Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Bryan Allbut (Co-opted Church Representative for education matters).

None.

Members of the public wishing to take part should notify the Assistant Director for Legal and Governance 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 5 January 2021).  Enquiries can be made through the telephone number/e-mail address below.

None.

(previously circulated)

The Minutes of the Meeting held on the 19 November 2020 were agreed as a correct record and would be signed by the Chairman.

Members were provided with an update on the recommendations from the Care Work as a Career Scrutiny Report, which was approved by the Board on 22 June 2020 and considered by Cabinet on 25 June.  Cabinet noted the Scrutiny Report findings and recommendations and adopted the response of the Cabinet Member with Responsibility (CMR) as the way forward.

Following the CMR’s adoption of the recommendations, a Project Team was established to develop an approach to delivery. Unfortunately, due to the demands of COVID-19 this was delayed and the Project Plan was finalised in November.

During the discussion, the following main points were made:

·       Recommendation 10 (building links with Shropshire Council in relation to the Bridge Project) was being considered as part of the wider Council Digital Transformation programme, as it fitted directly with one of the priorities in the Digital Strategy due to be launched early this year.

·       It was confirmed that there were no apparent issues with recruiting staff to the Council’s care work roles. The Council was however, looking into how staff were supported and the wider promotion of care work as a career.

·       The importance of the Council promoting and encouraging providers to adopt common care standards to ensure that residents received parity of care was stressed.

·       The new lead provider framework arrangements for domiciliary care, which should have been introduced in summer 2020 had been delayed as a result of the demands of COVID-19. However, it was confirmed that the arrangements were now being consulted on.

·       There wasn’t any information available about whether Council staff in care roles were drifting to the NHS care roles.

·       In order to assess the effectiveness of the Worcestershire Business Central care work promotional campaign, information was requested on the number of care workers taking up a care as a career.

·       In response to a question about the split of university student placements available to University of Worcester students and out of County universities, the Board was advised that there was a good relationship with the University of Worcester and a number of students were taken on placement by the Council. Detailed information would be provided on the Council’s Policy for student placements after the meeting.

·       Members were reminded that the Council monitored the standards of external providers through the contract specification.  In addition, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), was the independent regulator of health and social care in England.

The following actions were agreed:

·       The Interim Associate Director, Commissioning would be invited to a meeting with the Care Work as a Career Scrutiny Task Group to discuss the detail of the progress made (The Chairman of the Adult Care and Well Being Overview and Scrutiny Panel would also be invited to this meeting).

·       A further update on progress against recommendations would be provided to the Adult Care and Well Being Overview and Scrutiny Panel in September 2021.

·       Information would be provided on the number of people moving into care work in the Council, as a result of the Worcestershire Business  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1177.

The Board was asked to consider and approve the draft Scrutiny Report on Council’s Energy Purchasing Arrangements.

Cllr Kent introduced the Report and in doing so thanked the Members of the Task Group and Officers for their support with what had been a challenging Scrutiny, which had arisen from a budget monitoring discussion at the Economy & Environment Overview and Scrutiny Panel on 21 November 2019 about a cost pressure relating to street lighting.

Prior to forming the Task Group, it was apparent that little was known by Members about West Mercia Energy (WME), the Joint Committee and Worcestershire County Council’s part in it. It had been a very interesting and informative journey for the Task Group dealing with the history of West Mercia Energy, the make-up of the Joint Committee and understanding the Business Plan and goals of the organisation.

Although, it wasn’t possible accurately to compare market positions to establish whether these arrangements provided the lowest price for the Council, Members were reassured by the Cabinet Member with Responsibility that she was confident that the energy purchasing arrangements through WME were fit for purpose, offered value for money and were legally compliant.

Despite this reassurance, some concerns remained, including the lack of knowledge and understanding of the Council’s energy purchasing arrangements outside of those directly involved in the WME Joint Committee; the lack of Scrutiny, the reliance on key individuals and the lack of succession planning and long-term vision.  The Group’s recommendations tried to address this as well as fostering better communications and relationships.

The Task Group hoped that their recommendations would help to ensure that the Council’s position was safeguarded and that risks were known, understood and kept at an acceptable level.

Cllr Kent concluded with thanks to all of the witnesses that had given evidence for their open and contrasting views.

The Board approved the report which would be discussed by Cabinet on 4 February 2021 and agreed that an update on the recommendations that affected Scrutiny would be discussed at the March meeting of the Board.

The Board approved the Scrutiny proposal for Developer-funded Highways Infrastructure and Section 278 Technical Approval.  It was agreed that it wold be added to the Work Programme as a legacy for post-election Scrutiny.

Meanwhile, it was noted that the Economy and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Panel had requested an update for its February meeting on the Council’s work on developer funded highways infrastructure, in particular the length of time taken for planning submissions from developers to meet the criteria for approval.

Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Cllr Tom Wells)

At its meeting in November,the Panel received an update on the assessment and diagnostic pathway for children and young people who it was considered were, or may be, on the autistic spectrum (the umbrella pathway).  Although the Panel acknowledged the significant progress made, they were still very concerned about the length of waiting times from referral to diagnosis, and the impact on families.

Home to School Transport was forecast to budget. Additional costs and lost

income was estimated at £3.5 million for 2020/21. The current forecast

assumed that increased pressures on Home to School Transport expenditure

would be met by the COVID-19 grant received by Government. This position was reviewed regularly.

Economy and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Cllr Alastair Adams)

On 10 December 2020, Panel members attended an informal Briefing which provided further insight on the Ringway reporting system.

Corporate and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Cllr Adam Kent)

At the next meeting, the Panel would be discussing the Budget and Apprenticeships.

Crime and Disorder (Cllr Becky Vale)

It was agreed that a report would be prepared for the March meeting on enhanced arrangements for crime and disorder scrutiny.

Work Programme

No changes were made.

Forward Plan

The Chairman of the Economy and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Panel was asked to review the Cabinet Forward Plan entry - Adoption of the Worcestershire County Council Ultra Low Emission Vehicle Policy and Ways of Working with a view to adding it to the Work Programme if any Scrutiny was needed.