Decisions

As the education authority for Lancashire, the county council has a range of statutory duties to fulfil.  Our ambition to provide good access, quality and outcomes in education are set out in the Lancashire Education Strategy 2022-2025 which is also being considered at this meeting.

 

The School Planning Strategy 2022-25 delivers on this ambition with the aim to provide 'the right number of school places, in the right areas, at the right time to meet need'. It sets out a series of priorities for improvement, areas of growth and reduction in the need for school places, and areas for future action. The strategy can be found at Appendix 'A'.

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

An update on the Samlesbury Aerospace Enterprise Zone.

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

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

Lancashire County Council has a statutory duty to ensure that a primary or secondary school place is available for every child of statutory school age living in Lancashire who requests one.

 

As a result of the loss of places from the closure of Hameldon Community College, and large primary school year groups moving through to secondary schools, additional secondary school places are required in Burnley for admission in the 2021/22 academic year.

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

This report provides an update to Cabinet regarding the public consultation of Lancashire's Short Break offer, following the Cabinet decision on 12 March 2020.

 

The report sets out a number of recommendations to support the delivery of a redesigned short break offer that will enable the county council to fulfil its statutory responsibilities in relation to the sufficiency of provision of short breaks for children and young people with disabilities, and their parents and carers. 

 

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

The Cabinet approved the recommendations as set out in the report, with the following additional recommendation:

 

v.  That Cabinet receives quarterly progress reports on the implementation of the re-deigned Short Break Offer.

Lancashire County Council reviews the Home to School Transport policy on an annual basis. There are no changes to the determined policy for the academic year 2022/2023.

 

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.

To determine the admission arrangements for community and voluntary controlled primary and secondary schools and sixth forms schools for the school year 2022/2023.

 

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 with the following additions to Appendix 'D' of the report:

 

Under the criteria's listed on page 162 of the agenda, change criteria 1 to (1a) and include the following as (1b) Looked after children and those who have been previously looked after who are legally adopted from overseas (see note (x) below.

This report concerns the determination of the statutory scheme and the mandatory timetable for co-ordinating admissions for Lancashire's primary and secondary schools and academies for 2022/2023. 

 

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 report provides details of the consultation within the County of Lancashire, representatives of the local Diocesan Church Education Authorities and the governing bodies of all Lancashire maintained schools, Free Schools and Academies on the establishing of the relevant area for consultation on admission arrangements.  Further details are provided at Appendix 'A'.

 

The Authority proposed no changes, and no responses were received by the Local Authority to this consultation.

 

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 Capital Strategy for Schools for 2018/19 to 2021/22.

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

The major new road infrastructure scheme to be delivered for the South Lancaster Growth Catalyst is considerable, and comprises the reconfiguration of M6 Junction 33 with a new highway connection providing a link to proposed housing areas west of the West Coast Main Line, along with a new spine road to service the Bailrigg Garden Village.  Together these form the 'South Lancaster to M6 Road Scheme'.

 

As the scheme represents a nationally significant infrastructure project, by virtue of the reconfiguration it proposes to the M6 Junction 33, statutory approval for development must be sought through a Development Consent Order, under the Planning Act 2008.

 

In order 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 with landowners will commence immediately however, agreement may not be achievable in time or at all. Consequently, it may be necessary to use powers available to the county council to compulsorily acquire land and rights. 

 

Given a Development Consent Order is proposed to be sought, it is appropriate to use the same statutory provision to compulsorily acquire land and rights, and also to give the county council as highway authority the power to stop up, divert, improve or otherwise alter a side road, public right of way or private means of access.  Without this power, the county council could not carry out the necessary alterations to the existing accesses.

 

This report deals specifically with the M6 Junction 33 Reconfiguration with Link Road, which is the subject of an earlier report on this Cabinet agenda.  Subject to the approval of the recommendations contained in that report, the recommendations below seek the Cabinet's approval for the use of powers and preparation of documentation for land assembly and planning in respect of this part of the South Lancaster to M6 Road Scheme.  A further report in relation to the full scheme will be brought to a future Cabinet meeting.

