Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Mathew (Councillor Hallchurch substituting).

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 13 September 2016 (PSC3) and to receive information arising from them.

The minutes of the meeting held on 13 September 2016 were approved and signed as a correct record.

10.10

This paper provides details of performance for quarter one 2016-17 for Performance Scrutiny Committee to consider before making comments to Council. The report is required so that the Cabinet can monitor the performance of the Council in key service areas and be assured that progress is being made to improve areas where performance is below the expected level.

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to note and discuss the performance reported in the dashboards and to make any comments necessary for escalation to Cabinet before 18 October.

The Committee had before it the Business Management and Monitoring Report Quarter 1 2016-17.  Ian Dyson, Assistant Chief Finance Officer (Assurance), introduced the report, pointing out that the extra information in the Addendum should have been included in the original report.

During questioning the Performance Scrutiny Committee welcomed the new format which was much easier to understand and more accessible for the public.  Mr Dyson and Katy Jurczyszyn, Strategic Finance Manager (Strategy and Monitoring), made the following points:

·         Information was not available from Trading Standards because they are still moving to the new reporting system but they will be ready for Q2.

·         For adult social care services, Oxfordshire ranks 6^th out of 152 top level local authorities on the national outcome framework which monitors how well local authorities are meeting national priorities and objectives.

·         Performance issues related to reablement will be dealt with under the new contract due to start in October.

·         The large number of looked-after children placed outside the county is being tackled with two new buildings and additional foster carers.

·         People are still getting used to the new report which focuses on outcomes.

·         ICT has not yet been able to realise the expected savings due to their increased involvement in Transformation.

The Chairman reminded members of the Committee to follow up on the issues that they have raised when examining future reports.

10.50

This paper provides a report on the business of the Oxfordshire Safeguarding Adults Board (OSAB) for the year 2015-16. Publication of an annual report is a standing commitment of the Board.

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to note the annual report and provide any comments.

The Committee considered the annual report of the Oxfordshire Safeguarding Adults Board.

The Chairman agreed to a request from Councillor Phillips to speak on this item.

Councillor Phillips supported in particular Priority 1 “Empowerment” on agenda page 46 and increasing the scope to reach into the community.  This was important because in most cases harm had already been done by the time the Council became involved.  She asked if it was possible to streamline the number of meetings, perhaps by amalgamating groups for example.

In response to these comments and other questions Sula Wiltshire (Interim Chair of the Oxfordshire Safeguarding Adults Board), Jo Taylor-Palmer (Contractor, Adult Social Care) and Seona Douglas (Deputy Director Adult Social Care) made the following points:

·         This was the first report since the Care Act came into force.

·         The increase in the number of alerts is a positive thing, indicating greater awareness.

·         The peer review was very useful and will be repeated.

·         Statistics are reviewed quarterly with a view to seeing what they need to do differently.

·         General Practitioners are an important resource who are also becoming more aware – 75 participated in training recently.

·         DOLS on agenda page 45 stands for Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.

·         The various agencies involved are sharing and collating intelligence.

The Performance Scrutiny Committee:

1)    Raised the question of the physical health of mental health patients and in particular how to deal with their high rate of smoking.

2)    Asked for the reasons why the Oxfordshire figure under the category of “Neglect and Omission” on agenda page 31 was higher than the national average.  Officers responded that this was due to better recording – something that they had prioritised.

3)    Explored coordination between programmes operated by Parish Councils, the Police and Fire & Rescue.

4)    Requested a fact sheet for Councillors to help them spread awareness through their contacts in communities.

5)    Asked if future growth in the county’s population is taken into account and if Section 106 monies could play a part in addressing the needs of an aging population.

The Chairman reported that a subgroup including herself, Councillor Harrod and Councillor Godden had a very good session with officers on safeguarding.  Councillor Gray stated that he would be happy to join that subgroup.

11.20

Hannah Farncombe (Deputy Director, Safeguarding, Children, Education and Families) and Tan Lea (Strategic Safeguarding Partnerships Manager, Children, Education and Families) will present a paper on three annual reports from the Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Board. The reports concern an overview of safeguarding work; serious case reviews and quality assurance.

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to note these annual reports and provide any comments.

The Committee considered the following annual reports on safeguarding children:

·         The Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Board Annual Report

·         The Performance Audit and Quality Assurance Annual Report

·         The Case Review and Governance Subgroup Annual Report

Hannah Farncombe (Deputy Director – Safeguarding) introduced the reports.

The Performance Scrutiny Committee:

1)            Confirmed with officers that the Board’s action plan will be brought to the October meeting.

2)            Heard that the review of the ‘front door’ response had led to extra staff being brought in to reduce case loads.

