Decisions

The Cabinet approved the recommendation(s) as set out in the report.

 

This report presents proposals relating to fees and charges in the Libraries, Museums, Culture and Registrars Service following an annual review of charges to ensure that they support service efficiency and effectiveness, recover costs where this is appropriate and achievable, and as far as possible ensure consistency across the service.

 

This is deemed to be a Key Decision and the provisions of Standing Order C19 have been complied with.

 

The Cabinet approved the recommendation(s) as set out in the report.

 

In accordance with the Government's school funding Regulations and Guidance, the Authority is required to submit a final Schools Block budget proforma for 2019/20 to the Education and Skills Funding Agency by 21 January 2019. This report seeks the approval of the Cabinet to submit the Schools Block budget proforma and requests approval for the Early Years, High Needs and Central Schools Services Block budgets for 2019/20.

 

This is deemed to be a Key Decision and the provisions of Standing Order C19 have been complied with.

 

The Cabinet approved the recommendation(s) as set out in the report.

 

In line with the county council's procurement rules this report sets out a recommendation to approve the commencement of the following procurement exercises:

 

(i)  Provision of library stock and other library materials

(ii)  Provision of fresh produce, water and additional food groups

(iii)  Insurance programme for Lancashire Renewables Limited

 

This is deemed to be a Key Decision and the provisions of Standing Order C19 have been complied with.

 

The Cabinet approved the recommendation(s) as set out in the report.

 

Following the introduction of the Care Act 2014, the county council has undertaken to review all adult social care policies, practice and guidance to ensure compliance. A new policy is now presented for approval:

 

• Occupational Therapy, including Adaptations and Equipment

 

This is deemed to be a Key Decision and the provisions of Standing Order C19 have been complied with.

 

The Cabinet approved the recommendation(s) as set out in the report.

 

A report on the Future Provision of ICT Services.

The Cabinet approved the recommendation(s) as set out in the report.

 

It was noted that the next meeting of the Committee would be held at 10.00am on Monday 14^th January 2019 Room 2, Exchange, 4^th Floor at County Hall, Preston

 

1.  It was moved by County Councillor John Fillis and seconded by County Councillor Julie Gibson that:

 

Suspend Fracking in Lancashire

 

Following the earthquakes being identified around the Fracking site on Preston New Road, we call upon the Chief Executive and Director of Resources to write to the Prime Minister on behalf of Lancashire County Council requesting that:

 

(i)  Fracking on the Preston New Road site is suspended by order of the government.

(ii)  An independent inquiry investigates the earthquakes being recorded within the local area.

(iii)  Fracking is suspended in Lancashire until the independent inquiry publishes its findings.

 

The following amendment was proposed by County Councillor Michael Green and seconded by County Councillor Aidy Riggott:

 

Following the micro seismic events that have been detected around the Fracking site on Preston New Road, council expresses its appreciation for the highly detailed and professional monitoring of the exploration at Preston New Road by our officers and a number of specialist bodies that have made it the most closely supervised in Europe.

 

Council therefore requests the Chief Executive and  Director of Resources to write to the Secretary of State requesting that the drilling company and the monitoring agencies continue all efforts to ensure the safety of everyone and to close down operations immediately should any part of the operation become unsafe.

 

In accordance with the requirements of procedural Standing Order B45(4), a recorded vote was taken. The names of the County Councillors who voted for or against the amendment and those who abstained are set out below:

 

For (40)

 

T Ashton	A Clempson	M Green	J Rear	P Steen
A Atkinson	J Cooney	K Iddon	P Rigby	C Towneley
I Brown	G Driver	J Marsh	A Riggott	S Turner
P Buckley	J Eaton	S Morris	M Salter	A Vincent
J Burrows	C Edwards	E Nash	J Shedwick	C Wakeford
S Charles	D Foxcroft	D O'Toole	D Smith	G Wilkins
A Cheetham	A Gardiner	M Perks	A Snowden	P Williamson
S Clarke	G Gooch	E Pope	D Stansfield	B Yates

 

Against (34)

 

T Aldridge	B Dawson	N Hennessy	T Martin	M Pattison
A Ali	F De Molfetta	S Holgate	J Mein	J Potter
L Beavers	G Dowding	A Hosker	J Molineux	K Snape
J Berry	K Ellard	D Howarth	Y Motala	J Sumner
L Collinge	J Fillis	M Iqbal	L Oades	M Tomlinson
L Cox	J Gibson	H Khan	G Oliver	D Whipp
C Crompton	P Hayhurst	E Lewis	M Parkinson

 

The amendment was therefore CARRIED and became the substantive motion.

