Meeting documents

Overview and Scrutiny Committee
Tuesday, 17th January, 2012 7.30 pm


Time:	7.30pm	Place:	Committee Room 1, Council Offices, Gernon Road, Letchworth Garden City

PRESENT:	Councillor R.L. Shakespeare - Smith (Chairman), Councillor Michael Paterson (Vice-Chairman), Councillor Mrs A.G. Ashley, Councillor David Billing, Councillor Dave Chambers (substitute), Councillor Bill Davidson, Councillor Richard Harman, Councillor Cathryn Henry, Councillor S.K. Jarvis, Councillor David Kearns, Councillor Paul Marment, Councillor Alan Millard, Councillor Lawrence Oliver, Councillor Mike Rice.
IN ATTENDANCE:	Councillor Mrs C.P.A. Strong (Portfolio Holder for Policy), Councillor Paul Clark (Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Task and Finish Group on Shared Services), David Scholes (Strategic Director of Planning, Housing and Enterprise), Norma Atlay (Strategic Director of Finance, Policy and Governance), John Robinson (Strategic Director of Customer Services), Liz Green (Head of Policy and Community Services), Andy Beavan (Local Development Framework Manager), Richard Kelly (Senior Planning Officer), Helen Turner (Children and Young Persons Development Officer), Brendan Sullivan (Scrutiny Officer) and Hilary Dineen (Committee and Member Services Officer).
ALSO PRESENT:

Item	Description/Resolution	Status	Action
PART I
67	APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies for absence were received from Councillors John Bishop and John Booth. Councillor Dave Chambers advised that, having given due notice, he would be substituting for Councillor John Booth.	Noted
68	MINUTES Minutes RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meeting held on 6 December 2011 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and signed by the Chairman.	Agreed
69	NOTIFICATION OF OTHER BUSINESS No other business was submitted for consideration by the Committee.	Noted
70	PUBLIC PARTICIPATION There were no presentations from members of the public.	Noted
71	URGENT/GENERAL EXCEPTION ITEMS No urgent or general exception items were received.	Noted
72	CALLED IN ITEMS Since the last meeting, no decisions had been called-in by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.	Noted
73	CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS (1) The Chairman advised Members that Councillor Strong had apologised that she would be arriving late to the meeting and therefore he would take Item 8 - Presentation by the Portfolio Holder for Policy as soon as she arrived; (2) Members were reminded that any declarations of interest in respect of any business set out in the agenda, and the nature of the interest, should be declared as either a prejudicial or personal interest at the commencement of the relevant item on the agenda. Members declaring a prejudicial interest should leave the room and not seek to influence the decision during that particular item; (3) The Chairman gave a further reminder that any advice from a Member of the Committee concerning a party whip direction should also be declared.	Noted
74	PRESENTATION BY THE PORTFOLIO HOLDER FOR POLICY Councillor Mrs C.P.A. Strong, Portfolio Holder for Policy, thanked the Chairman for inviting her to address the Committee on The Council's communications strategies and activities, the Portfolio Holder's role in securing improvements in service quality and value for money and Officer arrangements for facilitating scrutiny activity and informed Members of the following: COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGIEIS - The Communications team consisted of 1 Manager and 2 Communication Officer posts; - The Communications Team were responsible for media contact, press releases, Team Talk, NHDC web site and Communications Plans regarding major projects; - The Communications Team reviewed media coverage and reproduced articles from both local and national press for the Members Information Service. - The Communications Team produced internal information such as Team Talk and NHDC News as well as Outlook, a publication which was delivered to all households in North Herts, which currently cost 17pence per issue; - In one year the Communications Team made 218 press releases and dealt with 419 press enquiries; - Assessments were made regarding press coverage as to whether they are positive, negative or neutral in regard to NHDC; - The NHDC website would be updated in the future and NHDC's use of social media should be improved. Members asked several questions including whether NHDC could be more proactive in ensuring important news is released to the press and expressed concern that the appraisal of negative press coverage did not appear to reflect the experiences of the Members. The Strategic Director of Customer Services explained that the assessment was based on the content of the content of the article overall which could be different from the headline. The Portfolio Holder for Policy advised that press releases were issued, however it was up to the media whether they used them or not and that the figures relating to negative press coverage seem to be born out by the District Wide Survey feedback. She suggested that the Committee may wish to consider looking at Service Reviews as a method of monitoring service areas. The Strategic Director of Customer Services informed Members that, through the Communications Team, NHDC provided a professional service which offered positive press releases and photo opportunities. IMPROVEMENTS IN QUALITY AND VALUE FOR MONEY - One of the Priorities for the District for 2012/13 is "Living within our means to deliver cost effective