Agenda and minutes

Councillor Nick Carter moved and Councillor Glynis Phillips seconded that Councillor Liz Brighouse be elected Chairman of the Committee for the 2019/20 Council Year.

RESOLVED: (nem con) that Councillor Liz Brighouse be elected Chairman of the Committee for the 2019/20 Council Year.

Councillor Liz Leffman moved and Councillor Glynis Phillips seconded that Councillor Jenny Hannaby be elected Deputy Chairman of the Committee for the 2019/20 Council Year.

RESOLVED: (nem con) that Councillor Jenny Hannaby be elected Deputy Chairman of the Committee for the 2019/20 Council Year.

Apologies were received from Councillor Tony Ilott.

Apologies were also received from Councillor Steve Harrod, Cabinet Member for Children and Family Services, Yvonne Rees, Chief Executive and Lucy Butler, Director for Children’s Services.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 9 May 2019 and to receive information arising from them.

The minutes of the meeting held on 9 May 2019 were approved and signed as a correct record.

10.15

This report contains the second monthly business management report for 2019/20 and is the first to be reported to the Performance Scrutiny Committee. A summary of overall performance and description of change is contained within the report. Each month the business management report will address:

a)    Corporate performance (measured against the Thriving Oxfordshire Outcomes Framework)

b)    Risk (summary of strategic risk and other significant matters)

c)    Human Resources (summary of key data)

d)    Finance (summary including forecast outturn variance)  

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to note the report and consider any matters for future attention by the Committee.

Ben Threadgold introduced the report which was the first monthly report seen by this Committee.  It outlined the situation at the end of May, focussing on Performance, Risk, HR and Finance.  The Committee is seeing the report before Cabinet receives it.

Officers responded to Members’ questions as follows:

·         The overspend on SEND Home to School Transport was £3.4m last year and continues into this year (Paragraph 20, Page 9 of the Addenda).  It is due to increased demand and complexity.

·         Work on air quality is still at a formative stage.  The move is towards very low or zero-emissions bus fleets.  Officers are confident of staying on target.

·         Officers will seek more information on the amber rating for the number of new homes (Page 12).  There was a change in how the rating was assessed, rather than a reduction in the number of new homes being delivered.

·         The Schools Improvement and Safeguarding teams responded immediately to the ‘inadequate’ ratings received by three primary schools.  Officers will look at the quality of audits from schools.

·         Chris Hilliard agreed to take on board the suggestion of guidance for school trustees.  He said that the Council will support schools whether maintained or academies.

·         There has been a countrywide rise in the number of EHCP requests.  The new code of practice makes it hard to refuse.  Also, the system is now covering ages 0 to 25.  The team is being restructured which is designed to put more officers ‘on the ground’.  Consultation ends next week and it is hoped to implement it in August.

·         The debt under Adult Social Care is being reduced through active management.  It is now close to target.

·         Overpayments, such as that made to Scope, occur only occasionally, often when the Council has not been informed of the death of a client.

RESOLVED: to note the report.

10.35

This report is a brief covering paper to support the draft Investment Strategy, which is the main item for consideration by the Committee. In line with revised statutory guidance (April 2018) the Council is formally required to have an Investment Strategy in place. The draft Investment Strategy sets out a new investment framework, under which the Council can undertake investments.

The Committee is asked to provide feedback on the draft strategy and is RECOMMENDED to endorse the draft strategy ahead of final consideration by Council in September 2019.

Simon Furlong introduced the report.  The strategy covers existing investments but also unlocks potential for wider investments.  It will enable more effective use of property.  A new property strategy is being developed.

Lorna Baxter corrected paragraph 2 of the report (Page 7 of the Agenda) in that this draft does not replace the current Capital and Investment Strategy but becomes part of it, if adopted by Full Council.

Officers responded to issues raised by Members as follows:

·         The strategy will allow us to invest outside of Treasury Management.  For example, to invest in assets that would include a social return.

