Agenda and minutes

County Councillor George Wilkins was replaced by County Councillor Graham Gooch for this meeting.

None were received.

Members are asked to consider any Pecuniary and Non-Pecuniary Interests they may have to disclose to the meeting in relation to matters under consideration on the Agenda.

None were disclosed.

The Minutes of the Meeting Held on 17 July, 2015, were agreed to be an accurate record.

A presentation will be delivered by a LEP Director who will update the Committee on the progress of LEP across the breadth of its work.

The Chair introduced Graham Cowley (Board Director, LEP) and Martin Kelly (Director of Economic Development) to the meeting, who provided an update to the Committee around the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

It was explained to the Committee that governance was important as the County Council was the accountable body of the LEP, and therefore had a responsibility for the investment involved. Reference was made to the Assurance Framework document, which had been created to ensure transparency and accountability of the LEP, and ensured that the County Council did not suffer any reputational damage.

It was noted that the LEP had a number of individual boards which performed specific activities around projects, and it was explained that each board sought to ensure that all investment was maximised and delivered outcomes, such as social and economic outcomes for the communities of Lancashire.

It was explained that the LEP had a Performance Committee which ensured that decisions made had accountability and challenged the ways in which the LEP was working, and ensured that work undertaken was adhering to governance mechanisms. It was explained to the Committee that the LEP's Performance Committee's role was to challenge internally, and was described as an audit function of the County Council focussed upon risk and financial issues. Members were informed that Lancashire Leaders were asked to identify a Leader to in sit on the Performance Committee. It was explained that the Leader of Preston City Council, Cllr Peter Rankin, had agreed to perform this duty.

It was explained that the boards' immediately below the Board of Directors were regarded as operational boards which were tasked with driving the investment it had been supplied with.

Members queried the involvement of the Homes and Community Agency (HCA) and asked whether the HCA reported to the LEP. It was explained that any lines of funding secured via the HCA by the LEP meant that the LEP was required to report to the HCA in these instances. It was explained that the HCA was the policy driver around the City Deal initiative and was therefore involved with the monitoring of progress targets, and ensured that the value of the funding remained within Preston. It was summarised that the LEP had control over assets, however the governance structure ensured that the HCA led the governance of the City Deal initiative in particular.

Members expressed the desire for the HCA to attend a future Scrutiny Committee meeting and Democratic Services officers agreed to make the necessary arrangements.

The Committee was delivered a LEP Initiatives Update and it was noted that the LEP was commended in July for the progress that had been made and that there was enthusiasm around another Enterprise Zone being created.

The Committee was informed of the Growing Places Investment Fund, which was highlighted to be a major investment fund of around £20m. It was explained that this had been fully loaned out and that the next phase of new loans had commenced following the acquisition of private sector investment  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

The Chair introduced Tony Pounder (Director of Adult Services), Tony Martin (Cabinet Member for Adult and Community Services) and Nicola Clear, (Head of Service for Disability) to the meeting, who delivered a report on Learning Disabilities to the Committee.

It was explained that the County Council had a statutory responsibility to assess and support people with learning disabilities. It was emphasised that over the years the County Council had improved and transformed services that supported Lancashire's communities. It was highlighted that there were a range of services on offer, some of which were voluntary and some of which were major statutory agencies. It was explained that there was an increasing focus upon statutory support around people with complex and profound learning disabilities and that there were around 3,000 adults in Lancashire with the aforesaid characteristics.

It was conveyed that the County Council offered a range of services designed to support families who supported their relatives with disabilities, services that supported people into independence, helped with accommodation options, and in some instances, nursing home services and day services. The Shared Lives initiative was also noted and was emphasised to be an example of the County Council's new ways of thinking.

It was explained to the Committee that, in budgetary terms, Learning Disability expenditure was a major challenge for the County Council, with it being highlighted to be incurring costs of over £109m per annum within the County Council's budget. However, the Committee was informed that the County Council was currently forecasted to spend over £125m in this financial year, and therefore there was a significant projected overspend. It was explained to the Committee that within Appendix 'B' information was present that outlined savings proposals, however it was noted that some of the savings identified had not been deliverable which had contributed to the forecasted overspend.

The Committee was informed that the County Council was investigating ways to safely and effectively reduce the level of personal budgets delivered to service users without impacting upon the quality of their care. Members queried whether work currently being undertaken by independent consultants would help towards the safe reduction of personal budgets. It was explained to Members that this was a separate piece of work which was being carried out by the County Council itself, along with aid from FACE (Function Analysis of Care Environments) resource allocation system, which supported local authorities around the allocation of systems. It was conveyed that the results of this work would be reported to Cabinet and Full Council.

Reference was made to work being undertaken around the reprocurement of services that the County Council used in the independent sector. It was conveyed that there had been substantial pricing issues uncovered during the reprocurement exercise.

Members were informed that analytical work, which had been undertaken earlier in 2015, had provided the scope for increased productivity across Adult Social Care. It was explained that this work had been undertaken by Newton's Europe, a consultancy that had worked with many local authorities towards  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Resolved; That the work plan and task group update be noted

An item of urgent business may only be considered under this heading where, by reason of special circumstances to be recorded in the Minutes, the Chair of the meeting is of the opinion that the item should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency. Wherever possible, the Chief Executive should be given advance warning of any Member's intention to raise a matter under this heading.

There was no urgent business.

The next meeting of the Scrutiny Committee will be held on 16 October, 2015 at 10:00am at the County Hall, Preston.

The next meeting of the Scrutiny Committee will be held on Friday, 16 October, 2015, at 10:00am at the County Hall, Preston in Cabinet Room 'B'.