Agenda and minutes

Members and officers must declare any disclosable pecuniary interests in relation to

any business on the agenda. Declarations should also be made at any stage such

an interest becomes apparent during the meeting.

If in doubt contact the Legal or Democratic Services representative for this meeting.

Councillor Sally Smith declared an interest as an employee of the health central surgery

Councillor Charles James declared an interest as a trustee of Southdown Leisure

Councillor Sally Smith declared a substitution for Councillor Carl Walker

To approve the minutes of the Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting of

held on 15 October 2020, copies of which have been previously circulated.

Resolved: that the minutes for the meeting of the 15 October be approved as the correct record

So as to provide the best opportunity for the Committee to provide the public with the fullest answer, questions from the public should be submitted by 12.00pm Tuesday 24 November 2020

Where relevant notice of a question has not been given, the person presiding may either choose to give a response at the meeting or respond by undertaking to provide a written response within three working days.

Questions should be submitted to Democratic Services democratic.services@adur-worthing.gov.uk

(Note: Public Question Time will operate for a maximum of 30 minutes.)

There were no questions from the public

To consider any items the Chairman of the meeting considers to be urgent

There were no items raised under urgency provisions

There were no items called in

To consider a report by the Director for Communities, copy attached as item 7

The Committee had before it a report attached as item 7,  a copy of which had been circulated to all Members, a copy of which is attached to a signed copy of these minutes.The report before members set out background information on the Portfolios of the Adur and  Worthing Executive Members for Resources to enable the Committee to consider and question the Executive Members on issues within their portfolios  and any other issues which the Executive Members are involved in connected with the work of the Councils and the Adur and Worthing communities.

The Worthing Executive Member for Resources introduced the work of the portfolio and welcomed any questions that members might have

A Member asked the following question: There was an unprecedented, urgent reorganisation of staff during the first lockdown - what has the impact of this been on staff well-being? Members were told of the resilience and flexibility of staff during the lockdown crises in light of the rapid way in which staff were expected to change the way that they worked. Some staff had been asked to redeploy and had learned a lot from the experience and their wellbeing had been positively affected. The Executive Member explained to the Committee processes for 1:1s, surveys and the employee assistance programme

A Member asked the following question: Teams responsible for housing and for community safety have seen a massive increase in demand for their services, is sufficient support being put in place for these teams in particular? The Executive Member told the Committee that the Councils’ were keeping under review the impact of demand on our services, particularly during our Covid response. In relation to work with the Safer Communities Partnership, this was being reviewed and refreshed in the new year and the ASB policy would also be reviewed in 2021.  Through all of this demand and capacity would be considered.

A Member asked the following question: Given the new £95,000 exit cap agreed at Joint Staff Committee, how many employees on lower incomes are expected to be impacted by this given the regulations on pensions, particularly for those who have long service, as they stand at the moment? Members were told that the £95,000 cap on exit package was now a statutory requirement which would include the total of any exit payment, pension strain costs and pay in lieu of notice. The briefing at Joint Staff Committee informed the members of the Committee of this new requirement and the potential associated changes to the Pension Regulations which are expected early in the new year. The new cap was not of relevance to staff over 55. It was impossible to forecast how many staff would be impacted by the change as it depended on age, pay and length of service. Of the 5 staff made redundant in the previous year none had been affected by the cap.

A Member asked the Committee to consider a recommendation to the Executive Member and Joint Strategic Committee to remove the Council  ...  view the full minutes text for item JOSC/49/20-21

To consider a report by the Director for Digital and Resources, copy attached as item 8

Before the Committee was a report by the Director for Digital and Resources, attached as item 8. The report before Members provides an overview of the work being undertaken by the Councils relating to food and support for the vulnerable experiencing food insecurity. This report provided an update on the budget strategy position for 2021/22 and beyond.

The head of financial Services introduced the report with the Committee and highlighting in particular the challenges created by the Covid lockdowns.

A Member asked the following question: Regarding the Fall out of SDLT pension costs page 29 and the Triennial pension under valuation and reduction in contributions, has the same under valuation happened with pensions for Council staff and can the reason for the fall out of SDLT pension costs be expanded upon? Members were told that the reduction in pension costs were due to a reassessment of the pension fund position by the actuary. Consequently, the actuary had reduced the level of contributions required for the three years 2020 - 23. The Councils were required to ensure sufficient contributions were made to the pension fund to pay all likely liabilities (pension payments) as assessed by the actuary over a 20 year period. Under the terms of the contract, the Council funded the difference between the initial pension contribution (16.8%) and the current pension contribution (25.3%). This was a typical risk sharing approach for the cost of LGPS pensions within local authority contracts and ensured that the contractor did not price in pension risk into the contract price. The SDLT trust pension payment reduction was due to staff retiring or leaving where the Council was no longer required to fund the difference between the contribution rate specified in the contract and the current pension contribution rate.

