Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed Councillors Parker and Tweed to their first meeting of this Scrutiny Panel.

The Chairman reported that the process of appointing co-optees was ongoing as the appointment of Parish Council representatives had not yet concluded.  It was anticipated that the four co-optees would be in place for the next meeting in July, 2008.

The Chairman also proposed, as part of the Work Programme for 2008/09 the following:-

·              Revising the first Parish Review and seeing in the Parish Charter had made a difference.

·              Considering the Council’s relationship with the voluntary and community sector.

·              Continuation with the Equalities Themed Meetings, the next of which would examine how newly arrived children into schools was affecting community cohesion issues.

·              Monitor the outcome of the Area Assemblies Scrutiny Review.

Any suggestions from other Members on what they would like to look at were welcomed.

An update on the Parish Boundary Review was requested and an update was to be provided for the next meeting in July, 2008.

There were no Declarations of Interest made.

There were no questions from members of the public or the press.

Consideration was given to the dates of future meeting, which had been circulated.  An amendment was proposed to move forward the 27^th November meeting to the 4^th December, 2008. 

Resolved:-  That with the amendment suggested the dates and time of future meetings be agreed.

Consideration was given to a report which set out the representatives on panels and outside bodies for the municipal year 2008/09.

Resolved:-  (1)  That Councillor Littleboy be appointed as this Scrutiny Panel’s representative on the Members’ Consultation Advisory Group and Councillor Austen be the named substitute Member.

(2)  That Councillor Dodson be appointed as this Scrutiny Panel’s representative on the Health, Welfare and Safety Panel and Councillor Foden be the named substitute Member.

(3)  That contact be made with all Members of the Scrutiny Panel to request a nomination to be this Panel’s representative on the Members’ Sustainable Development Group.  Should there be no nomination, Councillor Austen agreed to be this Scrutiny Panel’s representative.

(4)  That Councillor Austen be appointed as this Scrutiny Panel’s representative on the Members’ Training and Development Panel.

(5)  That Councillors J. Hamilton and Austen be appointed as this Scrutiny Panel’s representatives on the Looked After Children Sub-Group.

Further to Minute No. 24 of the Members’ Training and Development Panel held on 21^st February, 2008, consideration was given to a launch of the Manifesto by the Local Government Unit (LGIU) asking local authorities to sign up to support and act on a dozen practical measures which could better support existing and future Councillors. 

The Manifesto comprised twelve action points which local authorities were asked to sign up to in order to “send a clear signal to Government that Councils are serious about the need to support Councillors in order to continue to have effective Government”.

At its meeting, the Members’ Training and Development Panel considered the LGIU Manifesto and agreed to endorse the contents, but asked the Democratic Renewal Scrutiny Panel to consider whether the twelve aims of the Manifesto were ones which this Authority would wish to endorse and whether they would wish to request the Cabinet to support this.

The Scrutiny Panel noted that many of the twelve action points were already embedded in the Council, such as Nos. 4, 7, 8, 10 and 12 and welcomed this Manifesto for Supporting Councillors.

Resolved:-  (1)  That this Manifesto be welcomed.

(2)  That the Cabinet be asked to endorse the LGIU Manifesto of Support for Councillors.

(3)  That an Action Plan be requested and for this Scrutiny Panel to monitor the twelve action points for progress.

Consideration was given to a report and presentation submitted by Jane Woodford, Independent Consultant, which detailed how financial exclusion was a major problem for Rotherham’s communities, starkly illuminated by the stranglehold of doorstep lending on our estates, the spiralling numbers of debt problems being handled by the advice agencies and the abysmally low levels of financial literacy amongst both young and old. 

Lack of access to financial services including affordable credit, face-to-face debt and money advice and financial capability training left many of the most vulnerable members of society unable to fully participate in society and the economy.  Tackling the problem in Rotherham through the implementation of the Financial Inclusion Strategy would have a significant impact on disadvantage across the borough and was a vital component of the action needed to break the cycle of disadvantage.

The presentation drew specific attention to:-

·              Statistics about Financial Inclusion in Rotherham.

·              How the Draft Strategy was developed.

·              Plans for the future.

·              Manager and Project Worker Funding.

·              Rent in Advance Scheme.

·              Future Support.

A discussion and a question and answer session ensued and the following issues were raised and clarified:-

-                 Awareness raising in schools.

-                 Provision of leaflets and other material that Members could share with members of the public at surgeries.

-                 Rent in Advance Scheme loans, value for money and the numbers defaulted on.

-                 Costs and risks associated with the Rent in Advance Scheme loans.

-                 Links with the Illegal Money Lending Project.

-                 Supporting people and sharing information.

-                 Take up of loans with Credit Unions and their success.

-                 Promotion of Credit Unions and awareness raising.

-                 Development of the Action Plan and timescales.

-                 Department of Work and Pensions initiatives.

-                 Composition of Financial Inclusion Planning Group and whether this would benefit from Elected Member involvement.

-                 What was Rotherham’s share of the £130 million Government funding.

Resolved:-  (1)  That the work being undertaken by the Financial Inclusion Planning Group and outlined in the Financial Inclusion Strategy be noted and supported.

(2)  That the financial inclusion initiatives contained in the action plan be supported.

