MINUTES of themeeting of theREVIEW OF RECOMMENDATIONSTOPIC GROUP held on Friday 27 March 2009 at 9.00am
ATTENDANCE
Members of the Topic Group
D E Billing (Chairman),P V Goggins,A Mitchell (substituting for B N W Hammond), M Muir, A M R Searing
Other Members
M Downing, R Mays, A Oaten, E T Roach
Officers
Tony Comer, Head of Property
Karen Devereux, Head of Fostering Service
Bob Hall, Highway Services Manager
Charles Harris, Property Business Partner (West)
Tom Hawkyard, Head of Scrutiny
Nicola Hayden, Democratic Services Officer
Karyn Jones, Healthier Communities & Older People Programme Manager
Derek Knight, Head of Operations, Planning & Performance
Mark Lobban, Assistant Director – Community Commissioning
Paul Packham, Partnership Support Manager
Katherine Plunkett, Graduate Management Trainee
Phillip Winter, Head of Crime & Drugs Strategy Unit
Mark Yates, Fire & Rescue Service Deputy Chief Officer
ACTION1. / CHAIRMAN’S ANNOUCEMENTS
A Mitchell had replaced B N W Hammond for this meeting only.
2. / MINUTES
The minutes of the meeting held on 25 February 2009 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman. / All to note
3. / CRIME REDUCTION TOPIC GROUP UPDATE
3.1 / Phillip Winter and Paul Packham provided the Group with an update on progress made against recommendations, as detailed in the report circulated with the agenda.
3.2 / The Group were advised that theService Level Agreement for the Community Safety Virtual team would be in place from 1 April 2009.
In relation to partnership effectiveness, assessing delivery against partnership national minimum standards, the group were concerned that 10% of the recommendations presented to the Chief Officers Group were considered not appropriate.
Members welcomed the recognition by Officers that the joint induction sessions had been slow to start, but were pleased to note that the following dates had now been agreed for these:
15 May 2009
4 or 11 July 2009
Nov – to be confirmed.
It was also noted that if successful these induction sessions could be rolled out across other levels and ranks within the County Council and the Constabulary – subject to available resources and time. Members also suggested that if the induction sessions were to be widened to include the Health Authority then sessions on Headway would also need to be included.
3.3 / Further Members heard that the remit and objectives of the Brief Interventions programme were due to be reviewed on 1 April, and that whilst this initiative was showing signs of positive outcomes due to the complexity of sharing information with health colleagues the roll out would be slow.
3.4 / Finally Members welcomed the fact that the Constabulary / Police Authority had been able to make up the reduction in HCC funding for PCSO’s and that increase in headcount to circa 262 was sustainable.
3.4 / Conclusion
The Topic Group:
- Agreed to sign off Recommendation 1, subject to noting their concern that the COG had deemed10% of recommendations as not appropriate or applicable;
- Asked for a further report on the tangible outcomes of the Chief Officer Group meeting on 27 March, but agreed to sign off Recommendation 2 (attached at Appendix 4);
- Agreed that the outcomes of the induction sessions would be considered when the impact assessment was carried out, and thus agreed to sign off Recommendation 3;
- Subject to receiving a copy of the Service Level Agreement (attached at Appendix 1) signed off Recommendation 4;
- Signed off Recommendation 5 as the Overview & Scrutiny Committee would be scrutinising the Youth Service in the Autumn;
- Asked that the outcomes from the Brief Interventions meeting be circulated, but did not sign off Recommendation 6;
- Queried whether the increase in the number of Police Community Support Officer’s had led to a decrease in the number of Police Constables, asked for the list of partners contributing to be circulated and requested that all Housing Associations within Hertfordshire be asked to consider contributing to funding for the PCSO’s; but subject to receiving this information signed off Recommendation 7(attached at Appendix 3);
- Agreed that Recommendation 8 would be reviewed when the Impact Assessment was carried out; and
- Noted that the new Review of Recommendations Topic Group would consider the recommendations of the Domestic Violence Topic Group and that the work being undertaken by Dacorum would be reviewed during the Impact Assessment.
Philip Winter
Tom Hawkyard
Philip Winter
Philip Winter
Tom Hawkyard
4. / SPRINKLERS TOPIC GROUP UPDATE
4.1 / Tony Comer provided the Group with a verbal update on progress made against the recommendations of the Sprinklers Topic Group. He confirmed that all new buildings are fitted with sprinklers, but that with regards to retro fitting a cost benefit analysis had to be completed. The identification of a lighter weight, lower pressure plastic system made this more viable in certain buildings, specifically schools, and that work was underway with the Fire Service to complete cost/benefit analyses on current alteration and refurbishment projects. A proposal is due to be made to Cabinet with a more detailed report being taken to the Policy & Resources Panel that will detail core policy and choices available for different projects. It is anticipated that this paper will be ready early Summer.