 

This is deemed to be a Key Decision and the requirements of Standing Order C20 have been complied with.

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

This report sets out the county council's proposed fee uplifts for adult social care services for 2021/22 and the increases in charges for service users, the financial impact of which have been reflected in the Medium Term Financial Strategy.

 

Appendix 'A' provides a schedule of the current rates and the proposed rates from 5 April 2021.

 

The Council has engaged with care providers and with partners in the Clinical Commissioning Groups and NHS Commissioning Support Unit in reaching the recommendations in this report.

 

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 Reablement Services in East Lancashire

(ii)  Vehicle Restraint Systems Framework Agreement

(iii)  Safer Roads Programme

(iv)  South Lancaster Housing Infrastructure

 

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

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

Approval is sought to take forward the preferred option for the M6 Junction 33 Reconfiguration with Link Road and the three options for the Lancaster City Centre Movement and Public Realm Strategy.

 

A six week public consultation was held on the M6 Junction 33 Reconfiguration with Link Road Route Options to help identify the best option considering environmental constraints, highway engineering, traffic modelling and public opinion. The public consultation also considered the Lancaster City Centre Movement and Public Realm Strategy Route Options and this report identifies three options to be taken forward for further analysis.

 

The consultation received 598 responses. A consultation report and preferred options report presented at Appendices 'A' and 'B' compiles and summarises the comments received to the M6 Junction 33 Link Road and provides a response to the matters raised. A separate consultation report presented at Appendix 'D' compiles and summarises the comments received to the Lancaster City Centre Movement and Public Realm Strategy and similarly responds to these.

 

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

The council is receiving increasing numbers of requests for residents parking schemes within the county. The present criteria for the introduction of these schemes was adopted 11 years ago.  Over the last several years, very few schemes have been introduced due to resource limitations.  More recently, the county council removed the offer of Residents Permit Parking Schemes as part of the Highways Service Delivery Plan (2015). Prior to considering re-starting the introduction of residents parking schemes it is prudent to revise the criteria to allow new schemes to be promoted where the need is the greatest.

 

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 pro-forma for 2021/22 to the Education and Skills Funding Agency by 21 January 2021. This report seeks the approval of Cabinet to submit the Schools Block budget pro-forma and requests approval for the Early Years, High Needs and Central Schools Services Block budgets for 2021/22.

 

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 report provides an update to Cabinet on the county council's 2020/21 revenue and capital financial position, as at the end of December 2020 and an updated Medium Term Financial Strategy covering the period 2021/22 to 2023/24.

 

There is ongoing and unprecedented uncertainty in relation to future local government funding and the financial impact of the COVID-19 emergency has exacerbated the problem.

 

Accordingly significant assumptions are required to underpin our forecasts. While these can be made with a level of confidence in the current year, over the medium term, with limited information, we rely heavily on advice from national bodies, benchmarking and discussion with peers.

 

Whilst a multi-year Spending Review was originally expected, the Chancellor and the Prime Minister decided to conduct a one-year Spending Review, setting department’s resource and capital budgets for 2021/22 only in order to prioritise the response to COVID-19 and focus on supporting jobs. The Medium Term Financial Strategy at quarter 3 reflects the provisional financial settlement which was announced on 17 December 2020. This provided confirmation of funding announcements made by the Chancellor as part of the Spending Review 2020, however these are subject to consultation and could change as part of the final financial settlement. This included the ability to raise additional council tax through a social care precept and additional funding to support the costs of the COVID-19 pandemic. These changes have had a significant impact on the forecast gap in 2021/22, however it must be noted that many of these changes are non-recurrent and it is likely that there will be longer term pressures within the budget due to the impact of COVID-19 which are difficult to quantify at this stage in the pandemic.

 

The settlement is for one year only and the figures are expected to be confirmed in late January/early February 2021 within the final settlement announcement.

