Agenda and minutes

Members and officers must declare any pecuniary or personalinterest in any business on the agenda. They should also make declarations at any stage such an interest becomes apparent during the meeting. Consideration should be given to leaving the meeting if the nature of the interest warrants it.  If in doubt please contact Democratic Services before the meeting.

In accordance with the County Council’s code of conduct the following declaration was made:

Cllr Ali declared a personal interest as a member of Crawley Borough Council and a member of their Planning Committee under agenda item no 5.

Items not on the agenda which the Chairman of the meeting is of the opinion should be considered as a matter of urgency by reason of special circumstances, including cases where the Committee needs to be informed of budgetary or performance issues affecting matters within its terms of reference, which have emerged since the publication of the agenda.

18.1     No urgent matters were raised.

The Committee is asked to agree the minutes of the meeting held on 9 June 2023 (cream paper).

19.1     A member highlighted that under minute 9.22, recommendation 3, that the date should read March 2024.

19.2     Resolved – that the Part I minutes of the Committee held on 9 June 2023 be approved as a correct record, subject to the amendment as reflected in 19.1, and be signed by the Chairman.

The Committee is asked to note the responses to recommendations made at the previous meetings of the Committee.

20.1     The Committee noted the responses to recommendations made at previous meetings, subject to the same date change as highlighted under the minutes.

Report by Director of Finance and Support Services, setting out the finance and performance position as at the end of June 2023.

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 action to the relevant cabinet member.

Members are reminded that only the performance data on Community Support in Section 4 (Community Support, Fire and Rescue Portfolio) falls within the remit of this Committee.

21.1     Members reviewed Quarter 1 of the Performance and Resources Report 2023-24, which covered the period April-June 2023.

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

Communities

21.3     Homes for Ukraine scheme – Within the cohort of Ukranian guests, many had been successful in finding private rented accommodation.  Many had been able to arrange this themselves with support or advice and some had been supported with a rent deposit from the County Council.  Many hosts are also happy to continue arrangements after the initial six months.  Low numbers of Ukrainians are coming over now, and some are even returning to Ukraine.

21.4     The projects in the Library Service and Record Office that have received external funding will be made easily accessible to anyone online across a range of platforms.  The Committee members were invited to meet the teams.  

21.5     KPI4 – The outcome could be a contact with a resident that leaves them in a better place to deal with digital security.  Details of how data is collected, interventions determined, etc, is not available yet.

21.6     KPI34 – A positive outcome of a contact with the Community Hub is not necessarily a final position of resolution but that a resident has been supplied with information, practical support, signposted to support or referred onwards to other services.   Now that the Household Support Fund had been shared with other organisations much of the measures of success will be with those organisations.  Members asked if they could see some detailed information on the returns that partners had seen on the funding.  Officers reported that information from quarterly returns was now available covering several recent years and patterns could be highlighted.  Members were invited to visit the Community Hub and experience what the team do.

21.7     Members noted the financial pressures caused by the continued increase in excess deaths since the pandemic and asked whether there were any patterns by demography or geography.  The Committee were advised that some work had been done nationally that could be shared and had indicated an increase in the population, particularly in the older age groups.  The challenge for the Registration Service was to ensure delivery of in-person appointments to register deaths, were in the right place to make this as easy as possible.  The location of current registration offices were being reviewed taking into account new housing developments and growth areas in the county.

21.8     Since the Coroner’s Service had transferred to the County Council from Sussex Police on 1 April 2023, there had been a focus on recruitment and training of staff to reduce the 23% vacancy rate. 

21.9     The County Council has no responsibility for the conversion of hotels to accommodation for asylum seekers.  Any incidents of homelessness would be presented to the district and borough councils.  It was suggested that a bite-sized briefing be run for Committee members, covering this topic and the Chairman welcomed that idea.

21.10  Trading Standards has recruited to two posts  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

Report by Assistant Director (Highways, Transport and Planning).

