Issue - meetings

Report by Chief Executive and Interim Director of Finance and Support Services.

The Cabinet is invited to consider and comment on the Quarter 1 Performance and Resources Report, and consider the outlined recommendations within the report.

Following consideration of the report the Cabinet agreed the proposed changes to the KPI measures detailed in Table 1.

The call-in deadline is 10 October 2024.

16.1     The Cabinet considered a report by the Chief Executive and Interim Director of Finance and Support Services (copy appended to the signed minutes).

16.2     The Leader introduced the report which outlined the Council performance for the first quarter of 2024/25 and how it is delivering priorities.

16.3     Cllr Hunt, Cabinet Member for Finance and Property, highlighted proposed changes to Key Performance Indicators.  Actions within the quarter were highlighted, such as a fire training exercise at Chichester Cathedral and updates to Real Time Passenger Information digital bus displays.  Upgrades were also being made at the Mechanical and Biological Treatment plant in Horsham in preparation for food waste collection.  Finances for the quarter were challenging, with overspend predicted.  Social care cost pressures in particular were highlighted.  The staff pay award was noted, the union not accepting the recent offer, and so the final settlement remains unknown.

16.4     Mr Suarez, Interim Director of Finance and Support Services, spoke on staff recruitment and retention activities, and how vacancy management is considered.  Agency staff in vacant posts are encouraged to consider employment contracts with the County Council.

16.5     The following points were made by Scrutiny Committee Chairmen.

a.  Cllr Bradbury, Chairman of the Performance and Finance Scrutiny Committee (PFSC) gave his apologies but provided a statement.  PFSC fully supported the views expressed by the Cabinet Member for Finance and Property regarding scrutiny committees holding their respective areas of scrutiny to account in respect of delivering savings.

b.  Cllr Wall, Chairman of the Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee (HASC), welcomed the preparation work ahead of the upcoming Care Quality Commission CQC assessment.  HASC noted the rising adult social care costs and the financial pressure this caused and welcomed the lobbying activity to government on this.

16.6     The following points were made by Cabinet Members in discussion.

a.  Cllr A Jupp, Cabinet Member for Adults Services, spoke about the CQC assessment.  Staff had submitted the requested information back to the CQC alongside the self-assessment report by the deadline.  The onsite assurance visit would follow within 6 months.  Cllr Jupp passed on her thanks to the team for their hard work. With regard to the report, Cllr Jupp noted that KPIs had shown some improvements.  It was hoped that the ongoing improvement plan would help with addressing the overspend in the medium term.

b.  Cllr J Dennis, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, reported no significant finance concerns were highlighted due to the significant revenue investment in road repairs.  A high level of drainage issues were being reported.  There had been over 14,500 road repairs, but defect levels had increased in June due to poor weather.

c.  Cllr Waight, Cabinet Member for Support Services and Economic Development, referred to the Customer Service Centre KPI rating.  The Centre had recently had a new telephony system installed which would bring improvements in the quarter 3 report.  It was noted that academy conversions had led to a reduction in income from school service level agreements.  Discussions were taking  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16

A report by the Director of Finance and Support Services setting out the corporate performance, finance, workforce, risk and capital programme positions as at the end of June 2024.

The Committee is asked to examine the data and supporting commentary for the Performance and Resources report and make any recommendations for action to the Cabinet Member for Community Support, Fire and Rescue.

18.1     The Committee considered a report by the Director of Finance and Support Services (copy appended to the signed minutes).

18.2     Members of the Committee asked questions and a summary of responses to Members’ questions and comments follows.

18.3     The Committee was also made aware of the highlights in the Productivity and Efficiency Plan (PEP) 2024-25 mentioned in Appendix D of the agenda papers.  The PEP is essential as significant resources for the Fire and Rescue Service comes directly from the County Council rather than through Government funding.  The FRS are careful to target investment where it will deliver optimal performance and efficiencies in the service.  Increased productivity through the Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP) had led to reductions in unwanted fire signals and allowed more time for activities such as safer home visits.  In comparison with the national average of county council led fire services where the expense per head was £42.79, and nationally of £46.66, in West Sussex it was £40.60.  This was due to carefully targeted spending on the activities that make the most difference.

18.4     Members noted the concern on the continued increasing costs associated with Fleet Maintenance and welcomed the service actively reviewing commitments to ensure costs do not exceed the set budget and that other savings were being delivered along with capital projects.

18.5     Resolved – That the Committee:

1.     Thanks the Cabinet Member and officers for the report and notes that it will be agreed by Cabinet in October.

2.     Recognises the service’s ability to identify risks and take mitigating action.

3.     Welcomes the extra information provided in the Productivity and Efficiency Plan.

Report by Interim Director of Finance and Support Services, setting out the finance and performance position as at the end of June 2024.

The Committee is asked to examine the data and supporting commentary for the Performance and Resources report and make any recommendations for action to the relevant Cabinet Member.

19.1     The Committee received a report by Interim Director of Finance and Support Services, setting out the finance and performance position as at the end of June 2024. (Copy appended to the signed minutes).

