Agenda and minutes

As Councillor D. Green was unable to attend, a Chair was elected from the floor.

RESOLVED that Councillor Williams act as chair for the meeting.

Councillor Williams declared a non-pecuniary interest in minute number 42 in due to his involvement with YMCA.

Councillor G. Carr declared a non-pecuniary interest in minute numbers 42 and 45 in her capacity as Vice-Chair of Homestart Barnsley and her involvement with DIAL Barnsley.

The meeting received the minutes from the previous meeting of Central Area Council held on 14^th March, 2016.

The Area Council Manager made the meeting aware that the Health Workshop had been postponed due to a number of apologies.  This was to be rearranged as a matter of urgency.

It was noted that the progression of the Check and Challenge exercise with Horizon School was still outstanding.

With regards to the service provided by Kingdom Security, an issue was raised regarding contacting relevant officers to report intelligence.  The process for tasking officers was noted, and it was agreed that the Interim Executive Director for Communities would investigate issues with reporting from a customer services point of view.

The Area Council Manager made Members aware that the Social Return On Investment working group would be convened imminently.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Central Area Council held on 14^th March, 2016 be approved as a true and correct record.

The Area Council manager introduced the report, which covered the period January – March, 2016.  Attention was drawn to Part A of the report, which provided an overview of performance to date.

Part B of the report highlighted performance against each contract managed by the Area Council.

With regards to the contract with RVS, Members noted that 92 new people had been engaged since the last report, making a total of 509.  A high percentage of those engaged had reported an improvement in their health and wellbeing.

The meeting discussed the continued lack of referrals from GPs to the service, but it was suggested that this could possibly start to change shortly and would be discussed later on in the meeting under Social Prescribing.

Members discussed the contract with the YMCA, noting that 68 new children had been engaged in the last quarter, with a total of 2179 attendances to date.  The meeting noted the focus on accreditation with 33 children having received accreditation, and a further 42 preparing for this.

The meeting discussed the need to ensure the project collected appropriate monitoring information to ensure that any equality group was not being excluded, and it was noted that this information would be provided in the next quarterly report.

With regards to the contract with Kingdom Security, it was noted that the rating for ‘satisfactory quarterly monitoring report and contract management meeting’ was red, due to the report being submitted late.  Consequently the monitoring meeting had to be postponed.  However, performance was positive with 1,243 Fixed Penalty Notices issued to date for littering and 97 for dog fouling. In addition 293 Parking Change Notices had been issued.

The meeting heard how there had been a significant increase in residents willing to provide witness statements.  These had been used successfully in prosecutions. 

Members noted the imbalance between complaints and notices issued, with the majority of complaints about dog fouling, but the majority of notices being for littering.  The need for the continued supply of intelligence was acknowledged.

The meeting discussed the focus of the contract, and it was agreed that littering and dog fouling be the primary focus, with parking being more incidental.

The meeting went on to discuss the contracts with Twiggs, noting that the original contract had come to an end on 20^th April, 2016.  In the last quarter Twiggs had engaged 22 adults and collected 567 bags of rubbish.  Ward Alliances in the area had reviewed their service level agreements in readiness for the start of the new contract period.

Members noted the increased use of social media by Twiggs, highlighting the areas where they had worked.

The meeting went on to consider the performance of the Service Level Agreement which focused on Private Sector Housing.  Members noted that an amber rating had been given to the ‘satisfactory quarterly monitoring report and contract management meeting’ heading as the meeting had yet to be held.

To date 680 properties had been visited with 337 residents receiving  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42.

The Service Director and Group Manager were welcomed to the meeting.

An overview of the service and how it was deployed was given.  Over the past few years there had been £1million of savings made, resulting in fewer operatives and less equipment.

Members noted the current focus of the service on primary gateways in the borough, and the different levels of service in rural and urban areas.  However, it was recognised that a high proportion of the primary gateways were in the central area.   It was also noted that a team existed to focus specifically on the Town Centre.

Members were reminded that documents detailing the service had been provided, alongside maps, and these would be recirculated.  However, it was suggested that much of the delivery of the service operated on trust and therefore operatives concentrated on delivery rather than monitoring.  Members were encouraged to forward intelligence about any issues with the service.

The need to be kept informed about any changes in the service was stressed, as many Members were under the impression that there was no longer a reactive service, but this was not the case.

