Doncaster Metripolitan Council
Councillors:
56
Wards:
22
Committees:
25
Meetings (2025):
88
Meetings (2024):
113
Meeting
Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee - Doncaster
Meeting Times
Scheduled Time
Start:
Thursday, 20th June 2024
10:00 AM
Thursday, 20th June 2024
10:00 AM
End:
Thursday, 20th June 2024
2:00 PM
Thursday, 20th June 2024
2:00 PM
Actual Time
Started:
Thursday, 20th June 2024
12:00 AM
Thursday, 20th June 2024
12:00 AM
Finished:
Thursday, 20th June 2024
12:00 AM
Thursday, 20th June 2024
12:00 AM
Meeting Status
Status:
Confirmed
Confirmed
Date:
20 Jun 2024
20 Jun 2024
Location:
Council Chamber, Civic Office, Waterdale, Doncaster DN1 3BU
Council Chamber, Civic Office, Waterdale, Doncaster DN1 3BU
Meeting Attendees
Committee Member
Conservative Group Leader
Co-Optee
Antoinette Drinkhill
Church of England Education representative
Present, as expected
Co-Optee
Bernadette Nesbit
Diocese of Hallam Roman Catholic Church
Present, as expected
Council Staff
AHW_PA
Expected
Vice-Chair
Councillor Andrea Robinson
Present, as expected
Committee Member
Councillor Leanne Hempshall
Present, as expected
Committee Member
Councillor Richard A Jones
Present, as expected
Committee Member
Councillor Glynis Smith
Present, as expected
Agenda
1
Apologies for absence.
Minutes
2
To consider the extent, if any, to which the public and press are to be excluded from the meeting.
Minutes
There were no items where the public and press would be excluded from the meeting.
3
Declarations of Interest, if any.
Minutes
Councillor Jane Kidd declared that she worked for a voluntary orgnisation.
4
Minutes from the Meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee held on 5th February and 28th March 2024
Attachments:
- Document Minutes , 05/02/2024 Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee 12 Jun 2024
- Document Minutes , 28/03/2024 Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee 12 Jun 2024
Minutes
RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meetings held on 5th February and 28th March 2024, be agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.
5
Public Statements.
[A period not exceeding 20 minutes for statements from up
to 5 members of the public on matters within the
Committee’s remit, proposing action(s) which may be
considered or contribute towards the future development of
the Committee’s work programme].
to 5 members of the public on matters within the
Committee’s remit, proposing action(s) which may be
considered or contribute towards the future development of
the Committee’s work programme].
Minutes
There we no public statements made.
6
2023-24 Quarter 4 Finance and Performance Improvement Report
Attachments:
- Document OSMC Papers - Q4 Finance Performance Report 12 Jun 2024
Minutes
The Committee gave consideration to a report that provided the 2023-24 Quarter 4 Finance and Performance information, with the following areas highlighted:
· Performance was positive with only a small number of indicators not on track;
· In March both the budget for 2024/25 and Corporate Plan had been approved; and
· Work was continually being undertaken to reinstate Doncaster Sheffield Airport.
The Committee asked a number of questions relating to the following areas:
Financial pressures – in response to a question the Committee was reminded that Adult Social Care and Childrens Social Care were the largest spend areas but also both volatile due to their nature and ongoing areas of concern. The Committee acknowledged there were a number of saving proposals for 2024/25 with some carried over from the previous year. It was stressed that demand required monitoring.
It was noted that savings delivery had been built into the budget with mitigation factors, if it could not be delivered.
The Dedicated Schools Grant was an area of concern and noted that a Members Seminar had been arranged to discuss the issue separately.
It was explained that the Adult Social Care position was detailed within the report but the Committee was informed of three priority areas, as follows:
· To help increase the number of people staying in their own homes, as long as possible, and it was noted that a lot of progress had been made with this specific target later on in the 2023/24 period, for example supporting people in crisis in communities;
· Address the care costs for adults of a working age; and
· Increase joint working with the NHS where people have been prescribed carers when leaving hospital. For example moving and handling training and support for people to rely less on regular care support.
With regard to a plan to address the pressures particularly within the longer term budget, it was explained that a balanced budget was approved with the Medium Term Financial Strategy being regularly reviewed.
