Apologies for absence were received from Councillor M Stafford (no substitute), A Quinn (Southend Association of Voluntary Services (Co-opted Member)), T Watts (Southend Carers Forum (Co-opted Member)) and Revd. Canon L Williams (Church of England Diocese (Co-opted Member)).

The following interests were declared at the meeting:

(a)        Councillors L Burton, P Collins, K Mitchell and S Wakefield (Cabinet Members) - Interest in the called-in items; attended pursuant to the dispensation agreed at Council on 19 July 2012, under S.33 of the Localism Act 2011.

(b)        Councillors L Burton, P Collins, K Mitchell and S Wakefield (Cabinet Members) - Interest in the referred items; attended pursuant to the dispensation agreed at Council on 19 July 2012, under S.33 of the Localism Act 2011.

(c)        Councillor T Cowdrey - Minute 99 (Questions from Members of the Public) – Known to one of the public questioners.

(d)        Councillor L Salter (Chair) - Minutes 102-108 (All agenda items) - Husband is a consultant surgeon at Southend Hospital; Daughter is a consultant at Basildon Hospital; Son-in-law is a general practitioner in Southend-on-Sea - Non-pecuniary interests.

(e)        Councillor L Hyde – Minute 102 (Delivery of Southend 2050 Outcomes and Priorities: Annual Report and Provisional Resources Outturn 2021/22) - Colleague ward councillor (Councillor D Cowan) is a governor at Prince Avenue Nursery.

(f)         Councillor K Mitchell (Cabinet Member) - Minute 102 (Delivery of Southend 2050 Outcomes and Priorities: Annual Report and Provisional Resources Outturn 2021/22) - Close family member has a learning disability and is resident in supported living accommodation.

(g)        Councillor B Hooper - Minute 102 (Delivery of Southend 2050 Outcomes and Priorities: Annual Report and Provisional Resources Outturn 2021/22) - Director of Blade Education, a not-for-profit company that works with local SEND children and MENCAP.

(h)        Councillor L Hyde - Minute 103 (Integrated Care Partnership) and Minute 105 (Community In-Patient Beds) - Close family friend employed by Essex Partnership University NHS Trust.

(i)          Councillor K Murphy – Minute 103 (Integrated Care Partnership) and Minute 105 (Community In-Patient Beds) - Employed by the NHS.

(j)          Councillor N Folkard (Vice-Chair) - Minute 103 (Integrated Care Partnership) and Minute 105 (Community In-Patient Beds) - Relative employed at Broomfield Hospital.

(k)        Councillor T Cowdrey – Minute 106 (Joint In-Depth Scrutiny Project 2021/22) and Minute 107 (Summary of Work 2021/22 & In-Depth Scrutiny Project 2022/23) - Works with families of Children with Special educational Needs and Disabilities.

(l)          Councillor L Burton – Minute 108 (Passenger Transport Services - Performance Monitoring) - Employed as a teacher at a school outside Southend-on-Sea - non-pecuniary interest.

The Committee noted the responses of the Cabinet Member for Children, Learning and Inclusion to questions submitted by Julia Hopper and the responses of the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health Integration and the Cabinet Member for Children, Learning and Inclusion, to questions presented by David Webb.

Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 15 March 2022 be confirmed as a correct record and signed.

The Chair reported that the minutes of the special meeting of the Committee held on 20 April 2022 would be confirmed at the next meeting.

Called-in to all three Scrutiny Committees by Councillors Cox and Davidson

The Committee considered Minute 4 of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 14 June 2022, which had been called-in for scrutiny by each of the scrutiny committees, together with a report of the Executive Director (Finance and Resources) presenting the Southend 2050 Outcomes and Priorities Annual Report for 2021/22 and the provisional resources outturn for 2021/22.

In response to questions raised by a member of the Committee, the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health Integration undertook to provide a written response outlining the Council’s current plans and maintenance arrangements for the Viking Day Centre, pending any redevelopment of the site.

In response to questions raised by a co-opted member of the Committee, the Cabinet Member for Asset Management and Inward Investment undertook to provide a written response outlining the Council’s approach to working with the NHS around the utilisation of resources arising from the Community Infrastructure levy to reduce pressure on local health service provision.

Resolved:

That the following decisions and recommendations of the Cabinet be noted:

“1. That the achievements, successes and challenges brought to life within the Annual Report 2021/22 (Section 4 and Appendix 1 to the submitted report), be noted.