3)            Asked how the Board was responding to schools’ requests for advice on dealing with increased numbers of children identifying as transsexual and other LGBT issues.

4)            Suggested that greater publicity be given to the fact that the county was ranked joint sixth in Stonewall’s Education Equality Index.

5)            Welcomed the work done by the Pegasus theatre group and asked if the Council would work with them again?

6)            Clarified how the Council dealt with situations where people moved across administrative boundaries to ensure that contact is maintained.

7)            Asked about the serious case reviews in relation to child deaths.

8)            Requested a briefing on questions to put to the Police and Crime Commissioner at the October meeting.

9)            Sought more information on how sexting is being tackled.

10)         Found that the Police were satisfied with Oxfordshire’s response on Prevent.

12.00

Report by Chief Executive, OxLEP (PSC8).  The document reflects the work undertaken by the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership over the period 2015 – 2016. This will be the first Report covering the company’s activity since incorporation.

The committee is RECOMMENDED to note the Annual Report Draft 2015/16.

The Committee considered the annual report of the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership for 2015/16.  The report was introduced by OxLEP CEO, Nigel Tipple and was the first report since the organisations incorporation.  He particularly drew the Committee’s attention to a representation of the outcomes on addendum page 23.

In responding to questions Mr Tipple also made the following points:

·         The Didcot Northern Perimeter Road is in Local Growth Fund (LGF) 3.

·         OxLEP’s Board sets the priorities.  There is consultation at a local level.  Priorities go through the Growth Board and there is a national assessment process.

·         There are non-voting LEP members on the Growth Board.

·         The Partnership works with Local Authorities to enable delivery of housing.

·         Integrated Infrastructure is a priority, continued Rail investment is key to realising sustainable connectivity alongside public transport. Road investment alone will not address the issue of connectivity

·         OxLEP is supporting proposals for reopening the Cowley branch and four-tracking to Didcot.

·         The report on the Oxford-Cambridge Expressway is at early draft stage and has not been published.  It is aspirational at this stage which is why there has been no public consultation yet.

12.40

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Simon Furlong, will present this report (PSC9) which sets out the new draft Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP) 2017-22 for consultation (10 October 2016 to 9 January 2017). The plan shows how Oxfordshire Fire & Rescue Service (OFRS) has identified, assessed and evaluated the risks. The CRMP is required by the Fire & Rescue National Framework Document 2012.

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to:

a)            support the draft CRMP 2017-22 strategic document and proposed projects within the draft 2017-18 Action Plan for consultation; and

b)           request thatthe Chief Fire Officer reports back to Cabinet with feedback and any amendments following the consultation.

The Committee considered two draft documents for consultation:

·         Community Risk Management Action Plan 2017-18

·         Community Risk Management Plan 2017-22

The documents were presented by Simon Furlong, Deputy Chief Fire Officer.  He highlighted the following points:

·         There was a requirement to produce a risk management plan.

·         Targets have been drastically increased in this plan.

·         The longer term document looks at risks such as population growth.

·         More flexibility in the use of resources is needed as medical responses become a bigger part of their work.

·         The consultation period will be from 10 October 2016 to 9 January 2017.

The Performance Scrutiny Committee:

1)            Asked about the kind of advice given by the service to businesses.

2)            Thanked the service for the response to recent incidents of flooding.

3)            Received assurances that the service was not looking at closing any stations although it is proving difficult to recruit on-call officers.

4)            Welcomed the way in which the fire service contacts Councillors about incidents in their area.

13.15

Bev Hindle, Acting Director for Environment Economy, and Mark Stone, Director for Transformation, will present a paper (PSC10) providing a review of, and forward look for, the subject of Oxfordshire County Council's interests in property and facilities management.

The Committee is RECOMMENDED

a)            to note the actions to improve the Management of the property and Facilities service;

b)           to note the performance of Carillion on the Property & Facilities Contract; and

c)            to recognize both the successes and areas for improvement moving forward.

Mark Stone, Interim Director for Transformation, made a presentation to update members on developments regarding council property and facilities.  The Committee also had before it Carillion’s Annual Report.

Mr Stone and Adrian Rowlands, Service Manager Property Procurement, responded to questions making the following points:

·         The council hasn’t really tapped into Councillors’ local knowledge and he wants to see greater engagement there.

·         When schools convert to academies the Council generally leases the land and retains ownership.

·         The new strategy will go to Cabinet in December.

·         It will recognise the important of relationships in delivering outcomes.

·         The signing-off of projects will be brought back within the Council.

·         The issue of key-worker housing can be examined.  It will be necessary to make sure the benefits are quantified to satisfy the Valuation Office.

·         The Council still maintains housing for some workers such as fire officers.