Underspend detailed on page 141 of the report – It was explained that this money had been set aside and received capital approval in February. The recent approval agreed to set aside money, but a business case, plans and designs were still required before a final decision could be made.
Reliance on out of authority placements – It was reported that, and the Committee was pleased to note, that with regard to childrens services the position had improved slightly and for the first time the performance indicator had moved from red to amber. The challenge that remained was the average cost of out of authority placements was significantly above what had been set in the budget.
The Service Director for Education and skills highlighted that social care and early intervention was being addressed and had started to make a positive difference. Caution was noted that there would always be some instances of a specialist nature where placements away from Doncaster were required, but work was being undertaken across many areas to ensure children were placed as close to home as possible. With regard to inhouse education provision historically it was challenging but SEND transformation provision was being extended with work being undertaken in schools to provide support. Costs and quality were being challenged by purchasing block places rather than on a child by child basis.
Acquisition programme for special educational needs and disability facilities – It was outlined that the Local Authority could not provide individual SEND establishments but it could bid for opportunities including support for expansion of a number of local special schools, set up social, emotional and mental health hubs and support mainstream schools by utilising and maximising the capital SEND budget.
Councillor Nightingale, Cabinet Member for Corporate Resources
On the back of the Customer Experience Strategy considered in November 2023 the following areas were addressed with the Cabinet Member:
Impact of Service Changes – the customer experience was improving, particularly the two rapid improvement projects in Council Tax and Business Rates and Licensing, through improvements to the customer model. The Service had redesigned the web pages, improved the on-line customer offer, retired email addresses and introduced chat boxes. The impact had been significant therefore it was hoped this model would be introduced across the Council as a whole. It was stressed that it was essential for services to be accessible to all users, for example, some people prefer to use online functions rather than speaking to a person direct or vice-versa.
It was noted that 96% of the web pages had been reviewed, with 149 telephone numbers and 140 email addresses being removed resulting in more consistency for customers and less confusion. The current customer relationship management system was in the process of being replaced by a new platform that included an integrated call centre.
In response to evolving services at a fast pace, maybe due to the Covid Pandemic, service change material had been forwarded to, for example the Taxi licencing service, and reported that this particular aspect was working well.
Service experience for more excluded members of the community – The Committee was reminded that the vision for the Customer Experience Strategy was to always provide the best possible customer experience to all people. It was explained that one of the Council’s EDI Objectives was “to always provide the best possible customer experience to all the people we serve, no matter how people contact us”.
Councillor Nightingale continued to explain that over the past few years, the Local Authority had seen customers move dramatically towards online channels, with digital interactions overtaking telephone and face to face contact. This customer expectation required continuing, however alongside this further development and improvement of traditional channels for those who required or prefer them needed to continue. The delivery of this strategy would enable Doncaster Council to continue it’s journey to improve, manage and monitor customer experience not only across the borough but also across all access channels. She explained that the online systems had been redesigned to assist making applications, for example for a Blue Badge. New technology development would not stop assistance in person if that was what someone wished for. It was noted that the Local Authority aims to process all Blue Badge applications within 14 days, however applications were often processed and ordered much quicker than this.
It was outlined that Customer Services had introduced:
· an Accessibility Telephone Line to help customers with additional needs to access council services more easily and was currently receiving approximately 150 calls a week;
· A translation and interpretation service available by telephone or face to face; and
· Working to provide VSL service for customers with hearing difficulties.
The Committee noted that all the work and improvements achieved through The Customer Experience Strategy programme of work, all performance and effectiveness were constantly and consistently monitored.
The Committee recognised the improvements and acknowledged the online support people were receiving but in response to a question relating to easy read documents, the Cabinet Member explained that further information would be provided following the meeting.
Footfall in the One Stop Shop – the Chair commented that there were members of the community, for a number of reasons, that would not wish to use online services and sought assurances that for these people face to face advice and quality time was available for this group of people. The Committee was assured that due to a drop in footfall the customer face to face service was able to provide good quality support and time to all visitors, particularly those with more complex needs.
The Service Director, Chief Executives clarified that more facilities were now available through the One Stop Shop for example, the Citizens Advice Bureau, Registers, food vouchers and Integration and Partnerships Team to provide support and increase access to services.