services"; - The budget setting process included Member workshops and the Challenge Board to ensure that efficiencies were effectively considered; - Service Reviews, small and specific reviews, allow benchmarking against other authorities and monitor performance; - Â£1.9 million of savings had been made in 2011/12; - The processes in place were aimed at looking for value for money and productivity. Members considered that this Committee should scrutinise Service Reviews, whether the process of Service Reviews considered outcomes and asked how service improvement was achieved. The Portfolio Holder for Policy advised that Service Reviews were focused on high cost services and that there were comparisons made to similar authorities in order to identify productivity gain such as shared services. In respect of service improvement feedback was obtained through Customer Service Quality Reviews as well as looking at performance against Key Performance Indicators The Strategic Director of Finance, Policy and Governance further advised that post-implementation reviews were undertaken which considered whether project outcomes had been achieved and whether any lessons could be learnt. This process was usually carried out through the Challenge Board at officer level. FACILITATING SCRUTINY ACTIVITY - The Overview and Scrutiny Committee had been provided with a lead Director and a full time Scrutiny Officer to support the work of the Committee; - That it had, on occasions been difficult to resource Task and Finish Groups as the Officers do so in addition to their usual workload; - The recent innovation of one day Task and Finish Groups seemed less resource intensive and was generally welcomed by Members. The Strategic Director of Customer Services advised that where there were indications that relevant officers were not available for reviews, then the appropriate Director should be informed so suitable resource arrangements could be put in place. The Chairman thanked Councillor Strong for her presentation. RESOLVED: (1) That the Portfolio Holder for Policy be thanked for her presentation; (2) That the Scrutiny Officer be requested to consider how the Overview & Scrutiny Committee could assess Service Reviews. REASON FOR DECISION: To enable the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to consider and understand the issues being addressed by the Portfolio Holder for Policy.	Agreed	Scrutiny Officer
75	MEMBERS QUESTIONS There were no formal questions presented.	Noted
76	RESOLUTIONS OF THE OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE Resolutions covering note Resolutions report The Scrutiny Officer presented the report regarding the Resolutions of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and drew attention to the following: OCTOBER 2011 - MINUTE 64 - CEMETERY CAPACITY WITHIN NORTH HERTS That a report regarding this had been presented to Cabinet who had delegated the decision to the Strategic Director of Customer Services. OCTOBER 2011 - MINUTE 65 - HERTFORDSHIRE LOCAL ENTERPRISE PARTNERSHIP The Strategic Director of Planning, Housing and Enterprise advised that the Local Enterprise Partnership had been contacted regarding the invitation to speak to the Committee and he was waiting for a response OCTOBER 2011 - MINUTE 66 - PROJECT BOARDS TASK AND FINISH GROUP REPORT That the final report of the Task and Finish Group would be presented to Cabinet on 24 January 2012. DECEMBER 2011 - MINUTE 59 - MEMBERS QUESTIONS Members asked if progress had been made in arranging a meeting between the District and County Councillors representing the Cadwell Lane, Hitchin area and Officers of Hertfordshire Highways. The Strategic Director of Planning, Housing and Enterprise advised that the Transport Officer would contact the relevant Members as soon as a date could be arranged. DECEMBER 2011 - MINUTE 67 - WORK PROGRAMME Members expressed concern that the report entitled "Closure of Bancroft Hall" had not been presented to this Committee. The Strategic Director of Planning, Housing and Enterprise advised that the report had been re-titled to more accurately reflect the contents of the report which would have no bearing on the previous decision with regard to the timing of closure of Bancroft Hall, but its retention pending return to use of the Hitchin Town Hall. The Chairman had been consulted and agreed that Overview and Scrutiny no longer required sight of this report. RESOLVED: That the actions resulting from the resolutions of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee be noted. REASON FOR DECISION: To enable the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to review and monitor the progress of resolutions made.	Agreed
77	UPDATE ON SHARED SERVICES Report The Strategic Director of Finance, Policy and Governance presented the update on Shared Services. She informed Members of the following: - The Head of Assurance from Shared Internal Audit Services (SIAS) had presented a report to the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee, who would be receiving regular updates; - The benefits so far achieved included standardisation of paperwork formats and wider coverage of Audit Services; - Regarding work with East Herts and Stevenage, Cabinet had requested that all facts were available, which meant that the key stage had been information gathering and ongoing work was progressing; - A decision had been made to extend the timescales to the end of May 2012 to ensure sufficient time for consultation and communication; - Communications Teams in the three authorities had worked together to agree a Communications Strategy; - Human