Agenda and minutes

County Councillor Mike Otter replaced County Councillor Peter Steen for this meeting only.

County Councillor Terry Aldridge replaced County Councillor Janice Hanson for this meeting only.

County Councillor Renee Blow replaced County Councillor Peter Malpas for this meeting only.

County Councillor Allan Knox replaced County Councillor Bill Winlow for this meeting only.

Apologies for absence were received from County Councillor Liz Oades.

Resolved: That;

  i.  The appointment of County Councillor J Shedwick and County Councillor K Ellard as Chair and Deputy Chair of the Committee for the remainder of the 2011/12 municipal year be noted;

  ii.  The membership of the Committee following the County Council’s annual meeting be noted; and

  iii.  The revised Terms of Reference of the Committee be noted.

Members are asked to consider any Personal/Prejudicial Interests they may have to disclose to the meeting in relation to matters under consideration on the Agenda.

County Councillor F Craig-Wilson declared a personal interest in item 5 - Flood Risk Management in Lancashire as she was a member of Fylde Borough Council and in item 6 - Arts Council England Funding as she was the Champion for Heritage, Arts and Culture at Fylde Borough Council.

County Councillor J Shedwick declared a personal interest in item 6 - Arts Council England Funding as he was a member of the Dukes Playhouse Board of Directors, and member of the Sounding Board of the Lancashire Sinfonietta.

County Councillor K Ellard declared a personal interest in item 6 - Arts Council England Funding as he was a member of the Sounding Board of the Lancashire Sinfonietta.

County Councillor D Westley declared a personal interest in item 6 - Arts Council England Funding as he was the Cabinet Member for Finance and Performance Management at West Lancashire Borough Council.

Resolved:  That, the minutes of the meeting held on 13 May and the special meeting held on 23 May 2011 be confirmed and signed by the chair.

The Chair welcomed Jo Turton, Executive Director for the Environment, Mike Kirby, Director Transport and Strategic Highways, Rick Hayton, Assistant Director Strategic Highways and Procurement, and Andy Cameron, Principal Engineer on secondment from the Environment Agency (EA), to the meeting.

It was reported that two pieces of legislation had been introduced which brought new flood risk management responsibilities for local authorities and other organisations, these being; the Flood Risk Regulations 2009, and the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.

The Committee was informed that the Regulations had confirmed the lead local flood authority (LLFA) role for the county council and unitary authorities. The Regulations had also imposed a duty on such authorities to prepare preliminary flood risk assessments (PFRA) in which "significant" flood risk areas should be identified. To assist with the process, the EA had produced a national map identifying areas meeting the criteria set by Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) for "significant" risk. It was reported that there were no significant flood risk areas in Lancashire and as a result the further duty on local flood authorities to prepare flood hazard and risk maps, and flood management plans would not apply. The Committee was informed that this cycle of activity would repeat every six years.

The Committee was informed that the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 had imposed the most significant roles and responsibilities on local authorities and other organisations. These included:

·  A "strategic overview" role for the EA to assist upper tier and unitary authorities in taking on new duties and the creation of the national flood risk strategy;

·  Upper tier and unitary authorities (Lancashire County Council, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council and Blackpool Council) were now designated as "lead local flood authorities". In addition to the PFRA requirement, there was now a duty on the county council to prepare a local flood risk management strategy; and

·  A number of "Risk Management Authorities" which would include; the EA, LLFA, district councils, highway authorities and water companies (United Utilities - UU) to exercise their flood risk management functions in accordance with the flood risk management strategy yet to be developed for Lancashire.

It was reported that the county council, district and unitary councils in the wider Lancashire sub-region were working in partnership with the EA and UU on developing responses to the new duties as LLFAs. Officers outlined some of the key duties required by LLFAs which included:

·  A duty to; develop, maintain, apply, monitor and consult on a local flood risk management strategy from October 2010.

·  The power to request information from third parties in connection with flood risk management duties. Third parties would a duty to co-operate with the LLFA and the EA.

·  A duty to ensure that flooding incidents are investigated by appropriate organisations and to identify and publish intended actions.

·  A duty to develop and maintain a register of structures or features that could impact on flood risk. It was explained that to develop such a register would be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The Chair welcomed Ian Watson, Head of Cultural Services, David Blackett, Cultural Services Development Manager, Paul Kelly, Arts and Regeneration Officer, Alex Walker, Head of Arts and Heritage from Preston City Council, Joe Sumsion, Director of the Duke's Theatre in Lancaster, and Mandy Precious, Director of Burnley Youth Theatre to the meeting.

