A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Council and councillors

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Catmose, Oakham, Rutland, LE15 6HP

Contact: Governance  Email: governance@rutland.gov.uk

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

WELCOME AND APOLOGIES RECEIVED

Minutes:

The Chair welcomed everyone to the last scrutiny committee meeting of the municipal year.  She thanked everyone for all their hard work and support  particularly Councillors Bool, Toseland, Wilson and Councillor G Brown, who would not be standing for re-election in the May 2023 elections.  Apologies were received from Councillor Baines, Councillor Rosemary Powell, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Planning, Highways and Transport, Councillor Sam Harvey, Portfolio Holder for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Care, Penny Sharp, Strategic Director for Places, Angela Wakefield, Strategic Director for Law and Governance, Kim Sorsky, Strategic Director for Adult Services and Health (DASS) and Andreas Menzies (Co-Opted Member).

2.

RECORD OF MEETING pdf icon PDF 187 KB

To confirm the record of the meeting of the Strategic Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on the 23rd March 2023.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The minutes of the meetings of the Strategic Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on the 23rd March 2023 were approved as an accurate record

3.

ACTIONS ARISING

There were no actions from the previous meeting.

Minutes:

There were no actions from the previous meeting.

4.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

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.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

5.

PETITIONS, DEPUTATIONS AND QUESTIONS pdf icon PDF 89 KB

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.

Minutes:

No petitions or questions were received but the Clerk confirmed that a deputation had been received from the Rutland Quarry Forum regarding the Minerals Authority Contract and would be presented by Mr David Hodson, Chair of the Rutland Quarry Forum. It was noted that the deputation had been approved by the Chief Executive and the Monitoring Officer and had been added to the website and circulated to committee members in advance of the meeting. 

 

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Mr Hodson joined the meeting at 7.04 p.m. along with Mr David Baker from the Rutland Quarry Forum and Mr Ken Edward, Chair of Greetham Parish Council.

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·       Mr Hodson addressed the Chair with the details of his deputation.

·       The Chair clarified that the Strategic Overview and Scrutiny Committee was not a decision making body and but could make recommendations to Cabinet and/or Council.

·       Concerns regarding possible breaches of contract, specifically relating to hedge cutting, had been discussed at a meeting of the Rutland Quarry Forum and raised with the Planning department at Rutland County Council (RCC).

·       Rutland Quarry Forum were informed by RCC that a Planning Enforcement Officer would investigate the alleged breaches of contract and notify Rutland Quarry Forum of the findings.  No report had been received but the Forum had been notified that a meeting with the respective operator would be held in the near future to discuss the concerns.

 

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Mr Hodson, Mr Baker and Mr Edward left the meeting at 7.17 pm.

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6.

QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE FROM MEMBERS

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

Minutes:

No questions with notice with notice were received from Members.

7.

NOTICES OF MOTION FROM MEMBERS

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

Minutes:

No notices of motion were received.

8.

CONSIDERATION OF ANY MATTER REFERRED TO THE COMMITTEE IN RELATION TO THE CALL-IN OF A DECISION

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.

Minutes:

No call-ins were received.

9.

MINERALS AUTHORITY CONTRACT: UPDATE REPORT pdf icon PDF 95 KB

To receive Report No. 66/2023 from Councillor R Powell, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Planning, Highways and Transport and Penny Sharp, Strategic Director of Places.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Report No. 66/2023 was received from Councillor R Powell, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Planning, Highways and Transport and Penny Sharp, Strategic Director of Places.  The report was presented by Roger Ranson, Planning Policy and Housing Manager and Justin Johnson, Development Services Manager.  During the discussion, the following points were noted:

 

·       Councillor Stephenson stated that Governance had received a large number of questions from Councillor Begy regarding the minerals authority contract and that officers would provide a written response to those questions for circulation to all members of the Strategic Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

ACTION: Roger Ranson / Justin Johnson

·       The Planning Policy and Housing Manager informed attendees that the monitoring and enforcement of planning conditions was the responsibility of Development Services and not Planning.

·       The Development Services Manager confirmed that an investigation had taken place into the alleged contract breaches stated by the Rutland Quarry Forum.  The investigation had just been completed and the findings would be communicated to the Rutland Quarry Forum and Greetham Parish Council.  

·       The Planning Policy and Housing Manager stated that site monitoring visits had been undertaken to ensure compliance with the contract.  However, due to staff changes and the national shortage of mineral planning officers, 3 x site monitoring visits had been delayed but he reported that the Portfolio Holder had been informed of the delay and that since that time 1 monitoring visit had been completed and the second had a visit date confirmed whilst the third was still to be arranged.  

·       The main concern of the Rutland Quarry Forum had been the cutting of hedgerows in February when the contract excluded such work between the months of February and September. 

·       Attendees were informed that the contract stated that such work could only be done between February and September after consultation with an ecologist to ensure no environmental damage would be done. The Development Services Manager stated that North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) had consulted with their ecologist who had confirmed that the work would not be an issue as there would be no nesting birds in February. 

·       NNC had omitted to inform RCC of this fact prior to the commencement of the work and this had been deemed as a ‘minor’ breach of contract, which required no enforcement action by RCC and no payment of punitive damages by NNC. 

·       As a result of the investigation, NNC were now aware that such breaches would not be permitted and that RCC would continue to closely monitor the contract.   RCC had also reviewed its contract restrictions so that future quarrying contracts were more clearly defined.

