Agenda item

Members received the draft Annual Governance Statement (AGS) update for 2020-21, which provided Members with an update on progress made against the significant governance issues identified within the current draft AGS, since the report was last presented to the Committee on 29th April, 2021.  The report also provided an update on the progress against the improvement areas previously identified and those areas that remained an issue in the 2020-21 Annual Governance Statement.

The finalised AGS would be presented to the Audit Committee meeting scheduled in November, 2021, together with the 2020-21 Statement of Accounts. The issues in the draft AGS would be reviewed again and updated to reflect the latest position.

Discussion followed the presentation of the report, during which, the Director of Corporate Resources responded to questions from the Chair seeking clarity and assurance on a number of aspects within Appendix A of the report, in particular with regard to progress made on completion of the actions and whether the completion dates were achievable and it was noted that:

·      The Food Safety and Trading Standard inspection arrangements are anticipated to remain on the Annual Governance Statement due to the continued reduction in capacity to complete some areas of statutory work and the national shortage of qualified Officers.

·      In relation to the Partnership Recovery and Resilience Doncaster Children’s Services Trust (DCST) – The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic over the last twelve months had presented major challenges nationally which had resulted in a demand for services, due to the increased number of children that have been referred within the care system, the complexity of cases and the demand for fostering and residential placements had also increased.  In terms of the Council’s relationship with DCST, it was noted that effective contract management mechanisms were in place in order to escalate any matters through the process supporting effective governance and ensuring that child protection arrangements were reviewed as far as possible through the Trust. This issue would continue to be closely monitored and would remain on the AGS for some time because of the Council’s responsibility as a Corporate Parent and the financial impact it places on the Council.

·      In connection with the Cyber Attacks Business Continuity risk – During the Covid pandemic, cyber-attacks had increased significantly due to more activity being done online rather than face to face. The Council had taken steps to enhance its online security to combat threats and in developing systems had regard to the lessons learnt from Redcar and Cleveland Authorities who had been affected by cyber-attacks. It was agreed that all members be offered a training/awareness session on the Council’s security arrangements.

·      Governance Functions – Mandatory training was to be held in September, 2021 as part of the senior management meetings for all senior staff to improve awareness of key governance policies, procedures and arrangements including training on the Council’s Constitution, Financial Procedure Rules and Contract Procedure Rules.

·      In relation to the Adult, Social Care Market Sustainability, it was reported that the development of the Market Position Statement had progressed. However, due to the ongoing unprecedented challenges over the past year due to Covid in dealing with infection control, ensuring staffing levels were maintained which had exacerbated the situation in residential care sector, the completion date of 21st June had not been achievable therefore the date was to be reviewed.  A lot of work was taking place on an ongoing basis. Meetings were taking place with specific parts of the sector in order to ensure that the Council can respond to the situation accordingly.

In the absence of the Vice-Chair, Councillor Sophie Liu asked the following question on behalf of Councillor Glenn Bluff who was unable to attend this meeting

‘With reference to Section 9, ‘Doncaster Integrated Peoples Solution’, given the number of outstanding actions how were these going to meet the November 2021 deadline.  Have budget and resources been ring fenced and are they adequate?’

The Director of Corporate Resources advised that good progress was being made with regard to the programme for implementation of the integration technology solution. At the outset of implementation of the programme, it was necessary to carry out a review and redesign of all business processes in order to ensure that the resources associated with the people’s solution were all in one place. Assurance was provided that all the necessary skills and competences and resources were now in one place and any shortfalls in skillset, had been sourced from a partner organisation, or a temporary agency provider.

It was noted that a Steering Group overseeing the work, chaired by the Director of Corporate Services, continues to meet regularly to maintain oversight of delivery. The Adults Case Management and Finance (Phase 1) went live in March and the Children’s Social Care and Finance is planned to go live mid-August. Therefore, a significant proportion of work will be implemented prior to November 2021. A phased approach was being considered for Phase 2, with some aspects being implemented after November. Any changes would be reported within the final AGS at the Committee’s meeting in November.

In response to a question from the Chair seeking assurance that all items would be completed for inclusion on the final AGS to be presented to the Committee in November, 2021, Members were advised that due to the unprecedented challenges faced by the Council including, Covid-19, some of the issues, including the Partnership Recovery and Resilience Doncaster Children’s Services Trust would continue to remain as residual risks and Cyber Attacks would be a recurrent issue. It was pointed out that whilst the Council was in recovery phase, there would still be potential risks therefore the Council would need to continue to closely monitor the governance and delivery of activity.

PROPOSED: that the draft Annual Governance Statement for 2020-21, as attached at Appendix A of the report be noted.