To receive any apologies for absence.

There were apologies from Councillor Biggs, Councillor Hurcomb and Councillor Crockett

To receive declarations of interests in respect of Table A or Table B or Other Interests from members of the committee in respect of items on the agenda.

None.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 27 June 2024 and 18 July 2024.

Resolved:       That the minutes of the meetings held on 27 June and 18 July 2024 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairperson.

To receive questions from members of the public.

Questions received and responses given are attached as appendix 1 to the minutes.

To receive questions from councillors.

Questions received and responses given are attached as appendix 2 to the minutes.

There are no reports from the Council’s scrutiny committees.

There were no reports from scrutiny committees for consideration at this meeting.

The purpose of this report is to present cabinet with the Phase 2 Children’s Services Improvement Plan for endorsement on 13th July 24

The cabinet member for children and young people introduced the report, the improvement plan was revised by the corporate director and went to children’s improvement board in July and considered by scrutiny committee in September.  The plan focuses on 9 recommendations following the Ofsted inspection. The equality assurance framework enables the Council to understand the impact of what it does and the audit activity helps the Council understand the activity work delivered.  Noted that the plan on a page is aimed towards staff and this has been received positively. 

Councillor Fagan (chair of the Children and Young Person’s Scrutiny Committee) discussed the improvement plan on 17 September.   The Committee welcomed the focus on the improvement actions and the focus on auditing across the partnership of services for young people.  The approach to restorative practice was particularly welcomed and the committee felt this should be implemented across the partners in the County. 

The Committee recognised the achievements that had been made within the workforce and the work that continues to drive improvement in this area.  The Committee also felt that the consultation with families on the ‘right time right place thresholds of need’ and managing risk should receive far greater publicity and exposure to ensure that the county families understand and agree with the thresholds.

The initial discussions around child friendly Herefordshire were also welcomed and it was important to ensure the needs of children and young people were clearly identified in developing plans such as the Local Plan and when considering the budget.  The points made were as follows:

In Leeds they have done an audit of their child friendly Leeds and it’s shown that issues like planning and highways did not take into account the impact on the lives of young people and children. 

The new improvement plan was easy to read, the ambitions were very clear, and the actions clearly identified. 

Cabinet members discussed the report. The following comments were made:

How positive the strong steer, direction and purpose was in Children’s Services. The numbers were increasing for recruitment and retention, but assurance was sought regarding the ASYE (the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment) cohort.  There was a fluctuation in foster carers and an increase in connected care households.  There was a clear line of sight within the plan, and it was helpful that it closely connected with the Ofsted recommendation. 

In response Councillor Powell, cabinet member for Children and Young People, confirmed that caseloads are monitored across the department and the AYSE group (Assessed and Supported Year in Employment social workers) have a reduced case load with less complicated work allocated.  They are also supported by a supervising social worker. 

The cabinet member explained regarding foster carers and connected care households (also known as kinship care), it is natural for the connected care numbers to fluctuate as the restorative practice model is embedded and that reduces the need for some children to go into kinship care.  Foster care does present recruitment challenges, particularly foster carers who  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.

To report the forecast position for 2024/25 at Quarter 1 (June 2024), including explanation and analysis of the drivers for the material budget variances, and to outline current and planned recovery activity to reduce the forecast overspend.

To provide assurance that progress has been made towards delivery of the agreed revenue budget and service delivery targets, and that the reasons for major variances are understood and are being addressed to the cabinet’s satisfaction.

The cabinet member for finance and corporate services introduced the report and highlighted that the report represents 3 months of actual transactions and 9 months of estimated income and expenditure. It was noted that it highlighted emerging budget pressures due to increasing demand across social care budgets, temporary accommodation and Special Educational Needs (SEN) transport services.

The approved revenue budget of £212.8m included planned savings of £19.5m comprising of £11.6m of directorate savings together with £7.9m of council wide budget savings. This year’s Q1 revenue outturn position for 2024/25 showed a variance from budget of £10.8m.  Management actions are currently planned to reduce this overspend to £6.8m as shown at table 2 of the report. 

This variance represents total cost pressures of £12.1m comprised of: £4.5m in-year net cost pressures for increased demand for adult social care, temporary accommodation and Home to School Transport. £4.8m 2024/25 savings targets currently assessed as at risk.  £0.4m 2023/24 savings targets assessed as at risk. £2.4m Council wide savings pending completion of directorate restructuring and vacancy reviews and this represents the balance of the MERS target.

The variance is reduced by £1.3m of delivered Children & Young People 2024/25 savings which were previously removed from the 2024/25 budget by the amendment in February 2024 that was approved.

It was noted that the forecast overspend is expected to reduce to £6.8m through the actions in Table 2 of the report. It was highlighted that each directorate will continue to identify further recovery action and options to mitigate at risk savings targets and ensure recurrent spending is sustainable within the resources available. Directorate recovery plans will also continue to be delivered.  

It was note that the additional expenditure controls implemented during 2023/24 and the associated management recovery actions had a positive impact on the final outturn position.  Thereby providing evidence that these actions work and it was confirmed that these controls remain in place to support recovery activity in 2024/25. 

Directorate panels will continue to review expenditure on goods and services as well as changes in staffing arrangements to challenge over expenditure for the remainder of the financial year. 

It was highlighted that this was a very different position to the one Cabinet found in Q1 last year, where in-year action must be taken to identify the steps to reduce the forecast overspend of £13.5m at Q1. Cabinet Portfolio holders conduct monthly reviews of their financial positions together with their Corporate Directors and this has been further supported by the improved quality of the Cabinet financial report.  It was reported that that the Finance Team have been shortlisted for the 2024 Public Finance award for Excellence in Governance, Reporting and Assurance.

