Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Curley.

Councillor Surjan declared a pecuniary interest at Item 13 by virtue of her employment.  Councillor Surjan left the meeting during this item and did not take part in the discussion or vote thereon.

There were no public questions received.

The Minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Board held on 10^th September 2019 are attached for approval.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Board held on 10^th September 2019 be approved as a correct record.

The minutes of the Performance and Value for Money Select Committee meeting held on 22^nd August 2019 are attached for noting.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Performance and Value for Money Select Committee meeting held on 22^nd August 2019 be noted.

The minutes of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) Corporate Issues and Reform Overview and Scrutiny Committee meetings held on 16^th July 2019 and 17^th September 2019 are attached for noting.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the GMCA Corporate Issues and Reform Overview and Scrutiny Committee meetings held on 16^th July 2019 and 17^th September 2019 be noted.

The minutes of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) Housing, Planning and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 11^th July 2019 are attached for noting.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the GMCA Housing, Planning and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 11^th July 2019 be noted.

The minutes of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) Economy, Business Growth and Skills Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 12^th July 2019 and 13^th September 2019 are attached for noting.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the GMCA Economy, Business Growth and Skills Overview and Scrutiny Committee meetings held on 12^th July 2019 and 13^th September 2019 be noted.

The Board gave consideration to the Youth Council Motion on the topic of Knife Crime which was agreed at Council on 10^th July 2019.  The Council was asked to carry out an overview and scrutiny of the current youth offer across Oldham to ensure there was a broad range of high-quality activities available to all young people that were accessible regarding of where they lived. 

The Chair had met representatives of the Youth Council and the Youth Service to discuss the motion.  Representatives of the Youth Council were invited to the meeting to discuss the information as contained in the report.

Members were informed of the ‘Make Your Mark’ vote taken by young people and Knife Crime had been raised as the largest concern.

Members were informed of the further investment made by the Council to bolster the youth offer over the next two years, which was partly Council funded and also through the Community Safety and Cohesion Partnership with funding from Greater Manchester.  Based on conversations with young people and elected members the lack of youth workers in districts was evident.  Members were informed that the investment would deliver 8 youth worker posts across the borough. 

Members were informed that serious violence was a key issue and it was expected that there would be a new statutory duty under the new Serious Violence Bill.  Members were informed of approaches to prevent young people from getting involved in crime through public health.  Key elements included workforce development and training and capacity building in communities including attainment of Level 1 and 2 in Youth Work. 

The Youth Council informed that they had visited Glasgow which had experienced success in tackling crime, the awareness raising campaign in schools and the Youth Council with the Youth Services would be delivering a Youth Summit around knife crime and other issues.  Members were informed of the ‘Building Blocks’ around staff and workforce development, developing a consistent mainstream offer for young people across all Oldham’s districts, understand future funding opportunities to sustain a youth work offer, understand what mapping showed, member engagement and future Government policy and guidance.

Members asked about the recruitment of staff.  Members were informed that the Council processes would be followed.  The Level 2 post had been filled through an internal promotion.  The other posts were currently advertised.  Members sought and received information about the flexibility of the qualification. 

Members commented and expressed their thanks on the successful work over the summer.  Members asked when the new law would be out and if members of the community would undertake youth worker qualifications.  Members were informed that community organisations existed and that some had already expressed interest in the training.  With regard to the law, no date could be provided.  When it did a briefing paper would be provided.

Members sought clarification on the age range and the position of Oldham within Greater Manchester with regard to the perception of violence.  Members were informed that Oldham was not different from any other  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

The Board gave consideration to a report which provided information on the development and key highlights of Oldham’s new Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Strategy.

The Board were informed that following the inspection in October 2017, the SEND Partnership had co-produced a new SEND Strategy for Oldham.  The partnership were being driven to deliver significant improvement in the services offered to make a real difference to the lives of Oldham’s children and young people.  Ofsted and the CQC had revisited Oldham in October 2019 to review progress.

The SEND Strategy was in the final process of sense testing.  The SEND Oldham Partnership had held a consultation and engagement session and a series of stakeholder events which had helped shape both the draft SEND Oldham Strategy and Development Plan (2019-22).  The strategy and plan, which had been co-produced with the local SEND Partnership, were out for final consultation.  

Oldham’s ambition was ‘to be a place where children and young people thrive’.  The key outcomes of the strategy had shaped and directed the Development Plan which focused on the following key priorities for improvement:

·       Every child and young person is a confident communicator

·       Every learning setting is inclusive

·       Every young person is ready for adulthood

·       Every child and young person is a part of their community.

Qualitative data and intelligence had been derived from the new SEND Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) to inform the strategy.  Intelligence was gathered with a number of groups and took 12 months to ensure that all views had been considered.

The members were informed of the considered approach undertaken following the Ofsted/CQC inspection and the long consultation process. 

Members were informed of Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans, behaviour policies, assisted technology and preparing children and young people for adulthood.  Members were informed that the document had been shared with all primary and secondary headteachers.  Members were also informed that the authority had not yet received the letter from Ofsted/CQC regarding the recent visit.