Resources Teams were working together in communicating with the unions; - Preparations were very resource intensive and as a result the three authorities had agree to delay consideration of Herts SMS; Members asked several questions including whether NHDC could consider more than one shared service at a time and whether the level of service provided was being considered. They asked for membership of the Project Board and the method of scrutiny to be clarified. The Strategic Director of Finance, Policy and Governance advised that the investigation and planning of shared services was extremely resource intensive and that each authority had small teams looking at these services, however these were not dedicated teams. Outside resources were available to do this work, however there was a need to balance the amount of resources required with the amount of savings that could be achieved. Other services were working in partnership for instance CCTV and Building Control. She informed Members that Paragraph 4.2.2 of the report detailed that services would be delivered consistently to agreed core quality services and that part of the decision to be made would be to balance the level of service provided with the amount of saving that would be made however the starting point had been to maintain current service levels. The Project Board membership for SIAS included the Chief Finance Officers from each of the authorities involved, and the Project Executive role for the East Herts and Stevenage Shared Services work is being undertaken by the three Chief Financial Officers. Reports regarding SIAS would be considered by the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee who will also consider the financial aspects of the East Herts and Stevenage project. RESOLVED: That the current position in respect of shared services arrangements be noted. REASON FOR DECISION: To update the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the current position in respect of shared services arrangements.	Agreed
78	LOCAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK: CORE STRATEGY - HOUSING GROWTH TARGETS CONSULTATION Report Appendix 1.1 Appendix 1.2 The Local Development Framework Manager presented the report regarding Local Development Framework: Core Strategy - Housing Growth Targets Consultation. He advised that this consultation would be the third stage of public involvement in the preparation of the Council's Core Strategy DPD, which would be part of the Local Development Framework. Following the General Election in May 2010, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government announced his intention to abolish Regional Spatial Strategies and give decision making to Local Councils. Cabinet agreed in June 2010 to suspend work on SNAP until there was greater clarity regarding future numbers of new houses and jobs. The legality of the Secretary of State's announcement that Regional Spatial Strategies would be revoked was challenged in the courts. However, the Localism Act confirmed that Regional Spatial Strategies could be revoked by order of the Secretary of State, which enables councils to determine their own housing growth targets. The next formal stage in preparing the Core Strategy will be to publish a proposed submission document for public consultation before finally submitting the DPD to the Secretary of State for examination by an independent Inspector to determine if the Core Strategy is sound. He advised that the table at 4.2 of the report should be amended to include an additional column which details percentages as shown in the resolution below. Members debated the report and asked several questions including whether it was necessary to identify a preferred option at this stage or whether it was helpful to identify the views of NHDC when consulting. Some Members expressed concern that the options were based on future growth with none of the options being based on housing need and considered that an additional option based on housing need should be included. Members discussed that the distinction between affordable housing and social rented housing had not been made and that there were currently more than two thousand people on the waiting list for social housing. Members asked what consideration had been given to infrastructure regarding new developments such as rail links, roads and schools, queried whether the evidence base was substantial enough and asked for the definition of Affordable Housing. They were concerned that housing strategies should be linked to an economic development strategy, particularly in regard to jobs. The Senior Planning Officer advised that Options B, F and G were based on housing need, population growth and migration and that some of the population projections were based on trends observed as a result of large developments such as Great Ashby. He stated that work had been undertaken to consider market assessments and that this work was robust. He informed Members that a lot of evidence had already been gathered and that this evidence would be reviewed in order to assess whether it was satisfactory or not. He advised that identifying a preferred option would give members of the public the opportunity to consider the Council's view on what the housing target might be and also made it clear that NHDC was moving away from the East of England Plan. In respect of Social Housing there was no grant funding to provide a significant number of dwellings and therefore affordable housing was provided by developers when providing larger developments. He informed Members that Affordable Housing could