Agenda and minutes

To consider the minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board held on 15 December 2021 and to approve them as a true and correct record of the proceedings.

Resolved: - That the Minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board held on 15 December 2021 be approved as a true record.

To receive declarations of interest from Members in respect of items listed on the agenda.

Councillor Clark noted that while not a declaration of interest that she would vacate the Chair for the agenda item on the Grange Landfill Site due to the site being located in her ward.

To receive questions relating to items of business on the agenda from members of the public or press who are present at the meeting.

1)    Mr R Brannigan asked whether the Council would agree that in the context of the legislation surrounding permitted development, that the Council was interpreting the legislation incorrectly with regard to the construction of a lagoon on land adjacent to the Grange Landfill Site

In response the Head of Planning and Building Control advised that the Council had taken legal advice regarding the legalities of the permitted development activity that was taking palce and as such was satisfied that the activities that had taken place on the land adjacent to the Grange Landfill Site were allowed under the rules surrounding permitted development.

As a supplementary question Mr Brannigan asked how under the rules surrounding permitted development would it be possible for the sandstone that had been removed in the construction of the lagoon to be reinstated at the end of tipping at the Grange Landfill Site.

In response the Head of Planning and Building Control noted that temporary developments constructed under permitted development rules would always require reinstatement once the related activity at the landfill site ended. The Head of Planning and Building Control advised however as the permission on such permitted developments was open ended then actual date when they were reinstated could be some time in the future. The Head of Planning and Building Control advised that the rules surrounding permitted development would require the site to be returned to how it was prior to the permitted development but did not require that the materials used for the reinstatement had to be the materials that had been removed, only for them to be of the same type.

2)    Mr S McKenna asked whether the Council would be contacting the operator of the Grange Landfill Site to ask why the operator had declared to the Environment Agency that no waste had been tipped at the site when he had received reports that this had been the case.

In response the Assistant Director - Community Safety and Streetscene advised that he was not aware of any waste being deposited at the site. The Assistant Director advised that if Mr McKenna was aware that waste had been tipped that he should share the information that he had on the issue with the Council so that the matter could be fully investigated. The Assistant Director advised that the inert waste had been taken to the site during 2021 had been for the purpose of assisting with the construction of the site, and as such was allowed under the operators permit that had been issued by the Environment Agency. The Assistant Director also noted that as soon as the Council had become aware that inert waste from a Council construction site had been taken to the Grange Landfill Site in March 2021 to assist with construction activities that immediate action had been taken to stop this activity from happening.

As a supplementary question Mr McKenna asked that as the operator was accepting blast furnace slag at the site, why was the Council not  ...  view the full minutes text for item 100.

To consider whether the press and public should be excluded from the meeting during consideration of any part of the agenda.

There were no items that required the exclusion of the press or public.

The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health, the Acting Strategic Director of Adult Care, Housing and Public Health and the Assistant Director - Strategic Commissioning,attended the meeting to provide a report on the model of delivery of Adult Care in Rotherham. It was noted that the report had been submitted following a request made by members at the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board meeting held on 28 July 2021 (Minute No.31 2021/22).

In introducing the presentation, the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health noted the significant progress and improvements that had been made in the delivery of Adult Care services in recent years that had included changes to the service delivery model and a total service restructure that had been based on an overarching strategic vision for the service.

In introducing the presentation, the Acting Strategic Director advised that Rotherham, just like many other areas across the country was facing the combined challenge of rising demand for services and available resources not keeping pace with demand. In the context of Adult Social Care and Commissioning, these challenges included a greater number of older people who required support and an increase in the number of young adults in Rotherham with complex needs who were transitioning from children’s services into adult’s services along with rising care costs.

The Acting Strategic Director advised that the ultimate aims of care and support were to support individuals and families to live the best life that they could and as independently for as long as possible, utilising the assets within their community to support their health and wellbeing and to protect the most vulnerable residents from physical and emotional neglect.

The Acting Strategic Director made a presentation that detailed the Adult Social Care core pathway that explained the duties for the local authority, how the operating model worked in Rotherham and defined what this meant for the people who may need the Council’s support.

The presentation provided information on:

·       the Care Act 2014 and its requirements for local authorities.

·       how the model of delivery aimed to put each individual at the centre of the Rotherham Adult Social Care model.

·       the Adult Social Care Core Pathway.

·       Adult Social Care First Contact, detailing how referrals were received and how performance was measured.

·       the benchmarking activity that took place with other local authorities.

·       the assessment processes for Adult Care Services.

·       support, care and planning.

·       the number of residents currently accessing support.

·       how performance in Adult Care service delivery was measured and details of areas of service delivery that were working well and areas where

improvement was required.

Members welcomed the report and presentation noting how useful it had been to be shown the entire process for how Adult Care services were delivered, as they as elected members only normally got to see the end of the process when services were being delivered. Members also noted with approval the person-centred approach of the delivery model that placed each individual and their needs  ...  view the full minutes text for item 102.

The Assistant Director - Community Safety and Streetscene, the Head of Planning and Building Control and the Litigation Services Manager attended the meeting to provide a report on activity regarding the Grange Landfill Site.

The report noted that on 30 October 2019 the Council had received a petition from the Droppingwell Action Group calling on the Authority to take enforcement action in respect of the Grange Landfill Site. As the petition had met the threshold for consideration by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board a meeting had been held on 28 January 2020 to consider the petition. At that meeting the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board made eleven recommendations (Minute No.113) that were subsequently accepted by Cabinet on 23 March 2020 (Cabinet Minute No.140).

A further update report had been presented to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board on 18 March 2021 where it had been resolved: “That a further report on the latest situation surrounding the Grange Landfill be presented to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board in three months’ time.” (Minute No.341). Another update had then been provided at the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board on 28 July 2021 where it had been resolved that “That a further report on the current situation regarding the Grange Landfill site be brought to the January 2022 meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board, or sooner if there are any significant changes regarding the issues relating to the site’s operation,” (Minute No.30).

In introducing the report, the Assistant Director - Community Safety and Streetscene advised that the report provided a further update on activity surrounding the site since July 2021. The Assistant Director advised that since the last update that had been provided to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board in July 2021, the operator had continued to undertake works on site to prepare the site for full operation and to fulfil the requirements of the Environment Agency Permit. The Assistant Director advised that this preparation work had continued to involve the importation of inert waste for use in its construction, which was legally allowed under the terms of the Permit. It was noted that at the date of the report that the conditions of the Environment Agency had not been met, and that as such full landfilling operations were not able to commence.

The report also provided updates on:

·       the Planning Permission on the site and related issues, including the issuing of a Planning Contravention Notice (PCN)

·       Access issues related to the site

·       Public Rights of Way

A written update on the site from the Environment Agency was also attached as an appendix to the officer’s report.

Members noted the Planning Contravention Notice (PCN) that had been served on the site operators on 2 September 2021 and asked how confident officers were that the operator would comply with the requirements of the planning permission in future. The Head of Planning and Building Control assured members that by law the site operator was required to provide an  ...  view the full minutes text for item 103.

To consider any issues referred for call-in from recent Cabinet meetings.

There were no call-in issues.

To determine any item which the Chair is of the opinion should be considered as a matter of urgency.

There were no urgent items.

The next meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board will be held on Wednesday 9 March 2022 at 11am at Rotherham Town Hall.

Resolved: - That the next meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board will be held at 11am on Wednesday 9 February at Rotherham Town Hall.