Agenda and minutes

To sign as a correct record the minutes of the following meeting(s):

AGREED:

That the minutes of the following meetings be signed by the Chairman as a correct record:

a)    Joint Performance Monitoring Panel and Policy Development Panel meeting held on 25 July 2023;

b)    Performance Monitoring Panel held on 13 September 2023; and

c)     Joint Performance Monitoring Panel and Policy Development Panel meeting held on 11 October 2023.

An update on actions which arose at the Performance Monitoring Panel meeting held on 13 September 2023 and the tracking of outstanding actions (enclosed).

Consideration was given to the actions which arose at the 13 September 2023 Performance Monitoring Panel meeting, and the tracking of previous outstanding actions.

Members considered the update and made the following comments:

• Members referred to action 25c and agreed that a representative from Parkwood Leisure, the council’s contracted leisure provider, be invited to the Performance Monitoring Panel on an annual basis.

AGREED:

That the actions and responses be noted.

Where a Councillor has a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest the Councillor must declare the interest to the meeting and leave the room without participating in any discussion or making a statement on the item, except where a councillor is permitted to remain as a result of a grant of dispensation.

There were none.

There were none.

There were none.

There were none.

Consideration was given to the Key Decision Plan dated 7 November 2023.

AGREED:

That the Key Decision Plan be noted.

To provide an update on how the Council is performing for the period 1July 2023 to 30 September 2023 (report of the Assistant Director – Corporate enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of the Assistant Director – Corporate which provided an update on how the Council was performing for the period 1 July 2023 to 30 September 2023.

The report was introduced by the Business Intelligence and Change Manager which provided an overview of how the Council was performing against its key performance indicators. Full details were provided at Appendix A of the report.

The following key points of the report were outlined:

• An improvement in performance from Q1 had been seen overall with some previously underperforming indicators moving to ‘on’ or ‘above’ target (green) and others which were slightly below target were within an agreed tolerance level; and
• An update was given for each area where performance was below target (red), as follows:

Percentage of cases opened at homelessness prevention stage (red):

o   Increased cases during the Q2 period represented the seasonal trend; 

o   The team had spent the majority of Q2 catching up with Full Housing Assessments which had improved from 8 weeks to within 3 days. As a result, the team was in a position to focus on prevention which aimed to reduce the number of cases transferring to ‘relief’ cases;

o   Whilst approaches at relief stage were largely out of the council’s control, the percentage of cases closed where homelessness had been prevented was within the council’s control. The Q2 performance in this area had exceeded the previous four quarters and was significantly higher than the East Midland’s average; and

o   An upcoming review of the homelessness website by the team aimed to:

§  Improve the customer journey and utilise improved digital pathways for residents to access services; and

§  Expedite the outcome should residents move from a prevention case to a relief case.

Combined Housing Benefit and Council Tax speed of processing changes (PSPS) (red):

o   High volumes of work had been encountered during the period; and

o   The speed of processing Housing Benefit Only claims was 20.67 days in September 2023 which represented an improvement in performance. The improvements had continued into October 2023 and therefore had not raised concern.

Freedom of Information access (FOIA) and complaint responses (red):

o   The total amount of requests for Q2 was 173, of which 144 were FOIA requests and the remainder related to Subject Access, Police and Law Enforcement;

o   92 FOIA requests were responded to within 20 working days; 19 were late and 33 were overdue;

o   Recent intervention to streamline the delivery of FOIA had taken place. Through the guidance of the shared Group Information Governance Manager, steps had been taken to enable the BBC and ELDC compliance achievement rate of 95-99%, to be attained at SHDC;

o   Restrictive deadlines had been implemented which encouraged improved service engagement and facilitated earlier identification of service personnel responsible for the FOIA;

o   Delays in FOIA cases being referred to Legal personnel had been reduced;.

o   Regarding complaints, 26 issues had been received during Q2, of which 11 had received responses by the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38.

To provide the Panel with an update on Leisure provision (report of the Assistant Director – Leisure and Culture enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of the Assistant Director – Leisure and Culture which provided the Panel with an update on leisure provision.

The Leisure Services Officer introduced the report which outlined the following:

• Performance overview of the Castle Swimming Pool, the Castle Sports Centre and the Peele Leisure Centre for both Q1 and Q2 2023/24;
• The contractual position with the leisure services provider, Parkwood Leisure;
• The Castle Swimming Pool usage data at Appendix A;
• The Castle Sports Centre usage data at Appendix B; and
• The Peele Leisure Centre usage data at Appendix C.

Members considered the report and made the following comments:

• Members referred to point 4.3 of the report and queried the loss of 281 Health and Fitness Memberships due to the closure of Gousto.
  • The Leisure Services Officer responded that:
    • Discounted corporate membership rates were offered to employees of large companies and therefore the closure of Gousto had invalidated the corporate membership package for those individuals; and
    • An alternative annual membership package had been offered and taken up by some ex-Gousto employees within the one month qualifying period.

