Agenda and minutes

County Councillor Alan Cullens BEM and Steve Rigby replaced County Councillors Sue Hind and John Shedwick respectively.

At the start of the meeting, the Chair drew the committee's attention to the briefing note that had been circulated by Lucy Thompson, Director of People, in relation to the Council's participation in the Local Government Association Transformation and Innovation Exchange. Committee members were encouraged to read the note when they were able to.

There were no apologies received.

The committee considered a report which set out its Chair and Deputy Chair, membership, and Terms of Reference for the 2024-25 municipal year.

Resolved: That the following be noted:

1. The appointment of County Councillors Ged Mirfin and John Shedwick as Chair and Deputy Chair respectively of the Community, Cultural and Corporate Services Scrutiny Committee for the 2024-25 municipal year;
2. The membership of the committee, following the County Council's Annual Meeting held on 23 May 2024; and
3. The Community, Cultural and Corporate Services Scrutiny Committee Terms of Reference.

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 21 May 2024 be confirmed as an accurate record and signed by the Chair.

The Chair welcomed County Councillor Peter Buckley, Cabinet Member for Communities and Cultural Services, and Andy Walker, Head of Service Business Growth and External Funding, to the meeting. The report presented detailed how work to support Arts Council designated and funded National Portfolio Organisations (NPO's) were being supported within Lancashire and the council's expectations for how the next round of National Portfolio Organisations funding may play out in Lancashire. A presentation was presented to the committee to support the report, a copy of which is attached to the minutes.

The Chair, on behalf of the committee, thanked the officers for the detailed report provided, and the presentation presented.

Comments and queries raised from the committee were as follows:

• Due to cultural services being significant drivers of economic output in local communities, the committee was encouraged to see the link between cultural services and economic development, and the continuation of that relationship was emphasised.

• The Creative Step Programme, which was an initiative designed to support and develop creative businesses and individuals within Lancashire, was highlighted for the valuable advice it provided to organisations. It was therefore suggested that more information on the Creative Step Programme, including details of its work and operations, be circulated to the committee.

• Concerns were raised regarding the lack of investment and cultural events in areas such as Preston, and it was noted that the county council had introduced several initiatives, including Crowdfund Lancashire, which had attracted over £1.3 million for community projects across the county, including those within Preston.

• Local Government was the largest investor of culture and the creative arts, and the committee highlighted the importance of ensuring the county council continues to support new organisations and assist in their growth.

• The committee highlighted the need to maintain relations with district councils, and it was noted that the county council worked closely with the district councils, and the district council also had representation on Arts Lancashire, which was a collaborative network that supported and promoted the arts and cultural sector within Lancashire, as well as bringing together various stakeholders, including local authorities, arts organisations, and individual artists, to foster dialogue, share resources, and advocate for the arts. The committee requested more information to be circulated on Creative Lancashire and Arts Lancashire, including what the county council's involvement in those two organisations were.

• The Chair read out comments submitted by County Councillor John Shedwick, Deputy Chair of the Committee, who was unable to attend the meeting. The Deputy Chair was encouraged at the inclusion of 8 new organisations in the Lancashire portfolio, in addition to the 10 existing recipients, and the Deputy Chair noted that Creative Lancashire was collaborating with individuals and organisations on other Arts Council England's Investment Programmes and place-based propositions for Historic England and National Heritage Lottery Fund Programmes.

• The committee explored the idea of using funds from the proceeds of crime to involve more young people in arts and other activities as a way to combat anti-social behaviour. They noted that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The Chair welcomed County Councillor Alan Vincent, Cabinet Member for Resources, HR and Property (Deputy Leader), Noel O'Neill, Director of Finance and Commerce, and Paul Fairclough, Head of Service Procurement and Contract Management to the meeting. The report presented provided a review of the Procurement Service in the county council. A presentation was presented to the committee to support the report, a copy of which is attached to the minutes.

The Chair, on behalf of the committee, thanked the officers for the detailed report provided, and the presentation presented.

The Chair referred to Lancashire County Council's participation in the Local Government Association Transformation and Innovation Exchange. It was noted that this network will support work on the development of the council's change agenda which is being considered by the Community, Cultural and Corporate Services Scrutiny Committee at its meeting scheduled for 9 December 2024.

Comments and queries raised from the committee were as follows:

·  The committee requested further data be provided on the following:

o  The names of suppliers and the category of Procurement contracts, grouped by the following amounts:

§£1m - £5m

§£500,000 - £1m

o  The numbers of suppliers and the category of Procurement contracts, grouped by the following amounts:

§£250,000 - £500,000

§£100,000 - £500,000

§Below £50,000,

o  For suppliers with a Procurement contract between £1m – 5m and £500,000 - £1m, how many subcontracts each of those contracts had with the county council, and the total value of each of the subcontracts.

· The committee noted that implementation had been delayed, and that further consideration may be needed by the committee should there be any proposed changes that would impact upon the council.

· It was also suggested as an area for improvement that an application be developed to extract procurement contract data from the county council’s systems, allowing users to see what contracts the council had and their respective categories. Additionally, it was noted that when examining the locality of contracts, more attention should be given to smaller contracts rather than large multi-million-pound ones, as the larger contracts typically went to large organisations.

·  Concerns were raised about the locality of contracts being awarded and whether contracts were being awarded more to National organisations, rather than local businesses, and it was noted that this was a potential area for development in terms of understanding the council's spend better. The committee highlighted a need to encourage local businesses to participate in bidding and training, and support processes were necessary to help smaller firms overcome the intimidation of complex bidding forms that were required to fill in.  The Preston Community Wealth model was given as an example to see what lessons could be learnt from the techniques and strategies used by Preston.

· The committee inquired about the level of communication between the procurement team and local organisations during the procurement process and it was noted that during the procurement process and the pre-market engagement, tenders were published, and a “supplier day” was often held, which  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The committee considered the work programme for the 2024/25 municipal year, and an update on actions and assurances.

It was noted that the Strategy for Change Management item would be discussed at the meeting on 9 December 2024, the Workforce Matters – (HR, Absenteeism Recruitment and Performance Management) would be discussed at the meeting on 31 October 2024, and the Asset Profile item would be discussed at the rescheduled March 2025 meeting.

It was also noted that a 4-hour scrutiny meeting was planned for the 12 February 2025 meeting, to focus on different aspects of the Lancashire Community Safety Partnership, and the 27 March 2025 meeting would be moved to an earlier date to avoid the county council's pre-election period.

Resolved: That

1. The work programme for 2024/25 at Appendix 'A' of the report be noted;
2. The formal written responses from County Councillor Peter Buckley, Cabinet Member for Community and Cultural Services to the Committee's recommendations on Lancashire Community Safety Agreement and Performance Update and Draft LCC Cohesion and Integration Strategy 2024/28 detailed in Appendix 'B' of the report, be noted;
3. The information included in the report for the 31 October 2024 meeting of the Committee be confirmed; and
4. The information provided as part of the actions and assurances to the Committee with regard to future work programme items at Appendix 'C' of the report be noted.

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 Thursday 31 October 2024 at 10.30 am in Committee Room B – The Diamond Jubilee Room, County Hall, Preston.

It was noted that the next meeting of the Community, Cultural and Corporate Services Scrutiny Committee will be held on Thursday 31 October 2024 at 10.30 am in Committee Room B – The Diamond Jubilee Room, County Hall, Preston.