Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any apologies for absence from Members.

Apologies were received from Cllr T O’Neil.

To receive information on any changes in the membership of the Committee.

Note – When a member of a Committee is unable to attend a meeting of a Committee or Sub-Committee, the relevant Political Group Leader (or their nominated representative) may, by notice to the Monitoring Officer (or their nominated representative) prior to the meeting, appoint a substitute member from within the same Political Group. The contact details on the front of this agenda should be used for notifications. 

There were no substitute members.

Councillors are requested to declare any interests on items included in this agenda. Please refer to the workflow on the preceding page for guidance.

Declarations received will be reported at the meeting.

Cllr V Slade confirmed for transparency that she was an LGA Member Peer in relation to agenda item 8 Scrutiny of the Corporate Peer Challenge Feedback report and Action Plan Cabinet report.

To confirm and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 28 February 2022.

The minutes of the meeting held on 28 February were approved as a correct record

To note and comment on the attached action sheet which tracks decisions, actions and recommendations from previous meetings.

The Chairman advised that there was an action currently outstanding on the action sheet for the Portfolio Holder for Environment and Place regarding the sewage outflows. The Chairman confirmed that a response on this had been received and would be circulated to all members of the Board.

The Chairman also outlined the response received regarding the outstanding actions in relation to the LTP Capital programme item. All responses in relation to this had been circulated to the Board members.

The Chairman advised that in relation to the action on the Forward Plan item regarding the report on leisure centres the Portfolio Holder had advised that a Cabinet report would be coming forward in December.

To receive any public questions, statements or petitions submitted in accordance with the Constitution, which is available to view at the following link:

https://democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CommitteeID=151&Info=1&bcr=1

The deadline for the submission of a public question is 4 clear working days before the meeting.

The deadline for the submission of a statement is midday the working day before the meeting.

The deadline for the submission of a petition is 10 working days before the meeting.

There were no public issues for this meeting.

To consider and ask questions on a verbal update on the Council’s response to the current situation in the Ukraine.

The Portfolio Holder for People and Homes placed on record her thanks for the whole team who had been dealing with this as they had been doing an outstanding job.

The Director of Housing, who was leading on the response to the situation locally advised the Board of the current situation in relation to the role of the Council in the Homes for Ukraine programme. The Communities Manager explained to the Board in greater detail the actions which the Council had been taking on the ground which included developing a welcome pack for BCP, with Ukrainian, Polish and Russian versions as well as English. It was noted that this was because there had been strong support from the local Polish community. Checks on accommodation for those who had volunteered were underway and none had been found which could not be suitable.

The Board thanked the Portfolio Holder and Officers for the information provided and the work which was being done. A number of points were raised and responded to including:

·     What the situation was regarding children in attendance at local schools and the information being provided to their sponsors on this. It was noted that this would have to be looked at as and when people were here, including what were the main issues which required ongoing support. It was confirmed that if living in the area they would have the same rights as other residents, including claiming universal credit and attending schools. Arriving families were being visited with interpreter to check if they had any support needs and ensure access to emergency support if required.

·     Whether there was any obligation for banks to provide Ukrainians with accounts or whether this was a known issue. It was noted that the normal procedures for opening a bank account may present difficulties for Ukrainian refugees and the banks had been advised that they should not be required to provide them with a proof of address.

·     There were local residents on the Polish Boarder ready to collect refugees to bring them back to BCP.

·     It was acknowledged that this was a fast-moving situation, and it was good to hear that the Council would be receiving payments through this. However, there was concern that there would be a number of increased costs for the Council which were unexpected and whether officer time would be correctly allocated to these cost codes. It was noted that these had already been set up and that there was likely to be additional costs for things like education and welcoming people at ports of entry. The Council were already familiar with tariffs for the situation due to previous work with Afghan refugees.

·     There were concerns raised about the potential responses of local residents particularly in relation to issues such as the availability of school places.

·     In response to a question, it was noted that those arriving were mainly women coming with children, the Council would be able to potentially support them in finding work. Offers of employment had been  ...  view the full minutes text for item 185.

To consider the Housing Management Model report scheduled for Cabinet consideration on 13 April 2022.

The O&S Board is asked to scrutinise and comment on the report and if required make recommendations or observations as appropriate.

Cabinet member invited to attend for this item: Councillor Karen Rampton, Portfolio Holder for People and Homes

The Cabinet report for this item is included with the agenda for consideration by the Overview and Scrutiny Board.

The Portfolio Holder for People and Homes presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each member of the Board and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'A' to these minutes in the Minute Book. The Portfolio Holder and Chief Executive of Poole Housing Partnership (PHP) addressed the points raised by the Board, including:

·     A Board member sought clarification on the numbers of residents supporting the proposal. It was confirmed that those numbers outlined in the executive summary included tenants and leaseholders of both Poole and Bournemouth. Overall 51 percent of residents agreed with the proposal but when this was broken down into areas there were 56 percent in agreement in Bournemouth and 46 percent in Poole. There was also a further 27 percent who neither agreed nor disagreed.

·     Communication was raised as an issue in the consultation. A Board member asked about the plan to improve this within the new structure. There was a need to make sure communication was improved and it was important to let people know what was happening even when there was nothing to communicate. One of the panels within the resident involvement structure would be for communications. The Panel would have a wide remit to look into the best means of communication.

·     In a related question the Board asked whether there would continue to be in person hubs or contact points for residents. It was explained that from the date of the service provision change residents would continue accessing services in the same way as previously. Most communication was by telephone. There was a commitment to residents that they would be able to access housing services through many different channels.

