Agenda and minutes

County Councillor Steve Rigby replaced County Councillor Terry Hurn for this meeting only.

There were no apologies.

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.

To be confirmed and signed by the Chair.

Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on 9 March 2023 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

The Chair welcomed County Councillor Peter Buckley Cabinet Member for Community and Cultural Services, Clare Platt, Head of Health Equity, Welfare & Partnerships, Alison Wilkins, Senior Public Health Practitioner (Stronger and Safer Communities), Debbie Thompson, Public Health Specialist (Stronger and Safer Communities), Debra Platt - Member Services & Engagement Officer, Lancashire Association of Local Councils (LALC), and Julie Buttle, Society of Local Council Clerks (SLCC), Lancashire Branch, to the meeting.

The report presented provided the committee with information on how Lancashire County Council worked with and supported Parish and Town Councils in the county.

A presentation was also provided to the committee, a copy of which is attached to the minutes.

Comments and queries were raised by the committee as follows:

• The committee requested the following information be provided to help build a better understanding of the parish and town councils in Lancashire; which districts each parish and town council in Lancashire sat, as well as the geographical area that they covered; the number of electorates in each of the areas they covered; and the financial budgetary details and details of precept of each of the parish and town councils.
• It was highlighted that Parish and Town Councils were able to apply for the Lancashire Culture and Sport Fund grant.
• The committee requested if consideration could be given for parish and town councils to be able to apply for Local Member Grant funding.
• Concerns were raised on the responses received on the survey in relation to how parish and town councils could contact their county councillor, compared to how they could contact a county council officer. It was noted that, whilst previously the parish and town councils could speak with county council officers directly, this had changed once the contact centre was introduced several years ago. Since the Parish and Town Council Charter had been introduced it was noted there had been improvements as each parish and town council did now have a named officer to contact, such as a Highways District Lead Officer, to report issues to, but it was highlighted that further changes were still required. Following these concerns, the committee requested that information be provided to the committee on the number of officers each of the parish and town councils had and where they were based, such as if they had offices, as well as what, if any, public realm functions the parish and town councils carried out.

• The committee was informed that just because a council was referred to as a town council, didn't necessarily mean it was large, just as calling a council a parish council didn't always suggest it was small.

• The committee recommended that consideration should be given for a Lengthsman of the Year competition, to show support and appreciation for the work the Lengthsman provide.
• The committee also requested if consideration could be given to the Public Rights of Way Grants in terms of equity of funds.

• The committee asked if there were any appetite for small town or parish councils to be merged  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

The Chair welcomed Dave Carr, Director of Policy, Commissioning and Children's Health, Saeed Sidat Senior Policy, Information & Commissioning (Start well) Manager, Principal County Equalities, Cohesion and Integration Manager, and Kay Ali, Lancashire Ethnic Minorities Partnership Manager (LEMP) to the meeting.

The report highlighted the key findings from the research conducted for Lancashire Ethnic Minorities Partnership (LEMP).

A presentation was also provided to the committee, a copy of which is attached to the minutes.

Comments and queries were raised by the committee as follows:

• The committee questioned what was meant by "improve access to services and reduce cost" as stated in the presentation. It was noted that this related to enhancing the services' accessibility and ensuring everyone could access the services, whereas reducing costs meant operating the services more effectively as well as how the service could be improved.
• The committee further questioned as to what the presentation's mention of "negotiate changes to services" meant. It was noted that this related to negotiating with and talking to partner organisations that had a stake or impact in the areas that the council worked in, and how the council could more effectively collaborate with those organisations to work with any issues they encountered, and changes to the services provided.
• The lack of data in the report on how Covid-19 had impacted communities was raised.  It was noted that the data in the report was based on the Census data and that Public Health was working on another study aimed at studying the impacts of Covid-19. It was also highlighted that any recommendations made by the committee should avoid duplicating the work Public Health was doing in this regard. The committee therefore recommended that information be shared with the committee on readily available reports or data which had considered the impact of Covid-19 in Lancashire. 
• Following on from the previous agenda item, the committee recommended that Parish and Town Councils should be considered as part of any data gathering exercises in the future.
• The committee raised concerns about whether the county council provided services to ethnic minorities at a different rate or level of appreciation than it did to non-minorities, and whether it made sure that everyone received the same level of service regardless of their ethnicity. The committee therefore requested that performance measured data that affected ethnic minorities be provided to the committee, including what the difference was between this and the population as a whole, and whether there were any gaps.
• The committee was concerned that the report's definition of deprivation was focussed on fuel poverty, which would not present an accurate image of deprivation in the county. It was noted that fuel poverty was chosen because that data was readily available via the county councils' website and was available at the time of writing the report, although officers noted the concerns raised.
• The spreading of misinformation of ethnic minorities was an issue for the committee and the need for this to be included in the strategy being developed, and the committee  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The committee considered the work programme for the 2022/23 municipal year, including the responses to the previous committee's recommendations from the relevant Cabinet Members.

It was noted that the committee was awaiting benchmarking data from the Local Government Association and the Association of County Council's in terms of workforce data.

It was also noted that the committee would be meeting in June 2023 to discuss the work programme for the 2023/24 municipal year and the July meeting would be cancelled

Resolved: That the Community, Cultural and Corporate Services Scrutiny work programme for 2022/23, including the progress relating to the committee's recommendations, be noted.</AI7>

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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 were no items of Urgent Business.

The next meeting of the Community, Cultural and Corporate Services Scrutiny Committee will be held on 28 September 2023 at 10.30 am in Committee Room B – The Diamond Jubilee Room, County Hall, Preston. A Work Planning Session is being arranged for June 2023.

The next meeting of the Community, Cultural, and Corporate Services Scrutiny Committee will be held on Thursday 28 September 2023 at 10.30am at County Hall, Preston.