The meeting discussed the desire for the service to provide more detail about delivery, providing not only the frequency of service, but also when this was scheduled to take place in order to maximise the benefits provided by other services.

Members also expressed a desire to have more detailed performance information to ascertain whether the service standards were being met in the Central Area.  It was noted that processes were being developed in order to gather some performance information, and it was suggested that this could be further developed in consultation with Members of the Area Council.

Members highlighted their frustrations with the service, which related to an historic lack of response, inability to provide performance information, and a feeling that the service was not delivering to its agreed programme in the area.

Clarity was sought regarding the replacement of bins, and it was noted that Neighbourhood Services held a stock of standard design replacement bins, but not more bespoke bin designs.

RESOLVED:-

(i)        That officers be thanked for their attendance;

(ii)       That service schedules and associated maps be recirculated to Members;

(iii)      That the Interim Executive Director Communities discusses the concerns of Members relating to the collection of performance information within Neighbourhood Services with the Executive Director Place;

(iv)     That processes to gather performance information be further developed in consultation with Members of the Area Council.

Marie Hoyle, the NHS Barnsley Clinical Commissioning Group representative for the Central Area, was welcomed to the meeting to give a presentation on Social Prescribing.

It was noted that historically the health service had been paternalistic, with a model of ‘care and repair,’ but social prescribing provided a mechanism of linking patients with sources of non-medical support in the community.  It was noted that this would provide a more holistic range of support for patients focusing on wider wellbeing.

Members heard of the 5 year forward view being proposed, to develop relationships with a wider range of partners, including with voluntary and charitable organisations.  It was noted that these groups can often have a reach and impact greater than statutory services.

It was noted that locally the Clinical Commissioning Group was investing in social prescribing, following successful pilots in the Hoyland and Royston Areas.  It was hoped that a service specification could be developed in conjunction with partners including the Area Council, in order to provide a locally appropriate model.  In the longer term it was stressed that social prescribing could not only provide better outcomes for patients, but also provide a better use of resources, and could assist in alleviating pressure.

The meeting discussed how this may work in practice, potentially with specialist social prescribing staff in GP practices.  Issues such as safeguarding were also discussed, which were suggested could be a barrier to referring to external organisations.

Members were supportive of the initiative and were happy to work with colleagues at the Clinical Commissioning Group to develop plans.

RESOLVED that thanks be given for the presentation.

The item was introduced by the Area Council Manager, referred to was the recent contract extension of the service to reduce Loneliness and Isolation in Older People.  This would now run until 31^st March, 2017.  Similarly the service to Improve the Health and Wellbeing of Young People Aged 8-12 had been extended until March 31^st, 2017.

Members discussed the current procurement exercise being undertaken to provide a ‘Private rented home visiting and support service for families with young children’ and noted that only one submission had been received.  It was noted that the project would be monitored alongside other commissions and form part of the quarterly Performance Management Report.

Attention was drawn to the continued success of the Private Sector Housing Management and Enforcement Service Level Agreement and a suggestion was made to extend this until 31^st March, 2017, to come to an end alongside other contracts.

Members were made aware of numbers of Fixed Penalty Notices issued, and associated levels of income.  Taking this into account, it was noted that the finance remaining unallocated for 2016/17 was in the region of £97,000.

RESOLVED

(i)           Members note the extension of the contracts with RVS and with YMCA until 31^st March, 2017;

(ii)          Members note the progress in procuring a private rented home visiting and support servicefor families with young children, and delegate responsibility to theExecutive Director, Communities, for issuing the contract to the successful organisation;

(iii)         Approval be given to extend the Private Sector Housing Management and Enforcement SLA by 2 months to 31^st March 2017, at an additional cost of £12,897;

(iv)        That the financial position for 2015/16 and the projected expenditure for 2016/17 be noted.

.

Central – held on 24^th February, and 23^rd March, 2016

Dodworth – held on 23^rd February, and 22^nd March, 2016

Kingstone – held on 24^th February, and 6^th April, 2016

Stairfoot – held on 14^th March, 2016

Worsbrough – held on 18^th February, 2016

The meeting received the notes of the meetings of the Ward Alliances within the Central Area held in February, March and April 2016.

RESOLVED that the notes from the Ward Alliances be received.

The meeting received a report detailing expenditure from the Devolved Ward Budget and Ward Alliance Funds for the 2015/16 financial year.

Members noted the amounts of Ward Alliance Finance being carried forward, and the budgets for the 2016/17 financial year.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.