Level of demand for benefit support – It was acknowledged that there had been an increase in telephone calls for support in this area but also an increase in people accessing CAB. On average 82 customers per week for support with benefit, debt and energy advice. It was noted that innovative work was continuing for people to receive support within their communities, for example, in the North GP primary care networks CAB officers had been present in doctors surgeries and within a 3 month pilot period relating to benefits had provided an additional £250,000 of resources into a small area. Undertaking this trial was also beneficial to GP surgeries by being able to signpost people quickly for advice from the CAB. It was noted that there was appetite from partners for this to continue and provide more resilience in communities.
The Service Director for Finance provided some context to the discussion by explaining that when the budget was set it included the number of people claiming out of work benefit has remained at or above 8,600 claimants which equated to 4.5% of the working age population and remained the highest in South Yorkshire (based on November 2023).
Sickness absence management system – in response to a member asking if Members were able to access the information, it was explained that the HR system used to be much more labour intensive but now automatically advised on sickness triggers. It was noted that sickness absence had declined but varied across the organisation. It was confirmed that St Leger Homes sickness monitoring was collated with the Council’s data.
At this point in the meeting, the Chair thanked Councillor Nightingale for attending the meeting.
Planning applications time extensions – It was explained to the Committee that planning applications were monitored by a system called “Power BI” which was a live real time system that tracked applications. It provided target dates, flags action required and linked directed to the Pentana system. The system aids the developer to track planning application progress. The extensions of time were not in place to circumvent performance data, with the local target being 94% with an actual of 92.5% being determined within the timeframe, above national target requirements. It was outlined that the time extensions assist with better planning developments before a decision was made, particularly with major developments ensuring they were well managed and getting balance right.
The Committee noted that with regard to resources and risk, if you were an authority that was seen not to determine applications or working well with developers, then major applications and developments could be lost to other areas. The position with regard to retaining staff with technical specialisms was raised as an ongoing challenge.
Investment in Doncaster – An update was provided including meeting performance targets, the potential development at Hatfield and in other areas around Thorne North with the potential to provide 800 jobs. The Panel also acknowledged the positive news relating to Doncaster Sheffield Airport.
With regard to the barriers a challenge highlighted was stock availability particularly in the industrial areas, but this was improving. There were well planned proposals for the next 3 to 5 years to attract investment and growth.
Specifically with regard to the Water Front, it was reported that there were many different and complex funding streams for this project and that delivery of the scheme within timescales and output mitigate risks to any money being clawed back. It was noted that there were many different parameters to meet which required flexibility given the size and nature of the site.
In response to a Co-optee commenting that an increase in jobs would equate to an increase in housing and impact on the amount of council tax received. This was accepted and reported that as part of the Local Plan (linking to investment) the requirement for new properties was approximately 500 per annum but had a target of 920 but the real challenge was creating decent jobs with decent housing. To conclude it was noted that the Authority was good at attracting investment and housing delivery, but traditionally what could be undertaken to meet investor endeavours was where local authorities needing to address the risk it wished to take.
AI Manifesto – the Members noted that the information was a driver to secure this industry within Doncaster, with the wish to make it viable tor companies in a central location. There were some fantastic businesses within Doncaster wishing to use expand into the area of work. It was noted that the Manifesto would hopefully be launched in early Autumn. With regard to office space businesses were addressing what kind of office space would be suitable and this information would provide an insight into what should be provided.
The Council itself always welcomed new opportunities and was addressing a number of projects using AI, but this was at a very early stage.
Volunteers – In response to a question relating to recruiting volunteers, it was explained that the Local Authority had a small resource within Human Resources to co-ordinate the function. A staff volunteer scheme that could be accessed on the intranet was available to assist people supporting their communities. It was confirmed that volunteer days were not recorded but investigations were being undertaken to improve recording this data. There were a number of barriers identified including working in a hybrid scenario, reduce resources and personal commitments.
The Local Authority was working with the voluntary sector to assess what support it may require to encourage and co-ordinate volunteering that could help people connect to jobs and economic opportunities. DCLT was currently addressing how the voluntary sector could be supported and hopefully this information could be reported at a future meeting, including a proposed volunteering bank and what the ask of people was.
A comment was supported by a Member of the Committee, who suggested that it would be good to see this have a local performance indicator due to the number of benefits for both volunteers and organisations.
