The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.  Apologies were noted from Councillor Wilson, Councillor Baines, Councillor Bool and Peter French. 

To confirm the records of the meetings of the Strategic Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on the 5^th and 13^th October 2022.

The minutes of the meetings held on the 5^th and 13^th October were approved as an accurate record.

To review and update the actions arising from the previous meeting

Actions from the meeting held on the 5^th October:

Action 1

Councillor Bool to arrange a meeting with the Chief Executive, the Leader and the Strategic Director of Places to discuss the best way for Highways and Transport particularly speeding to be scrutinised. Councillor Waller stated that she would discuss the Highways and Speeding Group with Councillor Bool. It was agreed that the item would be carried forward to the next meeting.

Councillor Bool was unable to continue to lead the group but would continue to be part of it.  Councillor P Browne had agreed to join/lead the group as his replacement.  A scoping document would be produced in the near future.

Action 2

PUBLIC TRANSPORT SERVICE PROPOSALS Councillor Waller stated that she would speak with the relevant Portfolio Holder and officers to identify potential dates for inclusion on to the SOSC forward plan for a discussion regarding the proposed business plans.

The committee had agreed not to continue with this group at the meeting on the 5th October 2022.  A report from officers would hopefully be received in January, February or March of 2023 requesting scrutiny committee’s input regarding the proposed business plans prior to a final decision being made towards the end of 2023.

Action 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY, DEVOLUTION & LEVELLING UP

·       Councillor Waller confirmed that she would contact other non-executive Councillors requesting volunteers for the evidence panel.

·       Councillor Waller confirmed that she would contact Penny Sharp, Director of Places and Councillor Lucy Stephenson, the relevant Councillor Waller 15 Portfolio Holder to identify an agreed timetable for the work

On the 13th October 2022, Scrutiny Committee had agreed that there would be 2 sessions held with Penny Sharp and officers to review evidence. The deadline for these sessions would be the 31st December 2022

Action 4

SEND GROUP

·       Councillor Ainsley agreed to arrange a meeting of the SEND Group (Councillors Ainsley, P Browne, R Payne, Baines and Begy) to confirm who would be the new chair and to confirm a date for an informal meeting with members of SEND Action Rutland. An update from the SEND Group would be provided at the SOSC meeting on the 17th November and feedback from the meeting with SEND Action Rutland would be given at either the December or January meeting – date to be confirmed.

·       Councillor Ainsley agreed to meet with the Strategic Director of Children and Families to discuss improving communication and engagement with Councillors

It was confirmed that the SEND Group was not required and had therefore been disbanded.

Actions from the meeting held on the 13^th October:

Members were informed that the letter to the MP for Rutland and/or the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care as agreed at the meeting held on the 13^th October was still being drafted but that the draft letter would be sent to members for feedback before it was finalised and posted.

Action 1

NHS England to send their communication strategy to Governance for distribution with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

In accordance with the Regulations, Members are invited to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they may have and the nature of those interests in respect of items on this Agenda and/or indicate if Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applies to them.

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive any petitions, deputations and questions received from Members of the Public in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rules 25 and 159.

The total time allowed for this item shall be 30 minutes.  Petitions, declarations and questions shall be dealt with in the order in which they are received.  Questions may also be submitted at short notice by giving a written copy to the Committee Administrator 15 minutes before the start of the meeting.

The total time allowed for questions at short notice is 15 minutes out of the total time of 30 minutes.  Any petitions, deputations and questions that have been submitted with prior formal notice will take precedence over questions submitted at short notice.  Any questions that are not considered within the time limit shall receive a written response after the meeting and be the subject of a report to the next meeting.

There were no petitions, deputations or questions.

To consider any questions with notice from Members received in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rule No 161 and 162.

There were no questions with notice member members.

To consider any Notices of Motion from Members submitted in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rule No 163.

There were no notices of motion from members.

To consider any matter referred to the Committee for a decision in relation to call in of a decision in accordance with Procedure Rule 149.

There were no call-ins.

Cabinet received the Mid-Year Revenue Finance Report 2022/23 (Report No. 156/2022) and the Mid-Year Capital Programme Update (Report No. 157/2022) on the 18th October 2022.  Details of the reports can be found on the council’s website: (Public Pack)Agenda Document for Cabinet, 18/10/2022 10:00 (moderngov.co.uk)

Councillor K Payne, Portfolio Holder for Finance, Governance and Performance, Change and Transformation and Saverio Della Rocca, Strategic Director of Resources will provide an update on the medium term financial plan and answer any questions that may arise on the reports submitted.

Cabinet had received the Mid-Year Revenue Finance Report 2022/23 (Report No. 156/2022) and the Mid-Year Capital Programme Update (Report No. 157/2022) on the 18th October 2022.  Details of the reports could be found on the council’s website: (Public Pack)Agenda Document for Cabinet, 18/10/2022 10:00 (moderngov.co.uk)

Councillor K Payne, Portfolio Holder for Finance, Governance and Performance, Change and Transformation and Saverio Della Rocca, Strategic Director of Resources gave an update on the medium term financial plan.  During the discussion, the following points were noted:

·        A presentation was received from the Strategic Director of Resources (copy attached).