 

Whilst the quarter 3 forecast presents anunderspend of £7.951m for the current financial year, there remains a level of uncertainty about the longer term impacts of the ongoing pandemic. There will certainly be ongoing impacts relating to the collection fund that force a pressure, currently estimated at £1.7m per annum, into the next three years.

 

Any latent impact on price or demand for our services also remains unclear.

 

The current Medium Term Financial Strategy indicates an aggregated funding gap of £53.956m by 2023/24, a decrease of £24.835m from the previously reported position.

 

In summary:

 

(i)  The 2020/21 revenue forecast outturn is £836.900m, representing a projected underspend of £7.951m (0.94%) of the agreed budget.

 

(ii)  The Medium Term Financial Strategy has been updated for our current expectations of levels of funding, savings delivery, demand and inflation.

 

(iii)At Cabinet in November 2020 the Medium Term Financial Strategy showed a deficit of £78.791m in 2023/24. The forecast now indicates a financial deficit of £53.956m by 2023/24.

 

(iv)The council is forecast to hold a General Reserve against unforeseen issues of £23.437m representing circa 3% of net budget, which is unchanged from the previously reported position. 

 

(v)  The council is forecast to hold £159.420m of uncommitted transitional reserve at the end of the financial year. This is sufficient to meet the forecast gap for all of the years covered by the Medium Term Financial Strategy, 2021/22 to 2023/24.

The Cabinet approved the recommendation(s) as set out in the report with the following amendment:

 

·  Recommendation (iv) in the report, be deferred to the next meeting of Cabinet on 4 February 2021.

Lancashire has a well-regarded and high performing residential service for our most vulnerable children. However, it has been several years since this provision was last reviewed. Working across all the elements of residential provision and based on evidence and consultation this report proposes a change to the way we provide residential care.

 

Lancashire Education and Children's Services now have a strength based operating model known as Family Safeguarding. Supporting families to remain together and ensure that they receive care within the home, the benefits are that families can deal with their own issues more easily and become confident working alongside practitioners to find solutions to their needs. To support this new way of working, we must reshape our residential provision and purpose.

 

This report presents proposals to increase provision to support children to remain at home with support; to establish 2 reception units enabling better assessments of children in crisis, and to reconfigure the residential provision to enable Lancashire to care for more children and young people within the county boundary.

 

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 a procurement exercise for the provision of IT Hardware.

 

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

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

This report is being presented to the Cabinet, prior to publication of the Lancashire Safeguarding Adults Board Annual Report for 2019/20. The draft Lancashire Safeguarding Adults Board Annual Report for 2019/20 is set out at Appendix 'A'.

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

A report on the Housing Infrastructure Fund.

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

Approval was given to commence a formal procurement process intended to secure the future of Wennington Hall School in January 2020. The implementation of this decision was delayed due to the national pandemic and the invitation to tender published on 26 October 2020. The process for receipt of tenders closed on 4 December 2020.

 

The statutory process, set out in the School Organisation (Establishment and Discontinuance of Schools) Regulations 2013, must be undertaken before making a decision on the discontinuance of Wennington Hall School. Permission to pursue discontinuance has been given by the Department for Education on the condition that a suitable independent provider is identified.

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

It is a legal requirement for all local authorities to provide a Children Looked After Sufficiency Strategy, as set out in Section 22G of the Children's Act 1989. The Strategy sets out how Lancashire County Council intends to meet its Sufficiency Duty for the children we look after, improve the quality and choice of placements, ensure value for money and minimise the likelihood of suitable placements not being available locally. 

 

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 maintenance of adequate levels of skidding resistance across Lancashire's highways is an important aspect of highway maintenance and one that contributes significantly to the safety of the highway network for all road users.

 

This report seeks approval to revise the Skid Resistance Code of Practice which sets out the county council's approach to monitoring skid resistance, interpreting data, investigating accident sites and developing an annual programme of remedial and/or resurfacing works across Lancashire's A, B & C road network.

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

Sarah Callaghan, Director of Education and Skills, Lancashire County Council, and Zoe Richards, Senior Programme Manager for SEND, Lancashire and South Cumbria and Hilary Fordham, Morecambe Bay Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), introduced the item.