Supported living for vulnerable adults – concern was expressed with regard to vulnerable people leaving hospital and returning to supported living, which in the Councillor’s opinion was not suitable for the aging population, and questioned what the long term plans were for this cohort. The Executive Director explained that Doncaster’s housing stock was quite diverse including flats, bungalows, houses and mixed accommodation arranged in clusters. It was noted that opinion was that accommodation was able to meet the future needs of people and could be adapted but accepted that not all accommodation could be adapted.
The Executive Director continued to explain that new schemes were being developed across Doncaster currently in Thorne, Hexthorpe and Edenthorpe with Adult Social Care working alongside the Housing Strategy team to develop sites in line with the Council’s Housing Strategy. It explained that it was important not to limit plans for adults of a working age with a learning disability and limit focus on supported living. The Executive Director was of the opinion that there were particular groups of people who had been neglected with regard to supported living, for example, adults with complex mental health who would benefit from a more secure and supported common environment. Additional to supportive schemes more improvement was required with general housing and developing other forms of provision. For example, the adult placement scheme, “Doncaster Shared Lives” to allow people to connect with families and ensure care and support was in place.
In response to a Member’s request, the Executive Director confirmed figures for shared lives could be provided following the meeting. He continued to explained that funding had recently been secured on a South Yorkshire basis to undertake additional work with Shared Lives, bringing the local authority closer with other South Yorkshire authority colleagues.
Self-funding aids and adaptations – It was confirmed that the local authority would not know how many people provided their own aids and adaptations, because there was such a variety available on the open market for people to access.
It was reported that the local authority had developed a model called “Ask Sara” that provided advice, support and products that made daily living easier. The system was a self-help guide, and following an online assessment provided a personal report on ways to make life easier for older and disabled people when living in their own homes.
Unaccompanied asylum seeking children numbers for 2024/25 – it was explained that with regard to the budget for the 2024/25 financial year it was identifying at this point that it had been accurately set.
Recruitment of Foster Carers – The Committee noted that with regard to the current recruitment campaign it was in very early stages but to date 32 enquiries had been received with 7 in process. It was hoped that at the next quarterly finance and performance meeting more figures would be available but there had already been a good start.
ASK service – It was noted that there had been a 44% uptake to date with 46 secondary, special schools, Doncaster college and New College being eligible to take part. Current figures showed 16 settings that were fully engaged and 3 that had signed up on the day of this meeting. It was reported that the CAST had recently held an Apprenticeship event and ten activities had been planned between 28th June and 16th July. With regard to secondary education once examinations had finished it was expected there would be an increase in activity. It was noted that the Team was engaging directly with the eligible education establishments to ensure full take up of the programme.
The Chair outlined there were a number of areas that were of high importance within the papers presented and wished to confirm that the Panels were addressing them separately and included:
· Dentistry; and
· Elective Home Education.
With regard to the information contained within the report relating to DCLT the Chair requested if a representative could be in attendance at a future meeting to take questions from the Committee.
RESOLVED that: the information in the report, be noted
· Performance was positive with only a small number of indicators not on track;
· In March both the budget for 2024/25 and Corporate Plan had been approved; and
· Work was continually being undertaken to reinstate Doncaster Sheffield Airport.
The Committee asked a number of questions relating to the following areas:
Financial pressures – in response to a question the Committee was reminded that Adult Social Care and Childrens Social Care were the largest spend areas but also both volatile due to their nature and ongoing areas of concern. The Committee acknowledged there were a number of saving proposals for 2024/25 with some carried over from the previous year. It was stressed that demand required monitoring.
It was noted that savings delivery had been built into the budget with mitigation factors, if it could not be delivered.
The Dedicated Schools Grant was an area of concern and noted that a Members Seminar had been arranged to discuss the issue separately.
It was explained that the Adult Social Care position was detailed within the report but the Committee was informed of three priority areas, as follows:
· To help increase the number of people staying in their own homes, as long as possible, and it was noted that a lot of progress had been made with this specific target later on in the 2023/24 period, for example supporting people in crisis in communities;
· Address the care costs for adults of a working age; and
· Increase joint working with the NHS where people have been prescribed carers when leaving hospital. For example moving and handling training and support for people to rely less on regular care support.
With regard to a plan to address the pressures particularly within the longer term budget, it was explained that a balanced budget was approved with the Medium Term Financial Strategy being regularly reviewed.
