Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record and sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 1 February 2016.

The Minutes (copies of which had been circulated) of the meeting held on 1 February 2016 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Councillors and officers to declare any interests which they have in any of the items on the agenda for the meeting.

Councillors and officers were invited to declare any interests which they had in any of the items on the agenda for the meeting.

The following interests were declared:-

To consider call-in items (if any).

There were no call-in items to consider.

To consider a report of the Leader of the Council and the Deputy Leader of the Council (Support & Governance).

The report provides an updated and final business case in respect of health and social care integration following further development of the proposals subsequent to the meeting of the Executive on 16 December 2015.

The Learning Disability Services business case is also included to provide an additional opportunity for the Scrutiny Committee to comment on the proposals.

The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to comment on and note the report.

Officer contact: Holly Rae on 0161 474 3014 or email: holly.rae@stockport.gov.uk

A joint report of the Leader of the Council and the Deputy Leader of the Council was submitted (copies of which had been circulated) providing an update on those Investing in Stockport proposals considered by the Scrutiny Committee in December 2015, following completed consultation with members, stakeholders and the public. The proposals had been brought forward by the Executive to respond to the financial challenges facing the Council and in response to the forecasts provided by the Corporate Director for Corporate and Support Services.

The accompanying documents to the report provided further detail on the integration of health and social care and the remodelling of the Stockport Learning Disability Services.

The Executive Councillor (Supporting Adults) (Councillor Keith Holloway) attended the meeting to present the revised proposals and to respond to questions from the Scrutiny Committee.

The following comments were made/issues raised:-

·        It was queried why the timescales associated with a number of the objectives of the business plan were indeterminate.  In response it was stated that the care management budget was a challenging area and that pinning down specific milestones was difficult. 

·        In respect of the target to reduce the number people placed inappropriately outside the Borough, a number of those had now been brought back.  It was acknowledged that all of the evidence indicated that bringing people back into local services enhanced their quality of life and improved links with family and friends.  However, those that remained elsewhere were more often than not the more complex and difficult cases for which commensurate levels of care were not currently available in Stockport.

·        A discussion took place in relation to the impact of increases to the National Minimum Wage.

·        Further clarification was requested on the impact of changes to the local housing allowance.

·        It was commented that there was no proposal to reduce provision for supported tenancies, rather that efficiencies would be driven through the outsourcing of tenancies where associated costs would be lower.

·        It was suggested that key to the success of the increased emphasis on personal budgets was the accessibility of services.   It was noted that the Ring and Ride service on which many service users relied was the subject of a significant budgetary reduction which may have an impact in this area.

RESOLVED – (1) That the report be noted.

(2) That the comments of the Scrutiny Committee in relation to the Investing in Stockport proposals be referred to the Executive for consideration.

To consider a report of the Deputy Chief Executive.

This Scrutiny Committee has been presented with aspects of the Investing in Stockport programme that are within its remit; most recently in the form of business cases for service reforms in late 2015.

To support Investing in Stockport the Executive, in August 2015, agreed to invest in the Digital by Design (DbD) programme, in order to:

·         Support services to implement the wide-ranging changes required to meet planned spending reductions over 2015-17

·         To improve customer and service user experience, and

·         To establish a platform to support further organisational change and spending reductions post-2017

DbD will develop digital services and ways of working that the vast majority of residents, and our workforce, will choose to access by preference, and which others will be assisted to use, including full assistance for the most vulnerable and elderly groups.

This report updates the Scrutiny Committee on progress with this programme and in particular sets out (at Appendix 1) those measures that will improve services and arrangements that are within the remit of this committee, or that have already done so.

The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to:-

·         note and discuss the update provided and to request any further information as necessary.

·         note the aspects of the programme that are relevant to health and wellbeing services and provide comments on developments so far.

Officer contact: Steve Skelton / Paul James on 0161 474 3174 / 5430 or email: steve.skelton@stockport.gov.uk / paul.james@stockport.gov.uk

A representative of the Deputy Chief Executive submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) updating the Scrutiny Committee on progress with the Digital by Design programme (DbD) to support services to implement the wide-ranging changes required to meet planned spending reductions over 2015-17 to improve customer and service user experience, and to establish a platform to support further organisational change and spending reductions post-2017.

The following comments were made / issues raised:-

·        It was important that while initiatives such as this would drive through a transformation in the way in which the public could access services provided by the Council, there needed to be an acknowledgement that there would remain a proportion of people for which traditional methods of accessing Council services would need to be provided.  In response, it was stated that there was no intention for the Council to withdraw from other forms of service provision.

·        Work was taking place to integrate systems used by the Council in Adult Social Care and in the health sphere to ensure that the Stockport Together project was able to work and communicate effectively.

