Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Toor and Williamson. Councillor Harkness was present as a substitute for Councillor Williamson.

There were no declarations of interest received.

There were no items of urgent business received.

There were no public questions received.

The Minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Board meeting held on 4^th September 2018 are attached for approval.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Board meeting held on 4^th September 2018 be approved as a correct record.

The minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Performance and Value for Money Select Committee meeting held on 23^rd August 2018 are attached for noting

With regard to Item 9 – 6-8 Weeks Breastfeeding Performance Review – Members sought clarification about the first resolution recorded in the minutes. This should read: the revised target of 40% for M860 CP 2.02ii (i.e.: percentage of all infants due a 6 – 8 week check that are totally or partially breastfed) be agreed.

RESOLVED that, subject to the above amendments, the minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Performance and Value for Money Select Committee held on 23^rd August 2018 be noted.     

The minutes of the Health Scrutiny Sub-Committee held on 3^rd July 2018 are attached for noting

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Health Scrutiny Sub-Committee meeting held on 3^rd July 2018 be noted.

The minutes of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) Economy, Business Growth and Skills Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 17^th August 2018 are attached for noting

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) Economy, Business Growth and Skills Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 17^th August 2018 be noted.

The minutes of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) Corporate Issues and Reform Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 21^st August 2018 are attached for noting

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) Corporate Issues and Reform Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 21^st August 2018 be noted.

The minutes of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) Housing, Planning and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 16^th August 2018 are attached for noting

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) Housing, Planning and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 16^th August 2018 be noted.

Report to follow

Consideration was given to a report of the Complaints Manager which sought to inform of the Council performance in relation to enquiries received from the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO).

The author of the report and the Assistant Director of Finance attended the meeting to present the report and to address the enquiries of the Committee.

It was explained that there had been some recent changes to how the LGO reported upheld cases, with the view to make the decisions more understandable for users and other stakeholders and to ensure that only cases that had been passed forward for an investigation, following the assessment stage, were upheld. Since 2014, the LGO had also publically reported on Local Authority complaints performance.

The number of LGO enquiries and Oldham Council complaints for 2017/18 were outlined: 1,261 complaints had been raised, 62 of these had been referred to the LGO by the complainants and eight cases had been formally investigated by the LGO. Six cases had been upheld and two not upheld. Oldham ranked as the third lowest local authority in Greater Manchester for complaints reviewed by the LGO. 

In relation to the figures reported, it was explained that a low percentage of upheld complaints, indicated that the Council gave a robust consideration to the issues raised at local level. It was also highlighted that the LGO applied great attention to learning from complaints. This approach was shared by Oldham Council through its process to manage and resolve complaints. It was added that the LGO was keen to see that scrutiny members take an active role in considering the annual report.

Members sought and received clarification / commented on the following points:

-       Changes to processes following a complaint – It was explained that, virtually, every case in Adult Social Care and Children’s Services would result in a change of how services were delivered; corporate complaints were less complex but the numbers were generally higher. A large amount of work took place with the LGO on these elements; they would make recommendations and many changes would take place.

-       Financial cost to the Council when the LGO upheld a complaint – It was explained that this year the cost was very low. There had been two cases without financial recommendations. Ordinarily, there were no remedies of a financial nature and the LGO required an apology from the Local Authority to the complainant and/or a statement concerning the lesson learnt from each matter that was addressed.

-       Signposting to the LGO – It was explained that Oldham Council operated a process that aimed to work closer with the complainants. If the Council position had been fair and reasonable but the complainant was still not satisfied, a referral would be made to the LGO. Other local authorities still used a two stage process.

The Chair of the Board pointed out that the LGO had declined the invite to attend the meeting this evening. It was explained that the annual review produced by the LGO was still  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

The Board gave consideration to a report of the Director of Education and Early Years which informed of the recent Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) inspection in Oldham and the positive actions that the Council and its partners had undertaken to improve outcomes of children and young people with SEND.