Underspend detailed on page 141 of the report – It was explained that this money had been set aside and received capital approval in February. The recent approval agreed to set aside money, but a business case, plans and designs were still required before a final decision could be made.
Reliance on out of authority placements – It was reported that, and the Committee was pleased to note, that with regard to childrens services the position had improved slightly and for the first time the performance indicator had moved from red to amber. The challenge that remained was the average cost of out of authority placements was significantly above what had been set in the budget.
The Service Director for Education and skills highlighted that social care and early intervention was being addressed and had started to make a positive difference. Caution was noted that there would always be some instances of a specialist nature where placements away from Doncaster were required, but work was being undertaken across many areas to ensure children were placed as close to home as possible. With regard to inhouse education provision historically it was challenging but SEND transformation provision was being extended with work being undertaken in schools to provide support. Costs and quality were being challenged by purchasing block places rather than on a child by child basis.
Acquisition programme for special educational needs and disability facilities – It was outlined that the Local Authority could not provide individual SEND establishments but it could bid for opportunities including support for expansion of a number of local special schools, set up social, emotional and mental health hubs and support mainstream schools by utilising and maximising the capital SEND budget.
Councillor Nightingale, Cabinet Member for Corporate Resources
On the back of the Customer Experience Strategy considered in November 2023 the following areas were addressed with the Cabinet Member:
Impact of Service Changes – the customer experience was improving, particularly the two rapid improvement projects in Council Tax and Business Rates and Licensing, through improvements to the customer model. The Service had redesigned the web pages, improved the on-line customer offer, retired email addresses and introduced chat boxes. The impact had been significant therefore it was hoped this model would be introduced across the Council as a whole. It was stressed that it was essential for services to be accessible to all users, for example, some people prefer to use online functions rather than speaking to a person direct or vice-versa.
It was noted that 96% of the web pages had been reviewed, with 149 telephone numbers and 140 email addresses being removed resulting in more consistency for customers and less confusion. The current customer relationship management system was in the process of being replaced by a new platform that included an integrated call centre.
In response to evolving services at a fast pace, maybe due to the Covid Pandemic, service change material had been forwarded to, for example the Taxi licencing service, and reported that this particular aspect was working well.
Service experience for more excluded members of the community – The Committee was reminded that the vision for the Customer Experience Strategy was to always provide the best possible customer experience to all people. It was explained that one of the Council’s EDI Objectives was “to always provide the best possible customer experience to all the people we serve, no matter how people contact us”.
Councillor Nightingale continued to explain that over the past few years, the Local Authority had seen customers move dramatically towards online channels, with digital interactions overtaking telephone and face to face contact. This customer expectation required continuing, however alongside this further development and improvement of traditional channels for those who required or prefer them needed to continue. The delivery of this strategy would enable Doncaster Council to continue it’s journey to improve, manage and monitor customer experience not only across the borough but also across all access channels. She explained that the online systems had been redesigned to assist making applications, for example for a Blue Badge. New technology development would not stop assistance in person if that was what someone wished for. It was noted that the Local Authority aims to process all Blue Badge applications within 14 days, however applications were often processed and ordered much quicker than this.
It was outlined that Customer Services had introduced:
· an Accessibility Telephone Line to help customers with additional needs to access council services more easily and was currently receiving approximately 150 calls a week;
· A translation and interpretation service available by telephone or face to face; and
· Working to provide VSL service for customers with hearing difficulties.
The Committee noted that all the work and improvements achieved through The Customer Experience Strategy programme of work, all performance and effectiveness were constantly and consistently monitored.
The Committee recognised the improvements and acknowledged the online support people were receiving but in response to a question relating to easy read documents, the Cabinet Member explained that further information would be provided following the meeting.
Footfall in the One Stop Shop – the Chair commented that there were members of the community, for a number of reasons, that would not wish to use online services and sought assurances that for these people face to face advice and quality time was available for this group of people. The Committee was assured that due to a drop in footfall the customer face to face service was able to provide good quality support and time to all visitors, particularly those with more complex needs.
The Service Director, Chief Executives clarified that more facilities were now available through the One Stop Shop for example, the Citizens Advice Bureau, Registers, food vouchers and Integration and Partnerships Team to provide support and increase access to services.