• Members referred to the faulty boilers and asked if the supplier had been held accountable and whether the old boilers had been reinstated. Members sought reassurance that any remedy would not have a detrimental financial impact on SHDC.
  • The Leisure Services Officer gave the following update on behalf of the Assets Team who were dealing with aspect:
    • Two additional boilers were due to be installed on site in December 2023 which would serve to double capacity should issues be encountered with the reinstated boilers; and
    • The Property Services Manager was seeking compensation for the faulty boilers which were deemed unfit for purpose.

• Members noted that pages 71 and 73 of the agenda were duplicates.

• Members asked whether there had been any enforcement of contract instances during the period of the report.

o   The Leisure Services Officer responded that there had not been any such instances during Q1 and Q2 2023.

• Members thanked officers for the production of a clear and understandable report. The data was encouraging however some downward trends needed to be discussed with Parkwood. Members stated the importance of achieving a successful facility which contributed to SHDC’s responsibilities in respect of health and wellbeing.

o   The Leisure Services Officer would ensure that members comments were relayed to Parkwood at their next contract meeting, which was due to take place the following week.

AGREED:

a)    That after consideration of the report by the Performance Monitoring Panel, the performance outcomes be noted; and

b)    That as stated at minute item 32, a representative of Parkwood Leisure be invited to attend the Performance Monitoring Panel for this item on an annual basis.

To provide members with an update on Community Safety Partnership work at a local and county level (report of the Assistant Director - Wellbeing and Community Leadership enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of the Assistant Director – Wellbeing and Community Leadership which provided members with an update on Community Safety Partnership work at a local and county level.

The Community Safety and Enforcement Manager introduced the report which included an update on the following areas:

• South and East Lincolnshire Community Safety Partnership which included: anti-social behaviour (ASB); hate crime; safer streets and night-time economy; the safety of women and girls; and vulnerability and safeguarding;
• SHDC anti-social behaviour enforcement team activity which highlighted an increase in complex cases;
• Community Warden role;
• CCTV;
• Neighbourhood Policing;
• Public Space Protection Order (PSPO); and
• Safter Lincolnshire Partnership (SLP).

The following information was appended to the report:

• Community Safety Strategy Action Plan 2023-2024 at Appendix A;
• 7 Minute briefing Violence Against Women and Girls at Appendix B;
• ASB in South Holland at Appendix C;
• Annual CCTV Report 2022-2023 at Appendix D;
• SHDC Parishes CCTV Performance Data Q1 and Q2 at Appendix E;
• Neighbourhood Policing Commitment Booklet 2023 at Appendix F; and
• Safer Lincolnshire Partnership Report at Appendix G. An updated Appendix G (appended to the minutes) had been made available since the publication of the agenda which detailed key actions in the following areas:
  • The ASB Core Priority Group - progress continued with the Task and Finish Groups in respect of noise nuisance;
  • The Crime and Disorder Core Priority Group – partnership work with Trading Standards and Lincolnshire Police had led to the installation of 80 call blocker units in 2022/2023 and had resulted in direct financial savings; communication and engagement activities also sought to raise awareness of online criminal traders;
  • The Reducing Reoffending Core Priority Group  - funding had been secured to progress the Lincolnshire Women and Girls Strategy and the development of a Women’s Centre Approach for Lincolnshire;
  • The Drug and Alcohol Core Priority Group; and
  • The Serious Violence Core Priority Group.

Regarding the recommendation of the report in the respect of complex cases, the Community Safety and Enforcement Manager relayed the following:

• An increased and cyclical trend in ASB cases had been identified relating to drug, alcohol and mental health concerns; and
• Opportunities to explore best practices was called for, in order to resolve the issue and help ongoing cases.

Members considered the update and made the following comments:

• Members referred to 3.7 of the report which showed a map of reported ASB incidents in the district and asked why all incidents had not been included. Members asked to be informed of trends in their wards.
  • The Community Safety and Enforcement Manager responded that:
    • Work was underway with the software provider to ensure that all incidents were mapped;
    • The mapping exercise deliberately located reports to a general ward zone, rather than being zoned at street level, so that individuals could not be identified; the reporting of incidents/trends to members whilst ensuring anonymity was therefore challenging however possibilities would be investigated; and
    • The map could be used by members to encourage reporting where concerns had not been raised.

• Members  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40.

To report on the review undertaken with members and to consider the findings (report of the Head of Planning enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of the Head of Planning which reported on the review undertaken with members and asked the panel to consider its findings.

The Principal Planning Officer introduced the report which detailed the following:

• Background and purpose of the exercise which fulfilled the Local Government Association best practice and adhered to SHDC constitutional requirements;
• An overview of the tour which took place on 25 October 2023; and
• Conclusions drawn from the exercise

The summary of comments from the tour was outlined at Appendix A.

Members considered the report and made the following comments:

• Members thanked officers for arranging and leading on the tour which included a range of interesting sites.

• Members applauded one site in particular for its utilisation of innovative and attractive design and suggested that this approach be influential for other sites in the district.

• Members stated that design should have a greater weighting in the decision-making process; the aesthetics of developments regarding use of materials and features needed greater consideration in some cases.

• Members noted concerns regarding the upkeep of play equipment on new estates and clarity was required regarding who was permitted to use it: the residents of the respective estates or the wider community.