The Interim Director of Children’s Services, accompanied by the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Designated Clinical Officer, attended the meeting to present the information and to address the enquiries of the Board Members.

It was reported that, following the Ofsted inspection in October 2017, the Council and the CCG, with other stakeholders, had been requested to develop a Written Statement of Action (WSOA). The document had been written and it outlined Oldham’s vision for children and young people with SEND, the five key areas of concern that had to be addressed and the related outcomes. The WSOA had been signed off by Ofsted early this year.

It was explained that the SEND governance structure had been revised in order to strengthen joint partnership and to improve effective leadership. Staff capacity had been increased by 80%. The Department for Education (DfE) and NHS England conducted by-monthly monitoring visits to assess Oldham performance on the five key areas. The outcome of the latest review (i.e.: July 2018) had been positive; although some challenges still existed, significant progress had been made in all areas, as Red, Amber and Green (RAG) rating indicated:

·         Area 1: Illegal Practice - Green

·         Area 2: Leadership – Green

·         Area 3: Process and Quality – Amber/Green

·         Area 4: Transport - Green

·         Area 5: Attainment and absenteeism - Green

It was also reported that the CCG and other Council partners were represented across the local authority at various boards. The (CCG) Designated Clinical Officer post had been created to ensure operational strategic oversight. The organisation engaged with GPs, DfE and NHS England to find innovative ways of working in Primary Care to develop outcomes for young people with SEND. CCG and the Council wanted to ensure that the Oldham Carers Forum was pivotal in this process and it continued to be involved.

Members sought and received clarification / commented on the following points:

-       Review of Local Authority SEND assessment service capacity and securing additional resources – It was explained that in the WSOA, Appendix 1 of the report, this criterion was RAG (Red, Amber, Green) rated “Red” to indicate the starting position. However, improvements had been made and the staff capacity had increased significantly. Currently, it was RAG rated “Green”.

-       Alternative provision, overspend and young people Out of the Area (OOA) – It was explained that a robust multi-agency system was in place to find opportunities to keep young people in the Borough. When this was not possible and their educational needs could not be met in Oldham, OOA placements had to be found.

-       Extra capacity for special provision – It was explained that there was a SEND work stream led by teachers on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

Consideration was given to a report of the Director of Environmental Services on the draft new policy on the placement of “A” boards and signage on the Highway, including pavements.

The Head of Service for Public Protection attended the meeting to present the information and to address the enquiries of the Committee.

It was explained that, following the resolution of Full Council in March 2017 to adopt the “Who Put That There” Street Charter for Oldham, to make the Borough more accessible for people with visual impairment, an of Overview and Scrutiny working group had been formed to progress the recommendations. The Street Charter had been embedded in all Council’s services through the assurance of the Overview and Scrutiny Board. However, one of the considerations of the Street Charter was to raise awareness of the hazards that A-boards and cafe` furniture could cause and to encourage business to adopt a safe alternative. Consequently, the “A” Board and Sign policy was devised to address the need for an area to be attractive and easy to use for all, by providing guidelines to businesses on the use of advertising structures on public land.

Members sought and received clarification / commented on the following points:

-       Suitability of the Licensing regime – It was explained that no licence was required to display an advertising board.

-       Impact of new policy on business revenues - It was explained that the Council had to balance the need for the accessibility of public land and the profitability of businesses. Cases had to be considered on an individual basis. 

-       Was there a plan to review the policy following its implementation?  - It was explained that the policy would be reviewed following 12 months from its implementation (i.e.: after its ratification by Full Council in December 2018).

RESOLVED that:

1.    The content of the report be noted;

2.    The draft policy be endorsed;

3.    The awareness raising of the policy and its implementation be endorsed.

4.    The policy be reviewed by this Committee in December 2019, after 12 months from its implementation.

Consideration was given to a progress report of the Locum Consultant in Public Health on children’s health in Oldham. The Consultant in Public Health attended the meeting to present the information and to address the enquiries of the Committee.

