Full Cabinet – 13 March 2012

PRESENT:  Councillor Mrs Redfern in the chair.
Councillors Briggs (vice chairman), Poole, C Sherwood, N Sherwood and Waltham.Councillors Allcock, Barker, Mrs Bromby, Bunyan, Carlile, Clarke, Collinson, Davison, England. L Foster, T Foster, Glover, Kirk, Ogg, O’Sullivan, Swift, Wells, Whiteley and Wilson also attended the meeting.

Simon Driver, Simon Batt, Frances Cunning, Keith Ford, Denise Hyde, Neil Laminman, Helen Manderson, Helen Rowe, Dave Watson, Mike Wedgewood, Jason Whaler, Peter Williams and Mel Holmes also attended the meeting.

The meeting was held at the Civic Centre, Scunthorpe.

The Leader referred to the recent sad death of Councillor Darrell Barkworth a long standing North Lincolnshire Councillor and former Humberside County Councillor.

A minute’s silence was then observed in memory of Councillor Barkworth.

963  DECLARATIONS OF PERSONAL OR PERSONAL AND PREJUDICIAL INTERESTS – Councillors Mrs Redfern, C Sherwood and Waltham all declared a personal interest in relation to agenda item 6 – North Lincolnshire Homes Limited – Restructure as members of the North Lincolnshire Homes Board.

964  MINUTES – Resolved – That the minutes of the meeting of Cabinet held on 24 January 2012, having been printed and circulated amongst the members, be taken as read and correctly recorded and be signed by the chairman.

965  (31)  OUTSTANDING ACTION FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS – The Director of Corporate and Community Services submitted a report which contained a schedule of outstanding issues on which cabinet had requested reports to future meetings.

Resolved – That the report be noted.

966  (32)  NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE PUBLIC HEALTH ANNUAL REPORT 2011/2012 – The Director of Public Health submitted her Annual Public Health Report (APHR) for 2011/2012.

The Director of Public Health had a statutory duty to produce an independent Annual Public Health Report on the health of the local population.  The focus of this year’s APHR was on the positive health and wellbeing outcomes over the past twelve months and locality based health profiles which highlighted the successes of community based initiatives that had helped to improve health and wellbeing across North Lincolnshire.  The report outlined some of the key headlines over the past twelve months and made a number of recommendations for future health and well being improvements and a reduction in health inequalities for the population of North Lincolnshire.

Future challenges for improvement over the coming twelve months were identified including –

  • Higher death rate from some preventable causes, such as lung disease and cancer.
  • Lower than average levels of physical activity amongst adults and rising levels of physical inactivity amongst young people.
  • Higher prevalence of some potentially preventable diseases, such as diabetes in our communities.
  • A higher rate of deaths following discharge from hospitals.

The report then provided a focus on the five localities across North Lincolnshire including –

  • Brief health and wellbeing profiles for each locality.
  • Strengths and challenges of each area.
  • What has worked well, what more do we need to do?

Resolved – That cabinet receives the report, acknowledges and supports the Director of Public Health’s recommendations.

967  (33)  PROGRESS REPORT ON THE NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE SHADOW HEALTH AND WELL BEING BOARD – The Directors of Adult Social Services, Childrens’ Services and Public Health submitted a joint report informing cabinet of the good progress made by the North Lincolnshire Shadow Health and WellBeing Board since it was established in July 2011.

The government review of the National Health Service made proposals to transform the whole system to make it more efficient and bring it closer to local people.  Various proposals contained within the Health and Social Care Bill, which is currently progressing through parliament sets out a number of proposals for key areas for reform including the need for local authorities to establish a Shadow Health and Well Being Board with a view to such boards taking on statutory duties in April 2013.  These boards will have a stronger role in addressing wider health determinants, promoting joint commissioning and integrated provision.  They will have the right to refer plans to the Clinical Commissioning Group or the NHS Commissioning Board if plans are not in line with local health and wellbeing strategies.

