Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 23 November 2021 be confirmed and signed by the Chair.

No declarations of interest were received.

Councillor Ric Metcalfe, Leader of the Council:

a.    presented the draft core delivery plan for the final three years of Vision 2025 for comments prior to referral to Executive

b.    advised that Vision 2025 was approved in February 2020, but due to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic was never officially launched and in some areas of activity, progress on the initial plans had been affected

c.    explained that a mid-term review on the proposals of the original version was undertaken. As part of the work, the effect of Covid-19 on the health of residents had been considered – and as a result a new focus on physical and mental health developed for the way forward

d.    referred to the Three Year Delivery Plan attached at Appendix A of the report and explained that it should be considered as an addendum to Vision 2025 as there were no changes to the core priorities, aspirations or values identified in that document

e.    explained that 2021 had seen most services recover to a ‘new’ normal, this was not necessarily the same as pre-covid, the issues faced by the Council were listed at paragraph 3.2 of the report

f.     advised that it should be recognised that although the pandemic did significantly affect the Councils ability to progress in all aspects of Vision 2025 – this did not mean that there had been no progress. The projects that had been progressed were detailed at paragraph 3.4 of the report

g.    explained the development of the Mid-term Vision 2025 review as detailed at paragraph 4 of the report

h.    referred to the Vision 2025 Mid-Term review at Appendix A of the report and explained that it contained a range of projects spread across the five priorities and 25 aspirations, however, this was a three-year plan and thus there were minimal dates, specific dates given at project level, so that workload could be spread to match available resource and as well as meet customer priorities

i.      advised that consultation with the public, businesses and the voluntary sector had started in 18^th January 2022 and would be completed on 10 February 2022, the results would be circulated to the committee following the meeting

j.      invited members questions and comments

Councillor Mara referred to the priority “ Let’s make walking, cycling and the use of public transport the best and favourite way to move around Lincoln” and commented that complaints regarding public transport were regularly received by Councillors. He asked how the service would be improved to encourage people to use it.

Councillor Ric Metcalfe, Leader of the Council acknowledged thatPublic transport was an issue in the City and it needed to be addressed to encourage people to use it. Some example of work being undertaken in the City was provided such as initiatives run by Visit Lincoln and the focussing on the shift to modal transport by the Lincolnshire Transport Strategy Group. He further acknowledged that public transport was commercial and was driven by profit.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.

Kate Bell, Climate Change Manager:

a.    presented the Draft Affordable Warmth Strategy for comment prior to referral to Executive.

b.    gave the background to  affordable warmth and explained the work that had been undertaken in this area as detailed at paragraph 2 of the report

c.    explained that  the new and updated Affordable Warmth Strategy for Lincoln was necessary following the recent changes in national, regional and local policies to address fuel poverty

d.    advised that the draft Affordable Warmth Strategy brought together the success of the partnership approach to ensure that all sectors were working together to tackle fuel poverty effectively.

e.    Explained that the strategy reflected the objective of the Council’s Housing Strategy 2021 – 2026 to improve housing standards for all and contributed to the Council’s ongoing work to achieve a net zero carbon target by 2030

f.     highlighted the key objectives of the Lincoln Affordable Warmth Strategy 2021 – 2026 as detailed at paragraph 3.3 of the report

g.    explained that the Strategy set out the following priorities to deliver affordable warmth over the next 5 years:-

·         Raise Awareness of Affordable Warmth.

·         Improving the Energy Efficiency of All Housing in Lincoln.

·         Deliver a Co-ordinated approach to Affordable Warmth.

h.    referred to The Affordable Warmth Strategy at Appendix 1 of the report and explained that it set out what the City of Lincoln Council would do to help lift residents out of fuel poverty and overcome the health effects of cold, damp, draughty living conditions. It also explained what action the Council would take to improve collaboration and co-ordination among the wide variety of organisations that were working to tackle fuel poverty.

i.      invited committees questions and comments:

Question: Asked how many people would be in fuel poverty with the rise in fuel costs.
Response: We did not know how many people would be affected. The 2020 figures would be available in April and would give an indication.

