Agenda and minutes
Venue: Scaitcliffe House, Ormerod Street, Accrington. View directions
Contact: Ben Caulfield, Policy and Scrutiny Officer
No. | Item |
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Apologies for Absence and Substitutions Minutes: There were apologies from Councillor Dominik Allen. Councillor Peter Edwards substituted.
There were also apologies from Jenny Molineux and Jean Battle. |
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Declarations of Interest and Dispensations Minutes: There were not declarations of interest or dispensations. |
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Minutes of Last Meeting To submit the minutes of the Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 15th December 2021 for approval as a correct record.
Recommended - That the minutes be received and approved as a correct record.
Minutes: To receive the Minutes of the meeting of the Communities and Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 15th December 2021 for approval as a correct record.
Recommended - That the Minutes be received and approved as a correct record.
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Call-In Procedure Note To advise the Committee of the procedure to be followed at the meeting in relation to Call-Ins. Attention is drawn to Point 8 of the Procedure.
Recommended – That the Procedure be noted and applied to the undermentioned call-in. Minutes: The Policy and Scrutiny Officer referred to the Call-in Procedure note, and explained how this would be followed for the next item on the agenda. |
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Call-In of Cabinet Decision - Subsidised Pest Control Treatments At its meeting on 21st September 2022, Agenda Item 9 Subsidised Pest Control Treatments, Cabinet resolved:
That Cabinet note the report.
That Cabinet agree to reduce the subsidy to pest control treatments for rodents relating to domestic properties through a £30 appointment fee
In accordance with the Call-In Procedure for Cabinet Decisions, the procedure has been activated. The following documents are included:
Call-In Form Copy of Cabinet Report from 21st September 2022 – Subsidised Pest Control Treatments Extract from Minutes of Cabinet 21st September 2022
Recommended – That the Committee does ONE of the following:
· To release the Cabinet decision in full for implementation; or
· To release the Cabinet decision in part for implementation, and refer the outstanding part of the decision back to the decision making body forreconsideration, setting out in writing the nature of its concerns; or
· To refer the decision back to the decision making person or body for reconsideration, setting out in writing the nature of its concerns. The decision maker shall then reconsider amending the decision or not, before adopting a final decision.
Additional documents:
Minutes: As per the Council’s Call-In procedure, the Chair invited the sponsor of the call-in, Cllr Scott Brerton to explain the reasons for the call-in.
Cllr Brerton presented the case, and highlighted that the main reasons were included on the call-in form. He stated that he supports a functioning service, however was concerned about the cabinet decision and felt that it needed scrutinising for the following reasons:
- Public health concerns, with the potential for diseases carried by rats to increase - Affordability of the £30 payment at a time when residents are already facing large increases in the cost of living - Lack of public consultation - Lack of consideration of alternative solutions to reducing the wait time of 5 weeks - Issues with the private rented sector and the potential impact on the Environmental Health department - Structural issues caused to domestic properties by rats - Consideration that, although the introduction of a charge may reduce the waiting list, the policy deals only with the waiting list and not with the issue of rodent infestations
Cllr Brerton concluded that he felt the decision should be reconsidered.
Cllr Steve Smithson and Craig Haraben were invited by the Chair to explain the rationale for the decision. They referred to the following, the majority of which was included in the report to Cabinet on 21st September:
- There is currently a 5 week waiting list, for which they receive numerous complaints from residents - A 5 week wait is unacceptable as it allows time for rats to multiply - Out of 1080 jobs in a one year period, 48% resulted in no pest control being carried out, often due to the officers not being able to access the property. This was a significant cost to the Council and a waste of resources - Some landlords abuse the system, directing their tenants to contact the council for rodent complaints when this is in fact an issue which should be dealt with by landlords. - A £25 charge for missed appointments was previously introduced and has not been successful in reducing the waiting list - It is hoped that the decision will reduce the waiting list from 5 weeks to between 2 and 5 days.
The Chair invited committee members to ask questions. Councillor McKenzie asked if the decision needs to be implemented now. He suggested what might seem like a small charge to some people when compared with private pest control companies is unaffordable to some residents at the present time. He suggested this decision should be delayed. He also asked that, if there is an issue with some landlords abusing the system, does this mean the Council are failing to deal with problem landlords? He suggested consideration of a system whereby the Council recharges landlords rather than charging the tenant directly.
The topic of the Household support fund was raised. Lyndsey Sims, Chief executive of Hyndburn Leisure who was present at the meeting to report on the fund as another agenda ... view the full minutes text for item 142. |
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Mental Health Update To provide the Communities and Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Committee with an update on progress against the Council’s Mental Health Action Plan, which was devised by the Suicide Prevention Scrutiny Panel on 20th October 2021 and approved by Cabinet on 8th December 2021.
Recommended -
That the Committee notes the progress made against the Mental Health Action Plan.
That the Committee endorses the additional actions to be added to the plan.
That the Committee suggests new actions to be added to the plan.
Minutes: The Chair invited Ben Caulfield, Policy and Scrutiny Officer and Kirsten Burnett, Head of Policy and OD to report on this item.
Ben introduced the item, referring to the background of how the Council’s Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Action Plan was devised last year by a Scrutiny Panel before being approved by Cabinet. Details of the process were outlined in the report.
Kirsten spoke of progress against the action plan, with the report highlighting which actions had been completed and which were still ongoing. The report also suggested some additional actions which were recommended to be added to the plan, including trauma informed training and promotion of health and mental health services in the Hyndburn News, which is due to be distributed to every household in the borough.
Resolved -
That the Committee notes the progress made against the Mental Health Action Plan.
That the Committee endorses the additional actions to be added to the plan.
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Household Support Fund To provide the committee with an update on the Household Support Fund. Additional documents: Minutes: The Chief Executive of Hyndburn Leisure, Lyndsey Sims, provided an update report as Hyndburn Leisure lead the delivery of the Household Support Fund.
The report was a summary of round 1 of the project. Round 2 has also now just finished and round 3 is due to start later in the year. The report highlighted the following:
- Alignment to other hardship funds and services - Eligibility criteria - Referral process - Support provided - Food - Energy and water - Essentials linked to energy and water - Wider essentials - Grants to CVFS groups
Committee members were supportive of the scheme, and praised Lyndsey on her team’s ability to deliver the number of grants in the short time frame they were given.
Lyndsey commented on how learning from round 1 has enabled them to improve their process for rounds 2 and 3.
Resolved - That the report is noted. |