Decisions

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.

When a child comes into care, the county council becomes their corporate parent. Put simply, the term ‘corporate parent’ means the collective responsibility of the council, elected members, employees, and partner agencies, for providing the best possible care and protection that would be expected of a good parent. In fulfilling this role, the critical question that should be asked, is: "would this be good enough for my child?"

The draft Corporate Parenting Strategy 2018 - 2022, attached at Appendix 'A', sets out how we intend to fulfil our corporate parenting responsibilities to all children in our care and care leavers, putting them at the centre of improvements in the planning, delivery and evaluation of our services. The strategy has been developed in partnership with the Corporate Parenting Board. Lancashire's Promises to Children in Care and Care Leavers, attached at Appendix B, informs the core principles of this Corporate Parenting Strategy.

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

Cabinet approved the recommendations as set out in the report.

The report proposes the establishment of an Urban Development Fund (UDF) for Lancashire using £15m of European funding to leverage £10m of co-investment.

This is deemed to be a Key Decision. Compliance with Standing Order C19(5), where a summary of the relevant Part II report in respect of the decision should have been published at least five clear working days before the decision is taken, was impracticable due to the complexity of the proposals which meant that the report has only just been finalised to allow the proposals to be brought forward for decision. The provisions of Standing Order C21 have therefore been complied with.

Cabinet approved the recommendation as set out in the report.

This report seeks approval for additional funding for the construction works required  to expand St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Langho.

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

Cabinet approved the recommendation as set out in the report.

The Ofsted re-inspection of Children's Services in June 2018 noted significant improvements, with an overall effectiveness judgement of 'requires improvement' to be good, and 'good' for our adoption service. However, there is still more to do to ensure that all children receive a consistently good service. The Better for Children: Lancashire's Children's Services Development Plan sets out the actions required to address the 11 recommendations in the report, further improving the quality of practice and outcomes for children.

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

Cabinet approved the recommendations as set out in the report.

At a meeting of the governing body on 4 July 2018, the governing body of Bleasdale Church of England Primary School resolved to ask the Local Authority to consult on the future of the school and this decision was supported by the Blackburn Church of England Diocese.

The purpose of this report is to seek approval to undertake a formal consultation on the future of Bleasdale Church of England Primary School. The report proposes stage 1 consultation on the possible closure of Bleasdale Church of England Primary School, due to a fall in the numbers on roll at the school making the school educationally and financially unviable. The report identifies the reasons for the proposal, and sets out the process to be followed in undertaking potential closure of a maintained school.

Cabinet approved the recommendations as set out in the report.

Given the limited number of organisations capable of undertaking this work, with only one located in the UK, it is considered that a direct award of the contract should be made to the provider identified as it would not be practicable in the circumstances to conduct a competitive exercise.

Cabinet approved the recommendation 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)  Supported Accommodation for Young People

(ii)  Outcome based commissioning of Edge of Care Services

(iii)  Cleaning and Facilities Services Framework Agreement

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

Cabinet approved the recommendation as set out in the report.

This report seeks approval for additional funding for the construction works required  to expand Whalley Church of England Primary School.

Cabinet approved the recommendation as set out in the report.

This report outlines a proposal to amend the Friends of Lancashire Libraries Constitution and Terms of Reference which were agreed by Cabinet on 18 January 2018. Feedback from friends groups within the county has identified a concern about the prescriptive nature of the membership fee and a wish for the groups themselves to exercise some control over such charges.

Cabinet approved the recommendation as set out in the report.

This report sets out a proposal to provide a zebra crossing and associated works on B5270 Lancaster Road, Knott End-on-Sea, to which objections have been received.

Cabinet approved the recommendation as set out in the report.

This report sets out proposals to introduce parking controls on nine streets in the Fulwood area of Preston. There is significant daytime parking on these roads due to staff, patients and visitors to the Royal Preston Hospital using the surrounding residential roads for parking as the parking facilities within the hospital are generally oversubscribed.

The proposals, which comprise no waiting and limited waiting restrictions as set out in Appendix 'B', have been advertised in the local press and on site and a number of objections have been received, although there is a high level of local demand to address the present situation.

Cabinet approved the recommendation as set out in the report.

Lancaster City Council's Planning Committee has approved an application to develop land adjacent to the A601(M) south of Junction 35 near Carnforth for a car showroom, with vehicular access taken from the A601(M). The A601(M) is designated a special road and covered by motorway regulations.  The county council considers that this short section of special road no longer needs to be a special road, and proposes to seek an agreement with the developer to meet the costs of a Scheme to revoke this special road designation along with the removal of motorway regulations, and reclassify the road as an all-purpose 'B' road.  The developer has indicated his willingness to cover the costs.

To expedite this change and to enable the development to progress at the earliest opportunity, it is proposed that the special road designation of only part of the A601(M), between the B6254 Kellet Road and the M6 Junction 35 roundabout, and the Junction 35 roundabout itself, be revoked.  This is the length the developer requires access to.  In order to maintain a safe environment on the affected highways and to deter vehicles from stopping on the carriageway, existing prohibitions will be retained using Traffic Regulation Orders.  Appendix 'B' includes a schematic of the overall approach proposed.

Cabinet approved the recommendations as set out in the report.

Lancashire County Council supports approximately 30,000 carers and adults in community and residential based settings, at an annual net cost of approximately £331 million per year.

This report sets out the county council's proposed fee uplifts for adult social care providers for 2019/20. However, it should be noted that the county council is currently using structural reserve funding and faces continued financial pressures.  Notwithstanding these pressures, the county council continues to increase fees to support Lancashire providers.

The uplifts proposed in this report are a weighted average of national living wage, pension auto-enrolment and other inflationary factors, and are subtly different across services and fee levels due to their differing cost bases.

