Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed members to the first meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board of the new municipal year and  the first since the Borough elections that had been held in May 2021.

The Chair noted the important role that scrutiny played in the Council’s decision-making processes and emphasised that the scrutiny process should always be rigorous and conducted in non-partisan manner.

The Chair noted her thanks to former members of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board for their work and to the previous Chair, former Councillor Brian Steele for the rigorous and independent manner in which he led the scrutiny at the Council.

To consider the minutes of the meetings of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board held on 17 and 18 March 2021 and to approve them as a true and correct record of the proceedings.

Resolved: - That the Minutes of the meetings of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board, held on 17 and 18 March 2021, be noted.

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

There were no declarations of interest.

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

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

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

Resolved: -

That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for agenda item 8, Town Centre Masterplan implementation if reference is made to the exempt appendences attached to the report on the grounds that they involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 (financial and business affairs) of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

Cabinet Portfolio: - Leader

Strategic Directorate: - Assistant Chief Executive

Consideration was given to a report that was submitted for pre-decision scrutiny ahead of the Cabinet meeting scheduled for 21 June 2021 that provided information on the on progress made in delivering the key activities as set out in the Council’s Year Ahead Plan in the plan. The Leader of the Council, the Chief Executive and the Head of Policy, Performance and Intelligence attended the meeting to present the report.

The report noted that the Year Ahead Plan was the Council’s plan for operating in and recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and that it set out key activities for the Council for the period September 2020 to May 2021. The report stated that the plan detailed in the key activities that would be undertaken in order for the Council to support residents, communities and businesses through the ongoing challenges and uncertainties of the pandemic and also direct the Council’s ambitious plans for Rotherham’s future.

The Leader noted that of all the activities contained in the Year Ahead Plan:

·       36% (27) of the activities outlined within the Year Ahead Plan have been completed

·       47% (36) are on track

·       13% (10) are behind schedule

·       4% (3) are off track.

The Leader advised that the three activities that had been delayed had been impacted by the restrictions surrounding the pandemic. The Leader provided further information surrounding the activity that had been taking place to deliver on the actions detailed in the Year Ahead Plan. The Leader also noted the activity that had been carried out regarding the cross-cutting objectives contained in the plan regarding climate change and equalities. The Leader advised further that it was also being proposed to extend the Year Ahead Plan to November 2021 in order to provide time to develop a longer-term Council Plan that would establish medium-term priorities and actions.

A document that outlined progress against all the actions contained within the Year Ahead Plan was attached as an appendix to the officer’s report.

Members asked for further information on plans surrounding flexible working at the Council, noting that working from home had been a very isolating and difficult experience for some members of staff. The Leader advised that while working from home had provided many advantages for staff, there were also disadvantages. The Leader noted the procedures that had been put in place to support staff work effectively and comfortably from home during the pandemic and advised work would be continuing to look how the Council’s existing pre-pandemic flexible working policies could be developed and strengthened. The Chief Executive noted that the feedback received from staff on the positives and negatives of home working would be used in the development of future flexible and hybrid working policies. The Chief Executive assured members that whatever policies were developed that the primary focus would always be to ensure that services were always delivered to residents in the most effective way.

Members asked whether the absence of office-based staff from Riverside House had negatively impacted on town centres businesses during  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Cabinet Portfolio: - Corporate Services, Community Safety and Finance

Strategic Directorate: - Assistant Chief Executive

Consideration was given to a report that was submitted for pre-decision scrutiny ahead of the Cabinet meeting scheduled for 21 June 2021 regarding the Council’s annual equalities report. The Cabinet Member for Corporate Services, Community Safety, the Chief Executive and Finance and the Head of Policy, Performance and Intelligence attended the meeting to present the report.

It was noted that publishing an annual equalities report was part of the Council’s Public Sector Equality Duty with the report highlighting the Council’s progress made over the past 12 months towards advancing the equalities agenda. The report also detailed key achievements and case studies from across the Council as well as outlining some next steps that would be priority areas of action to support the equalities agenda during 2021/22. 

The Cabinet Member for Corporate Services, Community Safety and Finance noted that it had been an exceptional year, with the Council’s focus being on responding to and starting to recover from COVID-19 pandemic. The Cabinet Member advised that the pandemic had exacerbated existing inequalities, with the most disadvantaged communities in the Borough being hit the hardest. The Cabinet Member noted that despite these challenges that throughout the Council’s response to the pandemic, equalities had remained an important priority, and would continue to be a priority as the Borough moved into recovery.

The Head of Policy, Performance and Intelligence advised that the annual report had been structured around four key themes that were:

·       Understanding and working with our communities.

·       Leadership and organisational commitment.

·       Responsive services and customer care.

·       Diverse and engaged workforce.

The full Equalities Annual Report was attached as an appendix to the officer’s report.

Members asked for further information on activity around equality issues for residents who were digitally excluded or who lived in rural areas of the Borough where access to public transport and high-speed internet was limited. The Cabinet Member agreed that digital exclusion right across the Borough was of concern and advised that work continued to address this in local communities. The Cabinet Member advised that there would always be residents who could not access services online and that as such it was essential that alternative methods of access were maintained to ensure all residents had an equal access to council services.