·        Protections would be put in place to ensure that users would have to opt in the sharing of their data amongst various health professionals.

RESOLVED – That the report and developments with Digital by Design relevant to adult care services and housing services be noted.

To consider a report of the Chief Executive.

The Delivery Plan sets out what Stockport Homes will deliver during the period 2016-2021; how it and the Council will work together and how tenants, the Council and other stakeholders can measure the success of Stockport Homes in achieving its objectives. The document is an appendix to the Management Agreement between Stockport Homes and the Council and sets all the outputs of Stockport Homes, the key performance requirement of the services and includes the performance standards expected.

The Delivery Plan will be reviewed in 2018/19 to ensure they remain relevant and new Plans will be produced for 2021-6.  It should be noted that both have been developed during a period of significant change in housing policy.  It is impossible to predict the impact on Stockport Homes’ business of a range of pending Government initiatives so these Plans attempt to provide as clear a direction for the company and as much assurance for the Council as possible under the circumstances.

The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to consider and comment on the Stockport Homes Delivery Plan 2014-15 and note the report.

Officer contact: Andy Kippax on 474 4319 or email: andy.kippax@stockport.gov.uk

A representative of the Chief Executive submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) detailing the Stockport Homes Delivery Plan 2016-2021.  The Delivery Plan set out what Stockport Homes would deliver during the period 2016-2021; how it and the Council would work together and how tenants, the Council and other stakeholders could measure the success of Stockport Homes in achieving its objectives..

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

·        Further detail was requested on the £900,000 of savings associated with the introduction of a new Customer Relationship Management system.

·        It was confirmed that details of the income associated with the collection of water charges on behalf of United Utilities would be circulated to members of the Scrutiny Committee.

·        Concern was expressed by the apparent direction of travel within the Delivery Plan which emphasised commercial income, business opportunities and working in different sectors.  In response it was stated that the new management agreement entered into last year provided greater freedom to explore commercial opportunities,  however ay income derived from such ventures would be used to support the main business.

·        It was queried whether Stockport Homes would be able to continue to avoid the use of bed and breakfasts as temporary accommodation.   In response it was stated that this was not currently foreseeable, however it could not be ruled out in the future.

·        A discussion took place in relation to the management of a number of community centres by Stockport Homes and their ongoing viability.  It was stated that the Scrutiny Committee would receive reports in the future in relation to this matter.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

To consider a report of the Chief Executive.

This report outlines the key findings of the Housing Needs Assessment (HNA) that was commissioned by the Council in 2015.  The full HNA 2015 report is attached as appendix 1.  This key document that will enable the new Housing Strategy to be developed and brought forward for approval in Summer 2016.

The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to comment on and note the report.

Officer contact: Andy Kippax on 474 4319 or email: andy.kippax@stockport.gov.uk

A representative of the Chief Executive submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) outlining the key findings of the Housing Needs Assessment that was commissioned by the Council in 2015 and which would enable the new Housing Strategy to be developed and brought forward for approval in Summer 2016.

Michael Bullock (Managing Director, arc4) attended the meeting to make a presentation in relation to the key findings of the Housing Needs Assessment.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

·        One of the key findings of the report was a lack of affordable housing in the Borough, however there were a number of external factors that may prevent the Council from implementing a strategy that would seek to remedy that issue.

·        Concern was expressed in relation to the suitability of accommodation for older people and the available options to allow them to downsize.

·        The issue of land availability in the Borough would frustrate significant investment in new build projects.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

To consider a report of the Corporate Director for Place Management & Regeneration.

This is a standing item which has been placed on the agenda at the request of the Scrutiny Committee on 21 September 2015 to allow officers to provide an update on any developments with regard to recent announcements from the government relating to social housing.

The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to comment on and note the report.

Officer contact: Andy Kippax on 474 4319 or email: andy.kippax@stockport.gov.uk

A representative of the Corporate Director for Place Management & Regeneration submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) providing an update on the likely impact of recent policy announcements including the Housing Bill 2015 and the Comprehensive Spending Review with regard to social housing since the last meeting of the Scrutiny Committee.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

To consider a report of the Democratic Services Manager.                                                        

The report sets out planned agenda items for the Scrutiny Committee’s next meeting and Forward Plan items that fall within the remit of the Scrutiny Committee.

The Scrutiny Committee is invited to consider the information in the report and put forward any agenda items for future meetings of the Committee.

Officer contact: Damian Eaton on 474 3207 or email: damian.eaton@stockport.gov.uk

A representative of the Democratic Services Manager submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) setting out the planned items for the Scrutiny Committee’s next meeting and Forward Plan items which fell within the remit of the Scrutiny Committee.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.