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

Cabinet approved the recommendations as set out in the report.

This report seeks approval to increase the existing capital allocation, to complete extensive structural repairs. Additional funding would be provided from the Schools Condition allocation 2018/19.

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

Cabinet approved the recommendation as set out in the report.

The report outlines the work of the District Youth Councils in their role in recommending grant monies to third sector organisations which are registered with the Children and Family Wellbeing Service.

Cabinet approved the recommendation as set out in the report.

This report provides an update to Cabinet on the county council's 2018/19 revenue financial position as at the end of September 2018 and an updated Medium Term Financial Strategy covering the period 2019/20 to 2022/23. The Medium Term Financial Strategy includes £77.171m of savings proposals and management actions, identified through the service challenge process and aimed at delivering better and sustainable services at a lower cost. 

The reduction in the forecast funding gap represents a significant improvement, however a structural funding gap remains and work continues on phase two of the service challenge process to identify further proposals to enable the council to achieve a financially sustainable position over the strategy period.

Cabinet approved the recommendations as set out in the report.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor M Smith, Councillor D Borrow and Mr E Lambert – Independent Adviser.

The report was introduced by County Councillor Jennifer Mein, Chair of the Health and Wellbeing Board and Leader of the County Council, and was presented by Dr Sakthi Karunanithi, Director of Public Health. It provided an update on the progress made by the Health and Wellbeing Board (HWBB).

Sakthi used a PowerPoint presentation which briefly explained the role of the HWBB; it referred to a review of the Board which had been undertaken in April 2015, and set out some recent developments and future priorities.

He emphasised that the Board was working in an environment in which resources were diminishing and demand was rising, which could lead to a serious gap in funding.

Members were invited to comment and raise questions and a summary of the main points arising from the discussion is set out below:

·  There was concern about proposals related to the transformation of care for people with learning disabilities and in particular transport provision for disabled adults and the consequent effect on carers. It was recognised that the proposals were well-intentioned but it was felt that they were not practical. In response CC Mein explained that some very difficult decisions would have to be taken in light of the financial pressures facing the county council. She assured the Committee that all budget proposals to be considered had an associated equality impact assessment; no decisions would be taken lightly and mitigation would be put in place wherever possible.

·  The Chair pointed out that this Committee was to receive a report on services for adults with learning disabilities at its January meeting.

·  The Chair noted that services for people with mental health problems were under strain and expressed concern about the cost and appropriateness of moving people to facilities many miles away from their home; he asked that this Committee be involved in any review of these services. Sakthi emphasised that mental health and emotional wellbeing were a priority for the HWBB.

·  It was explained that it was the role of the HWBB to ensure that appropriate plans were in place to improve the health and wellbeing of the people of Lancashire and that reports to the HWBB were part of the assurance process. Agenda and minutes could be read on line and members of the public were able to attend meetings to observe. Members were advised that if they required more detail on a particular topic they would be directed to the most appropriate officer/partner.

·  In response to a specific question about Occupational Therapy and what service users could expect in the current financial climate, the Chair reported that the Steering Group was hoping to receive a presentation about this service; he added that any member with a particular interest in any matter coming before the Steering Group could ask to attend the relevant meeting.

·  It was explained that 'Healthier Lancashire' was a programme currently being scoped and would be considered by the HWBB; significant changes would be needed to meet rising demand and solutions were not yet designed. There would need to be substantial engagement and Scrutiny would be part of that process. The Committee was informed that 'Healthier Lancashire' was undertaking an alignment of some 53 different plans that needed to be brought together to produce a strategy to achieve better spending for the good of the people of Lancashire. It was reported that there was to be a bite size briefing for members about 'Healthier Lancashire' on 2 December.

·  It was suggested that the HWBB should raise its profile as a leadership body. In response it was explained that the HWBB had its own website, logo and newsletter, and the Leader of the Council was its Chair which also reflected how important its work is. It was acknowledged that to some extent it was media responses that determined how much publicity the Board received. It was noted that there were some district councillors among the HWBB membership which provided a helpful conduit to the districts.

·  Sakthi said that notwithstanding financial pressures going forward there would need to be a different approach to the public health agenda and how services are delivered.

Resolved: That,

  i.  The content of the report, the areas of progress and the future focus of the Health and Wellbeing Board be noted;

  ii.  It be agreed that the Health Scrutiny Committee develop better working and links with the Health and Wellbeing Board.

  iii.  The Committee would consider the areas for future focus of the Health and Wellbeing Board and how this aligns with its future work programme.

A report was presented informing the Committee that at the County Council's annual meeting on 15 May 2014 it was agreed that the Scrutiny Committee should comprise 13 County Councillors (on the basis of 6 Labour members, 1 Liberal Democrat member, 5 Conservative members, and 1 Independent member). Nominations of County Councillors to serve on the Committee had been submitted to the County Secretary and Solicitor by the respective political groups.

The County Councillors appointed to serve on the Scrutiny Committee for the following year were:

  Alyson Barnes  Carl Crompton 

  Richard Newman-Thompson  Liz Oades

   David O'Toole  Miles Parkinson

  Clare Pritchard  John Shedwick

  Vivien Taylor  Christian Wakeford

  David Watts  George Wilkins

  Bill Winlow

The Full Council also appointed County Councillor B Winlow and County Councillor A Barnes as Chair and Deputy Chair of the Committee for the remainder of the 2014/15 municipal year

Resolved: That the Committee note:

1.  The appointment of County Councillor B Winlow and County Councillor A Barnes as Chair and Deputy Chair of the Committee for the remainder of the municipal year;

2.  The membership of the Committee following the County Council's annual meeting; and

3.  The Terms of Reference of the Committee.