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Venue: Council Chamber, Town Hall, Chorley and YouTube
Contact: Clare Gornall Email: clare.gornall@chorley.gov.uk
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Declarations of Any Interests Members are reminded of their responsibility to declare any pecuniary interest in respect of matters contained in this agenda.
If you have a pecuniary interest you must withdraw from the meeting. Normally you should leave the room before the business starts to be discussed. You do, however, have the same right to speak as a member of the public and may remain in the room to enable you to exercise that right and then leave immediately. In either case you must not seek to improperly influence a decision on the matter. Minutes: There were no such declarations. |
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Minutes of the last meeting held on 1 August 2024 Minutes of the last meeting held on Thursday, 1 August 2024 attached for approval as a correct record. Minutes: Resolved (unanimously): – That the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on Thursday, 1 August 2024 be approved as a correct record. |
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Public Questions Members of the public who have requested the opportunity to ask a question(s) on an item on the agenda will be asked to put their question(s) to the Committee. Each member of the public will be allowed to ask one supplementary question within his/her allocated 3 minutes. Minutes: There were no public questions. |
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Notice of Executive Decisions The latest Notice of Executive Decisions September 2024 is available on the Council’s website.
A copy of the document, which is up to date as of the publication of this agenda, is attached.
Minutes: The Notice of Executive Decisions was presented for information. A link to the latest version was included on the agenda.
Resolved – That the Notice of Executive Decisions be noted. |
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Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme To consider the Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme for 2024/25 (draft report to follow). Minutes: Members considered the draft overview and scrutiny work programme for 2024/2025.
The Chair highlighted the fact that the Business Plans Update had been brought forward from the Overview and Scrutiny Performance Panel on 21st November 2024 to 24th October 2024.
Members suggested that it would be useful to have information relating to the buildings and assets currently owned by the Council. It was proposed that an officer spotlight report be submitted on 30 January 2025, with the option to consider the topic as a Task and Finish Group if members felt it appropriate at that stage.
The following councillors put themselves forward for the Scrutiny Review Task and Finish Groups:
1. Community Cohesion and Support for Refugees and Asylum Seekers (including associated housing issues):-
Councillors Beach, Brown, Heydon, Green, Khan and Towers
2. Review of how overview and scrutiny operates:–
Councillors Ainsworth, Beach, Brown, Heydon, Green, McGovern, Snape, Towers, and Wilkie.
Resolved (unanimously): – That the draft overview and scrutiny work programme be approved, subject to the following amendments to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Forward Plan:
1. That the proposed spotlight report on Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults Update be deferred to the new municipal year; 2. That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee consider a spotlight report on the Civica Buildings and Asset Management System at its meeting on 30 January 2025; 3. That the Task and Finish Monitoring Reports be specifically mapped and itemised in the work programme to keep track of timelines for updates.
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Corporate Strategy Refresh 2024-2025 Report of the Director of Change and Delivery to follow.
Additional documents:
Minutes: Caroline Wolfenden, Director of Change and Delivery, presented a report updating the Committee on the refresh of the Corporate Strategy 2024/2025.
She indicated that there would be a report submitted to Executive Cabinet to approve the Corporate Strategy 2024/25, which would then go out to consultation with residents as part of the Draft Budget consultation.
Members discussed the report in detail, giving rise to a number of queries, responses and actions as follows:
- Residents Survey – concern regarding figures showing no. residents not satisfied with areas such as “value for money” and “how the council runs things” - can we obtain more detailed information from the respondents. Caroline Wolfenden explained that officers have drawn up actions to take forward based on the survey responses; however to give some context, resident satisfaction was down nationally and comparatively Chorley’s performance was above other councils in the LGA polling results. - Other queries were made in relation to the residents’ survey, such as how the sample was selected, and a breakdown of figures e.g. are the categories “don’t know” and “no opinion” included in the 82% “satisfied with their local area as a place to live” figure. It was noted that these issues were also discussed at the Overview and Scrutiny Performance Panel on 31st July 2024 and an update was to be given to the Panel. - Page 75 – Chorley specific figures – what is the source of these statistics? Ms Wolfenden explained that some of them relate to projected figures used to calculate trends. She agreed to provide members with comparative data on previous projections.