(3)  That consideration be given to ways in which the Financial Inclusion Strategy could be more widely promoted, publicised and incorporated in other strategies borough wide.

(4)  That a further report be submitted on the Financial Inclusion Action Plan.

(5)  That the Members’ Training and Development Panel include financial inclusion awareness training as part of the Member Development Programme.

(6)  That this report be referred to the Deputy Leader for information.

(7)  That the benefits of saving in a Credit Union be raised with Elected Members.

Consideration was given to a report presented by Deborah Fellowes, Policy and External Affairs Manager, which detailed how in December, 2007 the Council was notified that it did not qualify for Working Neighbourhoods Funding due to the improvement in its comparative position within the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2007.  However, as a previous Neighbourhood Renewal Fund area it would receive transitional funding over two years of £2.95 million.

The Cabinet have agreed a number of transitional themes and a process for the commissioning of this transitional funding.

The Neighbourhood Renewal Fund Accountable Body Team within Chief Executive’s Directorate would co-ordinate the new commissioning process, which was captured in the Draft Commissioning Plan.  Theme Board proposals would be drawn together, implemented and monitored through this Team. Discussions with partners through the Chief Executive Officer Group of Rotherham Partnership have stressed the importance of developing a transparent and accountable process, clearly separating the roles of partners between that of governance and priority setting and the process for identifying the most appropriate delivery organisations. 

Much of the process had been drawn from learning from previous rounds of Neighbourhood Renewal Fund and in particular the findings from an internal evaluation of the 2006-08 round and the findings of this Scrutiny Panel.  Key issues which have been addressed through the new round included:-

·              Clear roles and responsibilities within the process.

·              Clear, open and transparent processes and timetables.

·              Fair procurement processes, with open tendering in place where possible.

·              Focus on specific areas of priority rather than covering a wide range of issues.

·              Roles of Elected Members and Area Assemblies.

·              One single process.

It was worth noting that Draft Commission Plan was still in draft form and whilst it had already been considered by the Cabinet and Rotherham Partnership, it was very much an evolving document and a further draft was due to be produced shortly.  This could, therefore, take on board comments from this Scrutiny Panel.

The Chairman gave a brief summary of the Scrutiny Review and informed the Scrutiny Panel that the delay was caused by the Area Assemblies Review taking precedence.  It was noted that a number of the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund recommendations were currently being actioned.  It was pointed out that Scrutiny Reviews always sought to add value and made a tangible difference.  It was decided by the former Chairman, Councillor Glyn Whelbourn, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Communities and Involvement, that the Scrutiny Review would add more value if it was integrated with the report the Cabinet Member was taking to Cabinet.  This report would show what was changing in terms of transitional funding and would specifically address the recommendations made by the Scrutiny Review and how they were being implemented.  This would ensure Scrutiny was adding value and making a difference and not taking forward reports with outdated recommendations.

Rotherham would receive £2.95 million transitional funding over two years and would receive no further Neighbourhood Renewal Fund or Working Neighbourhoods Fund.  It had been clarified with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 92.

Consideration was given to a report presented by Tracy Holmes, Head of Corporate Communications and Marketing, which presented the result of an audit regarding the Council’s use of the Plain English Campaign’s Crystal Mark and presented further recommendations to develop the approach to plain English in line with best practice.

The report drew specific reference and further information on:-

·              The Crystal Mark Audit.

·              Plain English Resources – RMBC Intranet.

·              Potential for a “Junk The Jargon” Campaign to promote plain English Council wide and for possible launch in September, 2008.

·              Plain English Champions.

Discussion and a question and answer session ensued and the following issues were raised and clarified:-

-                 Examples of letters sent by officers to Members.

-                 Support in the use of plain English in political arenas.

-                 Use of acronyms in Committee reports.

-                 Advice and practical guidance on written communication.

-                 Member audit and when this would commence.

-                 Member evaluation and incorporation of this on the checksheet for reports.

-                 Proposal for Plain English Champion – Councillor Brian Cutts.

-                 Crystal Mark accreditation and the costs involved.

Resolved:-  (1)  That the summary comments made by the Council’s Service Directors be noted on the audit carried out by the Head of Corporate Communications and Marketing to determine the extent to which the Plain English Campaign’s Crystal Mark had been adopted across Strategic Directorates.

(2)  That the use of these outcomes be supported in a further audit involving Elected Members, including one-to-one meetings with Cabinet Members to learn from their experiences.

(3)  That the principle of Plain English Champions in each Directorate and the launch of a Council wide “Junk the Jargon” campaign be endorsed.

(4)  That the progress made in other areas be noted and a further progress report be submitted to this Scrutiny Panel in two months’ time.

(5)  That consideration be given to the incorporation of an evaluation section on the checksheet for reports.

Resolved:-  That the minutes of the meeting of the Democratic Renewal Scrutiny Panel held on 3^rd April, 2008 be approved as a correct record for signature by the Chairman.

Resolved:-  That the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet Member for Communities and Involvement held on 19^th May, 2008 be noted.

The Scrutiny Panel noted the minutes of the meetings of the Performance and Scrutiny Overview Committee held on 28^th March, 11^th and 25^th April, 2008.

The Scrutiny Panel noted the minutes of the meeting of the Members’ Training and Development Panel held on 17^th April, 2008.