• Members noted the comments in Appendix A regarding recommended improvements to open spaces controlled by management companies, and stated that:

• Members agreed that future visits to review implemented Planning decisions include the wider participation of members from the Planning Committee; some members suggested that the exercise should be mandatory training for Planning Committee members.

AGREED:

Following consideration of the Review of Implemented Planning Decisions report by the Performance Monitoring Panel:

a)    That the contents of the report be noted;

b)    That the Review of Planning Decisions tour occur every two years, in place of the current annual process;

c)     That future member invitation for the Review of Planning Decisions tour includes members of the Planning Committee; and

d)    That members’ comments be noted by the Principal Planning Officer and relayed to relevant Planning officers.

To review the Partnership’s progress against the opportunities identified in the business case and key lines of enquiry (report of Councillor Chris Brewis (SHDC) on behalf of the Partnership Scrutiny Task Group enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of Councillor Chris Brewis (SHDC) on behalf of the Partnership Scrutiny Task Group which asked the panel to review the Partnership’s progress against the opportunities identified in the business case and key lines of enquiry.

Councillor C Brewis, Chairman of the Joint Annual Scrutiny of the S&ELCP  Task Group, introduced the report by highlighting the following areas:

• Officers and members of the task group were thanked for their participation in the task group and input into the drafting of the report;
• Staff were thanked for their frank responses as stated at page 160 of the report;
• The scrutiny exercise was an enjoyable experience, and the partnership was progressing in a positive direction;
• The Report of the Panel was at Appendix A and recommendations included the following areas:
  • ICT;
  • Communication;
  • Capacity; and
  • Alignment;
• The Scoping document of the task group was at Appendix B;
• Questionnaire Themes were detailed at Appendix C;
• The Partnership Progress Document 1 was at Appendix D; and
• The Partnership Progress Document 2 was at Appendix E;

Members considered the report and made the following comments:

• The Chairman of the task group, Cllr Brewis, was thanked for his work and the preparation of the report; and
• The Chair and Vice Chairman of PMP, who were members of the task group, reported that an ICT issue required rectification in respect of Microsoft Teams connectivity across the partnership.

AGREED:

Following consideration of the Joint Annual Scrutiny of the South & East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership Task Group report by the Performance Monitoring Panel:

a)    That the report (Appendix A) and associated recommendations be noted; and

b)    That the recommendations stated in the report be considered at the next Cabinet meeting.

To set out the Work Programme of the Performance Monitoring Panel;  to request items for consideration for inclusion; and to consider a member’s request to examine the delivery of services provided by all GP surgeries in South Holland (report of the Assistant Director – Governance enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of the Assistance Director – Governance which set out the Work Programme of the Performance Monitoring Panel; requested items for consideration for inclusion; and asked the Panel to consider a member’s request to examine the delivery of services provided by all GP surgeries in South Holland.

The Democratic Services Officer introduced the report and advised the panel of the following updates to the Work Programme:

• An update regarding the Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field Task Group would come forward to the panel at the 23 January 2024 meeting. The lead officer for this item was clarified as the Strategic and Operational Property Manager; and
• A tracker update in respect of the SHDC Peer Review Action Plan would come forward to the committee as part of the Performance Report item in early summer 2024. The item would be scheduled when committee meeting dates for 2024/2025 were confirmed.

The following discussion ensued around a members request to examine the delivery of services provided by all GP surgeries in South Holland:

• Some residents had encountered barriers when attempting to secure face-to-face GP appointments;
• The default culture of securing a face-to-face GP appointment had not recovered since the instigation of phone appointments during the Covid period;
• Phone appointments were not suitable for everyone; long call waiting times were often experienced; and whilst callers were regularly made aware of their status within the queueing system, for some this had necessitated the abandonment of the call attempt;
• Where appointments were not available, residents had been advised to call NHS 111 or visit a hospital. Members stated that this approach increased existing pressures faced by hospitals;
• It was known that some doctors were forced to work from home due to insufficient space at surgeries;
• Members expressed concern regarding the accountability of primary care and felt that the current system had become a barrier to good health and wellbeing of the community. There were known instances where people had suffered; and
• As GP surgeries were contracted to deliver primary care on behalf of the NHS, members felt it would be useful to understand the nature of the contracts and requested that a relevant NHS contact attend the 23 January 2024 Performance Monitoring Panel meeting to impart guidance on the matter.
  • The Assistant Director – Strategic Growth and Development agreed to approach a known NHS contact regarding an invitation to attend the 23 January 2024 meeting.

AGREED:

a)    That the content of the report be noted; and

b)    That a NHS contact be invited to attend the 23 January 2024 Performance Monitoring Panel meeting.

There were none.

AGREED:

That under section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 and 4 of part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

To sign as a correct record the restricted minute of the Performance Monitoring Panel meeting held on 13 September 2023 (enclosed).

Members considered the exempt minute from the 13 September 2023 Performance Monitoring Panel meeting.

AGREED:

That the exempt minute from the 13 September 2023 Performance Monitoring Panel meeting be signed as a correct record.