It was reported that Arts Council England (ACE) had issued information about funding for 2012-2015 for its National Portfolio of Organisations (NPO). The Committee was informed that the Arts Council had undergone a strategic re-modelling of its funding arrangements which had had far-reaching effects on arts organisations within Lancashire in comparison to the North-West. It was hoped that the presentations by the organisations invited to the Committee would reflect the impact of the Arts Council's decision to re-model its funding arrangements and how the county council might take the matter forward.

Paul Kelly delivered a presentation on ACE and the arts infrastructure of Lancashire.  It was explained that ACE had devised a ten year strategy called, "Achieving Great Art for Everyone". However, it was reported that there had been a 29.6% reduction in monies available for funding over the next four years. Along with the new strategy, ACE had also established a new 'National Portfolio Organisation' funding process whereby bids for funding were open to all. It was reported that 1300 applications had been received nationally with only 695 being approved. The impact all these changes had on Lancashire meant that the current regular funded organisations had taken a 6.9% reduction in funding for 2011/12. From 2012/13 Six organisations would see their funding reduced entirely, whilst the majority of those who were to receive funding would be on a reduced basis from previous year's allocations. It was also reported that for 2012/13, Lancashire would see a 45.1% reduction in funding secured.

Comparisons of data were made against neighbouring authorities' investments in the north west region. It was stated that whilst Lancashire had 20% of the total population within the region, it was calculated that investment from ACE for national portfolio organisations accounted for only 4% of that invested in the region.

Some positive aspects on funding for the arts were reported which included; a forecast that Arts Lottery income would rise over the next four years, a transition fund of £47K from ACE had been placed with the county council, the Preston Guild event had secured a £300K award and the organisation 'Curious Minds' based in Lancashire had been identified as a 'Bridge Organisation' bringing an additional £4.16m to the region over the next three years. A list of questions was presented to the Committee for consideration on the future of the arts in Lancashire. These were:

·  Where do we want to be in 4 years time?

·  Should we have an arts infrastructure vision for the county with a strategic plan to support this?

·  What do we want the arts infrastructure to look like?

·  Home grown talent, external bodies coming in?

·  How should we manage transition  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Chair welcomed Josh Mynott, Committee Support Team Leader, to the meeting.

At its meeting on 13 May 2011, the Committee recalled that whilst it had accepted the requirement to establish appropriate joint working arrangements a further report regarding the balance of representation from the three Councils on the Standing Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee was requested. The Committee had felt that the relative sizes of the three authorities should be more accurately reflected in the overall composition of the Joint Committee.

A new balance of representation for the three Councils was therefore proposed as follows:

·  Lancashire – 9 representatives;

·  Blackburn with Darwen – 3 representatives; and

·  Blackpool – 3 representatives.

The Committee was informed that whilst the new proposal did not accurately reflect the relative sizes of the three authorities, the requirement was balanced against the need to keep the overall size of the Joint Committee within reasonable parameters and to ensure that the two unitary authorities would maintain a reasonable level of representation. The terms of reference for the Joint Committee had been revised and presented at appendix 'A' to the report.

The Committee was also informed that the new proposal had been indicated to the two unitary authorities. It was reported that since the agenda was published a joint letter from the two unitary authorities had been received by the county council. The letter explained that the two unitary authorities preferred the original proposal as suggested by the Lancashire Leaders Group.

However, it was reported that officers were aware of imminent changes in the health service which would affect all three areas. The Committee was advised that if the Lancashire Care Trust was to consult in the near future the county council would need to have established a Joint Committee in order for it to be consulted.

Resolved: That,

  i.  The establishment of the Joint Lancashire Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee be approved.

  ii.  The balance of representation from the three councils be as follows:

·  Lancashire – 9 representatives;

·  Blackburn with Darwen – 3 representatives; and

·  Blackpool – 3 representatives.

The Committee received an update on current task groups and their proposed completion dates.

Resolved: That, the update on existing task groups be noted.

The committee had been given the opportunity to view and consider recent relevant decisions made and also forthcoming decisions including those set out in the current Forward Plan.

Resolved: That, the report be noted.

The workplan for the committee was presented for noting and comments. The Chair gave an outline of the work to be carried out by the Committee over the coming months.

Resolved: That, the report be noted.

The next meeting of the Scrutiny Committee has been designated as a training session for Members and will be held on Friday 8 July 2011 at 10am at the County Hall, Preston.

The next ordinary meeting of the Committee will, therefore, be held on 9 September 2011 at 10am at the County Hall, Preston.

It was noted that the next meeting of the Committee on Friday 8 July 2011 had been designated as a training session for Members. The next ordinary meeting of the Committee would therefore be held on 9 September 2011at 10am at County Hall, Preston.