A Member asked the following question: Can you explain 3.3 point 6 (page 10) of the agenda, what surplus assets are in the criteria and can you give some examples please? The Committee was told that Surplus assets were assets that were no longer required for operational requirements or had failed to meet property performance indicators regarding revenue performance and long term management costs. Examples included underused car parks, vacant former caretaker properties and isolated commercial premises with little or no alternative use prospects and diminishing returns based on maintenance costs. Officers were working through the council’s asset list to evaluate assets on a case by case basis and individual decision notices would be brought forward after consultation with relevant members to approve any disposals.

A Member asked the following question: On Page 17, there is reference to the reduction in interest rates and the impact on council investments in 2021/22.  We are all familiar with these historically low rates - please can you give us an overview on how the council is looking to maximise its return and brief details of any new, innovative investment projects. Members were told that whilst cash investments were extremely low the Council had mitigated the impact of this in  ...  view the full minutes text for item JOSC/50/20-21

To consider a report by the Director for Communities, copy attached as item 9

Before the Committee was a report by the Director for  Communities, attached as item 9. The purpose of the report was to provide an overview of the work undertaken by Adur & Worthing Councils to prevent and reduce harm to the community, caused by anti social behaviour.

The Head of Wellbeing introduced the report to the committee and gave an outline of the work undertaken as part of work to prevent and reduce the harms caused by anti-social behaviour. As part of the outline members were told about specific areas of concern and multi-agency work being undertaken to tackle those challenges including targeted youth outreach and tackling issues around rough sleeping.

Members asked questions about specific instances of anti-social behaviour and were advised that reporting issues allowed relevant authorities to build up a picture of what was happening so that appropriate action could be taken

Resolved: that the report be noted

To consider a report by the Director for Communities, copy attached as item 10

Before the Committee was a report by the Director for  Communities, attached as item 10. The report updated members on progress so far with the commitments in the Housing Strategy. 

The Director for Resources introduced the report to the Committee and gave a synopsis of work on the strategy including the challenges presented by the Covid Pandemic.

A Member asked if in relation to the opening doors programme, whether agents as well as individual landlords had been consulted with about the programme and members were told that discussions had not as yet been had with agents but that the picture relating to private properties had been changing and consideration was being taken on how opening doors could proceed.

A Member asked who was providing psychologically informed training for staff members and was told that the information would be sent to the member

A Member asked to a reference concerning the early help service which had been under pressure and wondered what conversations had taken place with WSCC about the service and any possible reductions. Members were told that regular discussions had been taking place and that the County realised the importance of working with the District/Borough there had been joint efforts so that those at risk of homelessness got joint advice concerning housing and social services issues. This reduced the number of intentionally homeless which equated to savings. Resources were combined to help the most vulnerable families.

A Member asked about the recognition of the work carried out by health central surgery and it was agreed that the work carried out by the surgery with regards to homeless people and compliance within temporary accommodation during the covid outbreak was invaluable.

A  Member asked about emergency and temporary accommodation: where properties were sourced and what criteria were used to source this property. Members were told that the Councils had a landlord acquisition team and a major projects team that identified and acquired properties to meet demand, however, the nature of demand had changed and the focus was now on investigative work to identify the type of demand and subsequent type property required moving forward.

Resolved: that the report be noted

To consider a report by the Director for Digital, Sustainability and Resources, copy attached as item 11

Before the Committee was a report by the Director for Digital, Sustainability and Resources, a copy of which had been circulated to all members, a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of these minutes as item 10. The report outlined progress with the work contained in the Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee (JOSC) Work Programme for 2020/21 and recommended that the changes made to the Work Programme since it was agreed in July 2020 be reported to the next Council meetings in December 2020 for noting.

The Committee discussed the report and noted that it had nothing to add and the update should be sent to Councils for noting

Resolved:

i) That the progress in implementing the 2020/21 JOSC Work Programme be noted;  and

ii)  That the meetings of Adur District Council and Worthing Borough Council be recommended to note the changes made to the JOSC Work Programme since it was agreed by the Councils in July 2020.