Level of demand for benefit support – It was acknowledged that there had been an increase in telephone calls for support in this area but also an increase in people accessing CAB. On average 82 customers per week for support with benefit, debt and energy advice. It was noted that innovative work was continuing for people to receive support within their communities, for example, in the North GP primary care networks CAB officers had been present in doctors surgeries and within a 3 month pilot period relating to benefits had provided an additional £250,000 of resources into a small area. Undertaking this trial was also beneficial to GP surgeries by being able to signpost people quickly for advice from the CAB. It was noted that there was appetite from partners for this to continue and provide more resilience in communities.
The Service Director for Finance provided some context to the discussion by explaining that when the budget was set it included the number of people claiming out of work benefit has remained at or above 8,600 claimants which equated to 4.5% of the working age population and remained the highest in South Yorkshire (based on November 2023).
Sickness absence management system – in response to a member asking if Members were able to access the information, it was explained that the HR system used to be much more labour intensive but now automatically advised on sickness triggers. It was noted that sickness absence had declined but varied across the organisation. It was confirmed that St Leger Homes sickness monitoring was collated with the Council’s data.
At this point in the meeting, the Chair thanked Councillor Nightingale for attending the meeting.
Planning applications time extensions – It was explained to the Committee that planning applications were monitored by a system called “Power BI” which was a live real time system that tracked applications. It provided target dates, flags action required and linked directed to the Pentana system. The system aids the developer to track planning application progress. The extensions of time were not in place to circumvent performance data, with the local target being 94% with an actual of 92.5% being determined within the timeframe, above national target requirements. It was outlined that the time extensions assist with better planning developments before a decision was made, particularly with major developments ensuring they were well managed and getting balance right.
The Committee noted that with regard to resources and risk, if you were an authority that was seen not to determine applications or working well with developers, then major applications and developments could be lost to other areas. The position with regard to retaining staff with technical specialisms was raised as an ongoing challenge.
Investment in Doncaster – An update was provided including meeting performance targets, the potential development at Hatfield and in other areas around Thorne North with the potential to provide 800 jobs. The Panel also acknowledged the positive news relating to Doncaster Sheffield Airport.
With regard to the barriers a challenge highlighted was stock availability particularly in the industrial areas, but this was improving. There were well planned proposals for the next 3 to 5 years to attract investment and growth.
Specifically with regard to the Water Front, it was reported that there were many different and complex funding streams for this project and that delivery of the scheme within timescales and output mitigate risks to any money being clawed back. It was noted that there were many different parameters to meet which required flexibility given the size and nature of the site.
In response to a Co-optee commenting that an increase in jobs would equate to an increase in housing and impact on the amount of council tax received. This was accepted and reported that as part of the Local Plan (linking to investment) the requirement for new properties was approximately 500 per annum but had a target of 920 but the real challenge was creating decent jobs with decent housing. To conclude it was noted that the Authority was good at attracting investment and housing delivery, but traditionally what could be undertaken to meet investor endeavours was where local authorities needing to address the risk it wished to take.
AI Manifesto – the Members noted that the information was a driver to secure this industry within Doncaster, with the wish to make it viable tor companies in a central location. There were some fantastic businesses within Doncaster wishing to use expand into the area of work. It was noted that the Manifesto would hopefully be launched in early Autumn. With regard to office space businesses were addressing what kind of office space would be suitable and this information would provide an insight into what should be provided.
The Council itself always welcomed new opportunities and was addressing a number of projects using AI, but this was at a very early stage.
Volunteers – In response to a question relating to recruiting volunteers, it was explained that the Local Authority had a small resource within Human Resources to co-ordinate the function. A staff volunteer scheme that could be accessed on the intranet was available to assist people supporting their communities. It was confirmed that volunteer days were not recorded but investigations were being undertaken to improve recording this data. There were a number of barriers identified including working in a hybrid scenario, reduce resources and personal commitments.
The Local Authority was working with the voluntary sector to assess what support it may require to encourage and co-ordinate volunteering that could help people connect to jobs and economic opportunities. DCLT was currently addressing how the voluntary sector could be supported and hopefully this information could be reported at a future meeting, including a proposed volunteering bank and what the ask of people was.
A comment was supported by a Member of the Committee, who suggested that it would be good to see this have a local performance indicator due to the number of benefits for both volunteers and organisations.