 

It was noted that the first monitoring visit had taken place, as shown in the report and monthly reports would be produced for the Committee containing the progress made for each action since the last meeting of the Committee. The report for this meeting was in reference to progress made to the actions for October and November 2020

 

Each action in the report were taken in turn and members' provided comments to each action:

 

Action One: Leaders' Understanding of Local Area

 

In terms of Action One, the following key messages were noted:

 

• Good progress had been made with regard to the leaders' understanding of the local area and that the new SEND Partnership Manager and Local Officer Development Officer posts, jointly funded by Lancashire County Council and the NHS, would both commence their employment on 4 January. 

 

• A joint County Council/Health data team had been established and strong scrutiny and challenge processes are in place, including the data dashboard, which is currently being developed.  The Personal Outcomes Evaluation Tool (POET) survey had now been reviewed and the relevant action was being taken.  The survey Monkey Quiz was being developed and the agreed focus of support was in place.

 

• A feedback mechanism would be piloted from January and most health providers within the Lancashire and South Cumbria footprint have engaged with the Data Quality Improvement Programme.

 

Members' requested that a key of the colours used for Red – Amber – Green (RAG) ratings should be included in the document, along with a glossary of abbreviations and terms. The report should also be amended to identify which key milestones referred to which of the particular priorities.

 

Action Two: Joint Commissioning

 

In terms of Action Two, the following key messages were noted:

 

• A report had been sent to the Children and Young People's Commissioning Network, which looks at the strategic element of commissioning arrangements across Lancashire and South Cumbria, and a Lancashire Commissioning Group, which considers tactical arrangements particular to the county, have recently been convened.  School Nurse Practitioner Workshops had been held in November and December and the Special School Nursing Task Group had been reconvened. A review of Specialist Children's Nursing Services had also been completed, with parent and carers asked for feedback.  Continence policy arrangements had also been reviewed and would shortly be sent out to stakeholders.

 

• All key milestones for this quarter are on target and progressing well but it was noted that the implications of the response to Covid-19 had made an impact on the commissioning capacity.

 

Action Three: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Pathway

 

In terms of Action Three, the following key messages were noted:

 

• All providers and Clinical Commissioning Groups had engaged in a recovery plan approach and a request for recovery plan funding had been made to the Integrated Care System for support for a whole system improvement plan for all local authorities within Lancashire.

 

• Links had been made with the National Autism Team and the Autism Spectrum Disorder National Clinical Lead had undertaken a gap and demand analysis and feasibility study, the report for which is expected at the end of December 2021. 

 

• A Neuro-Developmental (ND) Pathway Group to deliver the Autism Spectrum Disorder Project Plan across the Integrated Care System had been established in December 2019.  This Group has agreed that the Autism Spectrum Disorder Project Plan would be the priority for the duration of the Accelerated Progress Plan (APP) and an update would be provided at a future meeting of the SEND Sub-Committee.

 

• It was reported that three of the key milestones had been completed, but there were concerns over not being able to appoint private sector Digital Assessors, the quality of output from private providers and data requirements not being met by private providers.

 

• There were still key issues and gaps that remained which included the Neuro-Developmental (ND) Pathway Co-ordinators that had not yet been appointed, although it was noted that this should be resolved by January/February 2021. 

 

Following the presentation, the following were clarified:

 

• That in relation to the response rate from parent carers regarding Autism Spectrum Disorder and Neuro-Developmental (ASD/ND) support, a 30% response rate should be achieved within the next three months, 50% within six months, with the final expectation being a 70% response rate.

 

 

• Following a suggestion to invite the National Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinical Lead to the next meeting of the SEND Sub-Committee in order that they could present their report to the committee directly, members' were informed that their report information would be fed into a report that was to be presented to the SEND Partnership Board and a suggestion was made that members' of this Committee could be invited to that particular meeting.

 

• Following a query regarding the red RAG rating around the quality of output from private providers and a request for assurance that there were not a backlog as a result of this, it was stated that a proposal will be developed by 4 January to include three different trajectories that would identify the impact on the delivery of the Accelerated Progress Plan. 