4.2 / Members were concerned that the Building Schools for the Future programme did not include the cost of sprinklers in the base budget for projects other than new builds, but were pleased to note that current Council policy advocated the fitting of sprinklers in all new builds and significant refurbishments. They further requested that the cost to the Council of fires in schools over the past five years, versus the cost of installing sprinklers be included in the report to the Policy & Resources Panel. Finally the Group queried whether all the Authority’s children’s homes have sprinklers fitted.
4.3 / Conclusion
The Topic Group asked to receive a copy of the report being sent to the Policy & Resources Panel and for confirmation that sprinklers were installed in all of the Authority’s children’s homes. / Nicola Hayden
Philip Winter
5. / ST ALBANS FIRE STATION TOPIC GROUP UPDATE
5.1 / Tony Comer, Charles Harris and Mark Yates provided the Group with an update on progress made against recommendations, as detailed in the report circulated with the agenda.
5.2 / Tony Comer advised Members that progress had been made towards resolving liability issues between different parties and that Mace and Dean & Dyball were now taking on the rectification works.
5.3 / With regards to the heating system a diagnosis had now been confirmed and work would begin to replace the ring main to increase the water flow. The problems were caused as the result of a design defect. All fan/ducting problems had been rectified and problems with the drainage system were being dealt with by capping off those elements of redundant drainage and fitting sink/bottle traps in the showers and sinks. Work was still ongoing to deal with the cracks. All listed contractual discussions in the report had now been resolved.
5.4 / The Group were keen to hear the views of the Station Commander and Mark Yates advised that as work was now underway to resolve the problems, frustrations were lessening, but that as the station was operational, some solutions could be difficult to implement (e.g. where ceilings needed to be removed).
5.5 / In terms of ongoing problems, Members noted that the drainage system was still being monitored and would be reviewed further in 3 months time by CCTV to ensure that the rectification works had been successful. Members were also pleased to hear that Mace were reviewing their own internal procedures to ascertain what caused the problems and were reassured that other projects being undertaken by Mace for the authority would be reviewed.
5.6 / In terms of commissioning, Members discussed how this could be improved and welcomed the recognition that the use of an Independent Commissioner would be beneficial, as well as the introduction of a further ‘in-use commission’ once the building had been occupied for six months.
5.7 / The Group were also advised that a large number of the problems experienced were due to the level of mechanical and electrical innovations used on the project, many of which had been untried prior to their installation at St Albans Fire Station. They also heard that a 5% retention figure could be retained until the contract had been completed, but that increased maintenance costs would be met by the Authority.
5.8 / Finally Members welcomed the fact that many of the lessons learnt were already being applied to the building of the new fire station at Watford and that discussions were already underway even at this early stage about the eventual commissioning and hand over of the building.
5.9 / Conclusion
- The Topic Group requested that a report be brought to a future meeting that would include detailing what work had been done to rectify the problems, an assurance that maintenance of the drainage system was ongoing and an outcome of the discussions with contractors about rectification costs and ongoing maintenance costs;
- That a case study be prepared on the St Albans Fire Station project that could be shared as appropriate to disseminate lessons learnt;
- That details of process changes identified as a result of this project to be incorporated into the above report, along with the outcome of the trial project as detailed in recommendation 6;
- That the minutes of this discussion be used by the Overview & Scrutiny Committee as part of the input into the remit of the topic group being set up to scrutinise the relationship between the County Council, Mace and Mouchel and that the projects they look at include St Albans and Howe Dell.
Tony Comer
Tony Comer
Tom Hawkyard
6. / LAND DRAINAGE TOPIC GROUP UPDATE
6.1 / Bob Hall provided the Group with an update on progress made against recommendations, as detailed in the report circulated with the agenda.
6.2 / He confirmed that following the Pitt Review the draft Floods & Water Bill would be published in the next two months and would provide an opportunity to clarify responsibilities and legislation throughout the county. He also noted that work was ongoing between the various agencies and district councils to develop their Surface Water Management Plans (SWMPs), and that a lead officer from East Herts had been seconded to Defra to provided overarching help to all authorities.
