Agenda and minutes

An apology was received from Councillor Moffat who was represented by Councillor Robinson. 

Councillor Northcott declared an interest as a nominated County Council member with no voting rights.

To consider the minutes of the previous meetings of the Committee held on 9 September and 14 October 2019.

Resolved:     That the minutes of the previous meetings held on 9 September and 14 October 2019 be agreed as a correct record of the proceedings.

To follow

The Leader of the Council circulated an update from the Cabinet on action taken on items raised by Committee members at the last meeting on 9 September and all members would receive an invitation to attend the local Dementia Champion training with the aim that a Member Champion would be recruited.

To receive feedback from members of this committee who attended the meeting of the Healthy Staffordshire Select Committee on 9 October 2019

Agreed:         That the minutes of the Health Staffordshire Select Committee held on 9 October and the digest of 28 October 2019 be noted.

Agreed:         That the Report of the Chairman of the Police, Fire and Crime Panel be noted.    

The Chief Executive submitted a report and made a presentation which updated members on the recent statutory guidance issued by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to help councils carry out their overview and scrutiny functions effectively.  This was supported by the launch of the recent Good Scrutiny Guide by the CfPS.  Both papers were intended to ensure councils are aware of the purpose of overview and scrutiny, recognise effective scrutiny and understand how to conduct it together with the benefits it can offer.  A link to the presentation is attached :-

Z:\OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY\Health and Wellbeing and Partnership Scrutiny Committee\02122019\Statutory guidance on Overview and Scrutiny Nov 2019 (002).pptx

Agreed:         1.         That the requirements within the Statutory Guidance and the recommendations within the CfPS Good Scrutiny Guide be noted

                        2.         That current practice be benchmarked against the Statutory Guidance and that the commissioning of external support be explored.

                        3.         That an Action Plan be developed based on the recommendations within the Statutory Guidance and the Good Scrutiny Guide.

                        4.         That an “Executive-Scrutiny Protocol” be developed in accordance with the guidelines at Appendix A.

                        5.         That training for Scrutiny Members be commissioned to build on their current skills in undertaking effective scrutiny reviews.

Report to follow

In line with a request from the Committee to scrutinise the incidence of domestic violence and the impact of local initiatives (19/6/2019) the Partnerships Vulnerability Officer at the Borough Council, the Commissioning and Partnership Manager at the Staffordshire Commissioners Office and CI Claire Langley, NPT Commander, Newcastle Staffordshire Police submitted a joint report which updated members on arrangements for the co-ordination and delivery of domestic abuse services in the Borough as part of the Staffordshire conurbation.

 The report included information for members on governance arrangements, local demand, available services, processes in place to access specialist services and complementary initiatives.

New Era was commissioned to support all those affected by domestic abuse and provided consistent provision across the County and City areas by way of a contract value of £1,930.000 pa. As a result of increased demand extra funding had gone into the service and waiting times had decreased significantly.

A member expressed concern that little data evidence had been presented for members to scrutinise. The Commissioning and Partnership Manager agreed to share the quality impact statement with the member concerned.  The new service had been in place for 12 months and this would be provide for data collection. Continuing, reassurance was sought that the service was adequate to meet need.  In this respect it was suggested that data be given for 2018 and this be scrutinised alongside the new contract in 12 months’ time.

In response to a question concerning the triggers for referral under DIAL ,which is a risk assessment used by the police the NPT Commander explained that scores over 14 were all referred to the MARAC for further tasking to de-escalate risk.

The Chair thanked the Commissioner for his diligence in ensuring that funding was directed to the service. It was highlighted that the current service had only been in operation for 12 months and that it would be difficult to compare to the previous way of working which had been disparate across the County.  The new service, which could be then supported by other initiatives subject to available funding through local partnerships.

Agreed:         That a further report be submitted to this Committee in 14 months’ time, with a request that the report contain appropriate data to allow detailed scrutiny and comparison year on year.

The Senior Partnerships officer submitted a report which was presented by the Partnerships Manager to update members on the coordination and delivery of the Newcastle under Lyme SPACE programme 2019 - a programme of activities that operates during the school summer holidays across Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent with funding from Staffordshire Commissioners Office and involvement from JOG partners.

