The Chair welcomed everyone to the re-convened meeting of the Strategic Overview and Scrutiny Committee, which had been postponed from the 8^th September due to the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Apologies were received from Councillor Bool, Councillor Wilson and Angela Wakefield.

To confirm the record of the meeting of the Strategic Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on the 7^th July 2022.

The minutes of the meeting held on the 7^th July 2022 were approved as an accurate record.

To review and update the actions arising from the previous meeting.  Actions relating to the scrutiny groups/panels will be picked up in the Groups and Panels agenda item.

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.

ACTION: Councillor Bool

Action 2

SEND group (Councillors Ainsley, Baines, Begy, Browne, Payne and Webb) to meet before the 15th July and Councillor Webb to confirm if Councillor Begy would continue to be part of the group.

Item would be discussed under the relevant agenda item.

Action 3

Councillor Waller to speak with the Cabinet member regarding what the Customer Experience Task and Finish Group could do and by when and Councillor Brown to contact Councillor Begy to confirm that he would still lead this Task and Finish Group.

Councillor Waller reported that Cabinet was keen for the Scrutiny Committee to be involved in the Customer Experience Review and that she had contacted all Councillors for volunteers to be part of the Task and Finish Group but had received no responses.  Councillor Begy confirmed that, workload depending, he would lead the Customer Experience Task and Finish Group and that he would provide an update at the November meeting.

Action 4

Councillors Waller and Webb to discuss with portfolio holders the following items for possible inclusion on to the Committee’s Work Plan, ready for final approval at the next meeting: Devolution; Economic Development Strategy and UK Prosperity Fund.

Item would be discussed under the relevant agenda item.

Action 5

Culture review report to be circulated to members for their information.

Action completed.

Action 6

Councillors G Brown, Fox and Waller to meet with the Strategic Director of Places, Councillor Oxley, Portfolio Holder for Communities, Environment and Climate Change and Councillor Payne, Portfolio Holder for Finance, Governance and Performance, Change and Transformation to produce a draft scoping document detailing what the Scrutiny Committee could do to assist as part of the Asset Review.

It was confirmed that Councillor G Brown and Councillor Fox had met with the relevant Portfolio Holders but that the item would be discussed under the relevant agenda item.

Action 7

Councillor Waller to notify the non-executive members that the scope of the Homelessness Evidence Panel had been approved and seek volunteers to assist the panel.

Councillor Waller confirmed that Councillor Burrows and Councillor R Payne had volunteered to be part of the Homelessness Evidence Panel and that an update would be provided under the relevant agenda item.         

Action 8

Committee Members to review the LLR CCG performance data and report to the next meeting any specific areas they would like the Committee to scrutinise.

It was confirmed that no responses had been received from Committee Members or Councillors regarding any specific area of the LLR CCG performance data that they wanted the Committee to scrutinise.                                   

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.

Councillor Baines declared a non-pecuniary, registerable conflict of interest as he was President of the Rutland Record & Local History Society.

Councillor Toseland declared a non-pecuniary, non-registerable conflict of interest as her children received support from the Council’s SEND services.

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, deputation 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.

To receive Report No. 145/2022 from Rose Lynch, Pharmacy, Optometry, Dental Services – Midlands (East), NHS England – Midlands.

PLEASE NOTE: Partners at NHS England have sadly not been able to attend the new meeting date and so this item is expected to be deferred to instead be considered at the next ordinary meeting of the Committee on Thursday, 13 October 2022

The Committee was informed that Report No. 145/2022 was due to be presented by Rose Lynch, from NHS England – Midlands.  However, partners at NHS England could not attend the re-convened meeting date so it was proposed that the item should be deferred to the next meeting of the Strategic Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the 13^th October 2022.

It was requested that our partners at NHS England should be questioned about the transition process regarding the commissioning responsibility for all NHS dental services which wwould transfer from NHSE to the Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland (LLR) Integrated Care Board on the 1^st April 2023.

RESOLVED:

That that the Scrutiny Committee:

a)    ENDORSED the proposal for the report on Access to NHS Dental Services within Rutland to be deferred to the scrutiny committee meeting on the 13^th October 2022.

To appoint a new Vice Chair of the Strategic Overview and Scrutiny Committee for the municipal year 2022-2023.

A discussion was held regarding the appointment of a new Vice Chair of the Strategic Overview and Scrutiny Committee for the municipal year 2022-2023 following the resignation of the previously appointed Vice Chair.  During the discussion, the following points were noted:

·       Councillor Begy was nominated for the role of Vice Chair

·       There were no other nominations

RESOLVED

That the Scrutiny Committee:

a)    Unanimously APPROVED Councillor Begy as the Vice-Chair.

To confirm the new substitute representative at the Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland Joint Health Scrutiny Committee.

Councillor Waller informed attendees that, as Chair of the SOSC, she would attend meetings of the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Joint Health Scrutiny Committee along with Councillor Ainsley, who had previously been appointed as the additional member. 

