information had been provided and there had been easy access for Councillors to pass that information onto residents within their wards. Local access for residents in terms of the vaccination and testing centres have gone down very well with residents in the communities and people are happy that they can get reasonable access to local testing and vaccination which in turn has created an increased confidence.

 

In conclusion, a question was raised in relation to care homes and the prevention of Covid outbreaks and how confident officers were in relation to this. It was reported that unfortunately there will always be outbreaks in care homes even with vaccinations. The key is to minimise the impact they may have and confidence was there with the work that has been done to minimise that. The couple of outbreaks seen since Christmas have been well managed and much milder illnesses have been seen. Officers felt that it was important to pay tribute to care home staff and owners as outbreaks sadly result in the loss of people who they regard as family and result in a lot of trauma for people that live and work in the homes. It was noted that they also result in a financial impact for care homes with reduced occupancy. There has been a lot of focus from care home staff and from the Council and a lot of support has been given to homes to ensure that all care homes have a focussed person to follow them through on the latest guidance, access to advice and making sure infection and prevention control information is provided from NHS colleagues.

 

RESOLVED that the Chair and Members of the Overview & Scrutiny Management Committee noted and comment on the quarter 3 performance and financial information; including;

 

(1)       the virements per the Financial Procedure Rules, detailed in the Appendix A – Financial Profile;

(2)       the allocations of block budgets in the Capital Programme, detailed in the Appendix A – Financial Profile, in accordance with the Financial Procedure Rules (sections A & B);

(3)       the payment to the Doncaster Children’s Services Trust (DCST) for the non-COVID element of their overspend (£2.56m) with a reconciliation at year-end to ensure any surplus is returned to the Council.

(4)       the allocation of the £5m Environment & Sustainability/Net Zero Carbon Earmarked Reserve to the Director of Economy & Environment and Assistant Director of Finance (Section 151) in consultation with the Mayor, as outlined in paragraph 84.