be defined as being housing which was provided to those who could not afford to buy or rent on the open market and homes which were legally secured to ensure they continued to be affordable for successive occupiers. Affordable Housing was split into three types: Social Rented (traditional council housing), Intermediate Housing (shared equity and similar) and Affordable Rent (the Government's new initiative, of which we have yet to see any scheme in North Herts). A full definition could be found in Annexe B of Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing. The Local Development Framework Manager advised that Cabinet would, in due course, be presented with an Infrastructure Development Plan, which would try to ensure that infrastructure finance was available. He stated that North Herts had previously used figures based on nil net migration, however recently (with the East of England Plan proposals) there had been large increases, beyond the local needs in North Hertfordshire, centered on this area. Officers believe that there was sufficient growth in the preferred option, however it would be up to the public to decide. RESOLVED: That the table presented at Paragraph 4.2 of the report read: A: East of England Plan - 15,800 - 29% B: Normal migration trends - 14,500 - 26% C: Stevenage growth - 13,000 - 24% D: Continue trends (including Great Ashby) - 11,000 - 20% E: Continue trends (excluding Great Ashby) - 7,700 - 14% F: Delivering affordable housing - 7,000 - 13% G: Natural change - 5,400 - 10% H: Brownfield - 2,500 - 5% RECOMMENDED TO CABINET: (1) That the options for housing growth for the District outlined in the report entitled "Local Development Framework: Core Strategy - Housing Growth Targets Consultation" be approved for consultation purposes; (2) That, throughout the development of the Local Development Framework, the relationship between the LDF, employment and the economy be considered; (3) That it be recognised that affordable housing is not all social housing and that this should be taken into consideration in the evaluation of the consultation responses. REASON FOR DECISION: To enable the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to comment on the report entitled "Local Development Framework; Core Strategy - Housing Growth Targets Consultation" prior to consideration by Cabinet on 24 January 2012.	Agreed	Local Development Framework Manager
79	SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN UPDATE Report The Children and Young Persons Development Officer presented the update report of the Head of Policy and Community Services regarding Safeguarding Children and advised members that Section 11 of the Childrens' Act 2004 placed a duty on all statutory agencies working with children and young people to safeguard and promote their welfare. This Act also placed a statutory duty on local authorities to establish an Independent Local Safeguarding Children Board which would have the role of monitoring the effectiveness of organisations' implementation of their duties, the Hertfordshire Safeguarding Children's Board fulfills the obligations in this area. An assessment tool had been developed by the eastern region and been adopted by Hertfordshire Safeguarding Children's Board and using this tool NHDC has scored 20 percent less effective, 80 percent effective and nought percent exceeding requirements. Action points had been developed in the areas in which NHDC had deemed itself to be less effective and these were identified at Paragraph 4.2 of the report. Members were concerned that the figurehead of Children's Champion had ceased to exist but agreed on the suggestion of the Head of Policy and Community Services that the responsibility for Safeguarding Children should be added to that of the Portfolio Holder for Community Engagement and Rural Affairs and agreed that an annual update regarding NHDC's position in respect of its safeguarding children responsibilities would be required. RESOLVED: (1) That progress made against the Council's application of the statutory duty, and particularly the Hertfordshire safeguarding function with regard to children be noted; (2) That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee agrees that sufficient and robust processes are in place for the application and review of safeguarding processes; (3) That the Head of Policy and Community Services be requested to present an update on NHDC's position in respect of its safeguarding children responsibilities on an annual basis; (4) That the Corporate Legal Manager be requested to discuss with the Leader of the Council designating the Portfolio Holder for Community Engagement and Rural Affairs as the Children's Champion. REASON FOR DECISION: To enable the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to ensure that regular corporate reviews are undertaken in accordance with the statutory obligations.	Agreed	Corporate Legal Manager