Supported living for vulnerable adults – concern was expressed with regard to vulnerable people leaving hospital and returning to supported living, which in the Councillor’s opinion was not suitable for the aging population, and questioned what the long term plans were for this cohort. The Executive Director explained that Doncaster’s housing stock was quite diverse including flats, bungalows, houses and mixed accommodation arranged in clusters. It was noted that opinion was that accommodation was able to meet the future needs of people and could be adapted but accepted that not all accommodation could be adapted.
The Executive Director continued to explain that new schemes were being developed across Doncaster currently in Thorne, Hexthorpe and Edenthorpe with Adult Social Care working alongside the Housing Strategy team to develop sites in line with the Council’s Housing Strategy. It explained that it was important not to limit plans for adults of a working age with a learning disability and limit focus on supported living. The Executive Director was of the opinion that there were particular groups of people who had been neglected with regard to supported living, for example, adults with complex mental health who would benefit from a more secure and supported common environment. Additional to supportive schemes more improvement was required with general housing and developing other forms of provision. For example, the adult placement scheme, “Doncaster Shared Lives” to allow people to connect with families and ensure care and support was in place.
In response to a Member’s request, the Executive Director confirmed figures for shared lives could be provided following the meeting. He continued to explained that funding had recently been secured on a South Yorkshire basis to undertake additional work with Shared Lives, bringing the local authority closer with other South Yorkshire authority colleagues.
Self-funding aids and adaptations – It was confirmed that the local authority would not know how many people provided their own aids and adaptations, because there was such a variety available on the open market for people to access.
It was reported that the local authority had developed a model called “Ask Sara” that provided advice, support and products that made daily living easier. The system was a self-help guide, and following an online assessment provided a personal report on ways to make life easier for older and disabled people when living in their own homes.
Unaccompanied asylum seeking children numbers for 2024/25 – it was explained that with regard to the budget for the 2024/25 financial year it was identifying at this point that it had been accurately set.
Recruitment of Foster Carers – The Committee noted that with regard to the current recruitment campaign it was in very early stages but to date 32 enquiries had been received with 7 in process. It was hoped that at the next quarterly finance and performance meeting more figures would be available but there had already been a good start.
ASK service – It was noted that there had been a 44% uptake to date with 46 secondary, special schools, Doncaster college and New College being eligible to take part. Current figures showed 16 settings that were fully engaged and 3 that had signed up on the day of this meeting. It was reported that the CAST had recently held an Apprenticeship event and ten activities had been planned between 28th June and 16th July. With regard to secondary education once examinations had finished it was expected there would be an increase in activity. It was noted that the Team was engaging directly with the eligible education establishments to ensure full take up of the programme.
The Chair outlined there were a number of areas that were of high importance within the papers presented and wished to confirm that the Panels were addressing them separately and included:
· Dentistry; and
· Elective Home Education.
With regard to the information contained within the report relating to DCLT the Chair requested if a representative could be in attendance at a future meeting to take questions from the Committee.
RESOLVED that: the information in the report, be noted
7
St Leger Homes of Doncaster Limited (SLHD) performance and delivery update Quarter 4 2023-24
Attachments:
- Document SLHD Q4 OSMC Perf Rep 2023-24 Final 12 Jun 2024
Minutes
A report was presented to the Committee by the Chief Executive, St Leger Homes of Doncaster and the following areas were focused on:
Average days to re-let standard properties – It was reported that the position continued to be very challenging and the performance improvement compared to the 2022/23 outturn figures, was noted. Members were informed that a refreshed target of 24 days for relets had been agreed and processes established to assist teams with delivering within the Target. The reduction in voids was starting to show but Members acknowledged that if a property required a significant amount of work this would impact performance and relet times.
Winter housing pressures – the Committee was informed that the St Leger Homes winter plan incorporates an “Everybody In” policy in severe weather, to ensure nobody was sleeping outdoors. An effective and established partnership approach was in place to make sure everyone was safe during such periods. It was noted that people who chose to sleep rough generally accepted the offer of a place to stay when it falls beneath 5 degrees but there were individuals that preferred to stay outside.