·        Members requested if it would be possible in future for reference reports to be included in a paginated agenda pack. 

·        The reasons for the increase in empty homes in Rutland were unknown but there were rules regarding charging council tax on empty homes.  It was confirmed that the Council did charge council tax on empty properties where possible. 

·        Council tax had been raised by 3% in the financial year 2022/23.  For 2023/24, Councils would be allowed to increase council tax by 5% annually without the need for a referendum.

·        Core council tax discounts such as the single person discount would continue to be available as would the council’s discretionary pot of £20k, which was used for supporting those in severe financial difficulties.  Members were informed that any review of the council tax support scheme would require a large piece of consultation work.  This could not be done in time for the next financial year 2023/24 but it was agreed that a review of the support scheme should be undertaken for the 2024/25 financial year. 

·        An estimated £400k could also be generated if the law was changed so that a premium could be charged by the council on second homes in Rutland.

·        Local authorities nationally were experiencing pressure on care fees but Rutland pays a premium on the ‘Cost of Care.’  Rutland County Council did not deal with the quantity of service users to financially sustain care homes.  Most users of care homes in Rutland were self-funders so the care homes did not rely on the users allocated to them from the Council to keep them sustainable.  The Rutland care homes could therefore charge the Council a higher rate.  Members were informed that a letter had been sent to the MP from Councillor Harvey, Portfolio Holder for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Care to highlight and help address this issue.

·        Short-term budget savings had been identified but major projects were being collated by the Council’s Leadership Team to transform the organisation in the medium term.

·        Members were informed that Councils performed best when they focussed on their core activities. Other councils had tried to be creative with income generation and this had created long-term problems but the Council would always be willing to investigate possible income generation.

·        It was noted that all Councillors might consider how capital might be used to help our financial position at the Member Briefing being held on the 5^th December 2022.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Cabinet received the Mid-Year Performance & Corporate Strategy Progress Report (Report No. 168/2022) on the 18^th October 2022.  Details of the report can be found on the council’s website: https://rutlandcounty.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s24145/Report%20No.168.2022%20-%20Performance%20Report%202022-2023.pdf

Councillor K Payne, Portfolio Holder for Finance, Governance and Performance, Change and Transformation and Councillor L Stephenson, Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Policy, Strategy, Partnerships and Economy will provide an update on the mid-year performance and the corporate strategy progress, respectively.

The Council’s Corporate Strategy 2022-27 can be found on the Council’s website: https://future.rutland.gov.uk/corporate-strategy-2022-27

Cabinet had received the Mid-Year Performance & Corporate Strategy Progress Report (Report No. 168/2022) on the 18^th October 2022.  Details of the report could be found on the council’s website: https://rutlandcounty.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s24145/Report%20No.168.2022%20-%20Performance%20Report%202022-2023.pdf

Councillor K Payne, Portfolio Holder for Finance, Governance and Performance, Change and Transformation and Councillor L Stephenson, Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Policy, Strategy, Partnerships and Economy gave an update on the mid-year performance and the progress made on the Council’s Corporate Strategy.  During the discussion, the following points were noted:

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The Strategic Director for Resources returned to the meeting at 8.18 p.m.

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·        Members queried the reasons for the high staff turnover levels and number of vacancies.  They were informed that recruitment had been and continued to be an issue not just for Rutland but for all local authorities.  Staff promotion, retirement, sickness etc had all impacted on staff turnover. Roles were re-invented, changed and transformed so that they remained sustainable and fit for purpose in the future.  Local government remained a challenging area to work in as expectations were high whilst the funding made it difficult for staff to stay positive however, the work remained hugely rewarding.   

·        Members were informed that the COVID pandemic had caused a huge shift in the status of the local and national workforce. The option for staff to work from home had meant that staff could now work for larger authorities for more money and less responsibility than working for Rutland County Council.

·        Exit interviews were offered to all leaving staff but they were not compulsory and no emerging trends or themes had been identified from those completed. It was agreed that the Strategic Director for Resources would discuss with Human Resources the collation of data from exit interviews.

·        Apprenticeships were becoming increasingly popular and these had been discussed to encourage recruitment of staff in areas where recruitment had proved problematic.

·        The new Chief Executive had introduced an improved working culture but this had not yet fully embedded in all services.  All staff surveys had been thorough to identify the positive and negative within the Council.  The latest staff survey had been very positive and had identified what needed to be improved.

·        Members were informed that collaboration between other authorities and organisations had been tried but it had proved to be very complex especially as Rutland County Council ran such a varied model of service delivery.

·        The Chief Executive requested that members sent details of specific questions to Governance (governance@rutland.gov.uk) prior to a meeting so that officers could investigate and provide answers during the committee meeting.

·        Councillor Stephenson confirmed that she would discuss with Cabinet their attendance at the meeting of the Strategic Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the 15^th June 2023 when the end-of-year performance report would be discussed. 

RESOLVED:

That the Committee:

·       AGREED that the Strategic Director for Resources would discuss with Human Resources the collation of data from staff exit interviews.

