Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Fenton and Lewis.

Members to declare any interests and party whips in relation to matter to be discussed at the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest made.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 22 November 2023 as a correct record.

Resolved that the minutes of the meetings held on 22 November 2023 be approved as a correct record.

To determine whether there are any additional items of business to be considered as a matter of urgency.

There were no additional items of business.

To consider and comment upon the further development of the Performance Management Framework and the 2023/24 Quarter 2 monitoring reports.

The Board considered the Quarter 2 monitoring reports for the Corporate Performance Management Framework. 

Areas of concern were broken down by the themes as set out within the improvement plan and were presented to the Board.

The Best Start in Life for Children and Young People

It was reported that for ‘financial performance against budget (Sandwell Children’s Trust(SCT)) performance was below target and SCT were projecting an annual deficit against the Contract Sum.  The Council had therefore requested details of mitigations that SCT were implementing to address the overspend 

The number of Children on a Child Protection Plan in Sandwell was slightly above Statistical Neighbour Average – 54.4 and 52.6 per 10k respectively.  Reasons given for this were some delays in core groups (review meetings) impacting on plans being updated and progressed, and threshold discussions not taking place consistently prior to a conference being arranged, meaning less challenge on how to manage risk.

The Board was informed that various elements of performance were to be considered by the Children’s Services and Education Scrutiny Board.

People Live Well and Age Well

The Board noted that proportion of section 42 safeguarding enquiries where a risk was identified, and the reported outcome was that the risk was reduced or removed was below target.  This was reported as being due to a change in management structure staging in the team creating an increased backlog.

There was slippage around implementing the new day opportunities model, which was on hold whilst barrier to Direct Payments and delays in processing are resolved.

Strong Resilient Communities

There had been an increase in fly-tipping incidents in Quarter 2, this was in part due to a system issue that impacted reports in July 2023 and linked to industrial action causing reduced attendance by Serco colleagues at such incidents.  The Board suggested that investing in street cleansing could help reduce fly-tipping.

Quality Homes in Thriving Neighbourhoods

The Board was informed that Fire Safety Checks and Asbestos Safety Checks were both below target and rated ‘red’.  For Fire Safety, this was because the team were completing the data collation, verification and registration of high-rise buildings (55) to the Building Safety Regulator by the 1 October 2023.  For Asbestos Safety Checks, it was reported that performance had been impacted as the in-house team that handled such checks was also responsible for carrying out other building surveys.  Due to an increased in Housing Disrepair claims the team had been required to focus on this area of work.  Recruitment was underway however to increase capacity to manage the Disrepair claims.

It was reported that the number of residents assisted by Welfare Rights was below target; this was due to an increase in complex cases which required officers to spend longer on each case.  The service had recruited two new temporary members of staff to help increase the support to residents.  The Board acknowledged that this situation had not hindered performance on the monetary gains for Quarter 2, with the service being successful in gaining £1,621,554  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5/24

To consider and comment upon the Quarter 2 Budget Monitoring Reports 2023/ 24.

The Board received the budget monitoring report for 2023/24 Quarter 2, this set out the financial position as at the end of September 2023.  It was reported that there was an ambition to bring more regular financial reports to both Cabinet and Scrutiny to allow oversight of finances by members.

It was reported that, at the end of September 2023 there was a forecast overspend of £2m.  This had to be considered within the context of the operations and financial scale of the Council, where the budget was £317m net and £743m gross.

In relation to the Housing Revenue Account (HRA), there was a forecast year end overspend of £500k; although this would be addressed by year end as the Council was obliged to balance the HRA.

The Interim Section 151 Officer confirmed that there were no financial issues to raise regarding the Quarter 2 financial position.

From the comments and questions by members of the Board, the following responses were made, and issues highlighted:-

-             Members of the Board were asked to provide feedback on how future budget reporting could be improved.

-             The Council had managed its resources wisely; debt charges as a percentage of the budget were very modest.  This meant there was more capacity within the revenue fund retaining a level of flexibility that was not available to some other large metropolitan boroughs. 

-             Value for Money Panels had been established to encourage managers to carefully consider purchasing decisions.  There was a new level of review and control over larger expenditure.

To consider and note progress on the implementation of actions and recommendations.

The Board noted the status of actions and recommendations it had made. Further updates would be reported to future meetings of the Board.

A query was raised around transition to adulthood and the impact due to the delays in recruiting a project lead.  The Chair undertook to discuss this with the Director of Adult Social Care.

To note and review the Cabinet Forward Plan and the Board’s Work Programme 2023/ 24.

The Board received and noted the Cabinet Forward Plan and the Board’s work programme. 

The Chair reported that he had discussed with officers the readability of the Cabinet Forward Plan and that titles needed to provide greater clarity about the topic of the decision.  The Chair invited members to submit any suggestions for improvements.

It was also reiterated that where questions are asked, and officers undertake to respond directly to a member that must be carried out.