Minute of Meeting of Scrutiny and Performance Committee of 31 January 2024 for Approval
Perth and Kinross Council · 24 April 2024
Back to Scrutiny and Performance Committee — 24 April 2024 and its agenda
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SCRUTINY AND PERFORMANCE COMMITTEE Minute of hybrid meeting of the Scrutiny and Performance Committee held in the Council Chambers, 2 High Street, Perth, on Wednesday 31 January 2024 at 09.30am. Present: Councillor C Stewart, Bailie A Bailey, Bailie C Ahern (substituting for Councillor K Allan), A Forbes, K Harvey (substituting for Councillor S Carr), M Frampton, I Massie, W Robertson, C Shiers, F Smith, and J Welch. In Attendance: T Glen, Chief Executive; C Mailer (Director – Strategy, People and Resources); B Renton (Executive Director (Communities)); S Devlin (Executive Director (Education and Children’s Services)); F Robertson, K Johnston, E Ritchie, M Butterworth, F Crofts, A Brown, H Hope and S Skene (Communities); K Ogilvy and M Dickson (HSCP); L Simpson, A Taylor, L Dott, K Molley, A Brown, and M Pasternak (Strategy, People and Resources). Also in attendance: C Glasgow and C Hood, PTCH; P Cromwell and D McElhose, LAL Ltd; and H Smout, Culture P&K Apologies: Councillors K Allan and S Carr Councillor C Stewart, Convener, Presiding. The Convener led discussion on Items 1- 5 & 7-8 and the Vice-Convener led discussion on item 6. 1. WELCOME AND APOLOGIES The Convener welcomed all those present to the meeting and apologies were noted above. 2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST No declarations of interest were made in terms of the Councillors’ Code of Conduct. THE COMMITTEE AGREED TO VARY THE ORDER OF BUSINESS AT THIS POINT. 3. MINUTES 3(i) MINUTE OF SPECIAL MEETING OF THE SCRUTINY AND PERFORMANCE COMMITTEE OF 22 NOVEMBER 2023 The minute of special meeting of the Scrutiny and Performance Committee of 22 November 2023 was submitted and approved as a correct record. 3(ii) MINUTE OF MEETING OF SCRUTINY AND PERFORMANCE COMMITTEE OF 11 DECEMBER 2023 The minute of meeting of the Scrutiny and Performance Committee of 11 December 2023 was submitted and approved as a correct record.
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4. OUTSTANDING BUSINESS STATEMENT Resolved: The status of actions in the Outstanding Business Statement, be noted and completed actions removed accordingly. 5. UPDATE BY ARM’S LENGTH EXTERNAL ORGANISATIONS (i) Perth Theatre and Concert Hall C Glasgow, Chief Executive and C Hood, Chairman, Perth Theatre and Concert Hall provided a brief update on PTCH’s contribution so far, in supporting the delivery of the Cultural Strategy’s Year 1 Action Plan. The report was shared with members in advance of the meeting. (ii) Live Active Leisure Ltd P Cromwell, Chief Executive and D McElhose, Chairman, Live Active Leisure provided a brief update on LAL’s contribution so far, in supporting the delivery of the Physical Activity & Sport Strategy’s Year 1 Action Plan. The report was shared with members in advance of the meeting. (iii) Culture P&K H Smout, Chief Executive provided a brief update on Culture P&K’s contribution so far, in supporting the delivery of the Cultural Strategy’s Year 1 Action Plan. The report was shared with members in advance of the meeting. Members questions were answered. Councillor C Stewart thanked representatives for their attendance and they left the meeting. THERE FOLLOWED A SHORT RECESS AND THE MEETING RECONVENED AT 1055AM. 6. REVIEW OF EXTEREME WEATHER EVENTS IN PERTH AND KINROSS IN OCTOBER 2023 There was submitted a report by Chief Executive (24/45) considering the remainder of the report presented to Scrutiny and Performance Committee on 22 November 2023 22 November 2023 (Report No 23/232 refers). In response to a question from the Vice-Convener regarding the number of housing properties that experienced internal flooding in Invergowrie during storm Babet, M Butterworth advised that 7 residential properties had been reported in November with internal flooding. However, through further engagement with residents it had been confirmed that 49 residential properties and 5 businesses struggled with internal funding. M Butterworth confirmed that those affected had received grant funding from the Scottish Government. B Renton added that residents in the village of Invergowrie
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were leafleted and asked to provide feedback which created more contact with the Council regarding the weather event. In response to a question from Councillor A Forbes, B Renton confirmed that the in her experience the link with the Local Resilience Partnership across Tayside had been very useful in ensuring that all partners are aware of the issues occurring across all three local authority areas and then would link back into the Incident Management Team. In response to a question from Councillor J Welch regarding the involvement of External Agencies and how they work together, B Renton advised that nationally resilience had been established in Scotland by several category one and category two responders and the Local Resilience Partnership are made of those organisations. B Renton highlighted the strength of the Local Resilience Partnership and the national collective work in managing incidents. B Renton confirmed that since the weather incidents in October 2023 there are strong discussions ongoing with SEPA on the telemetry of the river Tay which should help for future preparedness. The Convener suggested that the protocol that had been created following the weather events in October 2023 on how information would be cascaded from SSE to SEPA and then through to the Council be shared with members. Councillor C Stewart referred to the storm at the end