Question: Asked for clarification on the funding that was available.
Response: We were allocated a small amount of government funding and so applied directly to Beis and received further funding, every opportunity to secure funding had been maximised. We were currently working with North Kesteven and West Lindsey District Councils to consider opportunities to jointly manage the scheme across central Lincolnshire. All of the money had been spent for this financial year and there was a waiting list for the new scheme in April.

Question: Referred to paragraph 2.8 of the report and asked if there was an update on the retrofitting of 40 energy efficient homes in Lincoln.
Response: All properties had been allocated funding, they had been surveyed and an installation date had been set.

RESOLVED that the draft Affordable Warmth Strategy be supported  referred to Executive for approval.

Andrew McNeil, Assistant Director, Housing Strategy:

a.    presented the proposed amendments to Lincoln Tenants’ Panel (LTP) Constitution for comments prior to referral to Executive

b.    advised that the LTP Constitution set out how the Lincoln Tenants’ Panel was to operate and explained that the Constitution was reviewed on an annual basis

c.    summarised the main proposed changes to the LTP Constitution as detailed at paragraph 3 of the report

d.    invited committees questions and comments

Question: Asked who would be involved in the selection process of members onto the Lincoln Tenant Panel.

Response: The selection process had not been formalised yet, it would likely be members of the LTP and Officers, but this would be checked and reported back to Policy Scrutiny Committee.

Question: Asked when the LTP Constitution would be implemented.

Response: The draft LTP Constitution had been considered by the LTP Panel and would be implemented once it was agreed by Executive.

Question: Expressed concern that the panel may become a self-selecting committee and asked if any objections had been received.

Response: No objections in relation to this had been received.

Comment: Referred to the proposal to change seats on the LTP being based on geographical areas and expressed concern that the whole of the City may not be represented.

Response: The proposal was that LTP members covered all Council housing areas in the City and would be expected to attend events in all areas. There had been issues previously where the LTP had focussed on a specific area and not the whole City.

Question: Asked why there had been a focus on one area of the City.

Response: It had been difficult to achieve a representative from all areas of the City on the panel.

Question: Asked how a broad representative from across the City would be ensured.

Response: Part of the selection process would be to ensure that there was a balanced representation on the panel.

Comment: Expressed concern that the proposed move to a more strategic approach was a significant downgrading of how tenants could have a say in how their estates were run.

Response: The panel was not an elective body. Previously there had been difficulties in getting a representative on the panel from all areas of the City. The drive for the proposal came from the LTP and it was felt that this would help to get people on the panel and cover all areas of the City.

Question: Asked if the revised constitution had been consulted on with all tenants.

Response: This would need to be checked and reported back to committee.

Comment: Expressed concern that the democratic voice was being down graded and suggested that a full consultation with tenants take place before the proposal could be referred to Executive.

Comment: Expressed concern regarding the shift from an election process to officers selecting members of the panel and suggested that checks and balances needed to be put in place to ensure that tenants were represented and that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

Andrew McNeil, Assistant Director, Housing Strategy:

a.    presented the revised Tenant Involvement Strategy 2022 to 2025 which replaced the 2018 to 2021 Strategy for comments prior to referral to Executive

b.    advised that the regulatory Framework for social housing and the social housing white paper required social housing landlords to have a transparent Tenant Involvement Strategy in place.

c.    referred to paragraph 3 of the report and highlighted the achievements to improve the tenant involvement service

d.    highlighted the objectives for the Tenant Involvement Strategy:

·         Co-design services with residents

·         Facilitate community engagement

·         Communicate key messages to residents

·         Co-regulate with Lincoln Tenants’ Panel

·         Expand the ways residents can get involved.

e.    referred to paragraph 5 of the report and explained how the action plan would be delivered and how the outcomes of the Strategy would be monitored

The committee considered the contents of the report.

RESOLVED that the revised Tenant Involvement Strategy 2022 to 2025 be supported and referred to Executive for approval.

You are asked to resolve that the press and public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the following item(s) because it is likely that if members of the press or public were present, there would be disclosure of ‘exempt information’

RESOLVED that the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item(s) of business because it is likely that if members of the public were present there would be a disclosure to them of ‘exempt information’ as defined by Section 100I and Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972.