 

• It was confirmed that Zoe Richards was taking the lead on communications and engagement and, in responding to a query, she confirmed that all Clinical Commissioning Groups are involved in the SEND agenda through the Children and Young People's Commissioning Group and there is a SEND Improvement Board for Health, to which all the SEND Commissioners from all the Clinical Commissioning Groups are invited to attend.

 

Action Four: Transitions in Health Care

 

In terms of Action Four, the following key messages were noted:

 

• All health care providers have engaged with transition in health care and SEND Improvement Groups had been established in several providers and other providers setting up SEND Improvement Groups, early in the New Year.

 

• The key milestones are all on target and the main risk was the engagement of Adult Services.  Data requirements were also identified as a risk but this is being addressed and an update will be provided at the next meeting.  It was also noted that the response to the Covid-19 pandemic is a risk in terms of ensuring that everything is in place in the timescales required.

 

Responding to a concern over the target of achieving the 45% positive feedback from children and young people regarding their transition process, members' were informed that a benchmarking exercise on transition arrangements in health care had taken place prior to the Accelerated Progress Plan (APP) being in place.

 

Action Five: Local Offer

 

In terms of Action Five, the following key messages were noted:

 

• The Local Offer Development Officer will take up employment on 4 January. Their role included developing the local offer website and the ways in which local offers are made available across Lancashire. 

 

• A soft launch of the local offer directory of service had taken place and a decision to renew the open object software licence had been taken. This would enable the directory to be in place.  A feedback form had been uploaded onto the website.

 

• Three of the four milestones were on target, with the directory of services being addressed in the New Year.

 

Following the presentation, member's requested the following:

 

• The minutes from the SEND Partnership Board be sent around the Committee, as the minutes published to the website were not up-to-date.

 

• The monitoring feedback from the Department of education / NHS England and NHS Improvement (DfE/NHS EI) be seen by the Committee. However, in response to this request, members' were informed that feedback was given both verbally and formally, with formal feedback being received in March and September.

 

Concerns were also raised the possibilities of equality impact assessments not being undertaken as services evolved. In response, members' were informed that should significant changes to the services take place, equality impact assessments would be carried out by the commissioners, with any major changes being taken through the formal relevant governance processes.

 

Resolved: That;

 

i.  The progress of the Accelerated Progress Plan (APP) to date on the five areas of concern, including those areas highlighted in 'red' or 'amber, be noted;

ii.  That the highlight report be amended to include a key of the colours used for the RAG ratings, a glossary of abbreviations and terms, and a section to identify which key milestones refer to which particular priority;

iii.  The report that was sent to the Children and Young People's Commissioning Network, to be circulated to Committee members for their information;

4. The National Autism Team work streams would be circulated to members of the Committee;
5. The possibilities of members' being invited to attend the SEND Partnership Board, be investigated; and
6. The minutes from the previous meetings of the SEND Partnership Board be sent to the Committee.

Proposal to introduce Coastal Pay & Display Parking in Lytham-St-Annes and a proposal introducing evening Car Only Parking along with supporting parking restrictions.

Proposal for introduction of Coastal Pay and Display on The Esplanade, Fleetwood and Rossall Promenade & South Promenade, Thornton-Cleveleys along with evening car only parking and supporting parking restrictions.

Sarah Callaghan, Director of Education and Skills, Lancashire County Council, and Zoe Richards, SEND Partnership Improvement Lead, Morecambe Bay Clinical Commissioning Group, introduced the item.

 

Sarah Callaghan reported that the Lancashire local area Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Services had been inspected by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in November 2017 to judge how effectively the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) reforms had been implemented, as per the Children and Families Act 2014. 

 

The inspection identified twelve areas of significant concern and a subsequent inspection revisit was therefore undertaken in March 2020 to see if sufficient progress had been made in these twelve areas.  The second inspection revisit confirmed that sufficient progress had been made in seven of the twelve areas but that further work was required in the remaining five, which are noted below.

