Issue - meetings

Councillor Mark Ingleby, Chair of the Panel, informed the meeting that he had requested that Members should consider the “Lewisham and Lee Green Local Transport Network Monitoring Update” report relating to Item 15 in the Mayor and Cabinet meeting agenda of 21 September 2022.  Commenting on paragraph 6 of the report, “Design and Implementation Update”, Councillor Ingleby enquired about progress relating to the Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy (NCIL) in view of the Council’s Place-Shaping Strategy and coordinated efforts with the Highways Division for implementing complementary measures in accordance with the relevant local policies.

In response, the Director of Public Realm stated that it was necessary to clarify the following:

1.             That it was in January 2022 that the Mayor and Cabinet reviewed and agreed implementation to retain Lewisham and Lee Green LTN.  The proposal to that informed the decision stipulated that measures should be in place to encourage the use of more sustainable forms of transport.  Also, at the time that decision was made, the Mayor and Cabinet recognised at the time of taking the decision that there was minimal consultation due to lockdown restrictions because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

1.1     Thus, the submission considered by Mayor and Cabinet on 21 September 2022, which Councillor Ingleby was referring to was not a not a decision report.  It was stated that the proposals required the Mayor and Cabinet to note findings of the data monitoring and update on the delivery of complementary measures within the LTN and the surrounding areas and agree further monitoring in April 2023 for continued assessment of the LTN.

The Director informed the Panel:

2.1          That the complementary measures identified included provision for

·               additional bike hangers to encourage residents to take up cycling;

·               additional electric charging points with the aim to move to cleaner vehicles; and

·               benches to allow people to rest while walking in areas within the borough.

2.2          That the measures were linked to the Council’s Transport and Cycling policies, and its Highways action plan.  In addition to that, plans were agreed for the planting of trees and other and shrubs to encourage a more pleasant environment in the public realm.

2.3          That rollout of the measures had begun as follows:

·                Benches:

o        10 locations had been identified within the LTN and wider areas;

o        Work to roll out in the locations was underway.

·                Electric vehicles charging points:

o        12 locations were identified;

o        3 had already been installed: on Mount Pleasant Road, Springbank Road and Upwood Road;

o        Further 9 will be installed by end of March 2023.

·                Cycle hangers:

o        20 locations have been identified;

o        There is a shortage of bike hangers due to high demand.  Officers are seeking alternative suppliers.  Notwithstanding that, 5 have been installed; 7 will be installed later in the month, with further rollouts in the following month.

·                Trees:

o        35 locations have been identified for tree planting;

o        Planting season is between October and March; Implementation is underway;

o        Challenges of avoiding obstructions that could cause damage  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3

Councillor Mark Ingleby, Chair of the Panel, informed Members that he had received a request from Councillor Chris Best to address the meeting on decisions taken by the Mayor and Cabinet on 6 July 2022 relating to the budget proposals.

Councillor Best asked questions on aspects of the decisions, which were summarised by the Director of Finance as follows:

1.         General discussion around inflation, which was also considered at the Public Accounts Select Committee prior to the decisions by the Mayor and Cabinet; and

2.         Specific point around some of the adults’ social care activities, in the context of the scale of those budgets for social care across adults and children being close to over two-thirds of the Council’s spending.

The Chair stated that the context for the questions were in relation to:

1.         Statements that the Council’s Medium Term Financial Statement (MTFS) had identified the need to make up to £36m of budget reductions over the next four years, on top of the £3.6 and £0.9m already put forward in 2021/22 and for 2023/24 and 2024/25; and

2.         The Council’s review of adult social care expenditure that had identified opportunities for making savings.

In response, the Director of Finance informed the Panel as follows:

1.            The proposals upon which the Mayor and Cabinet decisions were based were written 7in May/June 2022 after the Government's spending review announcement.  The Council’s financial risks were modelled on assumptions made in January/February 2022.  Thus, in terms of inflation, part of the assumption was that the Council would require services to manage contract negotiations with its suppliers.  How much of that cost would be directly passed onto the Council’s budget rather than dealt with at source would become clearer when considering pay settlements in the public sector context, and perhaps less in relation to running costs.

2.    Discussions and negotiations were on-going, either as the Council retain and negotiate the contracts, or more specifically in adults social care space with the ‘fair cost of care’ consultation that would conclude in the autumn.  So, there is a risk because the inflation figures are low, but the corresponding point would be to accept them at the point of negotiations by building them into the Council’s budget.  To some extent it is a circular challenge because if the Council spends the money, it will overspend this year and then commence by making bigger savings than already forecasted.

3.    The Council have not had the delayed local authority settlement.  The £10m savings that the Council had currently identified would have a few variables, and need to keep the MTFS under review through the autumn.  Thus, the initial focus in this financial year would be to better understand how those costs would feed through for a clearer picture when monitoring.  Monitoring will conclude in the autumn of 2022.

4.    Inflation is clearly around pay and non-pay activities.  There is a risk across all service areas.  If the Council do not negotiate those figures down, it will put up the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3

Councillor Mark Ingleby, Chair of the Panel, informed the meeting that he had received a request from Councillor Joan Millbank to consider a decision taken by the Mayor and Cabinet on 15 June 2022 relating to “Permission to Procure for 0-19 Public Health Nursing Services”.

Councillor Millbank addressed the meeting on the topic, advising that she welcomed the decision because of the unified strategy and the multi-disciplinary approach to deliver across agencies.  She however expressed a concern about safeguarding and the potential of creating barriers to access child assessment and antenatal care services via virtual appointments.  Councillor Millbank also enquired why an Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) was not undertaken when formulating the proposals upon which the Mayor and Cabinet decision was based.

In response, the Joint Commissioning Lead Officer informed the Panel that because of social distancing requirements at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, appointments with service users were via the telephone, but that medium was not as effective.  The introduction of a National Health Service (NHS) software made it possible to deliver an improved service to women and families via virtual interactions.  It was stated that feedback collated from users who accessed health appointments via the NHS virtual medium showed their experiences were good and that they would recommend the facility to their families and friends because they felt listened to and supported.

The Joint Commissioning Lead Officer also responded to a follow-up question, clarifying to the Panel that information from the feedback collated from service users was considered as part of the review.  Therefore, the NHS software would remain an option within the new service specification so that users with digital capabilities who had expressed a preference to access support virtually based on their individual experiences would be granted video appointments.  However, in order not to digitally exclude families, the default option for health visits and consultations would remain physical via face-to-face.

The Panel received confirmation from the Joint Commissioning Lead Officer that face-to-face appointments would be provided during the first two visits for new births and the 6-8 weeks’ reviews thereafter due to a recognition that most families would require hands-on support during those periods, regardless of needs.  Thereafter, it would be a clinical judgement by health visitors to decide whether the one or two-year reviews should be held virtually, or if a blended approach to include face-to-face appointments would be required.  It was stated that in situations where there were concerns about safety and wellbeing, particularly for those families identified as ‘vulnerable’, it was likely that clinical judgements would enable them to access services face-to-face for all health reviews including antenatal appointments.

The Head of Service for Joint Commissioning also confirmed to the Panel that an EIA review was underway.  It was stated that the process would include all factors relating to protected characteristics for equality considerations, and be completed in time for the award of the contracts.

Commenting on the responses, Councillor Millbank thanked the Officers for the clarifications, and expressed satisfaction that parents’  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4