Decisions

This report provides an update on the current viability of Maintained Nursery Schools in Lancashire, any areas of concern and the recommended actions.

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

This report set out a series of proposals that will enable the county council to fulfil its responsibilities for ensuring the sufficiency of provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities over the next five years. It builds on an earlier report to Cabinet on 8 August 2019, setting out the current position with respect to the number and placement of children and young people in Lancashire with special educational needs and disabilities. The current proposals are consistent with the principles underpinning the approach to the development of special educational needs provision that were agreed at the August Cabinet meeting.

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.

This year's plan for 2019/20 has now been finalised and reflects and summarises the various actions and services that are in place to support the residents of Lancashire who may need our adult social care services across the winter months.

Information is also included in the plan from other services across the council which contribute towards supporting people to stay safe and well during winter. The plan highlights both existing and developing services and some of the risks to sustaining these.

The plan is shared each year with NHS organisations across Lancashire and contributes into the multi-agency Winter Plans in each of the 5 Lancashire Integrated Care Partnership areas (Fylde Coast, Morecambe Bay, Central Lancashire, West Lancashire, and Pennine Lancashire).

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.

The West Lancashire Partnership involves a number of organisations from the NHS, local authority, private, voluntary, community and faith sectors operating in the area.

To ensure the county council's continued involvement in the Partnership's development, Cabinet is asked to approve the accompanying Memorandum of Understanding at Appendix 'A'.

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

The Chair welcomed Sarah Callaghan, Director of Education and Skills and Dr Sally Richardson, Head of Inclusion to the meeting.

The report sets out the preparation for the forthcoming Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) re-visit due to take place by the end of October 2019, including the production of a self-assessment. In presenting the report, the committee noted that out of the twelve areas of concerns identified during the Ofsted inspection in November 2017, the following five areas of concern still required improvement:

1.  The transitioning from primary school to secondary school;

2.  The quality of the Education Health and Care Plan's (EHCP);

3.  The needs of the offer to local areas;

4.  The neurodevelopment pathways; and

5.  The educational outcomes for children with Special Educational Needs (SEN).

To improve these areas, members were informed that a task group had been formed to help scrutinise these areas and to make improvements.

Responding to the report, the following key issues were raised by the committee:

Members raised concerns about the Education Health Care (EHC) plans. Among the concerns raised were;

·  The EHC plans not following a child during the transition period between primary and secondary school;

·  The lack of EHC plans in place for a child during nursery and before the child enters mainstream school;

·  The shortage of Education Psychologists; and

·  The results of the EHC plan quality audit outlined in the report.

Responding to these concerns, members' were informed that this was an improving picture and changes had already been made to address these concerns. These included implementing a new Electronic Information System to record all the information coming into the local authority on a child to ensure it is all recorded centrally, engaging more with early years to ensure additional assessments are being carried out on a child at nursery level and the training of additional Educational Psychologists.

Addressing the concerns of the results of the auditing of the EHC plans, the committee were informed that the quality of the EHC plans had already substantially improved.

Additional concerns were raised by the committee on the access to CAMHS in Lancashire. In response, members' were informed that additional investment had been made to address this and the number of mental health workers available had been increased. 

Recognising that the level of exclusions in Lancashire were too high, members' were informed that work was continuing to reduce the number, such as carrying out additional work to identify a child's individual needs an early stage to ensure a plan is in place to address those needs before an exclusion is warranted.

Resolved: That;

i.  The information presented on the preparation for the forthcoming re-visit by Ofsted and the CQC be considered; and

ii.  The feedback on the self-assessment attached at Appendix 'B' of the report be discussed and agreed.

The Chair welcomed Dave Carr, Head of Service Policy, Information and Commissioning (Start Well), Ellen Smith, Policy, Information and Commissioning Manager, Lesley Tiffen, Senior Commissioning Manager at the Fylde Coast Clinical Commissioning Group and Sarah Darbyshire from West Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group to the meeting.

The report provided an update on the progress made by the multi-agency Special Schools Nursing Task and Finish Group against the recommendations made by the Children Services Scrutiny Committee in respect of special school nursing provision in Lancashire. In presenting the report, the committee noted that a joint action plan had been developed for the Special Schools Nursing Task and Finish Group which detailed the progress made on each of the recommendations and the next steps.