Recommended:

Referred direct by Cabinet

The Committee considered Minute 68 of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 1 July 2022, which had been referred directly to the Committee for scrutiny, together with a report of the Executive Director (Adults and Communities) setting out the reforms to NHS structures and the establishment of integrated care systems in accordance with the new Health and Care Act 2022.

Resolved:

That the following decisions and recommendations of the Cabinet be noted:

“1. That Southend City Council makes arrangements to become a member of a new statutory joint committee (to be known as an Integrated Care Partnerships, or ICPs) between NHS integrated care boards and Essex County Council and Thurrock Council, the relevant upper tier authorities in the areas affecting Mid and South Essex (covering Basildon, Braintree, Brentwood, Castle Point, Chelmsford, Maldon and Rochford plus the unitary authorities of Southend and Thurrock).

2. That the terms of reference for the joint committee as appended to the submitted report be approved and that authority be delegated to the Monitoring Officer, in consultation with the Leader, to agree on behalf of Southend City Council any final amendments to the constitution/terms of reference of the joint committee.

3. That the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader, will:

(i) Nominate representative(s) to sit on the new NHS Integrated Care Board and will work with other authorities to agree joint nominations where possible; and

(ii) Agree and confirm who will be the statutory nominee of Southend City Council on the Integrated Care Partnership; and

4. That the Executive Director (Adult and Communities), in consultation with the relevant Cabinet Member, be authorised to update, amend, transfer or replace existing section 75 arrangements between the Council and Essex clinical commissioning groups to the new NHS integrated care boards.

Recommended:

Note: This is an Executive function, save that Recommendation 5 is a Council function

Cabinet Member: Councillor K Mitchell

The Chief Executive of the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust is to attend the meeting to provide an update and progress on the modelling review undertaken by the Trust and the present position with regard to the current and future operation of ambulance services from Shoeburyness Ambulance Station.

The Chief Executive of the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) attended the meeting to provide an update and progress on the modelling review undertaken by the Trust and the present position with regard to the current and future operation of ambulance services from Shoeburyness Ambulance Station.

The Committee received a report of the Chief Executive of the Trust in respect of its current performance in Southend-on-Sea and was advised that the Trust was making good progress on moving out of special measures. Members were advised that ambulance response times for the most serious incidents and for patients suffering chest pains and strokes had improved in Mid and South Essex, as a result of the introduction of 11 additional ambulances each day across the area.

The Chief Executive of the Trust reported that demands on ambulance services nationally had increased over the last year and that further work was being undertaken to understand how response times could be further improved, given that national target times are still not being met. The Committee was advised that, as part of this work, the Trust was seeking to recruit and train additional frontline clinicians during the current financial year and that the Trust continued to work with partners across the system to try to minimise the turnaround times at hospitals

The Committee was informed that the Care Quality Commission (CQC) had carried out an inspection of the Trust in May 2022 on the ‘well-led domain’ and that the inspection report of the CQC was anticipated to be issued shortly and that an update of the findings and recommendations of the CQC would be made to a future meeting of the Committee.

The Chief Executive of the Trust confirmed that EEAST had no plans to close Shoeburyness Ambulance Station in the current financial year and that ambulances would continue to operate and be staffed from the current site and that any future plans would be developed through proactive engagement with stakeholders, including the People Scrutiny Committee.

Resolved:

1.          That the current performance of the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust in Mid and South Essex, be noted.

2.          That the present position with regard to the current and future operation of ambulance services from Shoeburyness Ambulance Station, be noted.

Note: This is a Scrutiny function

Report of Transformation Director (Mid and South Essex Community Collaborative) and Head of Insight and Engagement (Mid and South Essex Integrated Care System) attached.

The Committee received an update from the Transformation Director for the Mid and South Essex Integrated Care System (ICS) on the current work to reconfigure the provision of community in-patient beds across Mid and South Essex, following the report made to the meeting in November 2021.

Members were advised that, since November 2021, the ICS had completed detailed modelling to determine how many beds were likely to be needed to meet current and future need and to identify options for services that might be provided from each of the community in-patient sites across Mid and South Essex.

The Transformation Director reported that a key element of the programme had been to obtain an independent, external assessment of the service model and configuration options being developed, which had been provided by the East of England Clinical Senate. Members were advised that the report of the Clinical Senate was due to be published later in the year, although indications were that the assessment was broadly positive in relation to the models of care, the work to date and the clinical pathways and the emerging options.

The Committee received a copy of the pre-consultation engagement report commissioned to support the ICS in relation to the reconfiguration of community inpatient bed provision, which emphasised the importance of community bed-based care, rehabilitation and reablement, including improved discharge planning and support to get patient’s home.