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The Chair paused the meeting for a 5-minute comfort  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

Councillor L Stephenson, Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Policy, Strategy, Partnerships and Economy to brief the committee regarding the plans for economic development, levelling up and Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs).

A briefing was received from Councillor L Stephenson, Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Policy, Strategy, Partnerships and Economy on the plans for economic development, levelling up and Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs).  During the discussion, the following points were noted:

·       Members were informed that devolution was in the public eye.

·       Derbyshire had received a ‘Level 3’ agreement so would require a combined authority elected mayor.  

·       Rutland County Council was in dialogue with Leicestershire County Council and Leicester City Council for a Level 2 deal.  

·       Councillor Stephenson confirmed that it had been agreed by all parties that voting would be equal across all three local authorities so that Rutland County Council was not penalised because of its small geographical size and/or small population.

·       Rutland County Council was connected with Lincolnshire County Council regarding a Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) with Councillor Stephenson attending board meetings as the Rutland representative.

·       The LEP Growth Hub for Lincolnshire (www.businesslincolnshire.com) offered support to business and to date 23 Rutland business had benefitted from this service.

·       Rutland County Council and Melton Borough Council had submitted a joint bid for the second round of the Government’s Levelling Up Fund with the focus on economy, connectivity and culture.

https://www.rutland.gov.uk/my-council/council-news/rutland-and-melton-bid-for-23m-investment-through-levelling-up-fund/

·       Councillor Stephenson stated she had sent a letter to The Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations to advertise that Rutland would be an excellent pilot study for the Levelling Up Fund due to its small geographical size and small population.

·       £1million in funding would be received across three years from the UK Prosperity Fund for Rutland to focus on creating towns and villages, supporting local businesses and investing in people and skills

·       An investment plan for £400k funding from the Rural Prosperity Fund would be submitted in November 2022 for Rutland to focus on the visitor economy and the community accessibility with transport.

·       A strong economic strategy would help build a strong community.  A stakeholder event had been held and this had identified common issues among all business. These would help develop the Council’s economic strategy to encourage the visitor economy, promote innovation and help build SMEs (small to medium enterprises).

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At 9.27 pm, the Chair proposed that the meeting be extended for a period of 15 minutes for the agenda to be completed. This was unanimously agreed.

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To receive an update from Councillor A Walters

·       The focus of the group would be on the museum so it was suggested that the title be changed to Museum Review.

·       The first meeting of the group had been held on the 16^th November.

·       A very useful first meeting which included a tour of the museum.

·       Members were reminded that the museum must not be reviewed on its own but as just one part of the culture/asset review.

To receive an update from Councillor Begy

·       Councillor Begy confirmed discussions had been held with Councillor Payne, Portfolio Holder for Finance, Governance and Performance, Change and Transformation.

·       A scoping document was being drafted and this would be circulated to members for their feedback.

To receive an update from Councillor P Browne

·       Councillor Waller and Councillor P Browne were drafting a scoping document

To receive an update from Councillor G Waller

·       Initial evidence gathering had been completed.

·       A first draft of the report had been compiled but further work would be required.

·       The draft report would be circulated to members and the Housing Options Team Manager for comment/feedback.

To receive an update from Councillor A Brown

·       Councillor A Brown confirmed he had met with the Strategic Director for Places on the 4^th November.

·       A meeting of the group would be held on the 5th December 2022, 5.00 – 7.00 p.m.

·       This would include a presentation by Metro Dynamics followed by an analysis of the proposed evidence base.

·       The aim would be to identify if any evidence were missing and what required clarifying followed by an analysis of the evidence and note what key messages had been identified.

To consider the current Forward Plan and identify any relevant items for inclusion in the Strategic Overview and Scrutiny Committee Annual Work Plan or to request further information.

The Forward Plan is available on the website at:

https://rutlandcounty.moderngov.co.uk/mgListPlans.aspx?RPId=133&RD=0

The Forward Plan and Annual Work Plan were discussed. During the discussion, the following points were noted:

·       The Chair and Vice Chair requested an additional meeting in December to scrutinise two items due for discussion by Cabinet in January 2023 namely the Public Bus Transport Review and the Leisure Strategy and one item which had already been discussed by Cabinet, namely the Asset Review.

·       It was noted that all three items contained exempt information so would need to be discussed in ‘private session.’

To receive any items of urgent business, which have been previously notified to the person presiding.

·       The Chief Executive informed members that the Council’s performance framework had recently undergone an internal audit.  No report had as yet been received but that it would be shared with the Strategic Overview and Scrutiny Committee once received.

Thursday, 8^th December 2022 at 7 pm in the Council Chamber, Catmose, Oakham, Rutland LE15 6HP

Thursday, 8^th December 2022 at 7 pm in the Council Chamber, Catmose, Oakham, Rutland LE15 6HP

To receive a report from Kate Allardyce, Senior Performance Manager (Leicestershire ICS), NHS Midlands and Lancashire Commissioning Support Unit

·       The quarterly performance data report was received from the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care System. 

·       The report was purely for information only.

·       If any member had any questions regarding the report, they should send them to Governance who would collate and forward them on to Kate Allardyce, Senior Performance Manager for a response.