 

In accordance with the requirements of procedural Standing Order B45(4), a recorded vote was taken. The names of the County Councillors who voted for or against the motion and those who abstained are set out below:

 

For (38)

 

T Ashton	S Clarke	K Iddon	P Rigby	C Towneley
A Atkinson	A Clempson	J Marsh	A Riggott	S Turner
P Britcliffe	J Cooney	S Morris	M Salter	A Vincent
I Brown	G Driver	E Nash	J Shedwick	C Wakeford
P Buckley	C Edwards	D O'Toole	D Smith	G Wilkins
J Burrows	A Gardiner	M Perks	A Snowden	P Williamson
S Charles	G Gooch	E Pope	D Stansfield
A Cheetham	M Green	J Rear	P Steen

 

Against (31)

 

T Aldridge	F De Molfetta	S Holgate	J Mein	K Snape
A Ali	G Dowding	A Hosker	J Molineux	M Tomlinson
L Beavers	K Ellard	D Howarth	Y Motala	D Whipp
J Berry	J Fillis	M Iqbal	L Oades
L Collinge	J Gibson	H Khan	G Oliver
L Cox	P Hayhurst	E Lewis	M Parkinson
B Dawson	N Hennessy	T Martin	J Potter

 

Abstain (5)

 

C Crompton	D Foxcroft	B Yates
J Eaton	M Pattison

 

The motion was CARRIED and it was therefore:

 

Resolved: - That:

 

Following the micro seismic events that have been detected around the Fracking site on Preston New Road, council expresses its appreciation for the highly detailed and professional monitoring of the exploration at Preston New Road by our officers and a number of specialist bodies that have made it the most closely supervised in Europe.

 

Council therefore requests the Chief Executive and  Director of Resources to write to the Secretary of State requesting that the drilling company and the monitoring agencies continue all efforts to ensure the safety of everyone and to close down operations immediately should any part of the operation become unsafe.

 

In accordance with the requirements of procedural Standing Order B45(4), a recorded vote was taken. The names of the County Councillors who voted for or against the amendment and those who abstained are set out below:

 

2.  It was moved by County Councillor Ed Nash and seconded by County Councillor Tim Ashton that:

 

Lancashire County Council believes in the absolute right of all citizens to peaceful and lawful protest.

 

However, recent unlawful protest actions carried out at Preston New Road in Fylde that have resulted in obstruction to the highway and significant disruption to traffic and the lawful business of residents give cause for concern.

 

In particular disquiet has been voiced that Lancashire Police are slow to remove obstructions to ensure the free flow of traffic and to remove those acting unlawfully.

 

In addition, Council notes that the Police action has so far cost over £3million and that this impacts negatively on the Police budget and thereby frontline policing in Lancashire.

 

This Council therefore:

 

(i)  Calls on the Chief Constable of Lancashire to ensure that adequate provision is made and necessary measures taken to minimise disruption.

(ii)  Requests that the Chief Executive writes to the Home Secretary to express this concern and requests that police action at this, and other similar protests, are funded by Central Government.

 

The following amendment was proposed by County Councillor Gina Dowding which was accepted as a friendly amendment by Councillor Ed Nash in accordance with Standing Order B42:

 

Lancashire County Council believes in the absolute right of all citizens to peaceful and lawful protest.

 

However, recent unlawful protest actions carried out at Preston New Road in Fylde that have resulted in obstruction to the highway and significant disruption to traffic and the lawful business of residents give cause for concern.

 

In particular disquiet has been voiced that Lancashire Police are slow to remove obstructions to ensure that free flow of traffic and to remove those acting unlawfully.

In addition, Council notes that the Police action has so far cost over £7million and that this impacts negatively on the Police budget and thereby frontline policing in Lancashire.

 

This Council therefore:

 

  (i)  Calls on the Chief Constable of Lancashire to ensure that adequate provision is made and necessary measures taken to minimise disruption.

