Agenda and minutes

The Chair thanked his fellow Committee members for his re-election as Chair of the Corporate Scrutiny Committee and he specifically thanked Councillor Dylan Rees, the Vice-Chair for chairing the meetings on 19 March and 17 May, 2019 in his absence.

To receive any declaration of interest by any Member or Officer in respect of any item of business.

No declaration of interest was received.

To present the minutes of the previous meetings of the Corporate Scrutiny Committee held on the following dates –

·         19 March, 2019

·         14 May, 2019 (election of Chair and Vice-Chair)

·         17 May, 2019 (Call-in)

The minutes of the previous meetings of the Corporate Scrutiny Committee held on the dates noted below were presented and were confirmed as a correct record of the proceedings on those dates –

•           19 March, 2019

•           14 May, 2019

•           17 May, 2019

To present the report of the Head of Profession (Human Resources) and Transformation.

The report of the Head of Profession (HR) and Transformation incorporating the Corporate Scorecard for Quarter 4 2018/19 was presented for the Committee’s consideration. The report portrayed the position of the Council against its operational objectives as at the end of the fourth quarter of 2018/19.

The Portfolio Member for Corporate Business provided a summary of the end of year performance outcomes highlighting those areas where performance fell short of target and were ragged RED on the scorecard – these were few compared to the majority of areas which had performed to target and were ragged GREEN on the scorecard. The report provided a very positive reflection of the Council’s performance overall and in several areas represented an improvement on the 2017/18 performance which was especially gratifying to report considering the challenges this and other local authorities are facing.  The Portfolio Member referred to the Performance Indicators that had underperformed against their annual targets and the reasons therefore as provided by the relevant services (paragraph 2.1.9 refers). Although the Quarter 4 performance with regard to attendance at work was better than that for Quarter 3, the cumulative score of 10.34 WDL per FTE for the year was slightly disappointing being over the target of 9.75 WDL per FTE. The Portfolio Member gave assurances that this was receiving high level attention. The report also touched on Customer Service and here again portrayed an improving picture noting also that the number of users of AppMôn and the Council’s website had continued to grow which it was hoped would lead to a greater use of online forms and online contact.

The Programme, Business Planning and Performance Manager said that in preparing for the year ahead it would be useful to reflect on the purpose of the Corporate Scorecard which was as a management tool to enable the Council to ensure that provision for the Island’s residents is as good as possible. Assessed in this context, the Council’s performance across the board was very encouraging with only 3 out of in the region of 50 Performance Management PIs falling short thereby providing Members with certainty about the robustness of the foundation that had been put in place which would also serve to facilitate further improvements going forwards.  

During consideration of the report, the Committee discussed the following –

•           The steps being taken to manage sickness absence in primary schools – PI 04a showing as Red on the Scorecard. The Head of Learning confirmed that a joint approach with Human Resources targeting the 10 primary schools where it was considered there was scope to make a difference as well as ensuring that all schools keep closely to attendance management policies were beginning to produce results over the course of two terms. One of the most challenging issues was long-term sickness absence which it was difficult to address.  

•           That nationally the Authority’s performance with regard to sickness absence placed it in the top 10 of the 20 Councils that had to date reported  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

·        To present the report of the Head of Children and Families’ Services.

·        To present the report of the Children’s Services Improvement Panel.

•           The report of the Head of Children and Families’ Services setting out the areas which had been the focus of the work within Children and Families’ Services since the previous quarterly progress report was presented for the Committee’s consideration. It was noted that the Service’s improvement work was now being driven by a new 3 year Service Development Plan consisting of 5 themes which had replaced the previous Service Improvement Plan.

The Head of Children and Families’ Services said that this latest report provided graphical evidence of the improved performance against key service performance indicators in Quarter 4 2018/19 when compared with performance against the same indicators in Quarter 4 2017/18. He guided the Committee through each of the Performance Indicators explaining the aspects of service they measured highlighting the significance of the improvement in relation to each one and collectively, as reflecting the positive changes and developments that were happening in the service as a whole. This positivity was further reinforced by the decrease in the number of Stage 1 complaints the Service had received during Quarter 4 as well as the 68 compliments received over the course of the year which showed appreciation of the professionalism of staff, the support received by families and the positive relationships formed with service users including children. In addition to focusing on performance, the Service had spent time developing policies specifically in relation to aftercare and financial matters for looked after children and had implemented the new Fostering Package which was generating renewed interest in fostering.

Referring to future arrangements, the Portfolio Member for Social Services sought the Committee’s approval for the establishment of a Social Services Improvement Panel covering Adults’ Services as well as Children and Families’ Services. This would enable Adults’ Services to have the same level of scrutiny as the Children and Families’ Services have had in recent years and would also enable Elected Members to develop more detailed knowledge of the processes and challenges within Adults’ Services. The proposal had been recommended by the Adults’ Social Care Transformation Board and the Children’s Services Improvement Panel in meetings on the 22 May, 2019 and 23 May, 2019 respectively.

The following matters were discussed during consideration of the report –

•           The Committee was pleased to note the improvement in performance to which the data in the report testified and also welcomed the progress made in improving the robustness of policies, processes and procedures within the Service. The Committee was particularly keen to understand how the significant improvement in performance with regard to the number of children in school that have changed school for non-transitional reasons had been achieved considering that last year nearly a third of school aged children had to change schools for non-transitional reasons with 19 in September alone compared with 6.5% for this year. The Committee was advised that greater stability within the Children’s Social Care Worker team meant that more stable and consistent relationships with individual children could be developed and that this along  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

To present the report of the Scrutiny Manager.

The report of the Scrutiny Manager requesting the Committee to nominate one additional member to serve on the Finance Scrutiny Panel was presented for consideration.

Councillor Dafydd Roberts, Chair of the Finance Scrutiny Panel explained that as the Panel had evolved and as part of an end of year self-evaluation, it had been recommended that the Panel’s current membership of 4 members (2 members from both scrutiny committees) be extended by 2 additional members – one from each of the scrutiny committees - in order to increase capacity and provide a more robust approach to financial scrutiny.

Having agreed that the Panel’s membership be extended, it was RESOLVED to nominate Councillor John Griffith to serve on the Finance Scrutiny Panel.

NO FURTHER ACTION WAS PROPOSED

To present the report of the Scrutiny Manager.

The Committee’s Forward Work Programme was presented and was noted by Members without amendment.