Responding to the report, the following key issues were raised by the committee:

Members' expressed concerns on the training being provided to health and education staff, specifically around the funding for the training and where parents or carers could go for advice or to raise their concerns about the training being provided. Responding to these concerns, members' were informed that the funding for the training was still under discussion and that a Designated Clinical Officer (DCO) had been appointed to each of Lancashire's district as a point of contact for parents or carers. It would be the DCO's responsibility to capture any of the concerns a parent or carer and to feed it back into the appropriate Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

In terms of the level of support that has been identified in producing the policy, members' were informed that that the policy had been developed by taking into account the best practices from other areas.

Regarding the views on the policy by headteachers, members' were informed that there were three headteachers who were members' of the Special Schools Nursing Task and Finish Group and who have actively engaged with other headteachers, including circulating the draft policy to obtain their views through the Lancashire Special School Head Teacher Association (LASSHTA).

In response to a query on the timescales for the finalising of the policy, members were informed that although there were no current timescales on when the final version of the policy would be signed off, the task group was anticipating that the draft policy would be finalised early in 2020.

Members' raised concerns regarding the six schools who had failed to respond to the data gathering exercise conducted by the task and finish group. In response, members were informed that the three headteachers who are on the task and finish group had tried a number of times to obtain a response from these schools which included raising it at various groups, emailing them and personally contacting them but the schools had so far failed to respond. Responding to this, members' requested that the committee be provided with details of those schools to support the service in obtaining responses.

Resolved: That;

  i.  The progress made to date against the recommendations and the proposed ongoing activity against the project plan be noted; and

  ii.  The feedback on the draft policy be discussed and agreed.

  iii.  The committee be provided with the names of the schools in the Lancashire area to encourage responses to the data gathering exercise questionnaire.

Resolved: That; the minutes of the meeting held on the 1^st of July 2019 were confirmed as an accurate record and were signed by the Chair.

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

Approval is sought for the closure of the slip road from the A59 Liverpool Road to A59 Golden Way in Penwortham for all vehicular traffic. Pedestrians, equestrians and cyclists will still be permitted to use the slip road. This is to comply with planning condition 10 of the Penwortham Bypass (the Bypass) planning permission, which seeks to discourage through vehicular traffic on the A59.

Traffic modelling demonstrates the closure will result in additional traffic transferring to the Bypass, further reducing through traffic and congestion in Penwortham, providing additional environmental and air quality benefits, and maximising opportunities to improve the public space in the town centre.

The proposal is vital to enabling the delivery of high quality cycling provision to serve Penwortham and Hutton. In turn, this will help to achieve Public Health England guidance to encourage the switch to active travel in place of short car journeys.

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

The Maximising Occupancy in Supported Housing Consultation Document sets out the council's proposals to review supported housing vacancies, and the procedure that will guide decisions about non-viable supported households. The consultation document is presented to Cabinet for approval of an eight-week public consultation.

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

Consultants were commissioned in 2018 to prepare a Preston City Transport Plan setting out a 20 year vision for movement and connectivity focussing on travel to, from, and within the city centre. The consultant has now issued the Plan which presents a long-term strategy for reducing congestion, providing for better public transport, and transforming the city and the wider sub-region’s streets and spaces.  In support of this, the Plan sets out a programme of proposals to transition the city from a car-dominated network to a multi-modal network.

At its meeting on 14 October 2019, the Preston, South Ribble and Lancashire City Deal Executive received the Plan and agreed to its publication as evidence to inform current and future transport-related planning and investment programming.

Its publication is timely, with preparatory work underway for the Local Transport Plan, a review underway of Central Lancashire's Highways and Transport Master Plan, the Local Industrial Strategy, and the Central Lancashire Local Plan Review.

Its production also coincides with the bid preparation for Preston City Region under the government’s Transforming Cities Fund.  Preston is one of just 12 shortlisted Transforming Cities Fund city regions nationwide with the prospect of receiving a share of £1.2 billion, to be spent by March 2023, aimed at driving up productivity through improved public and sustainable transport connectivity.  The Preston, South Ribble and Lancashire City Deal has provided a strong foundation for the sub-region's proposition to the Transforming Cities Fund, and the delivery of the four major road schemes under the City Deal provides the backdrop, and the means, to deliver meaningful and transformational public and sustainable transport measures across the city and wider sub region. 