It was noted that Homelessness services were severely impacted on at times with the uncontrollable amount of people presenting themselves for support. It was also noted that, not necessarily in Doncaster, but nationally homelessness services found people seeking help that would not normally require assistance. It was noted that nationally there were challenges with rent increase, particularly in the London area where people could not sustain the monthly rental payments. With regard to private landlords increasing rent and being unreasonable, St Leger Homes could intervene if required.
With regard to Doncaster City’s Strategic Housing perspective consideration was being given to how existing stock could be utilised and what new build could be provided in future. As was regularly addressed helping people to stay at home longer with social care support and aids and adaptations was acknowledged, but also if people who lived in a home that was too large for them, moving to something smaller would free up two or three bedroomed properties for a family.
Funding for events in communal halls – It was explained that Asset Management covered the running costs and repairs to such community buildings, however, it was noted there was a small budget to support Positive Activity Groups (PAGs) available for community events. A comment provided by a Member was noted, relating to some of the buildings being of an age that required adaptations to be made which in turn could be a barrier to providing community events.
A general discussion relating to the negotiation of contracts with some of the community halls and associated difficulties, was noted.
RESOLVED: that the progress of St Leger Homes of Doncaster performance and the contribution St Leger Homes of Doncaster make to supporting the City of Doncaster’s strategic priorities, be noted.
Average days to re-let standard properties – It was reported that the position continued to be very challenging and the performance improvement compared to the 2022/23 outturn figures, was noted. Members were informed that a refreshed target of 24 days for relets had been agreed and processes established to assist teams with delivering within the Target. The reduction in voids was starting to show but Members acknowledged that if a property required a significant amount of work this would impact performance and relet times.
Winter housing pressures – the Committee was informed that the St Leger Homes winter plan incorporates an “Everybody In” policy in severe weather, to ensure nobody was sleeping outdoors. An effective and established partnership approach was in place to make sure everyone was safe during such periods. It was noted that people who chose to sleep rough generally accepted the offer of a place to stay when it falls beneath 5 degrees but there were individuals that preferred to stay outside.
It was noted that Homelessness services were severely impacted on at times with the uncontrollable amount of people presenting themselves for support. It was also noted that, not necessarily in Doncaster, but nationally homelessness services found people seeking help that would not normally require assistance. It was noted that nationally there were challenges with rent increase, particularly in the London area where people could not sustain the monthly rental payments. With regard to private landlords increasing rent and being unreasonable, St Leger Homes could intervene if required.
With regard to Doncaster City’s Strategic Housing perspective consideration was being given to how existing stock could be utilised and what new build could be provided in future. As was regularly addressed helping people to stay at home longer with social care support and aids and adaptations was acknowledged, but also if people who lived in a home that was too large for them, moving to something smaller would free up two or three bedroomed properties for a family.
Funding for events in communal halls – It was explained that Asset Management covered the running costs and repairs to such community buildings, however, it was noted there was a small budget to support Positive Activity Groups (PAGs) available for community events. A comment provided by a Member was noted, relating to some of the buildings being of an age that required adaptations to be made which in turn could be a barrier to providing community events.
A general discussion relating to the negotiation of contracts with some of the community halls and associated difficulties, was noted.
RESOLVED: that the progress of St Leger Homes of Doncaster performance and the contribution St Leger Homes of Doncaster make to supporting the City of Doncaster’s strategic priorities, be noted.
8
Overview and Scrutiny Work Plan 2024-25 and Council's Forward Plan of Key Decisions
Attachments:
- Document Work plan report 200624 Final 12 Jun 2024
- Document App A_DRAFT MASTER WORK PLAN FINAL 202425 12 Jun 2024
- Document Appendix B_ Forward Plan 0107_3110 200624 12 Jun 2024
- Document App C_Terms of Reference for the South Yorkshire (as of 280524) 12 Jun 2024
Minutes
The Senior Governance Officer presented a report providing details of the Overview and Scrutiny Work Plan 2024/25, the Council’s Forward Plan of Key Decisions and the Terms of Reference for the Regional Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
RESOLVED That:
1. The Overview and Scrutiny Work Plan 2024/25, be agreed;
2. The Council’s Forward Plan of Key Decisions, be noted; and
3. The regional Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee Terms of Reference, be noted.
RESOLVED That:
1. The Overview and Scrutiny Work Plan 2024/25, be agreed;
2. The Council’s Forward Plan of Key Decisions, be noted; and
3. The regional Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee Terms of Reference, be noted.
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