Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors A M Cook, J P Curtice, G Owens and G J Tanner.

In accordance with the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011, no declarations of Whipped Votes or Party Whips were declared.

In accordance with the Code of Conduct adopted by the City and County of Swansea no interests were declared.

To approve and sign as a correct record the Minutes of the Scrutiny Programme Committee held on 11 January 2016.

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Scrutiny Programme Committee held on 11 January 2016 be agreed as a correct record.

There were no public questions.

Councillor Harris provided opening remarks prior to taking questions from the Committee. She emphasised a priority to ensure services which fit the needs of people and are cost effective.

The question session led to discussion around the following topics:

·             Person-centred care - this was about service users having an input into their own personal requirements and listening to what people say about what they need. This was a feature of the Social Service and Wellbeing Act 2014 that will be implemented in April 2016.  The subsequent service and budget implications would also need to be assessed. It was noted that work was being done to develop a practice framework that meets the challenges of the Act.

·             Performance – the number of “red” status results in the November 2015 performance table were highlighted and assurance sought.  It was noted that a new performance framework was being developed to improve performance measurement and management, particularly in gathering more qualitative information and outcome measures, and ensuring closer alignment with priorities. It was felt that some of the performance result headings were too generic and needed to be more specific so the results were more measurable and meaningful.

·             Re-ablement – patients who were discharged from hospital required re-ablement in order to go back into their own homes.  The committee asked about the rate of older people helped to live at home (performance measure SCA002a) and sought further information on the reasons behind the current performance.

·             Local Area Coordinators – the committee was aware that a review of the effectiveness of this approach was being carried out by Swansea University, The Cabinet Member agreed to share this with the committee.

·             Initiatives to involve people in health and social care - particularly the community clusters.

·             GP Service – the reduction in the number of GP’s in the country and issues in relation to making an appointment with GP’s was highlighted as an issue. Although a national problem it was noted that GPs are looking at new ways of working.

·             Preventing falls for older people and the work that Swansea Local Service Board are doing on this.

·             Modern Slavery – Members were concerned whether modern slavery was an issue locally. Something the Cabinet Member stated she was monitoring.

·             Alcohol Misuse – it was felt that more help was required for people with alcohol misuse issues (e.g. drinking within the home) although it was acknowledged that significant work was ongoing in relation to help with substance misuse. Noted that work on this was being done by the Healthy Cities initiative but Cabinet Member will have closer look and share any information on this.

·             The work of the adult services scrutiny panel and their continuing focus on budget issues, which was praised by the Cabinet Member.

Councillor Harris added that she would circulate the following:

·             The assessment into Local Area Co-ordinators conducted by Swansea University;

·             The Older Peoples review conducted by Cardiff University.

RESOLVED that the Chair of Scrutiny Programme Committee write to the Cabinet Member, reflecting the discussion and sharing the views of the Committee.

Councillor Chris Holley, Convener, presented the Service Improvement & Finance Scrutiny Performance Panel progress report.

He outlined the remit of the Panel and stated that the Panel was focused on contributing to the budget process and annual improvement process by providing a critical friend for the Cabinet, and helped to ensure accountability.

The key activities were discussed as follows:

·             Budget monitoring – The Panel had received several questions from the Public and expected more to be received in advance of their next meeting on 10 February 2016.  The Leader would be attending to present the draft budget and answer questions.

·             Update on ICT Procurement Framework for Oracle Support – the Panel has been asking questions about the new ICT service model and effectiveness and is continuing to look at this.

·             Welsh Public Library Standards – Annual Performance Report – the positive results were noted and the Panel looked forward to receiving the results of the Libraries commissioning review.

·             Performance Monitoring – some difficulty in understanding the information presented within the corporate report, and Panel is planning to reality check some areas of performance by engaging with external bodies such as BIDS, Chamber of Commerce, and Swansea Bay Business Club.

He concluded by highlighting the items for the Panel’s future work programme.

The Chair thanked Councillor Holley for the update.

The Chief Operating Officer presented an overview of the Commissioning Service Reviews in his role as Commissioning Strand Lead, in order to aid understanding of the purpose and process, and discuss scrutiny involvement.  He outlined the principles of the commissioning review and indicated that he had circulated the scoping templates in relation to Year 2 - Phase 1 to the Committee members prior to the meeting.