 

•  Leaders had an inaccurate understanding of the local area;

•  there were weak joint commissioning arrangements that were not well developed or evaluated;

•  there was an absence of effective diagnostic pathways for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) across the local area and no diagnostic pathway in the north of the area;

•  transition arrangements in 0-25 healthcare services were poor; and

•  the local offer was inaccessible and the quality of information published was poor.

 

In view of this, a draft Accelerated Improvement Plan has been put together for Lancashire, which focusses on these five areas for improvement.  The Plan will be formally monitored, with progress reports being made to both the SEND Partnership Board and the Lancashire Health and Wellbeing Board, along with further reviews by the Department for Education and NHS England.  It was noted that the final working draft of the Plan must be submitted to the Department for Education and NHS England by 30 September 2020.

 

Sarah Callaghan and Zoe Richards summarised the Plan, talking about each area of concern individually and the key performance indictators that have been put in place to counter-act those issues.

 

In response to a query about best practice in developing the action plan and how service users have been engaged in this process, it was reported that service users sit on both the SEND Partnership Board and SEND Operational Group and rigorously challenge actions and progress and shape the development plans for the Accelerated Progress Plan.

 

In addition, engaging with service users had taken place by engagement co-production and co-delivery and was working very well.  With regard to overall improvement of the service, plans were in place to determine how engagement with service users can be further improved by using several different mechanisms; ie, undertaking surveys, having virtual meetings and by liaising with schools to ask children for their opinions on their experiences of services by incorporating this into lessons.  In terms of best practice with regard to Autism Spectrum Disorder, benchmarking had taken place with other areas and meetings have taken place with the newly established National Autism Team, who are keen to have a joint co-learning process.

 

With regard to improving the 0-25 transition in healthcare services, after liaising with regional and national colleagues with similar complexities, the advice received was to have an ICS vision that fits in with the preparing for adulthood approach and to have an ICP delivery mechanism that is monitored and delivered at a local level.  The North West Transition Lead is also providing support in preparing the project plan.

 

In response to a query on the definition of the SEND offer and representation of the needs of children and young people on the Parent/Carer Forum, it was stated that whilst the Accelerated Progress Plan focusses on the five areas of concern, it was equally important to continue to support the objectives of the broader SEND strategy.  It was felt that representation on the Parent/Carer Forum in terms of complexity and diversity of need is good, with different sets of parents sitting on the SEND Partnership Board and the SEND Operational Group.  In addition, separate groups are consulted for feedback and surveys are sent out to parents and carers. 

 

With regard to a question regarding the monitoring process and timescales of the local offer, it was confirmed that a tool has been developed and should be implemented by October 2020, which will enable parents/carers to share their views about the local offer and allow findings to be analysed by the whole Partnership.  It was reported that the post of the Local Offer Development Officer was currently being advertised and that this post-holder would further develop the local offer website as well as undertaking broader communication and engagement, allowing service users to find information in a range of ways that are both timely and easily accessible.

 

Several queries were raised on the key performance indicators, the responses to which are outlined below:

 

Key performance indicators need to be ambitious and realistic but targets need to be constantly reviewed to see if baselines are being met and, if targets are not sufficiently aspirational, then more challenging work should be done.

 

In terms of the range and span of parent/carer feedback, projects are in place to address this, ie POET survey, but consideration needs to be given to obtaining feedback in more different and innovative ways.  Young people sit on the SEND Partnership Board and have a strong involvement in meetings and, going forward, it was recently agreed that all reports presented to the SEND Partnership Board should include reference to how children and young people's lives will be improved in such a way that shows they have been consulted.  Additionally, work will be done to obtain feedback by way of case studies, which will identify both areas of success and those in need of improvement.

 

The Sub-Committee discussed the key performance indictor target where 75% of 14 year olds requiring transition are actually identified and given a transition plan and that clarity on identifying those individuals would be required. Following a short discussion around managing transition arrangements and identifying individual children and young people, it was stated that the project plan should be presented in the context of the existing position and that the commissioning gap should be properly managed and linked to the action plan.