Members referred to funding in schools and overspends.  Members referred to the very good provision at Hollinwood and asked about provision for students with autism.  Members were informed that regarding funding, a letter had been submitted as part of the comprehensive spending review on underfunding in Greater Manchester. Officers had created a report on budget pressures on the in-borough provision, the pressures of parental preference, early intervention in early years and bringing more resources into mainstream schools. 

Members raised the issue of exclusions and students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).  Members were informed of the Joint Needs Assessment and work with public health.  The Oldham Family Connect project had been established which triaged cases.

Members asked about links with the voluntary and community sector and stories to be shared from students who had aspired and achieved progress and utilised those successful students as mentors.  Members were informed that the voluntary and community sector was being developed to maximise potential and were factored into the development plan.  In response to the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

The Board gave consideration to an update on the Council’s performance related to enquiries received from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. 

The Council dealt with complaints about services provided according to the requirement of legislation as outlined in the report.  These complaint procedures had the Ombudsman as the last stage in the process. The Ombudsman’s Role was to enquire into cases where the Council and the complainant did not agree after the Local Authority’s complaints procedure had been exhausted and the complainant wanted the case to be reviewed.

The report highlighted the number of case reviews undertaken at national level in 2018/19.  In addition to the Annual Review of Complaints, the LGO also wrote to each Local Authority’s Chief Executive every year to set out the Council’s annual performance on complaints.  The LGO was clear that the number of complaints taken in isolation was not necessarily an indicator of the Local Authority’s performance.

The report outlined the regional perspective across Greater Manchester.  In 2018/19 the Council had 80 cases reviewed by the LGO of which only 17.5% were investigated and 12.5% upheld.  The Council’s overall aim was to reduced the percentage of cases that were upheld by the LGO and to learn and improve services as a result of those upheld decisions.  The low number of cases reviewed by the LGO, and ultimately investigated, suggested that the Council was willing to take responsibility when things went wrong and work with residents to resolve the issue appropriately.

The Council was undertaking a root and branch review of the Complaints Service.  This included the consideration of an option for integration of Health and Social Care Complaints, reviewing all policies and procedures, improving timescales for resolution and place a stronger emphasis on service development and improvement following complaints.

Members queried how the figures compared to the previous year.  Information would be circulated separately.

Members asked if there was any pattern in the areas of complaint.  Members were informed that complaints related to social care could be complex and include liaison with partners where others could be quick.  The Ombudsman was keen to investigate cases across the board to look toward positive outcomes.  The Council agreed with this approach and were doing the same thing.  There was a good relationship with services.

Members sought and received clarification that the root and branch review should be completed by April 2020.  Integration of health and social care complaints would be given consideration.  The database would be reviewed as well as policy and procedures.

The next annual review letter would be received at the same time next year.  Members requested an update in 12 months time and that the report also provide the outcome of the review.  The report would also include information on compliments to provide a balanced overview.

RESOLVED that:

1.       The Local Government Ombudsman Annual Review for 2018/19 be noted.

2.       Information related to the figures from the previous year be circulated to Overview and Scrutiny Board members.

3.       An update  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

The Board gave consideration to a report which provided an update on Place Based Integration.  Place Based Integration was about teams in public services, working in an integrated way, out in communities to better meet the needs of people and communities.  Oldham had championed placed based integration which included Community Health and Adult Social Care Integrated Multi-Disciplinary Teams (IMDTs) (Community Providers) were operating in the borough, there were placed based sites at ward level or below in Holts, Lees, Westwood, North Chadderton and Hollinwood.  There were other emerging placed-based models such as Oldham Family Connect.  Placed Based Integration was not as joined up to the scale required.  The report set out how Oldham could move towards a model of integrated public services delivery on five common footprints covering populations of 30 – 55,000. 

Learning, either locally, Greater Manchester or nationally had shown the necessity to take a different approach to building cooperative services, thriving communities and an inclusive economy.  Previous approaches had been focused on specific organisations, issues or funding.  Place-working was not new to Oldham and in the past few years new forms of multi-agency integration had been taking shape.  These included Community Health and Social Care, focus place-based teams, long-established district working model, early help service with placed-based elements, focussed care model in Fitton Hill and Hollinwood, and an emerging children’s operating model based on the Oldham Family model.

Placed based integration relied on a twin track approach to people, place and prevention.  The first track was to identify and work with those individuals and families who were not coping but did meet the necessary threshold for specialist services.  To proactively prevent future need, early intervention and prevention would need to be tracked in identifying and working with those at risk.  People were also influenced by where they lived.

It was envisaged that relevant services from health and social care, children’s, housing, policing, districts and environment would be in scope for place-based integration.  It would not include all services, but those that were best deployed.  It would need to be understood how the wider system would be integrated alongside Oldham Cares.  These have been packaged in to themes as follows:

a.       The Oldham Family Connect Model (children’s, schools and early years)

b.       Neighbourhood and Place based services (neighbourhood policing, district teams, housing, community safety, environment, fire, probation, etc.)

c.       Inclusive Economy

d.       Thriving Communities

Integration was dependent on many enablers as follows:

·       Geographical alignment

·       Single leadership and accountability

·       One co-operative workforce

·       Systems, tools and enablers

·       Pooled, aligned and in view budgets and commissioning.