A review of the delivery and status of the 2024/25 approved savings had been undertaken to determine savings targets at risk of in-year delivery. This confirmed that £8.2m (43%) of the total savings target for the year had been delivered at Quarter1 with a further £6.5m (33%) assessed as ‘on target/in progress’ for the year.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25.

To review performance for Quarter 1 (Q1) 2024/25 and to report the performance position across all Directorates for this period.

The cabinet member for finance and corporate services introduced the report.   It was highlighted that this was the first report in respect to the new Council Plan 2024-28 and the associated Delivery Plan 2024-25.

It was highlighted that 88% of the 162 milestones had been completed or were on track. Key capital investment programmes were noted; planning permission had been received for the Museum and Art Gallery; the Shirehall, Library and Learning Centre remained on track for an opening in October 2026; five properties had been purchased for the Single Homelessness Accommodation programme; phase 1 of the road resurfacing programme was completed; £1.2m had been spent on maintenance on schools; new gritters were now on site in Rotherwas; the new waste collection vehicles had been purchased. 

It was noted that the Hereford City Centre improvement programme had ended which included; the Public Art across the City; Widemarsh street enhancement works; City greening projects; market stall gazebos; High Town improvements; shop front grants scheme and CCTV enhancements. The joint Autism Strategy for Herefordshire and Worcestershire was received positively by the Health and Wellbeing Board.

It was highlighted that 12 grants had been awarded through the Safer Communities Fund, investing over £900,000 in prevention-focused projects for children and families. Additionally, Herefordshire received £736,000 from Arts Council England for a three-year cultural development project. 

Regarding the Council Plan themes: 

People, it was highlighted that out of the 50 milestones 8 were completed, 37 were on target and 5 were at risk of missing their deadline.   In terms of successes, it was noted that the Good Mental Health strategy was updated, £200,000 was secured for a pilot Cardiovascular Disease Workplace Health Check project, ‘Street Tag’, was launched to increase physical activity among schools.  Workshops had also taken place with Primary Care Networks to improve partnership working and increase referrals to the Stop Smoking service and specialist training has been arranged with maternity services to improve support for pregnant women. It was highlighted that 26 providers had been awarded a contract for Supported Living and 13 providers awarded a contract for Community Activities.  The Children’s Improvement Plan for 2024-2025 was approved by the Improvement Board and a revised action plan was agreed with the Council’s Improvement Partner, Leeds.  Plans have been set out with partner agencies for implementation of the new Working Together 2023 and the bid to open a new Special Free School was successfully progressed. 

Regarding the Council Plan theme of Place, out of the 52 milestones in the Delivery Plan, 4 were completed, 39 were on target and 9 were at risk of missing a deadline. It was confirmed that as part of the Local Plan, the Regulation 18 consultation across the county had been completed and the responses were being reviewed. However, it was raised that this will be subject to ongoing discussions with central government. 

Noted that consultant procurement was progressing for the new road strategy regarding the design review of phase 1 (southern section of western bypass) and scheme  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.

To approve the proposed approach to re-commissioning the Integrated Community Equipment Service (ICES) in Herefordshire.  This is a joint service between Herefordshire Council and NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire Integrated Care Board (ICB).

The current ICES contract ends on 31 March 2025.  This report details the intended approach to re-commission a new joint service from 1 April 2025, for up to five years.  This is in line with both organisations statutory duty to provide community equipment, as set out in the Care Act 2014 and Children and Families Act 2014.

The cabinet member for adults, health and wellbeing introduced the report. It was highlighted that the report is recommissioning the integrated community service equipment, referred to as ICES.  It was noted that this was a joint service between Herefordshire Council and NHS Hereford and Worcester integrated care board (ICB).   It was noted that both organisations have a statutory duty to provide community equipment as set out in the Care Act 2014 and the Children and Families Act 2014.  It was confirmed that the contract with NRS healthcare ends on the 31st of March 2025.

It was noted that the service provided free and appropriate equipment to meet the assessed eligible needs of people of all ages.  It is an important preventative service that enables more people to remain living safely and independently in their own homes and communities for longer.  It was highlighted that it specifically helps with reducing unnecessary admissions to hospital and confirmed it helped reduce discharge delays from hospital.  It was noted that the service predominantly supported older adults however it also supported a small number of disabled children including providing equipment to education facilities to improve and enhance the child’s access and attendance. 

There were no comments from Cabinet members. 

Group leaders gave the views of their groups. The report was welcomed, and it was noted it was a useful service, relied on by many residents in Herefordshire. 

It was raised that returning the equipment at the end of the loan could be improved. It was also requested that reuse and recycling of the equipment was made clear in the contract.

Regarding companies applying for the tender, it was raised that Herefordshire has a larger than average proportion of older people in the county and not a predominantly older population.

Reassurance was sought if the KPI’s were the correct ones for this contract and it was queried if there were contingency plans should the cost of the contract increase. 

In response to the queries, it was confirmed that returning and reusing the equipment was part of the contract.

It was confirmed that the KPI’s had been seen by the cabinet member for Health and Wellbeing and they were satisfied with them. 

Regarding the need increasing for this equipment, it was advised that this need could not be forecast, and the focus also needed to be on keeping people as healthy as possible to reduce the need for this equipment.  It was confirmed that a lot of work was taking place regarding this.   

That Cabinet

a)    The joint re-commissioning of a new Integrated Community Equipment Service is approved to commence from 1 April 2025, for a period of two years with the option to extend annually up to a maximum contract term of five years, at a maximum contract value of £9.1million; and

b)    Delegated authority be granted to the Corporate Director for Community Wellbeing to implement recommendation (a) including the tender process, award of contract and all operational decisions for the duration of the contract