6.3 / Members were advised that Hertsmere Borough Council had retained a drainage team, and that the Safety and Emergency Risk Management Unit (SERMU) had been running Project Unicorn in conjunction with Middlesex University which had mapped the flood risk areas within the county and identified all those properties that were at risk from flooding, and that this study was now being used to inform the authority’s approach to asset management.
6.4 / Conclusion
The Topic Group:
- requested that any best practice identified by the Herts Local Authority Forum be shared with both the Highways & Transport Panel and the Community Safety Panel;
- asked that appropriate bids for money were made to Cabinet in time for the 2010/11 budget rounds,
- suggested that the priorities identified be shared with the Joint Member Panels and District Councils, along with the findings of the Unicorn project, relevant to their area;
- requested that the Overview & Scrutiny Committee consider bringing forward the planned scrutiny of flood risks to coincide with the publication of the Floods & Water Bill;
- subject to the above agreed to sign off Recommendations 1, 2 and 4, but in light of (1) above felt that Recommendation 3 had not yet been completed.
Bob Hall
Bob Hall
Tom Hawkyard
All to note
7 / LIBRARIES FOR THE FUTURE
7.1 / Derek Knight provided the Group with an update on progress made against recommendations, as detailed in the report circulated with the agenda.
7.2 / He advised Members that the drop from a CPA 4* to 3* was as a result of a shortfall in opening hours of seven per week, against the unexpected increase in population, but that the indicators that will be used in the upcoming CAA (Corporate Area Assessment) currently place the Council in the top quartile when compared against other county authorities.
7.3 / The report on Hertfordshire Local will be considered by the Culture Panel and Members were encouraged to participate in events at their local libraries as and when possible. It was also noted that there had been a small number of unplanned closures due to property related incidents.
7.4 / Conclusion
The Topic Group:
- requested that the Libraries Marketing Plan be sent to the Culture Panel;
- noted their concern at the impact on service delivery of property failure, and asked that the Culture Panel continue to be kept informed of any property related incidents;
- asked that a report be brought to a future meeting detailing the outcome of the work to uncouple the materials fund from income targets;
- subject to the above agreed to sign off the recommendations.
Derek Knight
Derek Knight
8. / HIGHWAYS JOINT MEMBER PANELS SRUTINY UPDATE
8.1 / Rob Smith provided the Group with an update on progress made against recommendations, as detailed in the report circulated with the agenda.
8.2 / Conclusion
The Topic Group:
- accepted that the Chairmen and Vice Chairmen of the Joint Member Panels (JMPs) did not feel the need to have an annual meeting to share good practice, but asked that they be encouraged to find other ways of sharing good practice amongst themselves;
- asked that the JMPs be reminded to ask the Passenger Transport Unit for reports on PTU issues as and when necessary;
- further encouraged District Councils to bring reports on parking issues to their local JMP where appropriate, welcomed the likelihood of the Highways Agency attending future meetings and sought to encourage the traffic police to attend where applicable.
- subject to the above agreed to sign off all recommendations.
Rob Smith
Rob Smith
9. / FOSTERING TOPIC GROUP UPDATE
9.1 / Karen Devereux provided the Group with an update on progress made against recommendations, as detailed in the report circulated with the agenda.
9.2 / She noted that the recruitment of the Private Fostering Officer was proving extremely helpful but that there was still considerable pressure on the Family & Friends team. With regards to ICS confidentiality Members sought further information about the extent to which access was monitored, and noted that the Fostering Service aimed to be ICS compliant by the end of 2009. Members were pleased to note that there continued to be an upward trend in the recruitment of foster carers and that an annual report was circulated to the Children Services Panel detailing the work of the recruitment teams. Finally Members queried when the consultation on the policy for post – 18 year olds would be finished, and the likely outcomes of this.
9.3 / Conclusion
The Topic Group did not feel able to sign off any recommendations at this stage and asked for the following:
- a further report on budget matters relating to the Family & Friends team, to include information about the work to support special guardianship orders (SGOs) and residency orders (ROs);
- confirmation that admission arrangements had been altered by the Council to ensure children in SGOs, being placed for adoption and ROs were prioritised for school admission in line with all other children in care;
- an indication of the frequency with which managers monitored access to ICS;
- a report to the Children Services Panel, with a copy to topic group Members showing the number and breakdown of BME (black & minority ethnic) foster carers and foster carers for teenagers and hard to place children;
- confirmation of the funding position for Independent Visitors – including the proposals for distributing the current budget, alongside budget proposals for 2010/11;
- confirmation of the date for the consultation on the policy for post-18 year olds in foster care; and
- the results of the Invest to Save Bid
Jonathan Fisher
Jonathan Fisher
Karen Devereux
Jonathan Fisher
Jonathan Fisher
Jonathan Fisher
10. / HOMECARE PROCUREMENT TOPIC GROUP
10.1 / Mark Lobban provided the Group with an update on progress made against recommendations, as detailed in the report circulated with the agenda.