·       It was noted that money had been allocated within the Local Plan to pay for staff training regarding mineral waste qualifications and that investigations were ongoing as to which courses staff should attend. The ‘upskilling’ of staff has also included RCC officers attending NNC mineral waste meetings/discussions and the introduction of an action log by Development Services detailing what needed doing and by when so that RCC officers would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

10.

CQC INSPECTION FRAMEWORK pdf icon PDF 107 KB

To receive a verbal update from Kelly McAleese, Adult Social Care Principal Social Worker and Quality Lead.

Minutes:

A presentation was received from Kelly McAleese, Adult Social Care Principal Social Worker and Quality Lead (copy attached).  During the discussion, the following points were noted:

 

·       The Adult Social Care team had worked intensively to prepare for a future CQC inspection especially around quality assurance and this had included the creation of a new Quality Assurance Team.

·       A major piece of work had been the development of digital options for customers and staff to provide feedback to the service.

·       Feedback from staff had highlighted an issue regarding the care and support assessment process.  As a result, a new assessment template had been developed and a review of the new template would be undertaken to ensure that it had been successfully implemented.

·       The service had undertaken a self-audit using the areas of best practice listed in the CQC inspection framework and this had identified areas requiring further improvement.

·       A ‘strategic’ CQC Regulation Board had been established as had a CQC Delivery Group, which would identify projects and workstreams to be undertaken.

·       Staff briefing sessions were being held monthly to ensure that consistent and up-to-date information was communicated to all officers.

·       A peer review of RCC’s Adult Social Care Service had been undertaken by Derby City Council.  No major issues were found and positive feedback had been received.

·       An audit had also been undertaken by Welland Internal Audit Consortium on the service’s CQC inspection readiness and no areas of ‘high risk’ were identified.

·       Digital accessibility was a major workstream for the service.  A customer self-service portal had been created and this would be publicly launched at the end of May 2023. 

·       A revised training and workforce development offer had been created following consultation with staff and this had led to the development of action plans and trackers for the analysis of all internal data.

·       The service had planned a ‘mock’ inspection for September 2023 as a CQC inspection was anticipated in the autumn of 2023.

·       Members were informed that staff recruitment and retention continued to improve within the Adult Social Care Service.

·       The Adult Social Care Principal Social Worker and Quality Lead explained that ‘market shaping’ was how the service ensured the continuity and integrity of the care market, how it supported the provider sector and how it listened to the views of the community.

 

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Kelly McAleese left the meeting at 9.02 p.m.

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11.

MICARE CQC INSPECTION: OUTCOME pdf icon PDF 27 KB

To receive a verbal briefing from Emma Jane Hollands, Head of Community Care Services.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

A verbal update was received from Emma Jane Hollands, Head of Community Care Services.  During the discussion, the following points were noted:

 

·       The Head of Community Care Services gave a presentation (copy attached) and introduced two members of the MiCare service to members: Tammy Thurley, Community Care Services Operations Manager and Sarah Savage, MiCare Co-ordinator.

·       A video by Lucy from the MiCare service was not shown during the  meeting due to technical difficulties.  The full video could be viewed using the following link:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V65repjTN7fTC_NhGI88vDoi1YRw-2BG/view?usp=sharing

·       The service operated 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

·       Overnight care was currently provided on an emergency basis but a permanent ‘overnight team’ was planned for the future.

·       6 main services offered:

 

             1)         Reablement

             2)         SafetyNet

             3)         Crisis Response

             4)         Discharge to Assess (D2A)

             5)         Complex Care

             6)         End of Life

 

·       The MiCare service started just before the pandemic and began with only 5 workers.  The flexibility of the service was difficult to maintain during this time but the pandemic brought the team closer together and things have only improved as the team has grown in size .

·       The Head of Community Care Services confirmed that staff retention rates in MiCare were exemplary as the team was like an extended family.  All the staff worked well together as their main focus was the service users. 

·       This was the team’s first MiCare inspection and it was the first time that RCC’s service had been officially rated overall as ‘outstanding.’ 

·       Members thanked the Head of Community Care Services, the Community Care Services Operations Manager and the MiCare Co-ordinator for all their hard work and asked that they passed on their thanks and congratulations to all the staff in the MiCare service.

 

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Emma Jane Hollands, Tammy Thurley and Sarah Savage left the meeting at 9.26 p.m.

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12.

GROUP AND PANEL UPDATES

12a

ECONOMIC STRATEGY TASK AND FINISH GROUP pdf icon PDF 19 KB

To receive an update from Councillor A Brown

Minutes:

Councillor A Brown confirmed that a meeting of the Economic Strategy Task and Finish Group had been held on the 12th April 2023 (notes attached).

13.

REVIEW OF THE FORWARD PLAN AND THE DRAFT ANNUAL WORK PLAN FOR 2023-2024 pdf icon PDF 78 KB

To consider the current Forward Plan and identify any relevant items for inclusion in the Strategic Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s DRAFT Annual Work Plan for 2023-2024 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

 

Minutes:

The Forward Plan and the Draft Annual Work Plan for 2023-24 were discussed. During the discussion, the following points were noted:

 

·       County elections would be held on the 5th May 2023. 

·       Annual Council meeting was deferred to the 22nd May 2023

14.

ANY URGENT BUSINESS

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

 

Minutes:

There was no urgent business.

15.

DATE OF NEXT MEETING

Thursday, 15th June 2022 at 7 pm (TBC)

Minutes:

Thursday, 15th June 2022 at 7 p.m.