Members asked with regards to workforce development whether there were any jobs where the Council struggled to recruit women and whether the Council had yet employed its first female refuse collector. The Chief Executive advised that the Council had made great steps forwards in supporting women in the workplace and that it had put processes in place to ensure that the needs of women in the workplace were listened to and acted on, such as the equality champions programme. The Chief Executive advised that there were no particular problems in recruiting women to roles across the Council, including in areas of work that had traditionally been seen as male dominated and that recruitment processes and methods had been reviewed so as to attract and encourage more women to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Cabinet Portfolio: - Corporate Services, Community Safety and Finance

Strategic Director: - Finance and Customer Services

Consideration was given to a report that was submitted for pre-decision scrutiny ahead of the Cabinet meeting scheduled for 21 June 2021 that provided an update on a number of financial matters, including those related to Covid-19. The report had been provided as an interim update following on from the approval of the Budget and Council Tax 2021/22 report to Council on 3 March 2021 and in advance of the Financial Outturn 2020/21 and Financial Monitoring 2021/22 reports that were scheduled to be considered by Cabinet in July 2021. The Cabinet Member for Corporate Services, Community Safety and Finance, the Assistant Director - Financial Services and the Head of Corporate Finance attended the meeting to present the report.

The report provided a narrative surrounding the Council’s finances and how they had been impacted by the pandemic in areas including:

·       the revenue Budget Financial Outturn 2020/21

·       Business Support Grants

·       Self-Isolation Payments

·       Hardship Fund

·       Covid Grants for 2021/22

·       Adult Social Care Client Contributions

·       Payments to Suppliers.

Members asked with regard to the distribution of Business Support Grants whether any analysis had taken place to establish how useful the grants distributed had been to the businesses that had received them. The Cabinet Member advised that the Council had and would continue to engage with businesses to offer support. The Head of Corporate Finance advised that work had been carried out with local businesses throughout the period of the pandemic in order to ensure that the uptake of grants and rates relief had been maximised and that this work had been supplemented by the work of the Council’s Business Support Team. The Head of Corporate Finance noted that there had not yet been an analysis of the impact of grants and other business support activity but advised that this work was planned to be carried out.

Members asked for further specific information that had not been included in the report regarding the value of the funding received for Business Support Grants and the total value of the grants paid out to local businesses. The Head of Corporate Finance advised that this information was publicly available and had been included in previous reports to Cabinet and the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board.

The Head of Corporate Finance advised that the vast majority of financial support for businesses that had been made available to the Council to distribute had been accompanied by set eligibility criteria from the Government and that this had meant that while the Council may have returned some funding to the Government that this has been because insufficient eligible applications had been made due to the set criteria. The Head of Corporate Finance assured members that the funding that had been made available for discretionary support, with application criteria set by the Council locally had been fully utilised.

The Assistant Director - Financial Services noted that at the start of the pandemic due to the urgency to get financial support to businesses the calculations completed by the Government on how much funding to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Cabinet Portfolio: Jobs and the Local Economy

Strategic Directorate: - Regeneration and Environment

Consideration was given to a report that was submitted for pre-decision scrutiny ahead of the Cabinet meeting scheduled for 21 June 2021 that provided an update on the delivery of the Town Centre Masterplan and that also sought Cabinet approval for the funding and implementation of Phases 2, 3 and 4 of the public realm improvements. The Cabinet Member for Jobs and the Local Economy, the Strategic Director – Regeneration and Environment and the Assistant Director - Planning, Regeneration and Transport attended the meeting to present the report.

In introducing the report, the Cabinet Member for Jobs and the Local Economy detailed the background surrounding the history and implementation of the Town Centre Masterplan that had first been approved in 2017. The Cabinet Member advised how the development of the masterplan had highlighted the critical importance of public realm enhancements to help encourage and improve movement and connectivity, particularly between Forge Island and the wider town centre, and also to improve the physical environment and experience within the town centre, and as such had identified a package of public realm improvements to be delivered.

The Cabinet Member noted that the elements of Phase 1 of the scheme that had been approved in December 2019, and had included the redevelopment of Bridgegate, Frederick Street and College Street, were currently either complete or were in progress.

The Cabinet Member advised that the locations proposed for improvement as part of the public realm improvements were:

• Phase 2 - Howard Street (Frederick Street to Market Square), Effingham Street.
• Phase 3 – Forge Island Riverside Gardens and Upper Millgate.
• Phase 4 – The Markets Development, Market Square, Upper Howard Street, Drummond Street and Eastwood Lane

It was noted that a separate report to Cabinet seeking approval for the Markets and Library redevelopment, as well as Phase 4 of the Public Realm improvements would be presented later in 2021.

The officer’s report detailed the work that was being proposed to be carried out in Phase 2 as well as providing information on the consultation processes that had been completed.

Members welcomed the ongoing implementation of the Town Centre Masterplan and the positive impact that it was having. Members asked what support was in place for the businesses that would be impacted during the implementation of the public realm improvements. The Strategic Director – Regeneration and Environment advised any business impacted by the construction works would be worked with closely in order to minimise any potential disruption to the operation of their business. The Cabinet Member noted examples of businesses that had been assisted to relocate as part of the implementation of previous elements of the Town Centre Masterplan.

Members asked about the plans for public seating included in Phase 2 of the masterplan. The Strategic Director advised that the overall amount of seating available in Rotherham town centre would increase with the implementation of Phase 2 and noted that consultation would take place with relevant stakeholders on the design of the seating installed.

Members highlighted the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

To consider the Board’s Work Programme.

The Board considered its Work Programme.

Resolved: - That the Work Programme be approved.

To review and identify items for pre-decision scrutiny from the Forward Plan of Key Decisions covering the period 1 June to 31 August 2021.

The Board considered the Forward Plan of Key Decisions 1 June – 30 August 2021.

Resolved: - That the Forward Plan be noted.

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 of business.

The next meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board will be held on Wednesday 14 July 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 14 July 2021 at Rotherham Town Hall.