This was an ambitious and long-term programme and some clear next steps were required over the next three months.

Members were reminded of the financial challenges across the public sector and that placed based reform had evolved from the Troubled Families Programme.  Sound foundations were in place but a whole system model to work in an integrated way was being developed from placed based working. The model outlined six footprints for public services with not  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

1.       The Board gave consideration to a motion which had been referred from the Council meeting held on 11^th September 2019.

          “Ban on Fast Food and Energy Drinks Advertising

‘Council notes that:

·       Fast food contains high level of fats, salt and sugar and energy drinks often contain high levels of caffeine and sugar.

·       Excessive consumption of these products contributes to obesity, tooth decay, diabetes, gastro-intestinal problems, sleep deprivation and hyperactivity.

·       The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health predicts half of all children in the UK will be overweight or obese by 2020.

·       The Mayor of London banned all fast food advertising on publically-controlled advertising spaces across London’s entire transport network.

·       Sustain and Foodwatch recently published a report ‘Taking Down Junk Food Adverts’ which recommends that local authorities regulate adverts on public telephone boxes and that the Advertising Standards Authority should be able to regulate advertising outside nurseries, children’s centres, parks, family attractions and leisure centres.

As a local authority with a statutory responsibility for public health, Council believes that it should do all that is possible to discourage the consumption of fast food and energy drinks.

Council therefore resolves to:

·       Ask the Chief Executive to write to the Chief Executive of Transport for Greater Manchester asking TFGM to impose a ban on the advertising of fast food and energy drinks on publicly owned poster sites etc across the Greater Manchester transport network.

·       Ensure that fast food or energy are not advertised on any hoarding or within any building owned by this Council including large advertisements on bus stops. 

·       Ensure that such products are not sold to children or young people on any of our premises.

·       Ask our NHS, social housing, voluntary and private sector partners, including the Mayor of Greater Manchester, to make a similar undertaking.

·       Ask the Chief Executive to write to the relevant minister requesting the recommendations of the ‘Taking Down Junk Food Adverts’ report be adopted as government policy as soon as possible; copying in our local members of Parliament to seek their support.’

It was recommended to the Overview and Scrutiny Board that the motion be referred to the Health Scrutiny Committee.

2.       Tackling Speeding

The Board gave consideration to an update on the ‘Tackling Speeding’ motion which had been referred to the Board by Full Council.  A workshop had been held on 24 September 2019.  The workshop discussed the areas for further exploration in the motion with representatives from Highways.

RESOLVED that:

1.       The motion related to ‘Ban on Fast Food and Energy Drinks Advertising’ be referred to the Health Scrutiny Committee.

2.       The areas for further exploration as outlined in the report related to the ‘Tackling Speeding’ motion be agreed.

The Board is requested to note the decisions that have been taken under Rule 16 or 17 of the Council’s Constitution since the last meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Board held on 10^th September 2019.

If a detailed explanation is required and an officer is to attend the meeting to provide further information, please contact Constitutional Services by 12.00 noon on Thursday, 17^th October 2019.

The Board gave consideration to a report advising of a decision related to ‘Targeted Youth Services – Options from April 2020’ which had been authorised under Rule 16 (General Exceptions) of the Council’s Constitution.

RESOLVED that the report and authorisation granted under Rule 16 (General Exception) be noted.

The Board is requested to comment and note the Overview and Scrutiny Board Work Programme for the 2019/20 Municipal Year.

The Board gave consideration to the latest Overview and Scrutiny Board Work Programme.

Members were provided with the update on the Getting to Good Children’s Improvement Programme as requested at the previous meeting.  This included an update on vacancy and turnover figures, Children in Need, and out of borough placements.

Members were also provided with an update on the Task and Finish Group related to Extending the Cooperative Approach to the use of Council Asset Policy.  Members were informed of a recent visit by elected members to Wigan Council.  Members had agreed to the establishment of the Task and Finish Group.  A meeting would now be arranged.

Members were informed that the Corporate Plan would be added to the January meeting on the Work Programme.

RESOLVED that:

1.       The Overview and Scrutiny Board Work Programme be noted.

2.       The update related to the Getting to Good Children’s Improvement Programme Update be noted.

3.       The update on the Task and Finish Group related to the Council Asset Policy be noted.

4.       The addition of the Corporate Plan to the Work Programme be noted.

The Board is requested to note the latest Key Decision Document.

The Board gave consideration to the latest published Key Decision Document.

RESOLVED that the Key Decision Document be noted.

The date and time of the next Overview and Scrutiny Board will be Tuesday, 26^th November 2019 at 6.00 p.m.

RESOLVED that the date and time of the next meeting to be held on Tuesday, 26^th November 2019 at 6.00 p.m. be noted.