It was explained that children’s health was influenced by a wide range of social and economic determinants such as education, employment, housing, transport, access to services, access to food, welfare and financial support, family context and community support.

It was widely recognised that giving every child the best start in life was the highest priority for reducing health inequalities; what a child experienced in the first four years of his/her life, had a major impact on his/her health and life chances as children and adults.

It was reported that, at national level, the Healthy Child Programme was a prevention and early intervention public health model offered to all families. The 0-5 elements of the Healthy Child Programme were a mandated public health function for all local authorities in England. 

With regard to Oldham, the Child Health Profile published in June 2018 indicated that the following areas required improvement:

-       Infant mortality and child mortality;

-       Children with one or more decayed, missing or filled teeth;

-       Obesity in 10-11 year olds;

-       Accident and Emergency attendances

The activities to improve performance in the above areas were listed and explained.

It was also reported that, currently, in Oldham, there were a wide range of programmes which supported babies, children, young people and families. These specifically aimed to improve health and wellbeing outcomes for children and young people. The Start Well programme, which was aligned to the Greater Manchester (GM) Children’s Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2018-2022, aimed to improve the health and wellbeing outcomes of 0-5 year olds in Oldham. The Start Well programme was currently focussed on delivering three of the ten GM priorities for children and young people wellbeing:

-       Early Years and school readiness;

-       Mental health and resilience;

-       Preventing avoidable admissions particularly for long term conditions.

Oldham was taking a lead in GM in piloting an approach to reducing avoidable admissions. The pilot was being undertaken in two clusters and would be launched this month with a view to a full roll out across the whole of Oldham by April 2019.

With regard to Mental Health, local authorities and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG) were required to work together to develop and implement the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) Transformation Plan.

From 1^st April 2016, a new integrated 0-19 delivery model for Oldham had commenced called Right Start which brought together a number of services and providers into a single integrated service delivered by Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Trust. A key feature of the integrated delivery model was the co-location of health visitors into children’s centres, to work alongside early years and education practitioners, to deliver a range of children’s public health and early years’ education services.

A new strategic framework for children and young  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

The Board is asked to note that, since its last meeting held on 4th September 2018, there have been no decisions taken under Rule 16 or 17 of the Council’s Constitution.

There were no General Exception or Urgent Decisions to be noted.  

The Committee is asked to note the Overview and Scrutiny Board Work Programme for 2018-19

The Committee gave consideration to the Overview and Scrutiny work programme for 2018/19.

The Chair informed the Committee that the October’s meeting of the Health Scrutiny Sub-Committee had been postponed to 15^th November 2018 at 6pm. The Land Value joint workshop with the members of the Overview and Scrutiny Performance and Value for Money Select Committee was likely to take place on 20^th or 21^st November 2018; members would be notified of the exact date and time.

Members asked and received clarification on the following points:

-       Children poverty statistics in Oldham – It was explained that, although this was a pressing issue, resources were limited and matters for scrutiny had to be prioritised;

-       Free schools – Part C of the work programme – It was explained that this was an outstanding issue on the work programme as guidance from Central Government was expected;

-       Special Educational Needs – It was explained that progress reports would be presented in January and June 2019.

-       Thriving Communities and recent presentation at District Executive meetings – It was explained that the Strategic Director of Reform had clarified that there were two different strands of work about Thriving Communities.

RESOLVED that the Overview and Scrutiny Board work programme for 2018/19 be noted.

The Board is requested to note the Council’s Key Decision Document

Consideration was given to the Key Decision Document. The Committee requested to receive further information on the Oldham Monitoring Report at its next meeting on 27th November 2018.  

RESOLVED that the Cabinet Member for Housing be asked to present the information concerning the Oldham Monitoring Report at the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Board on 27^th November 2018.  

The next meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Board will take place on Tuesday 27^th November 2018 at 6pm

RESOLVED that the next meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Board be held on Tuesday 27^th November 2018 at 6pm.