Work carried out separately for the City Deal including rail and bus scheme development and master planning; the aforementioned City Transport Plan; and a cycling and walking delivery plan; is assisting in preparing the Transforming Cities Fund bid, which is to be submitted to the Department for Transport in November this year.

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

This report describes the proposed care and support model for new Extra Care schemes being developed in Lancashire, which is based on the model agreed by Cabinet in relation to the Chorley Extra Care Scheme (Primrose Gardens) in September 2018. The report also recommends authorising appropriate officers, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adult Services, to make any future decisions regarding the service model and core charge within Extra Care Schemes.

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)  Gully emptying service

(ii)  Spray injection patching

(iii)  Reactive and planned improvement works

(iv)  Security and alarm service and maintenance

(v)  Heating, ventilation and air conditioning service and maintenance

(vi)  Provision of community transport services

(vii)Provision of a Minor Aids and Adaptations Service in Lancashire.

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 order to provide and clarify guidance and support for Councillors in understanding what is and is not acceptable in the use of County Council resources, a revised Use of Resources Protocol is presented for approval, including Disability Statement and Parental Support Policy for County Councillors.

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

Design work and the progression of the planning application is ongoing for the dualling of the A582 and B5253 South Ribble Western Distributor.  To maintain programme milestones and to ensure the scheme can be delivered, it is essential that the county council has possession of all the necessary land.  Negotiations are ongoing with the landowners however, agreement may not be achievable in time or at all.  Consequently, it may be necessary to use Compulsory Purchase powers available to the county council, in particular under the Highways Act 1980, to acquire the land.

Additionally a Side Roads Order under the Highways Act 1980 will also be required to enable alterations to be made to the existing highways and private means of access. 

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 was presented on the proposed dedication by agreement of a publically maintained public footpath adjacent to F2992 at 23 Elmsett Road, Walton-le-Dale, Preston, PR5 4JW, marked on the Committee plan A-B-C-D-A attached to the agenda papers.

The Committee noted that the land immediately to the east of F2992 sloped steeply down into the River Darwen and that, prior to 2013, this slope carried over it a footpath ((7-2-FP95). In 2013, a landslip had occurred, resulting in a significant length of footpath 7-2-FP95 being lost down the river embankment, and the adopted footpath (F2992) becoming unstable. F2992 has since partially collapsed and is therefore unsafe for public use, and has been temporarily closed since that time.

Prior to the collapse of footpath 7-2-FP95, and the subsequent closure of F2992 on safety grounds, the route had been well used and formed an important link in the network of public rights of way. Following the closure of the footpath, regular requests for the footpath to be reinstated had been received from local residents.

The Committee were informed that various options to address the situation had been considered. An opportunity had arisen for the county council to enter into an agreement with the owners of the adjacent property (23 Elmsett Road) to create a public footpath on the eastern boundary of their land that appeared to be sustainably more stable. The new footpath would bypass the collapsed and unstable section of F2992, and would provide a suitable footpath link for many years to come.

The Chair invited County Councillor Yates to ask a question whether the proposal only affected the top section at the Holland House end of the path, or whether there would be works on the steep path where the historical '40 steps' are. Officers confirmed that this dedication only affects the 15 metre section which is collapsing.

It was reported that, on investigating the title of the owners of the adjacent property, it was found that restrictive covenants were in place relating to using the area of land required only as a garden and reserving a 'protected strip' for the benefit of a statutory undertaker. However, discussions had taken place and both parties agreed in principle for the release of those covenants on the land to be dedicated.

It was noted that the proposal was considered to be of benefit to the public in providing a safe and convenient footpath that would be a link from the Holland Slack housing development to the network of public rights of way at Holland Wood, Mosley Wood and the River Darwen.

Resolved:

(i)  That the proposal for a Public Path Creation Agreement to dedicate a length of public footpath adjacent to F2992 at 23 Elmsett Road, Walton-le-Dale, be accepted, subject to the removal of the restrictive covenants which currently bind the landowner.