 

In terms of completing and implementing the directory of services and the sequencing of dates, it was confirmed that the actions in the directory of services will remain under constant review whilst the impact of the local offer will continue to be monitored and extended, in parallel, as a more developed piece of work.

 

The following next steps were noted:

 

•  The Accelerated Progress Plan be submitted to the Department for Education and NHS England by 30 September 2020;

•  the Department for Education and NHS England would continue to monitor the five areas where insufficient progress has been made; and

•  formal monitoring would take place within six months and twelve months, from 1 October 2020.

 

Resolved:

 

i.  The receipt of the report from Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission following the joint inspection revisit be noted; and

 

ii.  the draft Accelerated Progress Plan which addresses the five areas of concern be considered and approved.

The Chair welcomed to the meeting from Citizens Advice Rossendale and Hyndburn, Rachel Whippy, Chief Officer and Jenny Duthie, Universal Credit Help and Claim Best Practice Lead.

 

The committee was presented with an update on the impact of Covid 19 on the people of Lancashire and the issues they faced.

 

The following points were clarified:

 

·  On whether there had been an increase in domestic abuse issues during the pandemic, it was reported that there had been 179 reported issues in 2019 and this had increased to 239 in 2020. Anecdotally Citizens Advice advisors were reporting an increase in the number of referrals for relationship issues and this was echoed nationally.

·  Concerns were raised about loan shark activity. Members were informed that there was a government funded organisation for stopping loan sharks. Members were provided with a link to the 'Stop Loan Sharks' website: www.stoploansharks.co.uk . Stop Loan Sharks worked closely with Trading Standards. Credit Unions were also proactive in helping people get out of the grip of loan sharks. Solutions were available for people with debts under £20k were they could obtain a Debt Relief Order. It was stated that people should contact Citizens Advice for help in dealing with their debts and setting up dent management plans.

·  On how the county council might help support residents, it was felt the community hubs established during the pandemic were a good example of local authorities, health and the voluntary sector working together in partnership and it was hoped this would continue. In terms of service delivery for Citizens Advice it was noted that whilst capacity was reserved for the most vulnerable in society and those with complex issues, their approach was to help enable people to support themselves by providing a wealth of information and resources through its website and training on how to use it.

·  It was noted that the Citizens Advice did not work with trade unions but this could be an option.

·  It was suggested that Lancashire County council could advertise for volunteers for the Citizens Advice.

·  The Chair reminded the committee that a formal written response to its recommendations made in February 2020 was awaited from the Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing. It was felt that the committee should wait for the Cabinet Member's response before making recommendations.

 

Resolved: That;

 

1.  The report be noted.

2.  The External Scrutiny Committee awaits receipt of the formal written responses by the Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing before formulating any further recommendations.

 

The Chair welcomed to the meeting from Electricity North West, Cara Blockley, Central Services Manager, Steve Cox, Engineering and Technical Director and Helen Norris, Stakeholder Engagement and Responsibility Framework Manager. From Cadent Gas the Chair welcomed Helen Boyle, Regional Development Manager.

 

The committee was provided with a presentation on the decarbonisation pathway for Lancashire. Lancashire was currently set to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The pathway provided a view on how its energy system could be decarbonised through a balanced use of renewable electricity and low carbon gas. The presentation aimed to show which technologies would emerge as commercially viable first and were therefore likely to be adopted by customers.

 

The following points were highlighted:

 

• By 2050 Lancashire would rely on electricity imports from the National Grid and would be a net-importer of hydrogen. The majority of energy consumed in 2050 would be from electricity and hydrogen. Due to Lancashire's onshore and offshore wind potential, more than half of the electricity demand could be met with local distribution level generation. Abundant wind resources could also be used to generate significant amounts of green hydrogen by 2050.