The cabinet had agreed to establish a North Lincolnshire Shadow Health and Well Being Board in July 2011 with the aims of –

  • Building a collaborative approach between citizens, the council and the National Health Service.
  • Paving the way to a fully constituted Health and WellBeing Board which is ready and able to take on the statutory duties, powers and responsibilities that will be set out for it in the Health and Social Care Bill when it receives Royal Assent.

The report set out details of progress being made by the Shadow Board in relation to many issues and indicated that it had fulfilled the first stage of its plan and was on track to achieve the next phase.  The Board would fully meet the requirements of the new health agenda at the point when it would take on statutory duties in April 2013.  Attached as an appendix to the report were the current Terms of Reference of the Board and the Board’s vision for North Lincolnshire.

Resolved – (a) That cabinet receives and endorses the good progress that the Shadow Board has made since July 2011; (b) that cabinet receives a further report from the Shadow Board with recommendations on the establishment of a statutory board by April 2013, and (c) that in the meantime a further progress report be submitted to cabinet in September 2012.

968  (34)  NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE HOMES LIMITED – RESTRUCTURE – The Director of Corporate and Community Services submitted a report which considered a request from North Lincolnshire Homes Limited to amend its Articles of Association so that it becomes a valid subsidiary company for the parent company together with other companies within a group.

On 17 January 2007, North Lincolnshire Council resolved to transfer its entire housing stock and related assets to North Lincolnshire Homes Limited.  The transfer was completed on 26 February 2007 when North Lincolnshire Homes Limited took over responsibility for the housing stock and related assets.  The Articles of Association currently provide that North Lincolnshire Homes Limited is a company limited by guarantee.

North Lincolnshire Homes had approached the council to seek its views in respect of the proposed changes to the structure of the company whereby North Lincolnshire Homes Limited would become a subsidiary of a parent organisation and the establishment of a “sister” commercial company and community interest company to sit alongside North Lincolnshire Homes Limited within the group of companies.  North Lincolnshire Homes Limited maintain that the proposed structure would enable the group to offer services in the private sector which would generate non-social housing income through North Lincolnshire Homes Limited’s growth and development strategy.  If the proposal was agreed, North Lincolnshire Homes Limited would become a subsidiary of a parent company which would mean that the parent company would be a member of North Lincolnshire Homes Limited and would have the right to appoint and remove the majority of its board members.

For the proposal to be accepted, the council would have to agree to it as it has the right to prevent a special resolution of North Lincolnshire Homes Limited being passed to amend its Articles of Association by voting at a general meeting of that company on a poll.

The report contained further information in relation to this matter.

Resolved – (a) That the council support the proposed resolution relating to the restructure of North Lincolnshire Homes Limited as detailed in paragraph 2.5 of the report, and (b) that arrangements be made for a member of the council to attend a general meeting of the company to vote on the proposal on behalf of the council.

969  (35)  STATEMENT OF INTENT: ONE COUNCIL COMMISSIONING – A report was submitted by the Director of Finance which introduced a “Statement of Intent: One Council Commissioning.”  The purpose of the statement is to set out a commitment to developing an effective integrated commissioning capability to support our “one council – putting our customers first” strategy and the 2012/2016 budget plan.

The Statement of Intent to develop a one council commissioning capability had been produced following extensive consultation with service based commissioners.  Its purpose is principally four fold –

  • To support a paradigm shift in thinking about how council services might be designed and delivered in the future, representing an important initial step towards becoming a more effective commissioning council.
  • To set out the objective of developing a one council approach to commissioning by providing political and managerial commitment to improving outcomes for local people through integrated activity and more effective commissioning practices.
  • To introduce a set of corporate criteria for commissioning to help guide how services should be designed and provided in the future to support both a step improvement in customer satisfaction and the delivery of our budget plans.
  • To set out the operational basis on which a one council approach to commissioning would be achieved including the creation and delivery of a corporate commissioning programme overseen by a cross service group.