·         The strategy refers to the climate emergency issue on Page 9 of the Agenda where it mentions prioritising opportunities that are carbon neutral, use/generate green energy or reduce travel or waste.  Members asked for the emphasis of the wording here to be strengthened.

·         This draft is starting with the building blocks and more detail – such as local authority trading companies – will be developed later.  Officers noted the comment that the strategy was very property-oriented.

·         With regard to the procedures set out for governance of Category C investments, officers agreed to look at the existing procedures for emergency decisions.

·         A number of investment items referred to in the strategy build on existing activities around our land and property assets. For example, a number of land development deals are in progress, some of them based on the old ‘small holdings estate’ that was deliberately retained in the 1990s. As stated in the Strategy, once these have met their current commitment to Capital Programme future proceeds can be directed into the investment portfolio. Potential projects around our property assets are expected to come through in the coming months if the strategy is approved.

Members asked how local Members would be consulted on an individual decision on a piece of land in their division.  The Chairman noted that more involvement of Members was something that also came up in the Peer Review.  She undertook to take this point to Cabinet.

11.05

The Community Safety Services Annual Report 2018-19 is produced for the County Council, Councillors and members of the public to provide them with a review of the Service's performance over the last financial year.  Community Safety Services set realistic but challenging performance measures every year, aligned to our 365alive vision. 

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to approve the publication of this Annual Report 2018-19.

Simon Furlong summarised the annual report.  In particular he highlighted the increased workload related to unauthorised encampments and an increasing number of wildfires.

Officers responded to comments from Members as follows:

·         The Service continues to work with property owners to reduce the number of false alarms.  The cost of these is particularly high in rural areas.

·         The dip in the number of co-responding calls has been due to a review of ambulance response protocols as well as ongoing national negotiations over broadening the role, with unions advising their members to reduce co-responding.

·         In dealing with unauthorised encampments, the first priority is safety.  There are only two officers to cover all the encampments.  Access can be a problem even with permanent sites.

·         It was agreed to find a more representative photograph for the Gypsy and Traveller Service section of the report and to remove the reference to the nationality of a group of Traveller families.

RESOLVED: to approve publication of this Annual Report 2018/19 with the changes agreed at this meeting.

11.35

In July 2017 Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) extended its remit to include England’s fire and rescue service. HMICFRS now assess and report on the efficiency, effectiveness and people of the fire and rescue services in England.

In November 2018 HMICFRS carried out an inspection of Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service over the course of a week. A team of ten inspectors carried out the inspection, speaking to staff, our partners and the public. To assess how good OFRS are at providing a service to the public.

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to accept this report for publication.

Simon Furlong introduced the report.  This was the first inspection of its type for the Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service.  OFRS was the first County Council service to receive a rating of at least ‘Good’ across all areas.

Simon Furlong responded to Members’ questions as follows:

·         The service’s education programme promotes the fire service as a good career available to all emphasising that it is not just about fire-fighting.

·         The ‘requires improvement’ rating on ‘Understanding the risk of fire and other emergencies’ is related to aging computers and some paperwork not up to date.  These computers are being replaced with tablets.

·         The ‘requires improvement’ rating on ‘Managing performance and developing leaders’ results from what the inspectorate thought was insufficient appraisal of on-call staff.  The OFRS concern is that too high a proportion of time for on-call staff would be spent on appraisals.

·         The Inspectorate has proposed to have one more full round of appraisals followed by themed inspections.  This depends on commissioning by the Home Office.

·         The most senior female in OFRS is an Area Manager.  It is hoped that this will encourage women in the operational side to go for promotion.  At the recent women’s cycle race the female members of the service were given more prominence.

The Chairman noted that this was Simon Furlong’s last time before the Committee as Chief Fire Officer.  She thanked him on behalf of the Committee for all his work in that position.

12.05

The Performance Scrutiny Committee decided to undertake a deep dive into young carers in January 2018 and a report was completed in September 2018. This report reminds the Committee of the original report.