·  On the installation of charging points for electric vehicles and the difficulties for people who lived in terraced houses or apartment blocks it was noted that from national trials people charged their vehicles in different places not just at home. Electricity North West had provided charging points (13 amp plugs) at its offices for staff to charge their vehicles at no additional cost to help incentivise the take up of electric vehicles. Whilst it would cost approx. 4 pence per mile to charge each vehicle, it was highlighted that it would cost more to meter such provision. Vehicles could be charged at around ten miles per hour on a 13 Amp plug. Electricity North West was encouraging employers in Lancashire to provide slow low trickle charging facilities for employees in their car parks. All major supermarkets were installing fast charging facilities. Large fuel stations were also providing ultra-fast chargers which would fully charge an average vehicle in around 15 minutes. It was explained that people were anxious about electric vehicle charging and running out of power however it was highlighted that most people used their vehicles for short distances and the way to solve this problem would be to install as many chargers at places of work, supermarkets, fuel stations and surface/multi-storey car parks as possible. Home charging was not an essential part of owning an electric vehicle.

·  Further detail was sought on the storage of hydrogen in salt caverns. It was explained that there were lots of trials happening around the country regarding this to answer a number of questions on hydrogen and the safety of storage. One such trial was being undertaken at Keele University[1] where they were now looking to implement 100% hydrogen supply for commercial and residential settings. Cadent Gas and other companies were looking at networked hydrogen and the supply chain. It was highlighted that Cadent Gas was not advocating hydrogen as the only solution, but a mixture of sources of energy generation.

·  On the development of tidal and river based generation it was pointed out that the roll out of such technology might depend on the price point versus the next generation of wind turbines or solar cells. Whilst there had been mixed success around the world for tidal and river based generation in particular large single point developments, the issue was the price per unit produced over the long term and this was the challenge for nuclear power and large scale civil engineering projects such as tidal. Organisations would be committing energy customers to a higher price in order to recover capital costs. However the technology would not be excluded from contributing to energy generation for the area.

·  It was highlighted that the price point for electric vehicles was dropping. For instance the whole lifetime operating costs for mini excavators was less than a diesel or petrol powered digger as well as having no noise and no carbon dioxide emissions. The problem was that very few people knew of these vehicles and the amount of information and leadership to businesses in the North West region on decarbonisation and low carbon technology was felt to be insufficient. This was one area Electricity North West wished to work with the committee and local authorities across the region on. Around 60-65% of all energy used in the region was by businesses and commerce and they were the primary target for switching their fleets to electric vehicles and moving their heat demand on to hydrogen. Public education campaigns and outreach programmes for businesses were crucial to help enable people to understand the opportunities available to them.

·  It was reported that a number of organisations in the Ellesmere Port area had come together and established the HyNet North West Consortium[2] in order to develop a supply chain for hyrodgen. Lancashire's solution for hydrogen would likely come from HyNet.

·  It was suggested that Lancashire County Council should provide leadership on decarbonisation and to consider ways to incentivise take up of low carbon technology. Decarbonising its own operations and publishing what works was all part of what would be considered as a central leadership role for the county council.

·  Electricity North West was hoping to move its fleet to electric vehicles with the exception of 4WD and heavy goods vehicles within the next 7 years. The latter would increasingly convert to hydrogen, but they were not commercially available to buy yet. 

 

It was felt that the process of decarbonisation as presented by Electricity North West and Cadent Gas, was progressive, comprehensive and stimulating, giving a true path towards a carbon free future for Lancashire. It was also felt there were a number of opportunities to progress this project both for the public and private sectors, particularly as Lancashire had significant resources and might even be able to supply the rest of the UK.

 

The chair reminded the committee from his rapporteur activities that there was no coordination of effort at a time when strong leadership was required. Some District Councils were quoted as looking to Lancashire County Council to prompt, advise and take a lead on decarbonisation. It was therefore;

 

Resolved: That relevant officers be requested to attend a future scheduled meeting of the External Scrutiny Committee to present on the Greater Lancashire Plan and progress made towards a green summit for Lancashire as previously agreed with the Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Environment and Planning to bring together all councils, public sector, the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership and the private sector into a cohesive, planned effort.