Agenda and minutes

None.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on Monday 30 July 2018.

It was agreed that the minutes of the meeting of the committee held on 30 July 2018 be confirmed as a correct record.

The Service Director Performance and Innovation will attend to provide the committee with a verbal update about the progress of the implementation of paperless meetings, and to advise members about the next steps to be taken.

The Service Director Performance and Innovation, Marianne Hesketh, provided a verbal update about the progress of the implementation of paperless meetings and advised members about the next steps to be taken. She indicated that progress had been slower than intended due to a number of issues, including staffing vacancies in the ICT Department.

Three different devices had been obtained, free of charge from a provider, for trial use by members for eight weeks. They would be ready for use by the end of September. At the end of the eight-week trial period, an assessment of each devise would be carried out, with comments to be received from councillors, Democratic Services Officers and the ICT team. A decision would then be made about which device was the best for the task at the best price. Whichever device was selected would be rolled out to all councillors and relevant officers; only one type of device would be used. It was intended that the device would also enable access to emails and calendars so that all essential elements were available in one place.

The Independent Remuneration Panel would be asked to make recommendations to Full Council about any impact the purchase of new devices might have on members’ IT allowances.

It was agreed that

(i)            Councillors Ibison, Jones and Fail trial the devices for the committee, and

(ii)          The outcome from the trial be presented to a future meeting of the committee.

The Service Director Performance and Innovation has submitted a report, the 1st Quarter Performance Statement 2018/19, April – June 2018.

The Service Director Performance and Innovation, Marianne Hesketh, presented a report, the 1^st Quarter Performance Statement 2018/19, April – June 2018.

Ms Hesketh commented that overall the projects were on target, although it was noted that this was a first quarter report. Several measures, including some newly included, were not yet on target so would need to be monitored over the coming quarters.

In answer to a question, the Service Director Health and Wellbeing (Mark Broadhurst) confirmed that members of a House of Lords Select Committee had recently visited Fleetwood to look at the fish processing industry and an update on progress in relation to sustainability would be available towards the end of the 2018/19 year.

Councillors noted that one of the new measures was about the number of dwellings for which planning permission was granted, which reflected something over which the council had a greater degree of control and influence. The previous measure about ‘houses built’ was beyond the direct control of the council, although it was agreed that the number and proportion of houses built that were ‘affordable’ remained something which the committee should continue to monitor closely.

Ms Hesketh invited councillors to suggest any other measures about planning that they would find helpful to be included as part of the quarterly performance report.

It was suggested that it would be helpful to monitor numbers and trends in commuting as the percentage of people working outside the borough was increasing. This had implications for pollution and the quality of life of residents. Ms Hesketh confirmed that the Economic Development team were already engaged in work in this area.

It was agreed that the Service Director Performance and Innovation be thanked for her report and her contribution to the meeting.

The Service Director Health and Wellbeing will report verbally on the progress of actions taken on the recommendations of Wyre’s Corporate Peer Challenge Review undertaken in March 2017.

An updated version of the original Feedback Report, which includes notes (in red) on some key progress outcomes, is attached.

The Service Director Health and Wellbeing, Mark Broadhurst, presented a report on the progress of actions taken on the recommendations of Wyre’s Corporate Peer Challenge Review which was undertaken in March 2017.

Mr Broadhurst referred in particular to the Review’s four key recommendations regarding:

o   The development of the Wyre Economic Development Strategy

o   Clarifying the focus and priorities to deliver ‘Healthier Wyre’

o   Strengthening the coordination of activity and partnership activities in Fleetwood

o   Exploring opportunities for business creation and expansion

It was encouraging that the wider determinants of health were being prioritised, as they were likely to have a long-term impact.

In response to a question Mr Broadhurst informed the committee that a holistic, multi-agency approach was being taken to issues such as mental health and substance abuse, with excellent additional work being carried out with more vulnerable people in supported housing schemes. A number of preventative measures were also in place.

Mr Broadhurst was asked whether the committee could usefully undertake some work to add value to that already being undertaken in the borough. He said that the current restructuring in health would take some time to settle. New Neighbourhoods were being set up, and he suggested that the Lead Officers from each would be useful people for the committee to hear from in due course. Their plans, and the implementation of them, would be a constructive focus for discussion and scrutiny.

It was agreed that Mr Broadhurst be thanked for his report and for his informative contribution to the meeting.

The Scrutiny Officer, Peter Foulsham, will provide a verbal update on the delivery of the Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme 2018/19. The report will include a proposal for a scrutiny task group to be set up to review the provision of public conveniences in the borough, for which a draft scoping document has been prepared.

The Scrutiny Officer, Peter Foulsham, introduced the draft scoping document for a proposed task group review on the borough’s public conveniences. The committee agreed to commission a task group on this topic, the group to review and update the draft scoping document at their first meeting, if necessary.

The draft report of the Flooding Task Group would be submitted to the next meeting of the committee, following a final meeting of the group on 24 September 2018.

There remained s capacity for at least one more task group review during the current municipal year, to be completed prior to the elections in May 2019, subject to members’ suggestions about topics.

It was agreed that all non-Executive councillors be invited to express interest in joining a task group on public conveniences, which would commence in October.

The Head of Finance, Clare James, has submitted a report. The report includes extracts from a ‘Questions and Answers’ document, which was tabled at a meeting of the Audit Committee held on 24 July 2018.

The committee considered a report that had been submitted by the Head of Finance Clare James, which included relevant extracts from a report tabled at the meeting of the Audi Committee on 24 July 2018.

Members agreed that it would be helpful to know more detail about the current subsidy position at the Marine Hall and Thornton Little Theatre and what improvements have been delivered during the last eighteen month in particular. They asked that a report be submitted to the next meeting on 22 October 2018.

Comment was made that some community groups continue to find the charges prohibitively expensive and they requested that this be commented upon to in any future report. The committee also requested that potential income-raising activities be referred to, including the café, the Wyre Lounge and the use of the Mount as a wedding venue.

It was agreed that the Service Director Performance and Innovation be asked to submit a report about the council’s entertainment venues to the next meeting.