Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, The Forum, Moat Lane, Towcester NN12 6AD

Contact: James Edmunds, Democratic Services  Email: democraticservices@westnorthants.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

Before the start of the meeting the Committee observed a minute of silent reflection in recognition of the current situation in Ukraine.

42.

Declarations of Interest

Members are asked to declare any interest and the nature of that interest which they may have in any of the items under consideration at this meeting.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

43.

Notification of requests from Members of the Public to address the Meeting

To receive notification of requests from members of the public to address the meeting on an item on the public part of the agenda.

Minutes:

There were no requests from members of the public to address the meeting.

44.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 258 KB

To confirm the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 25 January 2022.

Decision:

RESOLVED: that the People Overview and Scrutiny Committee agreed the minutes of the People Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting on 25 January 2022, subject to the amendment of minute 37, sixth paragraph, third bullet point to refer to ‘prospective employees’ not ‘prospective employers’.

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting on 25 January 2022 were agreed as an accurate record, subject to the amendment noted below.

 

RESOLVED: that the People Overview and Scrutiny Committee agreed the minutes of the People Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting on 25 January 2022, subject to the amendment of minute 37, sixth paragraph, third bullet point to refer to ‘prospective employees’ not ‘prospective employers’.

45.

Chair's Announcements

To receive any communications from the Chair.

Minutes:

The Chair advised that she had had a useful discussion with representatives from Northampton Partnership Homes (NPH) learning more about the organisation.

The formal committee meeting this evening would be followed immediately by a workshop session to discuss the WNC Housing Strategy.

 

46.

West Northamptonshire Anti-Poverty Strategy

To consider a presentation updating on progress with the development and delivery of the Anti-Poverty Strategy.

Decision:

RESOLVED: that the People Overview and Scrutiny Committee:

a)    Recommended that all new policies to be adopted by West Northamptonshire Council should have an anti-poverty impact assessment.

b)    Agreed to seek to scrutinise the substance of the Anti-Poverty Strategy Annual Report two months before the final Annual Report was presented to Full Council.

c)    Endorsed the elements of the Anti-Poverty Strategy presented at the current meeting and looked forward to further scrutiny of the full Strategy.

 

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Adult Care, Wellbeing and Health Integration commented on the aims and development of the Anti-Poverty Strategy, advising that the new Administration at WNC had prioritised commitment to an Anti-Poverty Strategy.  A cross-party open process had built on work previously done by Northampton Borough Council.  The draft Anti-Poverty Strategy was almost ready but had been held back until April 2022 to allow time to go through the Cabinet process properly and was awaiting some funding.  The development of the strategy had been a good exercise in collaboration, which would make a difference to residents and align with other work taking place in West Northamptonshire.

The Chair and Councillor Roberts, who had been involved in the working group contributing to the development of the draft Anti-Poverty Strategy, commented that it had been a good piece of collaborative work, which had allowed scope for constructive challenge. 

The Executive Director, Adults, Communities and Wellbeing presented an overview of the development and key themes of the draft Anti-Poverty Strategy.  The Executive Director stated that the starting point had been to identify areas across the country which had already prioritised anti-poverty.  Areas of good practice were looked for, with reporting mechanisms to hold to account.  Salford City Council (SCC) was identified as particularly experienced.  SCC had high levels of deprivation, together with areas of affluence and had taken forward a nuanced approach which was inspiring.  SCC’s mayor was on their second term and had made anti-poverty a single priority of both terms of office.  SCC required an annual report to the Health and Wellbeing Board (HWB) and full council.  The biggest learning had been the principle of getting started.  There was a commitment to reducing the circumstances leading to poverty.

The West Northamptonshire Anti-Poverty Strategy document was a structured document based on that of SCC, but with a WNC direction.  A Poverty Truth Commission (PTC) had been established, whereby those in poverty were encouraged to report on their situation and what they considered WNC could do differently.  The vision was for a fairer and more inclusive West Northamptonshire.

 Three priorities were identified as follows:

·         Supporting people currently struggling in poverty – for example improving communication and access to support, increasing access to affordable credit, welfare and debt advice.  

·         Preventing people falling into poverty in the first place – for example, fuel collaboratives, equipping young adults, ensuring housing provision is of good quality, supportive communities and partnership working.

·         Influencing government and national organisations to get best deal for local people.  Focussing on anti-poverty had benefits for wider communities.

Nine outcome measures were identified which would be monitored quarterly to the HWB and annually to council.  It would be naïve to think that poverty could be eradicated quickly; it needed to be a long-term priority.

Three questions were proposed as suggested areas for scrutiny:

·         Do you agree with the three priorities and strategic objectives outlined?

·         Have we identified those communities most vulnerable?

·         Do you agree the outcomes highlighted will tell us if we  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46.

47.

Review of Committee Work Programme 2021/22 pdf icon PDF 406 KB

To review and note the Committee Work Programme.

Decision:

 

RESOLVED: that the People Overview and Scrutiny Committee:

a)    Agreed to invite the Regional Schools Commissioner to attend the Committee meeting on 25 April 2022 to discuss matters relating to the performance of academy schools in West Northamptonshire.

b)    Agreed to invite Northamptonshire Healthwatch to attend the Committee meeting on 25 April 2022 to discuss issues it had identified through its work in 2021-22.

c)    Requested to receive an update on adult social care social worker recruitment and retention to the Committee meeting on 25 April 2022.

d)    Agreed to write to the Cabinet Member for Adult Care, Wellbeing and Health Integration and the Executive Director, Adults, Communities and Wellbeing seeking reassurance that adult social care Workforce Recruitment and Retention funding provided to West Northamptonshire Council would be used before the 31 March 2022 deadline.

Minutes:

The Chair introduced the report setting out the latest version of the Work Programme, highlighting the following points:

·      The Committee needed to identify the items of business for its meeting on 25 April 2022.  It might consider inviting the Regional Schools Commissioner or Healthwatch Northamptonshire to attend this meeting.

·      Task and finish scrutiny work was progressing.  The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Scrutiny Panel had five scheduled meeting dates in March – May 2022. The Integrated Care across Northamptonshire (iCAN) Scrutiny Panel was next due to meet in April 2022.

 

The Committee considered the report and members made the following points during the course of discussion:

·      The Committee should seek an update on adult social care recruitment and retention at its next meeting in addition to the other potential items highlighted.

·      Councillor Roberts, as Chair of the iCAN Scrutiny Panel, advised that she was happy with the progress made so far.

·      The Committee should seek reassurance before its next meeting about how WNC had used adult social care Workforce Recruitment and Retention funding; the results produced; whether all of the funding received would be used by the deadline; and whether WNC risked losing any unused funding.

 

RESOLVED: that the People Overview and Scrutiny Committee:

a)    Agreed to invite the Regional Schools Commissioner to attend the Committee meeting on 25 April 2022 to discuss matters relating to the performance of academy schools in West Northamptonshire.

b)    Agreed to invite Northamptonshire Healthwatch to attend the Committee meeting on 25 April 2022 to discuss issues it had identified through its work in 2021-22.

c)    Requested to receive an update on adult social care social worker recruitment and retention to the Committee meeting on 25 April 2022.

d)    Agreed to write to the Cabinet Member for Adult Care, Wellbeing and Health Integration and the Executive Director, Adults, Communities and Wellbeing seeking reassurance that adult social care Workforce Recruitment and Retention funding provided to West Northamptonshire Council would be used before the 31 March 2022 deadline.

48.

Urgent Business

The Chair to advise whether they have agreed to any items of urgent business being admitted to the agenda.

Minutes:

There were no items of urgent business.