(ii)  That, after removal of restrictive covenants affecting the land, a Public Path Creation Agreement be entered into under Section 25 of the Highways Act 1980 between the owners of 23 Elmsett Road, Walton-le-Dale and Lancashire County Council on the terms detailed in this report, to dedicate a length of public footpath as shaded pink on the map attached to the agenda papers and marked A-B-C-D-A.

A report was presented on an application for the addition to the Definitive Map and Statement of Public Rights of Way, of a Footpath from Kirkdale Avenue, Newchurch to Footpath Rawtenstall 180, as shown on the Committee plan between points A-B-C-D-E, attached to the agenda papers.

A site inspection had been carried out in June 2019.

It was reported that the map and photographic evidence available from the 1840s through to the current time supported the view that the route physically existed and was capable of being used by the public on foot. In addition, it was identified as a 'public footpath' on a plan prepared in the 1930s for the construction of houses which abutted the route and from which a proposed link into the route was shown.

The Committee noted the evidence indicated that access to the route had been denied in May 2019, by the construction of a wall which, in turn, had triggered the application. It was not know who had built the wall and, looking at the substantial user evidence, it would appear that there had never been any clear actions by owners to prevent use by the public, and use by the public had continued for many years. In addition, the majority of users refer to having witnessed other users whilst using the route themselves and none of the users recalled having ever been told that the route was not a public right of way, nor did any users refer to having been turned back or having to ask permission to use the route.

The Committee were informed that, taking all of the evidence into account, they may consider that the provisions of Section 31 of the Highways Act 1980 could be satisfied. In addition, or alternatively, Committee may consider that it can be reasonably alleged that there was sufficient evidence from which to infer dedication of a public footpath at common law.

Resolved:

(i)  That the application for a Footpath from Kirkdale Avenue to Footpath Rawtenstall 180, in accordance with File No. 804-608, be accepted.

(ii)  That an Order(s) be made pursuant to Section 53(2)(b) and Section 53(3)(b) and/or Section 53(3)(c)(i) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to add a footpath to Definitive Map and Statement of Public Rights of Way, as shown on the Committee plan between points A-B-C-D-E.

(iii)  That being satisfied that the higher test for confirmation can be met, the Order be promoted to confirmation.

A report was presented on an application received for Footpath Longton 42 (known as Six Acre Lane), to be upgraded on the Definitive Map and Statement of Public Rights of Way from footpath to bridleway, from Drumacre Lane East to Gill Lane, Longton, as shown between point A and point C on the Committee plan attached to the agenda papers.

A site inspection had been carried out in June 2019.

The Committee noted that there was no user evidence to consider for this application so it was necessary to look solely at the available map and documentary evidence.

The Committee were advised that the historical mapping evidence that the route was once used for public vehicular use was strong. Its initial status as a vehicular highway has not been affected by the more recent use as a footpath only as, once a highway has come into being, it continues indefinitely whether it is used or not. It was reported that there was no evidence to indicate that this historic vehicular highway status has been challenged, although the landowners state that it is a private road which they maintain but this is recent use by those landowners and does not call into question the historical evidence.

It was reported that the suitability, or otherwise, of the route for horses was not something that could be taken into account in determining whether highway rights exist.

The Committee were advised that if they concluded the evidence showed that, on the balance of probability, public carriageway rights existed on the application route, then it would be necessary to consider whether the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 would have extinguished public rights for mechanically propelled vehicles. Therefore, in the event that public carriageway rights were shown to exist, the appropriate status for Six Acre Lane to be recorded on the Definitive Map and Statement would be Restricted Byway, with public rights for non-mechanically propelled vehicles, horses or on foot.

Resolved:

(i)  That the application for the upgrading of Footpath Longton 42 to Bridleway, in accordance with File No. 804-607, be accepted, subject to a status of restricted byway, which includes bridleway rights.

(ii)  That an Order be made pursuant to Section 53 (2)(b) and Section 53 (3)(c)(i) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, to upgrade Footpath Longton 42 to a Restricted Byway on the Definitive Map and Statement of Public Rights of Way as shown on the Committee plan attached to the agenda papers between points A-B-C.

(iii)  That being satisfied that the test for confirmation can be met, the Order be promoted to confirmation.