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to agree how it wishes to proceed with the Young Carers deep dive work.

The report was introduced by Councillor Nick Carter, Chairman of the working group.  He stated that the recommendations had not changed since the first report went to Cabinet.  They were all still valid.

Since the first report was published Healthwatch have completed an investigation into support for young carers in Oxford city which highlighted similar issues.

Members questioned whether the Committee should send the same recommendations to Cabinet again and discussed other ways in which the objectives could be pursued.

Councillor Michael Waine agreed to ask the Education Scrutiny Committee to take recommendations (e) to (h) onto their agenda.

Councillor Lawrie Stratford, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health, agreed to raise the issue of identifying young carers with school nurses as well as the drug and alcohol services.

Councillor Carter drew attention to the fact that Be Free Young Carers can only provide a service to young carers in the South and Vale districts which is why he believes that Cabinet should explore ways of helping them to expand.

The Chairman also proposed that the Committee should discuss resources for the Family Solutions Service before that is finalised.

It was agreed that the Committee would review progress against the recommendations at a future meeting.

In the event that any Member or Officer wishes to discuss the information set out in the Annexes to Item 13, the Committee will be invited to resolve to exclude the public for the consideration of the Annexes by passing a resolution in relation to that item in the following terms:

It is RECOMMENDED that the public be excluded for the duration of discussion on the Annexes since it is likely that if they were present during that discussion there would be disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) and specified below in relation to that item and since it is considered that, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

THE ANNEXES RELATING TO EXEMPT ITEMS HAVE NOT BEEN MADE PUBLIC AND SHOULD BE REGARDED AS STRICTLY PRIVATE TO MEMBERS AND OFFICERS ENTITLED TO RECEIVE THEM.

12.20

The information contained in the report is exempt in that it falls within the following prescribed category:

2. Information which is likely to reveal the identity of an individual.

3. Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

and since it is considered that, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, in that confidential police operations could be compromised.

Report from the SEND Home to School Transport Cabinet Advisory Group formed to consider the proposed changes to post-16 SEND home to school transport policies considered by Cabinet in June and July 2018 and Performance Scrutiny on the 5 July 2018.

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to note the report from the SEND Home to School Transport Cabinet Advisory Group (CAG) which will be considered by Cabinet on the 16 July 2019.

The Chairman noted that the Annexes to the report were exempt but that she did not expect any discussion on them so that the meeting could continue in public.

Councillor Lorraine Lindsay-Gale, Cabinet Member for Education and Cultural Services, introduced the report from the Cabinet Advisory Group.  She stated that the Group had identified other ways of making the required saving of £300,000 without any change to the Home to School Transport Policy.

Councillor Lindsay-Gale thanked the special schools that had been very supportive and helpful in achieving the savings

Allyson Milward added that the provision of transport for after-school activities – which was really respite care – had not been part of the policy and had not been very transparent.  The new proposal is to set up a separate budget for that with parents /carers invited to apply for a bursary in the following academic year on an annual basis - such applications to be assessed and allocated against a cash limited sum.

The Chairman thanked the members of the Cabinet Advisory Group for their work on this issue which had not only achieved savings but had provided a better service for the children.

12.50

To agree the committee’s work programme for future meetings based on key priorities and discussion in the meeting.

It was agreed that the Adult and Children Safeguarding reports, on the Work Programme for the November meeting, needed to be brought forward to the September meeting.  The Committee had also been asked to look at a Serious Case Review.  It agreed to extend the 5 September Committee meeting to finish at 2.30 or 3pm due to the length of the agenda.

Members expressed concern that the final report of the Peer Review had still not been received.  It was agreed that the Committee needed to scrutinise the Action Plan from the review.

It was agreed that the air quality issue could be taken with the Transport Plan at the November meeting.  It was also suggested that the items on Investment Strategy and Income Generation could be taken together.