  (ii)  Calls on the Chief Constable to ensure all police officers attending any protests are adequately and properly trained to give utmost priority to the health and safety of the public, protestors, and police officers themselves at all times.

 (iii)  Requests that the Chief Executive writes to the Home Secretary to express this concern and requests that police action at this, and other similar protests, are funded by Central Government. 

 

The following amendment was proposed by County Councillor Azhar Ali and seconded by County Councillor John Fillis:

 

Lancashire County Council believes in the absolute right of all citizens to peaceful and lawful protest.

 

However, recent unlawful protest actions carried out at Preston New Road in Fylde that have resulted in obstruction to the highway and significant disruption to traffic and the lawful business of residents give cause for concern.

 

In addition, Council notes that the Police action has so far cost over £7million and that this impacts negatively on the Police budget and thereby frontline policing in Lancashire.

 

This Council therefore:

 

  (i)  Calls on the Chief Constable of Lancashire to ensure that adequate provision is made and necessary measures taken to minimise disruption.

  (ii)  Requests that the Chief Executive writes to the Home Secretary Sajid Javid MP and the Prime Minister Theresa May MP to ask for a fairer funding deal for Lancashire Police in light of the government cuts which have led to over 800 police officers being lost off the streets of Lancashire and for the full costs of Policing ‘fracking’ sites to be covered by central government. 

 

Following a period of debate, County Councillor Azhar Ali withdrew his amendment.

 

The substantive motion, as amended by County Councillor Gina Dowding's friendly amendment, was then put to the vote and was CARRIED. It was therefore:

 

Resolved: - That:

 

Lancashire County Council believes in the absolute right of all citizens to peaceful and lawful protest.

 

However, recent unlawful protest actions carried out at Preston New Road in Fylde that have resulted in obstruction to the highway and significant disruption to traffic and the lawful business of residents give cause for concern.

 

In particular disquiet has been voiced that Lancashire Police are slow to remove obstructions to ensure that free flow of traffic and to remove those acting unlawfully.

 

In addition, Council notes that the Police action has so far cost over £7million and that this impacts negatively on the Police budget and thereby frontline policing in Lancashire.

 

This Council therefore:

 

  (i)  Calls on the Chief Constable of Lancashire to ensure that adequate provision is made and necessary measures taken to minimise disruption.

  (ii)  Calls on the Chief Constable to ensure all police officers attending any protests are adequately and properly trained to give utmost priority to the health and safety of the public, protestors, and police officers themselves at all times.

 (iii)  Requests that the Chief Executive writes to the Home Secretary to express this concern and requests that police action at this, and other similar protests, are funded by Central Government. 

 

3.  It was moved by County Councillor Gina Dowding and seconded by County Councillor John Potter that:

 

In light of the wide-ranging opinions expressed about the Brexit deal achieved by the Prime Minister, and the far-reaching and long-term effects on the residents, communities, businesses and public sector organisations within Lancashire, Council resolves:

• To undertake and publish as quickly as possible a Brexit Impact Assessment of the current deal on the economy, environment, and health of individuals and communities in Lancashire.
• To write to Lancashire's MPs and the Brexit Secretary asking them to support proposals to give the people of Lancashire a final say on whether to accept or reject the deal.

The following amendment was proposed by County Councillor Julie Gibson and seconded by County Councillor John Fillis:

 

In light of the wide-ranging opinions expressed about the Brexit deal achieved by the Prime Minister, and the far-reaching and long-term effects on the residents, communities, businesses and public sector organisations within Lancashire, Council resolves:

 

•  To establish a cross-party Cabinet Working Group, chaired by the Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Environment and Planning. This group will facilitate the development of a support strategy for Lancashire Businesses in their efforts to export and import to the EU, and internationally, in preparation for life after Brexit.

 

On being put to the vote, the amendment was LOST.

 

The substantive motion was then put to the vote and was LOST.

There was no urgent business to be considered.

Resolved: - That the minutes of the meeting of Full Council held on 18 October 2018 be confirmed and signed by the Chairman.

A report was presented by Paul Bond, Head of Legal and Democratic Services, providing an updated Quarter 2 Corporate Risk and Opportunity Register for the Cabinet Committee to consider and comment upon.