10.2 / The Group requested further information about the phased take over of the Care UK contract by alternative providers, and stressed the need to ensure Member involvement at the final stages of the procurement process. Members also queried whether information on complaints and compliments in relation to Adult Care Services (ACS) could be made more readily available on the website.
10.3 / Members were pleased to note that consideration would also be given to the views of service users with regards to the advantages of a transition period at the handover of contracts and that steps would be taken to mitigate the effects of staff who do not want to transfer to a new service provider. Finally Members encouraged further consideration of there being a staggered approach to contract extension.
10.4 / Conclusion
The Topic Group agreed the following:
Recommendation 1
that further consideration be given to how users and carers can be more empowered, involved and supported during the procurement process;
requested confirmation that Members would be involved the procurement process;
requested that monthly information on complaints and compliments be readily accessible on Connect.
Recommendation 2
that once the new regulatory framework was in place consideration be given to converting the requirement from 1* to 2* under the new criteria, and that the previous topic group’s views be taken into account with regards to the requirement for providers to hold either a 1* or a 2* rating.
Recommendation 3
that the transition effect on service users and carers be considered.
Recommendation 4
that further consideration is given to the use of incentives for improved service delivery with regards to the current provision for retaining 1% of turnover.
that further consideration be given to the maintaining continuity of care when workers do not want to change providers.
Recommendation 5
that the use of a staggered approach to contract extension is welcomed and that where possible this be implemented prior to 2014 (in the event of provider failure for example).
Recommendations 6 & 7
that both of these recommendations be signed off as complete. / Guy Pettengell
Guy Pettengell
Mark Lobban
Guy Pettengell
Guy Pettengell
Guy Pettengell
Guy Pettengell
Guy Pettengell
All to note
11 / WELL BEING OF THE OVER-50’S TOPIC GROUP UPDATE
11.1 / Karyn Jones provided the Group with an update on progress made against recommendations, as detailed in the report circulated with the agenda.
11.2 / Members were pleased to note that the strategy for provision for the over-50’s had now been completed, although this was now known as the strategy for working age adults and older people in Hertfordshire. The action plan to sit alongside the strategy had also been completed, with details of how it would be monitored included alongside each identified action. The Topic Group congratulated Karyn for the speed with which this had been completed.
11.3 / She advised that a paper and a checklist explaining the term ‘age-proofing’ and defining older people’s champions had been prepared, and that the recruitment of the champions would probably take place in the Autumn (2009).
11.4 / With regards to the website it was noted that links to the NHS Choices website were being developed, further information was also available in the Fifty Matters magazine, produced by Age Concern and that a trial was in place to put a member of staff from Age Concern in doctors surgeries at set times to improve access to information.
11.5 / Conclusion
The Topic Group congratulated Officers for their work, and agreed to sign off all recommendations subject to the following:
- that the Strategy and Action Plan be sent to the Adult Care & Health Panel as well as Members of the original topic group;
- that a copy of the checklist and age proofing definition be sent to the Topic Group, and that further information about the champions be provided once they have been recruited;
- that a copy of the job description for the Community Engagement Officer be sent to the original members of the topic group;
- that when the Topic Group carries out its impact assessment, the Community Engagement Officer will be invited to attend.
Karyn Jones
Karyn Jones
Tom Hawkyard
12. / WORK PROGRAMME
12.1 / It was requested that the report prepared by the Director of Children, Schools & Families on the outstanding recommendations of the Children Act Topic Group be sent to Topic Group Members. / John Harris / Nicola Hayden
12.2 / Members agreed the following provisional work programme for their next meeting:
- Planning Enforcement Topic Group Update
- Dial a Ride Topic Group Update
- Teenage Pregnancy Topic Group Update
- Postal Services Topic Group Update
- Primary School Place Planning Topic Group Update
- Domestic Violence Topic Group Update
- Trish Orme to report back on Recommendation 5 from the Homecare Topic Group
- Update on the Review of Recommendations database and proposals for impact assessments.
13 / DATES OF FUTURE MEETINGS
13.1 /
- Friday 11 September 2009
- Friday 13 November 2009
- Friday 22 January 2010
- Friday 26 March 2010
- Friday 21 May 2010
- Friday 23 July 2010
Nicola Hayden