Resolved (unanimously):-
1. The Committee thanked the Director of Change and Delivery for the opportunity to review the report; and 2. That the above actions be taken forward after the meeting. |
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Health Scrutiny Update Councillor Margaret France has been asked to provide an update. Minutes: Councillor Margaret France, Executive Member for Health, Wellbeing and Partnerships gave an update on the Health and Adult Services Scrutiny Committee held on 18 September 2024.
NHS Shaping Care Together Update
Rob Cooper, Managing Director of Merseyside and West Lancashire NHS Trust presented this item. This was further to previous meetings and signifies the start of a more formal process.
Shaping Care Together (SCT) covers the areas of Southport, Formby and West Lancashire, and chiefly the two hospital sites of Southport and Ormskirk. This impacts across 2 Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) i.e. NHS Cheshire and Merseyside ICB and NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB.
Public engagement took place in 2021-22 including Councillors and MPs, and underpins the case for change.
Urgent and Emergency Care to be the starting point, “make more efficient and effective use of available resources to provide better care and better value” and promises reduced waiting times at A&E and Urgent Care, better Urgent Care provided closer to home.
Case for Change, launched 26th July, is to be followed by Stakeholder Engagement, Options Appraisal, and Post Consultation Business Case, expected early next year. Requested of Committee a joint approach to substantial variation in health services affecting more than one local authority area.
Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB is divided into 4 Places; Chorley is in Central Lancashire Place, which together with Preston and South Ribble, and also includes West Lancs. Therefore any destabilisation of Ormskirk and Southport services could have consequences for Central Lancashire.
The SCT programme has distinct similarities to the Our Health Our Care programme which ran from 2018 to 2021 involving Chorley and Royal Preston Hospitals, which was abandoned when the New Hospitals Programme was launched.
Councillor France indicated that under the new Hospitals Programme, Royal Preston Hospital was to be replaced.
Speech and Language Assessment in Early Years Settings
This item was presented by Dr Ruksana Sardar Abram, Interim Consultant in Public Health.
Lancashire County Council’s priority “Best Start in Life (BSiL)”, led to the creation of the cBSiL Board, with a Strategic Operational Subgroup focussing on data and intelligence, parenting, workforce, speech and language, 1001 critical days, all with an aim to improve school readiness.
A new approach called The Balanced System has been piloted in Hyndburn. This involves early identification and intervention for Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) using multiagency partnerships working in close collaboration.
Following this approach, Hyndburn reduced the backlog of over 100 children waiting for assessment down to zero within a few months. The Balanced System is now rolled out in Preston and Rossendale, with the intention of reaching all 12 LCC Districts. Early Years practitioners and teachers have had training in recognising early signs of SLCN and supporting them, referring where appropriate but reducing the need for costly specialist intervention in later years.
Working Groups are now established in each District with a view to bringing colleagues together to support easy access to SLCN. As yet Chorley, South Ribble, West Lancs, Burnley and ... view the full minutes text for item 17. |
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Reports from the Task and Finish Groups Task and Finish Group – Suicide Bereavement and Prevention
To receive a verbal update on the review. Minutes: Councillor Michelle Beach gave an update on the Suicide Bereavement and Prevention Task Group.
The Task Group met on 20 August 2024 and 26 September 2024, and have now interviewed Angela Allen, Bags for Strife, Andy’s Man Club, and Executive Members for Health, Wellbeing and Partnerships and Early Intervention.
Its next step will be to conduct final interviews with representatives from Lancashire Constabulary and Amparo, which is a service for people affected by suicide.
The Task Group was already considering some potential recommendations based on speaking to support services and individuals bereaved by suicide.
Its final meeting will be held on 30 October to consider and agree the final report for this review.
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Any urgent business previously agreed with the Chair Minutes: There was no urgent business. |