As part of Sustainable Swansea – Fit for the Future, Year 2 of the Commissioning review would improve on the lessons learned during Year 1.  He acknowledged that some of this was about improving communication, including scrutiny involvement, and with members generally. He stated that some of the reviews undertaken in year 1 were now complete however some were still ongoing.  The reviews in Year 2 would follow a 4 stage process (maximum of 22 weeks), depending on the complexity of the review. He added that those reviews originally earmarked for Year 3 of the programme would now be carried out earlier, during the second half on this year.

Discussions centred on:

·             Commissioning not being about outsourcing, but identifying what works to deliver the best outcomes for our customers.  This did not necessarily mean stopping doing things, but finding alternative ways of delivery.

·             Widening communication and engagement – it was felt there was a need to maximise opportunities for councillors to be involved. It was suggested that all non-executive councillors (and lay members) should receive information to ensure awareness with a clear point of contact should they have interest in specific reviews.

·             Simplifying the commissioning process so that it can be more easily understood, e.g. use of process mapping.

·             Scrutiny involvement in the commissioning process – Getting Started, Stage 1 (Defining Outcomes), Stage 4 (Options Appraisal) and Implementation were clearly identified as appropriate stages, with scrutiny needing to be sufficiently removed from other stages to avoid any conflict of interest.

·             The timetable of Year 2 – Phase 1 reviews:

-              Day Care Services for Mental Health, Learning Disabilities, & Physical Disabilities

-              Corporate Building & Property Services

-              Highways & Transportation

-              Catering Services

-              Family Support

-              Parks and Cleansing

RESOLVED that the Chief Operating Officer be asked to ensure relevant communication is forwarded to all non-executive Councillors & Lay Members so that they can consider their involvement in future meetings / commissioning workshops.

The report of the Chair reviewed the Scrutiny Work Programme.

The report provided the Committee with:

·             The current Scrutiny Work Programme;

·             A plan for future committee meetings;

·             A progress report on the various existing Panels and Working Groups;

·             Cabinet forward plan for opportunities for pre-decision scrutiny.

The Chair also presented a proposal to deal with 2 issues which had been recently raised for inclusion in the work programme: Public Transport and Planning.

The Chair also referred to consultation on the proposal to end the West Glamorgan Music Service to create a single music service in Swansea and Neath Port Talbot.

RESOLVED that:

1)     The Committee Work Plan be accepted;

2)     In the first instance, Councillor R Francis-Davies, Cabinet Member for Enterprise, Development & Regeneration be asked to provide a report to the committee on 11 April 2016 on the current planning system with information on performance and effectiveness – with committee to consider whether further scrutiny (via a Working Group) is necessary;

3)     Current issues regarding Public Transport be raised with the Cabinet Member for Environment & Transport during the question and answer session scheduled with him on 9 May; and

4)     The consultation on the West Glamorgan Music Service be referred to the Convener of the Schools Scrutiny Performance Panel for action / response.

The Chair presented a report which advised of changes to the membership of Scrutiny Panels and Working Groups.

RESOLVED that the following changes be made:

1)        Tackling Poverty Inquiry - Councillors Chris Holley, Andrew Jones,             David Phillips and Lynda James to be added;

2)        Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services Inquiry Panel – Councillor       Fiona Gordon to be removed;

3)        Building Sustainable Communities Scrutiny Inquiry Panel – Councillor     Phil Downing to be added;

4)        Welsh Housing Quality Standard Scrutiny Working Group – Councillor      Phil Downing to be added.

The Chair reported the Scrutiny Letters Log and referred to recent correspondence between Scrutiny and Cabinet Members.

RESOLVED that the Scrutiny Letters Log be NOTED.

The Chair stated that there had been no recent scrutiny events to report on.

The Scrutiny Co-ordinator reported the following events:

1)     An application would be submitted to the MJ Local Government Achievement Awards: Excellence in Governance and Scrutiny regarding the Authority’s distinctive scrutiny arrangements;

2)     The Annual Councillor Scrutiny Survey would be circulated shortly;

3)     The Scrutiny Work Planning Conference was tentatively scheduled for 12 May 2016 at 4.00 pm – further information and confirmation to follow in due course.

RESOLVED that the Audit Committee Work Plan be NOTED.

The date and time of future Committee Meetings for the 2015-2016 Municipal Year was NOTED.

The date and time of upcoming Panel/Working group meetings were provided for information to help increase the visibility of this work and encourage participation.