Agenda and minutes

The minutes of the meeting held on 23 September 2016 were taken as read, confirmed and signed.

The Chief Executive reported that no questions had been received under Standing Order 35.

The Chief Executive reported that no questions had been received under Standing Order 7(3) and 7(5).

There were no urgent items for consideration.

The Chairman invited members who wished to do so to declare any interest in respect of items on the agenda for the meeting.

Mr Richardson CC declared a personal interest in item 11: Quarterly Treasury Management Report as he was in receipt of a pension from Lloyds Bank.

No other declarations were made.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Corporate Resources which presented the Annual Audit Letter for 2015/16 for approval. A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 6’ is filed with these minutes.

The Chairman welcomed John Cornett of KPMG, the County Council’s external auditors for 2014/15, to the meeting.  

RESOLVED:

That the Annual Audit Letter be approved and distributed to all Members of the Council.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Corporate Resources which presented two documents produced by KPMG for information entitled  Local Government Technical Update and Reimagine Local Government. A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 7’ is filed with these minutes.

Members noted that the relevant departmental heads at the County Council had been made aware of these documents.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

As part of this item a presentation will be provided on the risks around the significant pressures on the children’s social care placement budget which funds the care of vulnerable children.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Corporate Resources, the purpose of which was to provide an overview of key risk areas and the measures being taken to address them. A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 8’ is filed with these minutes.

The Committee also received a presentation on the risks associated with the significant pressures on the children’s social care placement budget which funds the care of vulnerable children, and Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children, both of which are included in the Corporate Strategic Risk Register. A copy of the slides forming the presentation is filed with these minutes.

Presentation

Arising from the presentation the following points were noted:

(i)            With regard to Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children it was clarified that Leicestershire supports 24 children in its care, and a further 27 care leavers. There was a nominal nationally set target of 94 Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children in care per authority though there was no timescale for when this target would be reached and it may not in fact ever be reached. The number 94 set out the maximum capacity.

(ii)          Clarification was given regarding Risk 1.6 on page 98 of the agenda pack which referred to consideration of using a ‘DPS model’ for outsourcing SEN placements. This referred to a direct purchasing system which processed online placements for children already identified and enabled need to be met more quickly.

(iii)         As more schools had become academies the relationship between the County Council and the schools had changed which meant that the Council’s role was more of exerting influence and providing system wide leadership.

(iv)         The main reason people chose to Foster through the County Council rather than an Independent Fostering Agency was the amount of support provided to Fosterers by the County Council particularly with regard to challenging cases. The rates paid to Fosterers were not such a significant factor.

Risk Register

(v)          The corporate framework for risk management was reviewed and revised annually to ensure that high ranking risks which were identified and placed on departmental risk registers were escalated onto the Corporate Risk Register. In response to a question regarding whether Members could play a role in identifying which risks should be on the register the Director of Corporate Resources agreed to give further consideration to this. It was noted that departmental risk registers were covered in meetings between Cabinet Lead Members and the relevant Director. Departmental Risk Registers were previously available for viewing on the County Council intranet and the Director of Corporate Resources agreed to check whether this was still the case.

(vi)         Members queried why the risk register did not make reference to the transition of service users to the new Help to Live at Home Domiciliary Care Service which went live on Monday 7 November across Leicestershire. It was noted that nine new providers had been appointed to deliver domiciliary care services following a procurement process which concluded in July 2016. The Director of Corporate Resources confirmed the risks were recorded and explained that whilst the project was in development it was actively considered to be a project delivery risk which placed it on the Transformation Unit risk register and once the project went live the risk became an operational one under Adults and Communities. Lessons had been learned from the way this risk was dealt with and in future there would be more robust linkage between the Transformation Unit Risk Register and departmental risk registers.

(vii)        In answer to a question on the emerging risks of the Combined Authority and potential devolution deals it was confirmed that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 139.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Public Health, which provided an update on changes to the process of assuring clinical governance and provided a summary of Clinical Governance issues in the previous twelve months. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 9’ is filed with these minutes.

In response to a question the Director of Public Health reassured Members that smoking cessation had not reduced in importance at any point; the services were just being provided in a different way. The new stop smoking service, Quit Ready Leicestershire, would begin on Tuesday 3 January 2017 which involved the introduction of a telephone-based quit line, supported by a range of online resources. The service would move away from face to face support instead offering support through text, phone and web chat. A further question was asked by a Member in relation to what the County Council could do to lead the way in promoting smoking cessation particularly with regard to smoking on Council premises. The Director of Public Health stated that conversations were had on this subject at the County Council Employment Committee but a balance had to be struck between promoting healthy lifestyles and allowing employees to make their own choices.

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the report be noted.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Corporate Resources which recommended revisions to the Standard Financial Instructions. A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 10’, is filed with these minutes along with the Appendix which contains the proposed amendments.

RESOLVED:

That the proposed amendments to the Standard Financial Instructions as set out in the Appendix to the report be approved.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Corporate Resources which set out the actions taken in respect of treasury management in the quarter ended 30 September 2016.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the content of the report be noted.

(b)       That officers be asked to include in the Treasury Management report to the next Committee meeting information on the instability of the European banking system and the potential impact on the Treasury Management of the County Council.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Law and Governance which provided an update on the Authority’s use of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 and the outcome of an inspection by the Office of Surveillance Commissioners. The report also presented a revised Policy Statement relating to RIPA and asked the Committee to recommend it to Cabinet for approval.  A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 12’ is filed with these minutes.

RESOLVED:

a)        That the Authority’s use of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 for the period from 1 October 2015 to 30 September 2016 be noted;

b)        That the Cabinet be recommended to agree to amend the County Council’s Policy Statement on the use of RIPA powers to reflect the recommendations of the Office of Surveillance Commissioners;

c)         That the Committee agrees to continue to receive an annual report on the use of RIPA powers and to report to the Cabinet on an annual basis on both the use of RIPA powers and whether the Policy remains fit for purpose.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Corporate Resources, the purpose of which was to give a summary of the Internal Audit Service work including progress with implementing high importance recommendations. A copy of the report is filed with these minutes marked ‘Agenda Item 13’.

The Director of Corporate Resources clarified that whilst Members were able to request electronic copies of any completed (and signed off) internal audit reports relating to County Council audits, they would not be able to request reports of ‘investigation’ type audits.

RESOLVED:

That the contents of the report be noted.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Corporate Resources the purpose of which was to inform the Committee of additions to the Public Sector Internal Audit Standards and seek approval to amend the revised Internal Audit Charter in line with those changes to the Standards. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 14’, is filed with these minutes.

RESOLVED:

a)        That the additions to the Public Sector Internal Audit Standards be noted;

b)        That the revised Internal Audit Charter be approved;

The next meeting of the Committee is scheduled to take place on 17 February 2017 at 10:00am.

RESOLVED:

That the next meeting of the Committee be held on 17 February 2017 at 10:00am.