However, a named substitute member was also required to attend meetings in the absence of Councillors Waller and Ainsley.  The previously appointed substitute member had resigned and a new substitute member was now required.

·       Councillor Begy was nominated for the role of substitute member

·       There were no other nominations

RESOLVED

That the Scrutiny Committee:

a)    Unanimously APPROVED Councillor Begy as the named substitute member for the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Joint Health Scrutiny Committee.

To receive an update from Councillor J Fox and the scoping document detailing the scrutiny museum review.

Councillor Waller reported that Councillor Fox had sent her apologies for the meeting.  However, the scoping document for a review regarding the museum had been received.  During the discussion, the following points were noted:

·       The review of the museum needed to include an asset review of the building itself as well as its contents.

·       It was proposed that the group should not focus purely on the museum but should also review the libraries and the castle to view the whole picture of culture in Rutland.

·       The scoping document stated that the review of the museum was just Phase 1 of the Culture/Asset Review as to review the cultural offer in Rutland as a whole would be a very large piece of work.

·       It was proposed that Phase 2 could be a review of the libraries and Phase 3 a review of the castle.

·       Museum Task and Finish Group to be led by Councillor G Brown, with the support of Councillors Baines, Begy, Fox and Waller.

RESOLVED

That the Scrutiny Committee:

a)    AGREED to move forward in principle with the Culture/Asset Review.

b)    AGREED to seek the advice of the Director of Places regarding reviewing culture as a whole or breaking it down in different phases.

To receive an update from Councillor Begy

Councillor Begy confirmed that an update regarding the Customer Experience Task and Finish Group would be given at the meeting on the 17^th November 2022.

·       Group to be led by Councillor K Bool

·       Work to commence in October/November 2022

·       Councillor Bool to meet with the Strategic Director of Places and the Portfolio Holders (Councillors Oxley and Powell) to discuss what work scrutiny can undertake.

·       Work to be carried out in conjunction with the Parish Councils

Councillor Bool would provide an update at the next SOSC meeting.

To receive an update from Councillor G Waller

Councillor Waller updated members regarding the Homelessness Evidence Panel.  During the discussion, the following points were noted:

·       The panel had met twice to date.

·       Data provided by the Housing Options Team, Rutland County Council, Rutland Citizen’s Advice etc had been reviewed.

·       Local estate agents had been contacted regarding the private renting sector.

·       Councillor Lambert was due to meet with the Housing Options Officer at SKDC.

·       Next meeting of the Homelessness Evidence Panel would be held on the 10^th October.

·       A further update would be provided at the next meeting of the scrutiny committee on the 13^th October.

·       The report from the Evidence Panel was now planned for the end of 2022.

To receive a briefing from Councillor G Waller and the scoping document detailing the scrutiny review and the proposed timescale

The scoping document for a review of the public transport service was received.  During the discussion, the following points were noted:

·       Officers continued to produce excellent work to very tight deadlines.

·       It would be difficult for the Scrutiny Committee to undertake work that would meet the identified deadlines.

·       Discussions were ongoing with Oakham Town Council regarding the hopper service.

·       Members stated that they would like to see the Public Bus Transport Review report which was due to be presented to Cabinet on the 12^th January 2023.

·       It was noted that officers would welcome input from the SOSC on the proposed business plans following this report and prior to a final decision being made towards the end of 2023.

·       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.

ACTION: Councillor Waller

RESOLVED

That the Scrutiny Committee:

a)    AGREED not to continue with the review of the public transport service.

b)    REQUESTED to review the report on the Public Bus Transport Review, following its presentation to Cabinet on the 12^th January 2023 for input regarding the proposed business plans prior to a final decision being made towards the end of 2023.

To receive a briefing from Councillor G Waller and the scoping document detailing the scrutiny review and the proposed timescale.

Councillor Waller briefed attendees on the proposed review on economic development, levelling up and devolution and presented a scoping document for approval.  During the discussion, the following points were noted:

·       This would be a very important piece of work as it would be a good opportunity for the SOSC to help develop policy.

---oOo---

Councillor David Wilby left the meeting at 7.43 p.m.

and re-joined the meeting at 7.44 p.m.

--oOo---

·       All work would need to be completed by March 2023.

·       Councillor A Brown stated that he could possibly lead the group from January 2023 but would be unable to do so at the moment due to current workload.

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

ACTION: Councillor Waller

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

ACTION: Councillor Waller.

RESOLVED

That the Scrutiny Committee:

a)    AGREED to proceed with the review of economic development, levelling up and devolution.

b)    APPROVED the scoping document for an Economic Development, Levelling Up and Devolution Evidence Panel.

To receive an update from Councillor P Ainsley including the notes from the scoping meeting held on the 15^th July 2022 with Dawn Godfrey, Strategic Director for Children and Families.

Councillor Ainsley updated attendees regarding the SEND Group following the scoping meeting with Dawn Godfrey, Strategic Director for Children and Families held on the 15^th July 2022.  During the discussion, the following points were noted:

·       Important changes were planned for the service including the SEND Green Paper, the new OFSTED SEND inspection framework and RCC’s Delivering Better Value Programme.

