Agenda and minutes

No apologies were received.

None.

Members of the public wishing to take part should notify the Head of Legal and Democratic Services in writing or by e-mail indicating the nature and content of their proposed participation no later than 9.00am on the working day before the meeting (in this case 22 June 2016).  Enquiries can be made through the telephone number/e-mail address below.

None.

(previously circulated)

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 25 May were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Transformation and Commissioning and the Corporate Equality and Diversity Manager had been invited to the meeting to discuss how well the County Council was meeting its statutory duties.

By way of introduction, the following main points were made:

·         The Corporate Equality and Diversity Manager welcomed Members' interest in this area of the Council's work.

·         The Equality and Diversity function was located in the Commercial and Change Directorate as part of the Strategic Change team, something which often surprised people as traditionally the function had been part of Human Resources.

·         Each Directorate within the Council had its own approach to Equality and Diversity and the Corporate E&D Manager attended each Directorate's Senior Management Team on a quarterly basis.  This was an opportunity for her to raise issues of interest and to receive feedback from senior managers.

·         The current legislation governing equality was the Equality Act 2010, which consolidated previous legislation.  Since 2011 there had been a single Public Sector Equality Duty covering all 9 of the Protected Groups listed in the Equality Act.

·         The General Equality Duty required public sector bodies to have due regard to 3 aims:

o   Advancing equality of opportunity between people who share Protected Characteristics and those who do not.

o   Eliminating unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation.

o   Fostering good relations – tackling prejudice and promoting understanding between differing groups within Worcestershire.

·         There was no detailed guidance from central Government on how to achieve the aims of the equality duty.

·         The Corporate E&D Manager was currently looking at concept documents prior to Corporate Strategy Week to identify issues that needed to be taken into account at a strategic level.  She also had an input into the annual budget report.

·         General screening had been built into the Council's business cases and project plans and this mainstreaming of equality awareness should be seen as a positive development.

·         Equality Impact Assessments allowed the Council to evidence how it had taken equality into account.

·         Equality analysis was dependent on effective engagement with actual and potential service users.  In general, this was proving challenging as more services were provided by external providers, and engagement groups did not always exist as they had in previous years.  This was an issue nationally, not just in Worcestershire.

·         Members were reminded that the equality duty could not be delegated and so the wording of contracts and service specifications was important.  The Commercial Team had developed a robust equalities clause which was included in all contracts which was a further positive development.

·         In relation to the Specific Equality Duty, Members were informed that, although progress was reviewed annually, this was not currently published.  Again this was an issue for many authorities and not just Worcestershire County Council.

·         It was suggested that now was a good time to review equality objectives to ensure they were more clearly aligned with the Corporate Plan.

·         The Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Transformation and Commissioning informed Members that he had initially been concerned about  ...  view the full minutes text for item 934.

The Overview and Scrutiny Performance Board was asked to consider the update on scrutiny and quality assurance.

In the course of the discussion, the following main points were raised:

·         In the light of the Board's previous discussion, equality and diversity should be added as an aspect of quality assurance.

·         In terms of initial training, there was a need for directors to be invited to Panel meetings to have a common sense conversation about basic quality assurance, so that Members were aware of what they needed to ask.  This should happen between now and March.

·         Learning from these Panel meetings could then be fed back to new members as part of the induction programme.

·         It was suggested that the foundation of most scrutinies was not as solid as it should be.  Information on staffing and finance should be requested at an early stage as this helped to narrow down the questions.

·         Members were reminded that different directorates approached QA in different ways.  It was suggested that Quality Assurance was most effective when it was an integrated part of how the directorate was run.

Members confirmed that they were content with the report as a basis for the way forward.

The Overview and Scrutiny Performance Board was asked to:

(a)  Receive an update on emerging issues and developments within the particular remit of each member of the OSPB, including an update on each Overview and Scrutiny Panel and Task Group;

(b)  Consider the Council's latest Forward Plan in order to identify:

·           Any items it would wish to consider further at a future meeting; and

·           Any items it would wish to refer to the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Panel for further consideration;

(c)  Agree the 'Children's Champion' to feed back relevant discussions on matters relating to children's health to Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Panel.

Adult Care and Well-being Overview and Scrutiny Panel

On behalf of the Board, the Chairman welcomed the Chairman of the Adult Care and Well-Being O&S Panel back to his first Board meeting since his recent accident.

Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Panel

The Chairman of the Children and Families O&S Panel confirmed that the Cabinet Members with responsibility for Children and Families, and Health and Well-Being would be attending the Panel's next meeting on 15 July to discuss the 0-19 Starting Well Service and the Future Use of Children's Centre Buildings.

Economy and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Panel

The Chairman reported that the Panel had recently received a presentation on bus services.

The Footways Scrutiny Task Group had been delayed while additional information was requested.

Corporate and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel

The Panel had recently considered proposed changes to library opening hours and, following that meeting, additional information had been circulated to Panel members.  The issue was due to come back to the Panel's next meeting.

The Commissioning: Staff Terms and Conditions Scrutiny Task Group had now received information requested from Unison.  The Chairman informed Members that it was his intention to now bring the scrutiny to a conclusion and a final report would be brought to the Board's next meeting.

Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee

The Chairman reported that:

·         He had recently chaired a meeting of regional HOSC chairs in Birmingham which had focused on mental health services.

·         He was due to chair his first meeting of HOSC next week.

·         His programme of induction meetings was continuing.

·         In terms of the HOSC work programme, he was keen to ensure there was sufficient flexibility to deal with issues as they arose, for example the recent issue of the closure of St Johns dental practice.

·         He would wish the Committee to consider the following issues in due course:

o   The administration of GP appointments

o   Public health

o   Use of e-cigarettes.

The Chairman of HOSC was reminded that any changes to the Committee's work programme would need to be agreed by OSPB.

Members were informed that the Future of Acute Hospital Services in the County would be coming to a future HOSC meeting.

Vice Chairman

The Vice Chairman reported to the Board that:

·         Complaints: Wychavon District Council had recently changed its complaints procedure and she was looking to see whether there was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 936.