·     It was suggested that since local government reorganisation some people had wanted to bring PHP back within the Council. There were concerns raised about this as PHP provided a good service and this may be affected by bringing it back into the Council. There was a concern that by being a small part of a much larger organisation there may be a lack of focus and funding. It was noted that the Housing Revenue Account was ringfenced and therefore any efficiencies achieved were reinvested.

·     A Board member asked for assurance that the culture and positive behaviours of PHP will be expanded and absorbed within the Council. The Portfolio Holder advised that it was not sustainable or equitable to have two housing models going forward. PHP was a great model and residents were very satisfied with it but Bournemouth residents were also very satisfied with their housing service. HRA is ringfenced any efficiencies are reinvested.

·     Although some teams would not be in Bournemouth Homes but part of the corporate model, the customer service team would be providing the same service to residents following the transition from 1 July. It was noted that the intention of the new model was to provide the best of both existing housing services. The Service also wanted to ensure that there were no artificial barriers put  ...  view the full minutes text for item 186.

To consider the Corporate Peer Challenge Feedback Report and Action Plan scheduled for Cabinet consideration on 13 April 2022.

The O&S Board is asked to scrutinise and comment on the report and if required make recommendations or observations as appropriate.

Cabinet member invited to attend for this item: Councillor Drew Mellor, Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Transformation and Finance

The Cabinet report for this item is included with the agenda for consideration by the Overview and Scrutiny Board.

The Chief Executive presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each member of the Board and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'B' to these minutes in the Minute Book. There were a number of issues raised by the Board in the subsequent discussion which were responded to by the Chief Executive and Head of Policy and Performance, including:

·     The meaning of culture within the report and how this was explained to Council Employees. The Board was advised that this was in reference to the way things were done at the Council and the way the Council wanted things done. The cultural values of the organisation were set out soon after the formation on the Council. However, it was acknowledged that there was still some way to go in moving people from preceding Councils to the BCP way of doing things.

·     Corporate Strategy – very general and broad in its scope which has meant that people start choosing what relates to them in. It was noted that there was a great deal of complexity within a council providing over 600 services in comparison to a company with a single focus. It was noted that values can really drive behaviours, but internal communication needed to be much stronger and there was a lot of emphasis being placed on this. It was suggested that two values which could be put forward were: ‘excellent at customer care and communication’ and ‘spend money as if it was your own money’.

·     A councillor asked about retaining and enhancing all non-digital channels. It was noted that the plan was to free-up channels by getting most people using functional digital, thus allowing those for whom accessing digital channels was challenging better access. It was hoped that as many as possible would self-serve. It was suggested that it should be accepted that these changes would impact people but that the impact would be ameliorated.

·     A Board member agreed with the comments within the report regarding reputational damage and that the parities should be less politically critical of each other.

·     A Board member commented that it was good that the report recognised the need for less jargon and there was definitely a need to get rid of this.

·     A Board member commented that it was good to see target dates within the action plan going forward as Board members had previously requested this detail. However there seemed to be a delay in implementation of some of the actions. The Board was advised that there would be significant steps towards these actions before the indicated dates and received assurance that all the targets were achievable.

·     A Board member commented that there was a lot of criticism inside the document directed at members rather than officers and that it was disappointing that there wasn’t a member present to answer questions on these issues. The Councillor asked how members could help address some of these issues. The Chief Executive responded that politics in a no-overall control or  ...  view the full minutes text for item 187.

To consider and amend the Board’s Forward Plan as appropriate and to consider the published Cabinet Forward Plan.

The Chairman introduced this item and asked the Scrutiny Specialist to explain the current situation in terms of the Audit and Governance Committees recommendations with regards to changes to the Overview and Scrutiny structure. The Board was advised that the recommendation from the A&G Committee was to have a scrutiny structure with 4 themed based committees without Overview and Scrutiny Board. This would mean that the responsibility for call-in would be spread across the 4 committees as appropriate. The proposal would request that this was implemented from the new municipal year. Therefore, a practical solution to move things forward ensuring a smooth transition was required. It was hoped that the transition would encompass those issues in place from the existing Board’s Forward Plan.

A Councillor commented that if the recommendation to go forward with the new committees was agreed they did not want to not want to lose items which Councillors had already said they want scrutinised. Are members content with proposals to move forward.  A Councillor raised concerns that the new structure would no longer track Cabinet meetings.

There were a number of issues which Councillors had requested to be added to the Forward Plan.  There was a request to place a item on the Councils complaints procedure on the Board’s Forward Plan.

A Councillor requested that the Severe Weather Protocol should be considered by the O&S Board. This was not put in place on the preceding weekend on a technicality. It was suggested that the current protocol should be looked at along with suggestions for any changes which may be made.

It was agreed that these issues should be added to the Forward Plan.

Voting: For – 11, Against – 0, 1 Abstention

A Councillor proposed that an item on selective licensing be added to the Forward Plan, this was agreed by the Board:

Voting: For – 8, Against – 0, 4 abstentions

It was proposed that an item on levels and types of anti-social behaviour as referred to in the previously considered item on housing be added to the Forward Plan. It was suggested that Police be invited for this item. It was agreed that this item should be added to the Forward Plan.

Voting: For – 10, Against – 0, 2 abstentions

The Chairman suggested that Scrutiny should look again at the town centre BIDS and give the BID managers an opportunity to give their views and explain what they were doing. It was agreed that this should be added to the Board’s Forward Plan.

Voting: For – 10, Against – 0, 2 abstentions

The Scrutiny Specialist advised that it would be useful at this stage to allow agreement on issues for the initial meetings of any new scrutiny structure agreed by Council to be delegated to the Chair and Vice-Chair, in order to discuss arrangements further.

Voting: Unanimous

As this may be the final meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Board, the Vice-Chair placed on record her appreciation of the work of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 188.