The funding of £21,891.84 was split into:-

The Core Universal Offer

Jubilee2 Gym Passes (£9,444.97)

Bee Active (£3,936.87)

Staffordshire Clubs for Young People (£2,640)

Streetgames (£3,920)

Time4Sport (£1,950)

The Targeted Offer

A further 100 8 -17 year old young people identified/referred by professionals in need of positive intervention to divert them away from engaging in anti-social behaviour were given free Jubilee2 gym passes.

The total attendances are set out below with all available memberships used as part of the universal offer (400):

Gym sessions           2970

Swimming                 2419

Climbing                      169

Attendance in relation to the targeting membership were more sporadic with only 20% attending the full programme.  The more vulnerable geographic/demographic areas were targeted by the provision of activities.

Details and numbers attending the activities offered by the other providers were also included in the report.

The report went on evaluate and offer positive learning including the advantages of early advertisement and publicity of the SPACE scheme and also the extension to the geographical area for acceptance of referrals which had led to greater uptake and positive benefits together with co-ordination of SPACE activities which had ensured the best use of the knowledge and skills of partners across the sectors.

In terms of the future it was recommended that, subject to funding, a different membership offer for 8 -10 year olds be offered. In terms of funding for future years this was not guaranteed and the leisure section was looking to develop a more sustainable offer with partners which would be taken forward at the Joint Operations Group.

The Partnerships Manager thanked the Leisure team of the Borough Council for producing the programme. 

Agreed:         That the report be noted.

The Chief Executive reported on the decision of Council to refer for further consideration by this committee a report of the initiatives undertaken by the Councils and its partners to help eliminate instances of anti-social behaviour in Clough Hall Park (20/11/2019).

Police colleagues present at the meeting explained that the actions taken had resulted in the disturbances prevalent over the summer holidays being disrupted and 2 people had been reprimanded to prison. 

Elected representatives from the Kidsgrove area discussed with the police the level of perceived unsocial behaviour in the park and the reaction of the police. The police representative offered to door knock, accompanied by a ward councillor in the residential areas considered to be the most affected.  A member acknowledged that the police response was much improved but suggested that an update communication from the police would have reassured residents.

The Head of Leisure and Cultural Services reported on the positive activities introduced into the park, such as the Park Run.  Discussions were also underway concerning the relocation of the rugby club into the park which would also help to displace anti-social behaviour. 

Councillor Northcott and Holland supported the actions taken by the police and pointed out that there were pockets of crime all over the Borough and highlighted the importance of directing the residents to report crime when they see it.

Agreed:         That this issue be kept under review and a report, to include an online survey of residents, be submitted to a future meeting of the Committee, 

The Executive Director Operational Services reported on the current operational issues at Jubille2 and their impact on the centres performance.  The report also set out the marketing and other initiatives which aimed to drive improvements to the service.

Membership had declined at 3,000.  The report identified the latent building defects which had caused an adverse effect on the operation and customer experience, specifically the leaks from the aqua sauna and the quality of finish of the roof causing ongoing leaks.

It was anticipated that the appointment of Alliance Leisure would assist with a marketing plan and aimed to grow the business by an additional 250 members.  The installation of new gym equipment would be completed by April/May 2020 with the new aqua sauna open in April 2020.

Work to reduce long term sickness, supported by HR colleagues had seen positive results.

A business case was being developed with a view to reducing the high cost of energy by way of reclaiming surplus heat.  The introduction of on-site chlorine generation from salt was anticipated to achieve a £6,000 per year saving.

The Portfolio Holder for Leisure, Culture and Heritage pointed out that the centre was currently running at an operational subsidy, the level of which was not sustainable.

Members of the Scrutiny Committee were keen to ensure that the uniqueness of the offer at the facility was maintained, for all members of the community. 

Agreed:         That a further report be submitted to this Committee to monitor the outcomes from the initiatives outlined in the report.

The March meeting of the Committee would consider an investigation of ways to encourage greater use of the parks and green spaces to encourage physical and mental wellbeing.

Any member of the public wishing to submit a question must serve two clear days’ notice, in writing, of any such question to the Borough Council.

There were no members of the public present at the meeting.

There were no items of urgent business.