The Statement of Intent recognised that significant progress in developing a commissioning capability had already been made within Adult Social Services and Children and Young People’s Services, but acknowledged that more widely commissioned practices tended to be largely service focussed and fragmented with reliance on traditional methods of delivery.  Commissioning led activity was increasingly being used to modernise, redesign and dynamically drive improvements in customer satisfaction and value for money.  Indeed the council’s 2012/2016 budget plans included a broad range of commissioning led improvements and there was an evident need to ensure that this range of activity was effectively co-ordinated and integrated.

A full copy of the Statement of Intent was attached as an appendix to the report.

Resolved – (a) That the Statement of Intent as attached as an appendix to the report be approved and adopted, and (b) that an update on progress with implementing the Statement of Intent be submitted to cabinet in September 2012 and March 2013.

970  (36)  PROCUREMENT STRATEGY 2012/2015 – The Director of Finance submitted a report which introduced an updated procurement strategy for 2012/2015 together with an annual report on the progress made by the council’s shared procurement service with North East Lincolnshire Council – Procurement Alliance North and North East Lincolnshire Council (PANNEL).

The council’s joint Procurement Unit with North East Lincolnshire Council co-ordinates the £212m spent every year on supplies, services and works across both councils.  The joint team had been operational for six years.  PANNEL had continued to make positive progress over the last twelve months across a broad range of development activities.  A summary of key performance highlights for 2011/2012 was set out in appendix A to the report.

The report also introduced an updated Joint Procurement Strategy which had been produced to build on the progress made by PANNEL.  Its purpose was to ensure that procurement activity continued to develop excellent value for money outcomes.  The updated strategy was appended to the report as appendix B.

The strategy had been informed by both national and local developments.  At national level the landscape remained dynamic with continued expectation from government that public sector procurement would help to drive cost reduction in support of the deficit reduction plan as well as economic growth.  More locally, the essential role of procurement in the successful delivery of major projects, as well as supporting commissioning, efficiency, cost reduction and local economic development objectives was now widely recognised and understood.  These aspirations and priorities were reflected in the updated strategy.

Four improvement themes with priority actions had been determined to help focus and drive forward the council’s procurement development work.  These were –

  • Cost reductions and value for money.
    Strong and effective governance
    Economic growth
    Sustainability

The report also contained further detailed information about this matter.

Resolved – (a) That the progress made by the PANNEL team over the last year be noted; (b) that the procurement strategy for 2012/2015 be approved and adopted, and (c) that an update on progress with implementing the strategy be submitted to cabinet in March 2013.

971  (37)  PEOPLE SCRUTINY PANEL REPORT- HOME SUPPORT IN NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE – The Director of Corporate and Community Services submitted a report which considered the report of the People Scrutiny Panel entitled “Home Support in North Lincolnshire”.

Under the revised overview and scrutiny procedure rules agreed at the Annual Meeting of the Council on 25 May 2011, scrutiny reports had now to be considered by cabinet.  The People Scrutiny Panel had recently completed a review into Home Support in North Lincolnshire.

Following the review the panel had made eight detailed recommendations and a copy of the full report including the recommendations was attached as an appendix to the report of the Director.

The Chairman of the People Scrutiny Panel introduced the report which had been undertaken to enable the panel to understand how care was delivered in North Lincolnshire.  The chairman thanked all those involved in the work of the panel and its concluding report.

Resolved – (a) That the report be received, and (b) that the cabinet member for Adult and Childrens’ Services and the Director of Adult Social Care consider the contents of the report and prepare an action plan in response to the recommendations for submission to a future meeting of cabinet.

972  (38)  THE DECLARATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE COUNT FOLLOWING THE DISTRICT ELECTION AND THE NATIONAL REFERENDUM HELD ON THURSDAY 5 MAY 2011 – ACTION PLAN – The Returning Officer submitted a report with an attached action plan in response to the Places Scrutiny Panel report on the Declaration and Administration of the Count following the District Election and the National Referendum held on Thursday 5 May 2011.

The Places Scrutiny Panel had completed its report and had made nineteen recommendations.  Attached to the covering report was a proposed action plan to take forward the recommendations of the panel.

Resolved – That the action plan attached as an appendix to the report be approved and adopted.