The Committee is asked to consider:

·       The current thinking and direction of travel regarding the asset management review to ensure alignment with the Council Plan and the County Council’s responsibilities as the Highways Authority for West Sussex.

·       The extent to which the local and national drivers will be accommodated.

·       How the Strategy will seek to balance the competing demands faced by the Service.

·       How well the Strategy will address network resilience in the face of climate change and forecast changes in the national fleet.

·       How well the Strategy will address the needs of those with mobility issues accessing urban areas.

·       The format and timing of any scrutiny engagement as the review work is taken forward.

22.1     The Committee received a presentation on highlights from the report in the agenda pack and members of the Committee asked questions and a summary of those questions and answers follows.

22.2     The Highway Asset Management Strategy is a mandatory requirement.  The previous Strategy has been updated yearly but it was felt now was the time for a full bottom-up review which would run through to summer 2024.  The opportunity would be taken to consider what we would like to do, what is appropriate within resources and budget and how to manage assets for best value.  Innovation is always a challenge but looking at processes would enable the best practice to be brought to the fore and bring on a culture change. 

22.3     The Strategy would enable areas with differing needs to be treated differently. For example, a treelined street with a bus route along it would need different treatment to one without a bus route.  These differing needs would be established through consultation and assessment. 

22.4     Quality assurance would be incorporated into the Strategy enabling performance to be measured.

22.5     The service has a comprehensive knowledge of most assets, but some areas still need closer review.  Members were keen to know how resilience to climate change and its impact on resources would be built into the strategy.  This would be part of the review and members would be able to challenge the service if they did not feel it was adequately reflected.

22.6     Resolved – that the Committee:

1.   Supports the direction of travel and thinking undertaken but understands the challenges ahead including the desire to seek value for money and manage assets within the resources available.

2.   Looks forward reviewing the Policy and Strategy in summer 2024, looking to see that the Service have challenged themselves enough and consulted with stakeholders, customers and members.

The Committee is asked to agree its current draft work programme (attached at Appendix A and B), taking into account the Forward Plan of key decisions within its remit (attached at Appendix C) and any suggestions from its members for possible scrutiny taking into account the attached scrutiny checklist (attached at Appendix D). 

23.1     Members agreed the draft work programme with the following changes under Issues yet to be timetabled:

23.2     A27 Chichester – whether there was any information from strategic planning on when there might be something for the Committee to scrutinise.

23.3     Asset Management Strategy – Date be moved to later in 2024 following the discussion under agenda item no 22.

There have been no requests for call-in to the Scrutiny Committee and within its constitutional remit since the date of the last meeting.  The Director of Law and Assurance will report any requests since the publication of the agenda papers.

24.1     There had been no request for call-in to the Scrutiny Committee within its constitutional remit since the date of the last meeting.

The next meeting of the Committee will be held on 17 November 2023 at 10.30 am at County Hall, Chichester.  Probable agenda items include:

·       Ash Dieback Update

·       Performance and Resources Report – Quarter 2

·       Digital Inclusion and Safety Strategy

·       Strategic Intelligence Assessment Process

·       Scrutiny of any budget implications 2024-25

Any member wishing to place an item on the agenda for the meeting must notify the Director of Law and Assurance by Friday 8 September 2023.

25.1     The date of the next meeting would be held on 17 November 2023 at 10.30am.

The Committee is asked to consider in respect of the following item whether the public, including the press, should be excluded from the meeting on the grounds of exemption under Part I of schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as indicated below, and because, in all the circumstances of that information outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Exempt: paragraph 3, financial or business affairs of any person (including the authority).

26.1     Resolved – That under section 100(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in part I, or Schedule 12a, of the Act by virtual of the paragraph specified under the item and that, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption of that information outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

The Committee is asked to agree the Part II minutes of the meeting held on 9 June 2023 (attached for members of the Committee only, gold paper).

27.1     Resolved – that the Part II minutes of the Committee held on 9 June 2023 be approved as a correct record and be signed by the Chairman.