80	HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE BILL AND HEALTH REFORMS Briefing Paper The Head of Policy and Community Services presented a briefing note regarding the Health and Social Care Bill and Health Reforms and drew attention to the following: The Health and Social Care Bill had been introduced in the House of Commons on 19 January 2011, received a second reading on 31 March 2011 and was now awaiting the report stage. The Bill proposed to create an independent Commissioning Board, promote patient choice and reduce NHS administration costs. Local Authorities were required to establish new Health and Wellbeing Boards, locally the Health and Wellbeing Board for Hertfordshire existed in shadow form and had draft terms of reference, identified priorities and developed strategies as detailed in the briefing note. Hertfordshire currently had three shadow Clinical Commissioning Groups who will be responsible for commissioning healthcare services across a range of clinical or service areas. HealthWatch England will be launched in October 2012 and will advise the NHS Commissioning Board and English Local Authorities and will have powers to recommend actions to be taken by the Care Quality Commission. Local HealthWatch would be able to report concerns regarding the local health and social care services and recommend that the Care Quality Commission take action. A HeathWatch member would sit on the Health and Wellbeing Boards GP practices will be required to set up Patient Panels to help measure performance toward improving overall community health, these would generally be 'virtual' panels examining patient experience of their service. Members considered that a further report to include NHDC's powers, responsibilities and scrutiny options should be presented to the Committee in September 2012. RESOLVED: (1) That the issues addressed in the oral update on the Health and Social Care Bill and Health Reforms be noted; (2) That the Head of Policy and Community Services be requested to provide a further update on the Health and Social Care Bill and Health Reforms to the meeting of this Committee due to take place in September 2012. REASON FOR DECISION: To update the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the issues surrounding the Health and Social Care Bill and Health Reforms.	Agreed	Head of Policy & Community Services
81	OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE WORK PROGRAMME 2011/12 Work Programme Report Appendix A - Work Programme Appendix B - Draft Forward Plan The Scrutiny Officer presented the Work Programme 2011/2012 and drew attention to the following: PORTFOLIO HOLDER PRESENTATIONS That the Portfolio Holder for Planning, Transport and Economic Development had been invited to address the Committee at the meeting due to be held on 7 February 2012 and Members should consider which areas of his portfolio he should be asked to focus on. He advised that the Portfolio Holder for Leisure had been approached regarding addressing the Committee in March 2012, however he asked Members to consider whether it would be more appropriate to invite the Portfolio Holder for Community Engagement and Rural Affairs. Members agreed that the Portfolio Holder for Planning, Transport and Economic Development should be requested to focus on the following issues: - How does the Council get involved in economic development; - The Council's involvement in partnerships (in relation to the portfolio activities) for example Herts Infrastructure and Investment Partnership and Hertfordshire Highways Partnership; - The Council's involvement in transport strategy development and subsidised transport provision. They considered that the Portfolio Holder for Community Engagement and Rural Affairs should be invited to address the March meeting of the Committee. TASK AND FINISH GROUPS The Scrutiny Officer advised that he was in the process of writing a report reviewing the effectiveness of the Task and Finish Group process and that the Task and Finish Group on Street Cleansing would hold its final meeting on 29 February 2012. He asked Members to consider which subjects they wished to be considered in future Task and Finish Groups Members considered that suitable subjects for Task and finish Groups in the near future could be the Impact of Grant Levels on the Effectiveness of voluntary and community bodies , Housing Policy and the Constitution. The Strategic Director of Planning, Housing and Enterprise advised that the timing of any Task and Finish Group on Housing should be considered in conjunction with the Housing Team. The Strategic Director of Finance, Policy and Governance advised that a Model Constitution was being developed nationally and that timing of any Task and Finish Group regarding this should be guided by this. FORWARD PLAN Members considered that the following item from the forward Plan should be considered by this Committee "Draft Core Strategy Community Infrastructure Levy Charging Schedule". RESOLVED: (1) That the Scrutiny Officer be requested to ask the Portfolio Holder for Planning, Transport and Enterprise to focus on the following issues in his presentation to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting due to take place on 7 February 2012: (i) How does the Council get involved in economic development; (ii) The Council's involvement in partnerships (in relation to the portfolio activities) for example Herts Infrastructure and Investment Partnership and Hertfordshire Highways Partnership; (iii) The Council's involvement in transport strategy development and subsidised transport provision. (2) That the Scrutiny Officer be requested to invite the Portfolio Holder for Community Engagement and Rural Affairs to address the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting due to take place on 13 March 2012; (3) That the Scrutiny Officer be requested to provide a review regarding the way in which Task and Finish Groups operate; (4) That the item entitled "Draft Core Strategy Community Infrastructure Levy Charging Schedule be considered by this Committee prior to consideration by Cabinet on 20 March 2012; REASON FOR DECISION: To enable the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to plan and carry out its workload efficiently and effectively.	Agreed	Scrutiny Officer