Agenda item

This report presents the capital monitoring for the period to September 2011 with an outturn forecast for 2012/2012. 

Discussion:

The Assistant Director (Communications, Performance and Partnerships) introduced the report outlining quarter 2 performance against the Council Plan 2011-2012 which covered the period July – September 2011. The Portfolio Holder for Finance had identified areas for particular focus for both improvement and monitoring, as set out in paragraph 3.3 of the report.

The committee was reminded of its dual remit for this report, items within this committee’s remit and also the overview role on behalf of all committees, where, if the Committee was concerned about a particular matter it could refer it on to the appropriate Overview and Scrutiny Committee for further, in-depth consideration.

Areas of success were highlighted as: recycling rates exceeded targets;
5 green flags for parks and open spaces; GCSE results and Looked After Children attainment; delayed discharges from hospital – none, to date attributable to adult social care; and the opening of the Chatham bus facility. Challenges for the Council were currently: reducing carbon emissions and subsequent impact of carbon tax; minimum use of bed and breakfasts (with increased pressures); child protections services in context of demand that was still increasing; adult social care – progress on implementing personalised budgets; and the future of mental health provision, although a report would shortly be submitted to Cabinet.

Members commented on a variety of issues including:

·        following a meeting in October of a task group set up to investigate areas of Chatham Town Centre where groups of people were highly visible and heightened perceptions of the area as being unsafe (page 65 of the agenda), the Committee requested an update on the outcome of that meeting

·        disappointment at the low numbers of text reports sent to the “Love Medway” phone app by residents and information was requested on how this was being promoted, as not many residents seemed to be aware of it. Members suggested that officers contact Lewisham Council, as it had been successful with this new method of reporting problems to the Council

·        energy efficiency in schools – were governing bodies considering simple, obvious solutions such as cavity wall insulation?

·        satisfaction with the Safer Communities team (page 105 of the agenda) – the Committee noted that a focus group would be set up to consider what influences satisfaction with this service and the improvements that would be necessary to increase satisfaction

·        statistics with regard to the number of people who stopped smoking (page 89 pf the agenda) – the reliability of these figures

·        further information on what the council is doing to achieve affordability of bus transport within Medway.

Officers were asked to provide further information on the following points:

·        City Status bid – request for a Briefing Note as it was now only 8 weeks away from the decision and Members were unaware of any on-going promotion for the bid. Also, how much of the £25,000 budget remained and what would it be spent on?

·        Care leavers in education, employment and training (page 104 of the agenda)  - what employment training or apprenticeship opportunities were they given? Members requested that this information was submitted to Regeneration, Community and Culture (RCC) Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 13 December 2011 for further consideration

Also, concern about the figures detailed on pages 101 and 102 of the agenda, it would seem that the Council was not reaching out far enough within the communities. Again, referral of this matter to the RCC Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 13 December for further consideration

·        % of initial assessments for children’s social care carried out within 10 working days of referral (page 96 of the agenda) – this was such an important issue, especially within the first few days following referral. It was not just about whether the staffing levels were sufficient but also the engagement with families. The Committee requested referral of this matter to the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 6 December 2011.

Decision:

The committee agreed to:

(a)   note the outcomes achieved against priorities in quarter 2 of the Council Plan monitoring 2011/2012;

(b)   refer NI 59L (% of initial assessments for children’s social care carried out within 10 working days of referral) to the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 6 December 2011 for further
in-depth consideration;

(c)   refer NI 148 (care leavers in education, employment and training) to the Regeneration, Community and Culture (RCC) Overview and Scrutiny Committee for further consideration on 13 December 2011 to discuss what employment training or apprenticeship opportunities children in care were given;

(d)   the indicators within the title “we will work to ensure that people have the skills they need to take up job opportunities created” (ECD48c, ECD7b and ECD8b(ii) on pages 101 and 102 of the agenda) to be referred to the RCC Overview and Scrutiny Committee for further consideration at its meeting on 13 December 2011;

(e)    request a Briefing Note on the current position of the City status bid and what was happening in the final weeks before the decision was made. The Briefing Note to also include details of how the budget had been spent, how much remained and what it would be spent on;

(f)     request further information on what the council is doing to achieve affordability of bus transport within Medway.