19.2     A summary of responses to Committee members’ questions and comments follows.

Adult Social Care

19.3     In receiving this report, the committee noted that of the 7 performance Adult Social Care measures, 14% were reporting as ‘green’, 43% as ‘amber’ and 43% as ‘red’. The number of red rated Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) had decreased since the last quarter, but this was explained as not a strict comparison as there were two new measures for this year which had not yet collected data.

19.4     The Head of Service for Community Safety and Wellbeing provided context with respect to KPI44 – ‘Percentage of people affected by domestic violence and abuse who feel safe upon leaving the service’. It was explained that the target had been increased to 95% with performance below target. It was informed that the way the service was being delivered split across the County Council as a combination of statutory and voluntary process, through the Children and Young People’s Family Safeguarding model and the Community, Wellbeing and Safety team. There had been a continuing increase of demand for these services over the last year which included a 97% increase in victim support referrals as well as an increase in demand of the most complex cases with 20% more requiring escalated processes.  Whilst the team were working to try and reduce demand it was also important for the service to increase the reporting of domestic abuse.

19.5     Members of the committee were invited to pose any further questions on this KPI directly to the Head of Service for Community Safety and Wellbeing or through the Chairman.

19.6     The Committee expressed concerns at the financial forecast for the Adult Services Portfolio being a projected overspend of £12.8m. Demand, complexity of needs and price of care were a contributing factor with the underlying issue of the need to deliver on savings for 2024/5 budget.

19.7     The Director of Adults and Health acknowledged that the Adult Social Care (ASC) budget is precarious with two of the proposed 2024/25 budget savings unlikely to be delivered. The service was working to achieve savings whilst balancing the impacts and risk of doing so. Open and honest conversations, regarding the ASC budget were being held with the Cabinet and the County Council’s Executive Leadership Team. There was a degree of uncertainty and lack of direction from central Government on what future funding could be expected. It was emphasised that ASC was working hard to achieve balanced budgets but at some point, it was agreed that this does become a whole County Council responsibility in taking the difficult decisions that become necessary.

19.8     The Committee noted that other councils across the country were in much the same position. With an ageing population and increasing demands members expressed concern that it would be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19

Report by Director of Finance and Support Services, setting out the finance and performance position as at the end of June 2024.

The Committee is asked to examine the County Council’s corporate performance, finance, savings delivery and business performance for services within the remit of this Committee and to make any recommendations for actions to the relevant cabinet member.

Under this item the Committee is asked to scrutinise the sections of the report under item 7 relevant to the Communities portfolio.

21.1     Members reviewed the Quarter 1 Performance and Resources Report and members of the Committee asked questions and a summary of those questions and answers follows.

Communities

21.2     KPI 33 and New Record Office website – Officers were pleased that there had been a visible uptake in the use of the website since its launch at the end of June.  They were also looking to use the website for booking events and sales, with hopes that the Christmas period might generate more income.  A review of income generation at the Record Office and Edes House was taking place with a desire to increase levels in the future.  Exact contact figures for the website were not available at the meeting. Action: To provide data on traffic using the new website to the Committee.

21.3     The £30k funding received for a pilot adult literacy support project had given time for librarian research to produce resources to support the project.  The Library Service were looking at ways to expand the approach, either focussed cohorts or open to all, in a way that is complimentary to existing services and volunteer programmes.  More details would be available in the quarter 2 report. Action: Officers agreed to share data on the scale of adult literacy across West Sussex with the Committee.

21.4     Household Support Fund (HSF) – The recent announcement of the extension of the HSF until the end of March 2025 has not yet been followed up with any detail from the Government.  The Community Hub can be flexible with support to continue this work.  It is anticipated there may be a greater focus on pensioners and energy following the removal of the Winter Fuel payment and the increasing levels of energy prices.  It is anticipated that holiday support for children entitled to Free School Meals would continue.  Members were keen to know if programme continuity could be maintained and the capacity of delivery partners would be available.

21.5     Under the Homes for Ukraine scheme visitors are still arriving in the county.  The schemes for asylum-seeking refugees are run by the Government, including accommodation schemes, which have no financial burden on the County Council.  Due to a significant number of global insecurities there are expected to be more arrivals of refugees, but this has slowed due to delays in moving them between countries.  These schemes are tariff-based on the number of people arriving and there is sufficient capacity in the team to deliver this work.

21.6     Resolved – That the Committee:

1.   Welcomes the increased usage of the new Record Office website.

2.   Looks forward to further updates on the extension of the Household Support Fund in future Performance and Resources Reports.

Environment and Climate Change

21.7     The recent change of Government has not led to any further announcement on the collection of Food Waste.  The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is still working to the policies of the previous Government for local waste collection authorities to specifically collect food waste  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21

A report by the Chief Executive and Interim Director of Finance and Support Services setting out the corporate performance, finance, workforce, risk and capital programme positions as at the end of June 2024.