of December and queried if the protocol had been effective as a member had contacted staff to alert them of a potential release of water. B Renton confirmed that the Council were in regular contact with SEPA and SSE Renewables throughout the weather events in December. B Renton advised that the Council had not been clear on the impact of the snow melt over the Tay catchment area and discussions are being held with agencies as different information had been received throughout the December events. However, B Renton confirmed that relationships are strong between the agencies to be able to question and ask for more information. Councillor C Shiers raised concerns over a change of personnel across agencies and knowing that processes remain followed. B Renton advised that there had not been conversations held yet with other agencies in terms of suggested changes to the Flood Protection Scheme. B Renton confirmed that as part of future planning the Council need to ensure that all agencies are aware of any changes made to the Flood Protection Scheme. In response to a question from the Convener regarding engagement with businesses at Friarton in closing the flood gates at the appropriate time, A Brown confirmed that the Council are in contact with businesses regarding when the gates are due to be closed and reopened. M Butterworth added that as part of the Improvement Plan, officers are looking to extend training to other Council employees, so further support can be made available to the Roads Maintenance Partnership in the event of an emergency. In response to a question from Councillor A Forbes regarding the action included in the Improvement Plan on developing a protocol to share vulnerable people lists during emergencies, H Hope provided assurance that the Council have contacted SSEN for a list of their vulnerable customers to help share information regarding future weather events. The Convener asked members to encourage their local Community
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Groups and Community Councils to form Community Resilience Teams which would help reach all vulnerable people in the event of an emergency. In response to a question from Councillor J Welch regarding how we are going to work collaboratively across the Council through other committees such as E,I&ED, Climate Change and Planning to mitigate issues within a catchment level, B Renton advised that a report would be brought to the next E,I&ED Committee on the officer response to a consultation that the Scottish Government are operating in relation to water, waste water and drainage policy. B Renton advised that as part of the response officers would emphasise what would the impact be on climate change and how do we collectively tackle it. In response to a question from Councillor C Shiers regarding equipment for operative employees, M Butterworth advised that staff are given the correct protective clothing to wear out on site. M Butterworth added that regular meetings are held with trade union representatives to check that employees are safe at work. M Butterworth assured members that he had not been aware of any issues and that the necessary arrangements are in place to protect staff. In response to a question from Councillor I Massie regarding the number of Community Reliance Groups that have formed since the weather events in October 2023, S Skene advised that 20 groups have been created. S Skene confirmed that the Council are looking to support groups to develop and have been flexible at arranging meetings out of work hours. S Skene confirmed that next steps include developing Local Resilience Plans for each of the Community Resilience Groups. Councillor C Shiers raised concerns over poor mobile coverage in rural areas in the event of a weather emergency. Officers agreed that the action would be included in the Improvement Plan. B Renton suggested that a tour of the Flood Protection Scheme be provided to members. Members thanked B Renton and her teams for their ongoing work towards the actions outlined in the Improvement Plan. Resolved: (i) The findings of the review into the Council’s preparedness, response, and recovery activity during each of the three October weather events from Section 7 of Report 23/232 onwards, be considered. (ii) The updated improvement actions identified within Appendix 1 of Report 24/45, be considered. THERE FOLLOWED A SHORT RECESS AND THE MEETING RECONVENED AT 12.20PM. 7. DRAFT CORPORATE DELIVERY AND IMPROVEMENT PLAN 2024/25 There was submitted a report by Chief Executive (24/44) presenting the draft Corporate Delivery and Improvement Plan (CDIP) for 2024/25 for consideration, with
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updated baseline data where this has become available since the plan was presented to Council. In response to a question from Councillor A Forbes regarding further information on direct tourism expenditure and economic impact of tourism, L Dott confirmed that information would be shared following committee. In response to a question from Councillor C Shiers regarding the Cost of the School Day toolkit, S Devlin advised that all schools in Perth and Kinross are using the Cost of the School Day toolkit. S Devlin confirmed that a session had recently been held for all school Headteachers on the toolkit at the Headteacher Development Day. In response to a supplementary question from Councillor C Shiers, C Mailer confirmed that all benchmarking information would continue to be reported in the Annual Performance Report and online in terms of wider benchmarking data. Councillor C Stewart queried the same baseline data for the number of community asset transfers and community groups applying for community asset opportunities. Officers agreed to