Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 15 March 2022 be confirmed and signed by the Chair.

Councillor Debbie Armiger declared a Personal Interest with regard to the agenda item titled 'Health Scrutiny Update'. As she worked on the staff side of Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation NHS Trust.

Francesca Bell, PPASB & Licensing Manager:

a.    presented the revised Animal Policy for consideration prior to referral to Executive

b.    gave an overview of the council’s roles and functions that related either directly or indirectly to animals

c.    explained that the policy had undergone a major review in 2017 which had brought together a number of Council functions into one collective policy

d.    referred to the revised policy at appendix 1 of the report and highlighted the following changes:

                      i.        The policy had been updated to reflect the changes in the Councils Strategic Priorities

                    ii.        Section 12 which detailed the licensing regime for animal activities had been updated to reflect the change in legislation which occurred in October 2018. The policy previously referred only to pet shops.

                   iii.        Included minimal amendments in relation to changes in Data Protection legislation

e.    explained that the use of glue/sticky traps was currently under review, although the practice was still legal at the moment, this was likely to change, this would be reflected in the policy if/when the law changed. Currently the policy stated that the Council were opposed to the use of this method.

f.     invited members questions and comments:

Question: Referred to paragraph 10.1 of the report in relation to horses on the common and asked if concerns on how the public treated horses as well as the owners would be investigated.

Response: The Council worked closely with the Commons Horse Association and any concerns regarding the treatment of horses would be investigated. Individual evidence would be required for any enforcement action to take place.

Question: Asked if it would be better to include the banning of sticky traps in the policy now rather than waiting for legislation.

Response: There had been no reports that the use of sticky traps was taking place in the city. Although the Council was opposed to the use of sticky traps there was currently no enforcement action that could take place to prohibit the use of them.

Question: Asked why the policy had been updated now and when the next update would take place.

Response: The policy was on a 4 year cycle of being updated, if any major changes occurred, the policy would be updated as and when required.

Question: Referred to paragraph 4.1 of the policy and suggested that the word ‘unnecessary’ be removed.

Response: Agreed that the word “unnecessary” be removed and the policy would read “Reduce suffering to animals”

Question: Referred to paragraph 7.4.1 of the Policy and asked if the full title of the legislation should be included rather than “Lucy’s Law”

Response: Suggested that a hyper-link could be included in the Policy for the website which would link to the legislation.

Question: Referred to paragraphs 7.8.1 and 7.8.3 of the policy which made reference to contacting the Council and asked if the contact details could be included in the Policy.

Response: Suggested that a hyper link be included to link to the contact form.

Question: Commented that not  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

Francesca Bell, PPASB and Licensing Service Manager:

a.    presented the revised Noise Nuisance Policy for consideration prior to referral to Executive

b.    advised that the Council has a statutory function in relation to the investigation of ‘statutory nuisance’ as defined in the Environmental Act 1990

c.    explained that the Council’s Noise Policy was last revised and updated in 2016 following the introduction of the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 which specifically complemented statutory nuisance and noise investigation legislation

d.    referred to the revised policy at appendix A of the report and highlighted the following changes:

                      i.        The policy had been updated to reflect the changes in the Councils Strategic Priorities

                    ii.        Obsolete guidance which had been revoked had been removed in relation to alarms sounding and provided further guidance in relation to the silencing of internal and external alarms

                   iii.        Included minimal amendments in relation to changes in Data Protection legislation

e.    invited members questions and comments:

Question: Referred to paragraph 9.3 of the report and asked what was considered reasonable times for DIY/ construction.

Response: Reasonable times was usually considered as Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm. Saturday from 8am to 1pm. Sunday and public and bank holidays (only for emergencies).

Question: Further asked what was considered an un-reasonable time for children playing.

Response: Children playing at 10/11pm at night could be considered as unreasonable, however there may be other reasons for this and noise nuisance may not be the best way of dealing with this situation.

RESOLVED that the revised Noise Policy be supported and referred to Executive for approval.

Francesca Bell, PPASB and Licensing Service Manager:

a.    presented the revised Internal Domestic Abuse Policy for consideration prior to referral to Executive

b.    advised that the City of Lincoln Council had a legal and moral obligation to ensure that the workplace was safe in relation to supporting victims of Domestic Abuse

c.    explained that the Councils Internal Domestic Abuse Policy was last revised and updated in 2014 and so following changes in legislation and more detailed definitions produced a policy refresh was required

d.    referred to the revised policy at appendix A of the report and highlighted the following changes:

                      i.        A detailed definition had been provided in section 2 of the policy to reflect the current legal definition and the complex nature of domestic abuse.

                    ii.        The sections involving domestic abuse in the workplace had been reworded and updated for ease of reading to ensure they were robust and fit for purpose.

                   iii.        Section 7: safety at work had been added to provide guidance on what the council may do to support and keep safe victims of Domestic Abuse whilst they were in the workplace.

                   iv.        Section 9: recording of concerns had been added to set out how concerns would be recorded confidentially.

                    v.        Section 11: raising awareness in the workplace had been added. This section set out how the council would raise awareness of this policy and the support available for those experiencing Domestic Abuse.

                   vi.        Section 12: legislation had been added to the policy to set out the relevant legislation that related to domestic abuse and the Councils obligations to protect employees.

e.    invited members questions and comments:

Question: Commented that it was good to see that this issue was taken very seriously by the Council and asked if the policy would be updated more regularly in future.

Response: The Policy would be reviewed on a regular cycle and any major changes would be updated as and when required.

Question: Asked if the policy had been shared with outside agencies for consultation.

Response: The procedure for internal policies had been followed, the policy had been consulted on internally but not externally.

Question: Referred to paragraph 5.1 of the policy regarding the sharing of information with partner agencies and asked if the reasons why data may shared could be made clearer in the policy.

Response: The policy could be updated to give reasons for the data sharing.

Question: Referred to the definition of domestic abuse as detailed at paragraph 2 of the policy and asked if when the policy was publicised to staff that it be made clear that it was not just for inter-partner abuse but also included family members.

Response: Confirmed that it would be made clear to staff.

Question: Asked if training had also been provided to members of staff who visited people’s homes to spot domestic abuse.

Response: All staff had received a basic level of training, depending on the job role, more in depth training was provided.

Question:  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The Vice Chair of Policy Scrutiny Committee presented a report which summarised the business that had been discussed at the Health Scrutiny meeting held on 13 April 2022.

The topics that were discussed included:

·         Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Trust which included a discussion on Mental Health and Suicide Rates in Lincoln

·         Access to General Practice

·         General Practice Provision

·         United Lincolnshire Hospitals Consultation on Nuclear Medicine

The Chair of Policy Scrutiny further gave a verbal update on the business that was discussed at the Health Scrutiny meeting held on 18^th May 2022.

The topics that were discussed included:

·         United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust – Elective Recovery Plan and Response to the Care Quality Commission Inspection

·         Untied Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust – Reconfiguration of Urology Services Update.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

The Chair:

a.    presented the report ‘Policy Scrutiny Work Programme 2022-2023 and Executive Work Programme Update’.

b.    presented the Executive Work Programme May 2022– April 2023.

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

d.    advised that an update on Neighbourhood Working had been added to the work programme for 4 October 2022 meeting

e.    further advised that Bulky Waste Collection would be added to the work programme at a date to be determined.

RESOLVED that:

1.    the work Policy Scrutiny work programme be noted.

2.    the Executive work programme be noted.