 

The Cabinet Committee noted that the Register would be presented to the next Audit, Risk and Governance Committee on 29 October 2018.

 

Highlights included:

 

CR1.1 – shortlisting had taken place and interviews for the permanent Chief Executive position would be held week beginning 8 October and interviews for the Executive Director – Education and Children's Services would take place week beginning 15 October.

 

CR1.2 – Service Challenge reviews were progressing in line with the agreed timetable and were due to be completed later in October.  These would be referred to Corporate Management Team, then Cabinet in December.

 

CR7 – The Audit, Risk and Governance Committee would be receiving a report on delivering major projects/schemes on time and within budget at their next meeting on 29 October 2018.  The assessment process issues were being addressed by Management Team.

 

CR8 – The Lancashire Parent/Carer Forum had now been established.

 

CR9 – A lot of progress had been made on the discharge of patients in a safe and timely manner from hospital into either their own home or enablement/short term care. County Councillor Gooch reported that delayed transfer of care from hospital figures had reduced by 40% when compared to the previous year. It was hoped that this risk would be able to come off the Register for the next quarter.

 

CR12 – This was a new entry on the Register 'Unlawful disclosure of personal or commercial data caused by a deliberate or accidental or technical breach, resulting in a risk to the rights and freedoms of the data subject or the intellectual property of the county council'.  Reported incidents could be categorised as follows:

 

  Theft/loss (mobiles/laptops)

  Human error (information sent to the wrong address)

Misconduct (accessing information an employee is not entitled to access)

 

It was reported that there were very few misconduct incidents although there had been an increase in reportable incidents as a whole across the country.  Various controls had been put in place to comply with the new General Data Protection Regulations including a mandatory E-learning course for staff. Work was also being done to promote awareness and BTLS were looking at introducing a more secure software system.  The Cabinet Committee noted that numbers of reports to the Information Commissioners Office fluctuated but were very low (single figures).

 

Resolved:  That the Cabinet Committee on Performance Improvement note the updated Corporate Risk and Opportunity Register.

 

 

 

A report was presented by Donna Talbot, Head of Service, Business Intelligence, providing an overview of performance activity across the council for Quarter 1 of 2018/19.

 

Education and Children's Services

 

It was reported that the number of looked after children had continued to increase both in Lancashire and regionally with over 2,000 looked after children in Lancashire.  This was a real concern and various ways of reducing this figure were currently being looked at including looking at those children on Care Orders and the possible revocation of these, and ways in which we could prevent children coming into care, through a successful Life Chances Fund bid. There were rising numbers of children looked after in Preston and Burnley so these were the priority areas.  In response to a query from County Councillor Driver, Sally Allen, Head of Safeguarding, Inspection and Audit, agreed to find out why numbers had risen in these areas.

 

There had also been a rise in the number of referrals from the Police: County Councillor Driver queried whether this should be raised through the Children's Services Improvement Board.

 

The Cabinet Committee noted that retention rates for newly qualified social workers had continued to improve.

 

The adoption service had been rated Good in the recent Ofsted re-inspection.  The average time between a child entering care and being placed with their adoptive family had continued to improve.  Sally Allen confirmed that, when looking to place children, the county council also looked at prospective adopters who had registered with independent adoption agencies.  Lancashire was also successful at finding permanent homes for hard to place children.

 

It was reported that permanent exclusions in all schools were increasing and that rates in Lancashire were higher than regional and national comparators; John Readman was currently looking into this issue.

 

Adult Services and Public Health

 

The Cabinet Committee noted there were still concerns about the level of permanent residential admissions for older people and that various options were being considered to reduce this figure.  It was reported that Chorley Council was currently developing Primrose Gardens Extra Care Scheme, consisting of apartments for 55s and over, enabling them to live independently whilst providing onsite staff, planned care for those with an eligible care need and shared communal areas including a café and hairdressing salon.  A similar project in Burnley was currently being looked into.

 

 

 

 

 

Troubled Families Unit

 

There was a discussion about the government term 'Troubled Families Unit'.  The Cabinet recommended that, for Lancashire, the programme should instead be called the Supporting Families Unit.