·       The Parent/Carer Collaboration Group had been established, with good feedback from parents and issues had been and continued to be addressed by the service.

·       Some concerns had been raised following the discussion of the Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) proposal for banding regarding the High Needs Funding (HNF) at the Schools’ Forum meeting on the 15^th September 2022.

·       It was noted that a workshop would be held on the 6^th October 2022 to create a ‘charter’, which would be in partnership with the Parent/Carer Collaboration Group and the SEND service.  Councillors Ainsley and R Payne had requested to attend the workshop but this had been refused by the Strategic Director of Children and Families.  The Committee suggested that the finalised charter should be distributed to Councillors for their information.

·       Councillor Ainsley proposed that representatives from SEND Action Rutland, who had attended the Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Committee on the 21^st April 2022, be invited to meet with the SEND Group to gain their views on how the SEND service had progressed. 

·       Councillor Waller proposed that Councillor Ainsley take over the role of Chair of the SEND Group following the resignation of Councillor Webb.

·       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 17^th November and feedback from the meeting with SEND Action Rutland would be given at either the December or January meeting – date to be confirmed.

ACTION: Councillor Ainsley

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

ACTION: Councillor Ainsley

RESOLVED

That the Scrutiny Committee:

a)    RECOMMENDED better communication and engagement between Strategic Director of Children and Families and Councillors.

---oOo---

At the request of the Chair, Agenda Item 14 was taken before Agenda Item 13.

--oOo---

To receive an update from Councillor David Wilby, Portfolio Holder for Education and Children’s Services.

Councillor David Wilby attended the meeting to provide an update to members on the SEND service.  During the discussion, the following points were noted:

·       The SEND service continued to be a challenging area.

·       The strategic planning for the service by officers had been excellent and continued to make our service ahead of national thinking.

·       The Parks at Oakham CofE Primary School was a small but very specialised service provider and had been identified as ‘outstanding’ by OfSTED with excellent and highly qualified staff.

·       Oakham CofE Primary School was currently in the process of becoming an academy as part of the Rutland Learning Trust.

·       Collaborative engagement sessions had been held with families and these had proved helpful in resolving queries / issues.

·       A ‘Nurture Hub’ was based at Edith Weston Academy for primary aged children and an enhanced provision was provided at Uppingham Community College for secondary aged children.  The aim was to support children and, where appropriate, re-integrate them into mainstream education.

·       The county was also dealing with refugees including 37 Ukrainian children who were currently attending Rutland schools.  All required additional support regarding the language barrier as well as support for any physical and/or mental trauma they had experienced.

·       The SEND Peer Review was undertaken in September 2022.  Initial feedback had been very positive and the final written report was due at the end of October 2022.

·       The issues being dealt with by the SEND service were not issues specific to Rutland but were issues being dealt with by all SEND services across the country.

·       It was confirmed that all Rutland primary schools had a dedicated SENCO, that all were keen to engage with the SEND service and that there had been no large increase in the number of children not attending school as a result of the pandemic.

·       Committee members requested that up-to-date contact numbers for Children’s Services be circulated to all Councillors as a matter of urgency.

·       Councillor Waller thanked Councillor Wilby for his update.

---oOo---

Councillor David Wilby left the meeting at 8.48 p.m.

--oOo---

To review/update the SOSC Improvement Plan following the Scrutiny Workshop run by the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny (CfGS) on the 21^st July 2022.

The SOSC Improvement Plan was reviewed following the Scrutiny Workshop run by the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny (CfGS) on the 21^st July 2022.  During the discussion, the following points were noted:

·       Review of the new scrutiny committee structure to be reviewed at the end of the municipal year.

·       Improvement Plan required input from committee members regarding improvements and how these improvements would be best monitored.

RESOLVED

That the Scrutiny Committee:

a)    AGREED that comments regarding the Improvement Plan should be sent to Governance (governance@rutland.gov.uk).

b)    AGREED that the Improvement Plan should be added to the Work Plan for the December meeting.

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:

·       Councillor Lucy Stephenson, Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Policy, Strategy, Partnerships and Economy had been invited to attend the next meeting of the Strategic Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

·       Members were asked if Councillor Stephenson should be questioned about the leadership of the council or her portfolio area or both.

·       It was noted that Cabinet would receive a confidential update regarding the waste contract but no update, as yet, was listed on the scrutiny committee’s work plan.

·       Councillor Waller requested that members should review the confidential update regarding the waste contract once the Cabinet agenda pack had been published and then notify her if they wanted the Strategic Overview and Scrutiny Committee to review.

RESOLVED

That the Scrutiny Committee:

a)    AGREED that the Leader should provide a briefing/be questioned regarding the plans for economic development, levelling up and Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs).

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

There was no urgent business

Thursday, 13^th October 2022 at 7 pm in the Council Chamber, Catmose, Oakham, Rutland LE15 6HP

Thursday, 13^th October 2022 at 7.00 p.m. in the Council Chamber, Catmose, Oakham LE15 6HP