Resolved:

1.          That the update on work to reconfigure the provision of community in-patient beds across Mid and South Essex, be noted.

2.          That a further report the consultation approach developed by the Mid and South Essex Integrated Care System, be made to a future meeting of the Committee.

Note: This is a Scrutiny function

Report of Interim Executive Director (Strategy, Change and Governance) attached.

The Committee considered the draft final report arising from the joint in-depth scrutiny project for 2020/21 that had been undertaken on behalf of the Place Scrutiny Committee, the People Scrutiny Committee and the Policy and Resources Scrutiny Committee.

In considering the recommendations of the project that concerned the enhancement or development of digital systems, the Committee was advised that the corporate commitment of the Council to ensure that its services were fully inclusive and that alternative means of contacting the authority would continue to be offered where digital systems might exclude residents and service users.

The Committee was advised that the report of the joint in-depth scrutiny project had been agreed by the Place Scrutiny Committee at its meeting on 4 July 2022.

On behalf of the Project Team that led the in-depth scrutiny project, the Chair of the Committee expressed thanks to all councillors and officers that contributed to the project.

Resolved:

1.          That the report and recommendations arising from the joint in-depth scrutiny project, detailed at Section 12 of the report, be agreed.

2.          That the Chair of the Project Team for the joint In Depth Scrutiny Project (Councillor J Moyies) present the report and recommendations of the scrutiny project to a future meeting of the Cabinet.

Note: This is a Scrutiny function

Report of Interim Executive Director (Strategy, Change and Governance) attached.

The Committee received a report of the Interim Executive Director (Strategy, Change and Governance) providing information on the work carried out by the scrutiny committees during the previous municipal year and seeking agreement to a possible joint approach to in-depth scrutiny activity for 2022/23.

Whilst members considered that there could be benefit to the undertaking of the suggested joint scrutiny project around the current cost of living ‘crisis', exploring how the Council provided supportive and streamlined services for local residents, the Committee indicated that it wished to undertake its own in-depth scrutiny project for 2022/23, to ensure that the Council provided the best possible services for families with children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

Resolved:

1.          That the summary of the scrutiny work undertaken by the Committee during the 2022/23 municipal year, be noted

2.          That the completion of the joint in-depth scrutiny project undertaken on behalf of the People Scrutiny Committee, the Place Scrutiny Committee and the Policy and Resources Scrutiny Committee for 2021/22, around the theme of ‘Enabling Councillors to be Effective’, be noted.

3.          That an in-depth scrutiny project be undertaken on behalf of the Committee during the 2022/23 municipal year, on the theme of ‘Providing First Class Services for Families with Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.’

4.          That no other topics be selected by the Committee for additional in-depth review during 2022/23.

Note: This is a Scrutiny function.

Report of Service Manager (Integrated Transport and Fleet Services) attached.

The Committee received a report in relation to the ongoing monitoring of the performance of the Vecteo Joint Venture Company established for the provision of passenger transport services.

In response to questions raised by members of the Committee, the Cabinet Member for Children, Learning and Inclusion undertook to consider whether each of the reports and recommendations arising from the audit work already undertaken in respect of the provision of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) home to school transport services by Vecteo that had previously been requested, could now be provided to all members of the Committee prior to the consideration of the reports by the Audit Committee.

The Cabinet Member for Children, Learning and Inclusion and the Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Parking also undertook to provide written responses to all members of the Committee, in respect of the following matters raised at the meeting:

·             The circulation of the full schedule of key performance indicators applicable to the contract with Vecteo for the provision of SEND home to school transport services.

·             The provision of a report on the performance of Vecteo against each of the key performance indicators applicable to the contract to each future meeting of the Committee, setting out actual performance figures rather than percentages.

·             The provision of a progress report on each of the issues raised at the special meeting of the Committee held on 20 April 2022.

·             Details of performance against each of the Minimum Service Requirements for the contract for the provision of SEND home to school transport services.

·             Details of the number of the number and type of any safeguarding issues identified as part of the provision of SEND home to school transport services.

·             Details of the performance of Vecteo in relation to ‘missed’ and ‘late’ morning/afternoon school collections as part of the provision of SEND home to school transport services.

·             Details of the number of families no longer using home to school transport services since the commencement of the contract with Vecteo (not including children subject of home schooling arrangements).

·             Details of any legal requirements for the maximum number of wheelchairs that can be carried in vehicles used for the delivery of SEND home to school transport services.

Resolved:

That the report be noted.

Note: This is a Scrutiny function.