 

 

Ofsted Post Inspection Update

 

Sally Allen, Head of Safeguarding, Inspection and Audit, reported that the Inspectors had recognised the significant improvements made since their last inspection, and that the overall effectiveness judgement was Requires Improvement.  The county council had been described as a committed and responsible Corporate Parent and strong partnerships had been referred to throughout the report, together with positive participation and engagement from children and young people.

 

One of the areas for improvement was that further work was required to improve the educational attainment of children looked after at Key Stage 4.  The report also identified that, whilst there was a high number of care leavers age 16 and 17 in education, employment or training, these numbers reduced through the ages of 19 to 21.  County Councillor Driver stated that we needed to know why this was happening.

 

The Adoption Service was judged to be a strength and the report stated that leadership and governance was increasingly effective, and that strategic plans were now better aligned and partnerships with key agencies were working more effectively.

 

The report noted that further work with partners was required to improve our response to children and families affected by domestic abuse.  The Committee were informed that a Domestic Abuse Task Group had also been established.

 

The Cabinet Committee noted that care leavers had a positive and confident view of the local authority as a corporate parent, and appreciated the higher profile they now had.

 

It was reported that a new Children's Services Improvement Plan was scheduled to be considered by Cabinet in November which would address the 11 recommendations of the inspection.

 

A link to the full inspection report was provided for the information of the Cabinet Committee.

 

County Councillor Driver wished to place on record his thanks to all staff involved with the inspection for all their hard work.

 

Resolved:  That the Cabinet Committee on Performance Improvement note the reported performance for quarter 1 of 2018/19 and the Children's Services inspection update information provided.

A report was presented by Angela Esslinger, Complaints and Appeals Manager, providing complaints and customer feedback on statutory social care complaints for children and young people and adults for 2017/18.

 

It was reported that 540 adult social care complaints had been received in 2017/18, which was an increase of 13% from the previous year.  However, there was nearly twice as many compliments, with a total of 1009 being received in 2017/18.  In addition, the Stage 0 complaints, which were those which had been resolved early in the process, had almost doubled compared to last year and complaints to the Local Government Ombudsman had seen a slight increase this year.

 

Details of the Joint Complaints Protocol involving Unitary Authorities, Clinical Commissioning Groups and Health Trusts in Lancashire were provided to the Cabinet Committee.

 

It was reported that 265 statutory complaints had been received in relation to children's social care, which was an overall increase by just over 20% from the previous year. No Stage 3 Review Panels had been held in 2017/18. The increase in Stage 0 complaints had risen from 60 in 2016/17 to 150 in 2017/18.  There had been a decrease in Local Government Ombudsman children's social care complaints of 50% (from 47 in 2016/17 to 23 in 2017/18).

 

In relation to non-statutory children's social care complaints, these dropped by just over 6%, from 93 in 2016/17 to 87 in 2017/18 and social work practice was the most common complaint category – the same as for statutory complaints.

 

The Committee noted there had been a welcome rise in compliments for children's social care; a total of 148 compliments were received in 2017/18 compared to 58 in 2016/17, due to the incorporation of compliments from other children and young people's services.

 

It was reported that complaints represented just under 2 per cent of all active adult social care and children's social care cases throughout Lancashire in 2017/18.

 

Details of identified learning for all complaints were set out in the report.

 

The Committee were informed that a compliment had been received from the Local Government Ombudsman in relation to the way a specific joint complaint across health and social care had been handled.

 

Resolved:  That the Cabinet Committee on Performance Improvement note the statutory social care complaints annual report for children and young people and adults for 2017/18, acknowledging the associated learning.

Resolved:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 27 June 2018 be confirmed and signed by the Chair.

 

Matters Arising

 

Following a query from County Councillor Geoff Driver, it was agreed that an update on the meeting between the Schools Improvement Team and the Teaching Schools Alliance would be brought to the next meeting on 5 December 2018.

 

 

The Leader of the County Council and the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport:

 

(i)  Approved the proposed replacement tendered bus service as set out at Appendix 'A'.

(ii)  Authorised officers to draw up the detailed service schedules and complete the necessary contract procurement process to allow the replacement tendered service to commence from 7 January 2019.

(iii)  Authorised officers to undertake a sustainability review of the existing tendered bus service network to identify prospective revisions that would be affordable within the available budget.