Agendas, Meetings and Minutes - Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Venue: County Hall, Worcester

Contact: Samantha Morris/Alyson Grice  Overview and Scrutiny Officers

Media

Items
No. Item

1035.

Apologies and Welcome

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Minutes:

Apologies were received from Mrs E A Eyre and Mr A Adams.

 

1036.

Declaration of Interest and of any Party Whip

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Minutes:

None.

 

1037.

Public Participation

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 May 2018).  Enquiries can be made through the telephone number/e-mail address below.

 

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Minutes:

None.

 

1038.

Confirmation of the Minutes of the Previous Meeting

(previously circulated)

 

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Minutes:

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 26 April 2018 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

 

 

1039.

Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership Governance Arrangements pdf icon PDF 154 KB

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Minutes:

The Chairman and Chief Executive of the Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership (WLEP), the Leader of the Council (and Vice Chairman, Local Authority Representative of the WLEP), the Chairman of the WLEP Finance, Audit and Risk (FAR) Committee and the Section 151 Officer were invited to the Meeting to discuss the role of the WLEP and its governance and accountability arrangements.

 

In addition, all District Councils were invited to nominate a Councillor Representative to attend the Meeting.

 

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and introductions were made.

 

The Panel received a presentation which covered:

 

·       The history of LEP's and the national picture

·       WLEP Vision and Objectives

·       WLEP Structure

·       WLEP Business Priorities 2018/19

·       Governance and Scrutiny

 

During the discussion, the following main points were made:

 

·       The letter from Stephen Jones, Director, Cities and Local Growth Unit, Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) (included in the Agenda) provided feedback on the WLEP's Performance Review (known as the Annual Conversation) which had taken place on 9 January 2018. The letter detailed the next steps and immediate actions required and concluded that overall the, WLEP's performance was good and its delivery was exceptional when compared to other LEP's

·       In October 2017, the results of the Review of Local Enterprise Partnership Governance and Transparency by Mary Ney, Non-Executive Director, Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) was published and recommendations were made in respect of WLEP's Governance

·       The Annual Conversation rated the WLEP's overall governance as good and since this review the WLEP had implemented some of the S151 Officer suggestions eg Declaration of Interests, adoption of WLEP Assurance Framework, publication of agendas and minutes for Board meetings.  All governance and transparency recommendations from the Action Plan had been implemented except for the recruitment of Board Members, which would be reviewed in July 2018 after the results of the National LEP Review had been published

·       It was important going forward for all partners to ensure that their respective Strategies were aligned and complimentary to ensure a combined benefit

·       It was confirmed that the Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) would be refreshed when the outcome of the National LEP Review was known;  Government had also asked the WLEP for a local Industrial Strategy by Autumn which would need to be taken into account when refreshing the SEP

·       The WLEP's Vision was to build a connected creative dynamic economy that delivered increased prosperity for all those who chose to live, work, visit and invest in Worcestershire. Physical and digital connectivity was required to drive economic growth and WLEP was focused on making this happen.  People now wanted to work in different ways and although they wanted high level jobs, they didn't necessarily wish to commute to their place of work.  

·       The three key sectors of industry which WLEP were concentrating on were cyber, agri-tech and advanced manufacturing. At some time in the future there may also be a focus on health care.

·       The WLEP were cognisant that looking to the future, today's school children could be doing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1039.

1040.

Member Update and Cabinet Forward Plan pdf icon PDF 83 KB

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Minutes:

Adult Care and Well-being Overview and Scrutiny Panel

 

The Panel recently received an overview of Learning Disability Services for adults which provided feedback on the pre-consultation engagement with services users, carers, staff and stakeholders on options for future provision of two aspects of Learning Disability care for adults (Replacement Care and Day Services). Speakeasy N.O.W, a self-advocacy charity for people with learning disabilities, and Worcestershire Association of Carers also attended the meeting. The Cabinet would be considering this at its meeting on 14 June.

 

Scrutiny of LTP4 Consultation Successes

 

Cllr Middlebrough advised that the Scrutiny on the LTP4 Consultation successes was nearly finished and the Report was in the process of being drafted.

 

Crime and Disorder

 

Cllr Middlebrough gave an update on crime and disorder matters:

 

·       planning for the Annual Crime and Disorder Scrutiny meeting had commenced and this year there would be a specific focus on modern day slavery and trafficking

·        with regard to the Domestic Abuse Green paper and the County Council's role in response to it.  Cllr Middlebrough advised that he was pleased to see that subsequent to his request, the Consultation Questionnaire had been promoted to staff and councillors via a link on the Chief Exec's update in case anyone wished to respond on an individual basis.

 

Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (HOSC)

 

At its meeting in May, the Committee received an update on Neighbourhood Teams which were one of the ways of working/work strands resulting from Herefordshire and Worcestershire Sustainable Transformation Partnership (STP). 

 

The HOSC was updated on the STP at its 29 January meeting, and members were keen to continue to keep abreast of plans for services and governance stemming from the STP for Herefordshire and Worcestershire, and the impact for Worcestershire's public.

 

Winter pressures/urgent care would be discussed at the July meeting.

 

Corporate and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel

 

The Chairman advised that at its May meeting the Panel had met the new Director of Commercial and Commissioning and the new Chief Financial Officer.  In addition the Panel had looked at What can Worcestershire County Council do to maximise income generation?

 

At its July meeting, the Panel would be considering the July Cabinet Report in respect of the libraries re-modelling business case.

 

Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Panel

 

The Chairman of the Panel updated the Board in respect of the Scrutiny of overnight short breaks for children with disabilities. The Task Group's draft Report had been sent to the Cabinet Member for consideration; however it wasn't clear when the Cabinet Member decision would be made.  The Chairman advised that the Worcestershire Health and Care Trust had provided some further information about bed costs for Ludlow Road but confusion remained and there was concern that 14 December 2017 Cabinet Report may not have contained accurate information.

Parents and carers had contacted the press and were requesting a further meeting with the Authority and also pursuing a Judicial Review through the High Court.  The Chairman was very concerned about the accuracy of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1040.