relook at the data. In relation to those experiencing and at risk of poverty, the Vice-Convener suggested changing the monitoring to see how many individuals are helped by cash first partnerships instead of measuring success in the number of cash first partnerships. C Mailer confirmed that the suggestion would be taken on board and factored into the final version of the CDIP. In relation to the decarbonisation of the fleet which would be measured by the increase in number of council vehicles with electric or other zero direct carbon fuel technologies, the Vice-Convener suggested increasing the goal by including a percentage increase target. C Mailer confirmed that the suggestion would be fed back to officers but would be driven by the availability of resources. The Vice-Convener referred to the figure of 20% reduction of vehicle kilometres within a year. L Dott advised that the figure had been taken from the Climate Change Action Plan but would be confirmed with members following Committee. In response to a question from Councillor A Forbes regarding distressing behaviour by pupils at school, S Devlin advised that there are several pieces of work underway to ensure that children and staff are safe when attending school. S Devlin confirmed the Anti-bullying Strategy had recently been reviewed in full consultation with staff across all schools. S Devlin added that several measures and supports are being looked at for children who find it difficult to attend and engage in school. S Devlin confirmed that robust processes are in place and encourage staff to report distressed or violent behaviour. Following a further question from Councillor A Forbes, S Devlin advised that those results are monitored, and data would be reported to the Employees Joint Consultative Committee on a quarterly basis. S Devlin confirmed that the objective would be to reduce the number of incidents in schools across Perth and Kinross where possible. In relation to the previous question, the Vice-Convener referred to measuring success by schools having robust procedures to reduce bullying in line with improving relationships and suggested that when undertaking the next review of the CDIP to include objective measures.
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In response to a question from Councillor A Forbes regarding affordable housing and how success would be measured by maintaining the 53% / 47% split across urban and rural areas, C Mailer confirmed that the percentage split between urban and rural areas had been based on the housing need for local communities. Councillor A Forbes also referred to the baseline data of 71 buybacks/empty homes and queried if a target had been set for improving results over the next year, C Mailer advised that within the Local Housing Strategy a target had been set for the delivery of affordable homes and buybacks. C Mailer confirmed that data would be shared with members following the meeting. Resolved: The draft CDIP and available baseline measures outlined in Report 24/44, be considered. 8. PERTH AND KINROSS HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE PARTNERSHIP (HSCP) CLINICAL AND CARE GOVERNANCE ASSURANCE REPORT There was submitted a report by Chief Social Work Officer (24/46) providing assurance to Perth & Kinross Council’s Scrutiny and Performance Committee on the Clinical Care and Professional Governance of the Perth and Kinross HSCP. Bailie C Ahern raised concerns over issues of recruitment within the mental health workforce and queried if the redesign of services should be considered. K Ogilvy confirmed that several options are being looked at to help recruit mental health professionals within Perth and Kinross. K Ogilvy advised that that in terms of redesign, the Health and Social Care Partnership are looking at alternative roles such as Advanced Nurse Practitioners to take on some of the lower end roles that consultants have traditionally undertaken to allow current consultants to focus on more complex areas. K Ogilvy added that as well as the wider mental health redesign across Tayside, discussions are being held locally on the redesign of the Community Mental Health teams to make better use of the resources and services that are currently in place. In resposne to a similar question from the Vice-Convener on recruitment in adult social work and social care and the lack of care at home capacity especially around rural Perth and Kinross, K Ogilvy advised that anyone could apply without experience or qualifications as the appropriate training would be provided. In response to a question from Councillor I Massie regarding clinical and care governance arrangements, K Ogilvy confirmed that there are Locality Governance Groups for North, South and Perth City. There are also several Professional Governance Groups which meet regularly. A Mental Health Governance Group had been recently established to focus on mental health services, which refers to substance use, learning disabilities and autism. K Ogilvy added that professional meetings are also held for social workers and nurses to look at specific governance arrangements within those professions. K Ogilvy confirmed that issues are addressed where possible at the locality and professional level before being escalated to the Perth and Kinross Care and Professional Governance Forum which covers all of Perth and Kinross. K Ogilvy added that in addition, the Health and Social Care Partnership focus on exception reporting, learning reviews, and risk monitoring. COUNCILLOR A FORBES LEFT THE MEETING DURING THIS ITEM.
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Resolved: (i) The contents of Report 24/46, be scrutinised. (ii) The Committee agreed to the level of Reasonable Assurance provided. ~~~~~~