Agenda and minutes

Councillor Connolly declared a prejudicial interest in respect of minute number CA.627 - Future Service Options for Social Care Provider Services, for the reason that his partner is employed by Adult Care Services. Councillor Connolly left the meeting room during consideration of the report.

A period of thirty minutes was allocated for members of the public present at the meeting to ask questions about the work or performance of the Council or Council services.         

Topic: Alternative Services Under 5’S

Question: What is the position regarding health service provisionif centres are not available to use?

Response: The Council is in dialogue with the health representatives to identify opportunities for co-delivery of services and sharing resources and how arrangements could be moved forward. The outcome of the discussions that had taken place had been positive.

Topic: Alternative Services Under 5’S

Question: Where has the funding come from for the two additional spoke provisions?

Response: The Council has been informed thatschools can convert and become a 2-11 year old school through a School Organisation proposal. The Council intends to make arrangements with the schools identified, in the report to be considered and spoke provisions to enable access to the sites. It is hoped that school governors will accept the proposed arrangements which will allow some Children’s Centre activities to take place at those locations. This arrangement with schools will allow the funding subsidy of £105,000 identified in the original report to be redirected for the two additional spoke provisions (£90,000) and an uplift for three senior Outreach Workers (£15,000) (total £105,000). The school sites identified are:

-      Daisyfield located at St Stephen’s CE Primary School – 20 places

-      High Meadow located at St John’s Radcliffe  Primary School – 12 places

-      Moorside located at St John with St Mark’s CE Primary School – 10 places

-      Ramsbottom – a standalone site – 10 places

-      Toodle Hill located at Heaton Park Primary School – 32 places

The Ramsbottom site is a standalone site and provision would go through a tendering process.

Topic: Alternative Services Under 5’S

Question: Will additional Outreach Workers be introduced to work with Under 5’s if funding becomes available?

Response: There has been no change in the number of Outreach Workers from the original proposal. The Index of Multiple Deprivation was used to identify area of greatest need and the Outreach Workers and spoke provision has been provided in those areas for that reason. Support will be provided if funding is available.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 17 December 2014.

Delegated decision:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 17 December 2014 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

The Cabinet Member (Children and Young People) submitted a report which provided a summary of the outcomes of a consultation carried out between September and December 2014 regarding the proposals to develop an alternative model of delivery for Bury’s Children’s Centres. The report also detailed changes made to the original proposals as a result of the consultation.

The alternative services model will be delivered through 5 Children’s Centre hubs located in Bury East (Little Oaks), Bury West and North (Woodbank), Prestwich (Sedgley), Radcliffe (Coronation Road) and Whitefield (Besses). It is also proposed that there will be three spoke provisions linked to the hubs which will be located in Bury East (Redvales), Prestwich (Butterstile) and Radcliffe (Stepping Stones). It is intended that the spoke provision will help to meet the needs of the most deprived areas of Bury. There will also be an increasing number of Outreach Workers deployed to work within each hub area. Supervision of the Outreach Workers will be carried out by a small number of Senior Outreach Workers.

Each hub will provide families with universal and targeted provision to be delivered by all key partners.

The report also proposed that five of the remaining Children’s Centres will be converted to provide 2 year old nursery provision for the Borough’s most deprived children.

The Cabinet Member (Children and Young People) thanked everyone involved in the consultation process for the time they had given which had helped to produce a detailed and well informed final report and proposal.

Delegated decisions:

1.  That approval be given to the full implementation of the proposals for Alternatives Services for Under 5s, as detailed in the report submitted.

2.  That thanks to be given to everyone involved in the consultations process.

Reasons for the decision:

There is aneed to save £820,000 from the Children’s Services Budget 2015/2016. The savings will be achieved through moving the service to a targeted provision for the most vulnerable families.

Other options considered and rejected:

To reject the recommendation and examine other ways to achieve the required savings.

(At this point Councillor Connolly left the meeting room. Councillor Shori took the chair for the following item of business.)

The Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member (Health and Wellbeing) submitted a report providing Cabinet with an update on its decision to develop a business plan for an alternative model for a group of in-house adult care services (1 October 2014).

The work undertaken since has resulted in a proposed vision for the new organisation which has been shared with a range of stakeholders for their input. The report recommended that the Local Authority Trading Company is the most appropriate model to Bury to deliver adult social care services. To take the proposal forward, Cabinet was requested to agree in principle to the establishment of a Local Authority Trading Company. The recommendation is subject to a further report based on a detailed business plan to be submitted to the meeting of Cabinet on 8 April 2015 for a final sign off.

Delegated decision:

1.   That the vision and purpose of the proposed organisation be confirmed.

2.   That the proposal for a Local Authority Trading Company as the preferred model be confirmed.

3.   That approval be given to develop a detailed business plan for the development of a Local Trading Company. The services involved would be developed into a new organisation wholly owned by the Council but separate to it. Customers and staff would transfer into the new organisation.

4.   That approval be given to move to the next phase of work including the procurement of support to develop the business plan and the implementation of the interim staffing arrangements as detailed in paragraph 7.3 of the report submitted.

5.   That approval be given to the timescales for the next phases of work including the proposal for final sign off at Cabinet on 8 April 2015.

Reason for the decision:

The decision will enable the Council to continue to effectively fulfil its duties to safeguard those who are most vulnerable whilst targeting the resources the Council will have available from 2015/2016 onwards.

Other options considered and rejected:

Do nothing. Savings would not be achieved and would have to be met elsewhere within the Council. Alternatively the options to close or privatise provision that were considered and dismissed by Cabinet on 1 October 2015 would have to be reconsidered.

(At this point Councillor Connolly returned to the meeting room and continued to chair the meeting.)

The Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member (Health and Wellbeing) submitted a report to update Cabinet on progress regarding the viability of Springs Tenant Management Organisation becoming a standalone housing association through the undertaking of a small scale transfer.

Delegated decision:

That approval be given to continue to support the work on the transfer proposals.

Reason for the decision:

This decision will allow the continuation of a long standing piece of work which would ultimately support SpringsTenant Management Organisation to become independent housing association.

Other option considered and rejected:

Do nothing. This would prevent Springs Tenant Management Organisation fulfilling its ambitions to obtain full independence from the Council.

The Leader of the Council introduced the Health and Safety Annual Report 2014 in the absence of the Cabinet Member (Resource and Regulation). The annual report is a core element of the Council’s health and safety management system. The system is designed to implement standards that are set out in the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations and Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance on organisational health and safety management.

Details of the Key health and safety arrangements that are under development by the Council, Key areas of progress and Key indicators and trends were listed in the report. Copies of the Occupational Health and Safety National Agenda and Strategies, statistical data, the Corporate Health and

Safety at Work Plan and Departmental developments and plans were appended to the report.

Delegated decisions:

1.   That the report be noted and welcomed.

2.   That the Corporate Health and Safety Work Plan as detailed in Appendix 2 of the report submitted be endorsed.

3.   That the departmental developments and plans as detailed in Appendix 4 of the report submitted be noted.

Reason for the decision:

The Council is required to produce an annual health and safety report to maintain appropriate standards to ensure the safety of staff, service users and Bury residents.

Other option considered and rejected:

To reject the recommendation.