The Committee is asked to examine the data and supporting commentary for the Performance and Resources report and make any recommendations for action to the relevant Cabinet Member or Scrutiny Committee.

18.1     The Committee considered the End of June (Quarter 1) Performance and Resources Report (copy attached to the signed minutes).

18.2     The report was introduced by the Cabinet Members for Finance and Property and Economy and Support Services. The projected overspend of £22.8m was highlighted as a particular area of concern, with the Executive Leadership Team working to address pressures on service budgets.

Performance

18.3     The Committee made comments including those that follow. Members:

·       Noted that KPI 51a-c on customer satisfaction performance was due to be combined. It was asked that as customer satisfaction is a key priority of the Council that this be kept as it currently is, to ensure that careful scrutiny can continue to be carried out on this key area.

·       Requested that when KPI 50 (Value for Money (VFM)) is reviewed and the Annual Benchmarking Report produced that consideration be given to whether each individual scrutiny committee could be presented with data on their portfolio areas to scrutinise ahead of reporting at Cabinet.

·       Concern expressed over the high number of red/amber rated indicators and the fact that 18% of indicators currently have no rating. The committee were assured that the Executive Leadership Team are taking mitigating action to address the issues.

Finance

18.4     The Committee made comments including those that follow. Members:

·       Noted the challenges in achieving the identified savings, particularly in the Adults Services portfolio and asked HASC to review and support the service in achieving these. Asked that all scrutiny committees monitor savings in their areas. Using value for money indicators split by committee would be helpful if possible.

·       Recognised that spending controls have been introduced in relation to recruitment, staff restructures, duplicate posts, and the use of agency staff. These controls can be broken down into those that can be introduced immediately and those that require consultation. The committee expressed the need to manage and maintain staff

·       Expressed concern about whether the current level of contingency for pay increases would be sufficient for the forthcoming nationally negotiated pay award for staff and any impact this might ultimately have on staff retention. Recognised that the unions are currently balloting staff on strike action and that business continuity plans are to be reviewed to ensure services are maintained if any strike action materialises.

·       Queried the projected overspend being reported for property reactive maintenance and whether this has been adequately budgeted for. A new contractor is due to start work at the end of September with costs being closely monitored. There is a growing concern over unforeseen costs such as those related to weather or national issue such as RAAC (Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete) emerging. Any additional pressures identified will be reported through future reports.

Capital Programme

18.5     The Committee made comments including those that follow. Members:

·       Noted that the reasons for delays in certain capital building projects were varied, with no common factors. Delays on projects in Horsham were partially down to the declaration of water neutrality in those areas - ACTION: a private briefing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18

Report by Director of Finance and Support Services, setting out the finance and performance position as at the end of June 2024.

The Committee is asked to examine the County Council’s corporate performance, finance, savings, delivery and business performance for the services within the remit of this Committee for the period April-June 2024.

20.1     The Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, Learning and Skills, Cllr Russell, introduced the report which she felt was a positive report due to the fully embedded framework which provided a bedrock to evidence improvement.

20.2     Cllr Russell additionally reported that the re-inspection of the children’s home Teasel Close had taken place and the outcome would be shared in due course.  The Ofsted focussed visit on the Care Leavers service would be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet.  The report contained positive comments and praised staff and the leadership team for delivery of substantial improvements to services for care leavers which enabled them to flourish. Cllr Russell suggested there might be areas that the Committee may wish to scrutinise and monitor in the future.

20.3     Members of the Committee asked questions and a summary of those questions and answers follows.

20.4     KPI 8 – Young people aged 19-21 who were looked after aged 16 who were in higher education – This new KPI has been introduced following challenge from the Scrutiny Committee and the Care Leavers Advisory Board.  It is in line with statistical neighbours in the south-east for care leavers in higher education and university.  There has been a welcome increase over the last 18-months in the numbers of care leavers going to university but it is hoped there will be further progress over the next year.

20.5     KPI 9 – Percentage of children becoming subject to a Child Protection Plan for a second or subsequent time – This KPI has a lag of up to 2 years, but good progress has been made.  A comparator with neighbours and national levels will be considered for the next update to KPIs in 2025. 

20.6     KPI 21 – Percentage of young people attaining grade 4 or above for Maths and English GCSE by age of 16-years-old – The 2024 GCSE result data received from the DfE is still provisional. Once the final data is received the target be reviewed.  The figures are still impacted by the changes implemented during the covid pandemic period.

20.7     KPI 27 – Percentage achieving expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined at end of Key Stage 2 – The targets are historic and officers are looking at them and assessing with a view to realigning.  Schools volunteered to participate in the Write Way Forward writing project and schools were included where it was felt that they would benefit most from participation.  The project is being extended into a second year with more schools invited to join.  Best practice would be shared across all schools.

20.8     KPI 30b – Percentage of 16-17-year-olds whose activity is not known – This measure can occur when young people leave school with one plan but they end up taking a different path.  It has not been assumed that unknowns are in placements and resource is being put into identifying young people and ensuring they are in education or employment.

20.9     KPI 56 – Percentage of EHCPs  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20