Matt Smith, Business Development and IT Manager:

a.    presented the ICT Security Policies for comment prior to referral to Executive

b.    explained that the Council was required to have an up-to-date set of ICT Security Policies for a number of reasons:

                     I.        Good Practice

                    II.        Compliance with external accreditations e.g., Public Services Network (PSN)

                  III.        Ability to work with other organisations

c.    referred to Appendices A-E which set out the following 5 main elements:

                      i.        ICT Security Policy

                    ii.        ICT Security Standard

                   iii.        ICT User Security Standard

                   iv.        Access Control Standard

                    v.        Development and Acquisition Standard

d.    acknowledged that the ICT Security risk could not be completely eliminated due to the nature of the subject matter, however, these risks were reviewed and monitored regularly and reporting mechanisms were in place across the public sector to which the Authority subscribed

e.    invited committees questions and comments

The committee discussed members IT and the difficulties with the tablets that Councillors had been issued. Matt Smith, Business Development and IT Manager responded that these issues could be addressed if members contact the IT Helpdesk. He referred to the members IT policy and suggested that it may need to be renewed.

RESOLVED that the ICT Security Policies be supported and referred to Executive for approval.

RESOLVED that the press and public be included back into the meeting.

Becky Scott, Legal Services Manager:

a.    presented a report to provide an overview of corporate documents which had been approved by Full Council and Executive.

b.    advised that Policy Scrutiny Committee was, under it’s terms of reference, tasked with ensuring that the Council’s policies met the ‘needs and aspirations’ of the citizens of Lincoln.

c.    explained that a project commenced pre-pandemic to consider what corporate documents the Council had approved so that Policy Scrutiny Committee could review the position and ensure that they were both relevant and up to date, and to identify any gaps which may be evident.

d.    referred to Appendix A of the report and highlighted the list of documents which had been compiled with the assistance of senior managers.

e.    invited Members to review of the list of documents, and provide comments accordingly.

Member asked for clarification on how this would change the current work of the committee. Becky Scott, Legal Services Manager responded that the policy review’s would contain more data, to enable to committee to look back at how well things have worked with the Policy. It provided a mechanism for the Council to review itself and also it was important to identify how often a policy needed to be reviewed.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

Becky Scott, Legal Services Manager:

a.    presented the number of authorisations under RIPA (Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000) since the last report and requested comments on the revised Policy

b.    gave the background to the report as detailed at paragraph 2.1 and advised that the RIPA Policy covered implications for all staff how investigated suspected criminal offences and other breaches of regulation for which the Council was responsible

c.    highlighted the changes to the policy as shown at Appendix A of the report.

d.    explained that the Legal Team most commonly offered support to service areas as and when they were investigating issues which could benefit from using social media, as opposed to advising on seeking formal authorisations to carry out surveillance

e.    advised that the policy would be taken to Service Managers forum and rolled out on Netconsent for relevant enforcement teams and an offer would be made to give tailored training by Legal Services as required

f.     reported that there had been no authorisation applied for nor obtained through the magistrates court to carry out any covert surveillance since the last report to Executive, when there was also none.

g.    invited members questions and comments

Members asked if this Policy would have an effect on the cameras for fly tipping. Becky Scott, Legal Services Manager responded that this policy would not apply as the cameras were used for open surveillance.

RESOLVED that the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 Policy be noted.

The Chair of Policy Scrutiny Committee updated members of the business that had been discussed at the Health Scrutiny meetings held on 15 December 2021 and 19 January 2022, these were:

·         Lincolnshire Acute Services Review – Orthopaedic Surgery

·         Lincolnshire Acute Services Review – Medical Beds at Grantham and District Hospital

·         Humber Acute Services Programme - Update

·         Lincolnshire Acute Services Review – Finalisation of the Committees Response

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

The Democratic Services Officer:

a.    presented the report ‘Policy Scrutiny Work Programme 2021-22 and Executive Work Programme Update’

b.    presented the Executive Work Programme February 2022 – February 2023

c.    requested councillors to submit what items they wished to scrutinise from the Executive Work Programme and policies of interest.

d.    invited members questions and comments.

Members asked if the Recycling- paper and card collections proposal would be brought to Policy Scrutiny.

The Democratic Services Officer confirmed that this would be presented to Policy Scrutiny Committee, it was provisionally scheduled into the work programme for June 2022 but this was subject to change.

RESOLVED that:

1.    the work Policy Scrutiny work programme be noted.

2.    the Executive work programme be noted.