Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Commission held on 13 January 2022.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meetings of the Commission held on 13 January 2022 be approved as a correct record, and signed by the Chair.

Members are asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary or affected interests and the nature of that interest, including the existence and nature of the party whip, in respect of any matter to be considered at this meeting.

Any Member with a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in a matter should withdraw from the meeting when the matter is under consideration and should notify the Democratic Services Officer in attendance that they are withdrawing as they have such an interest. If the Disclosable Pecuniary Interest is not entered on the register of Members interests the Monitoring Officer must be notified of the interest within 28 days.

Any Member with an Affected Interest in a matter must disclose the interest to the meeting.  There is no requirement to withdraw from the meeting when the interest is only an affected interest, but the Monitoring Officer should be notified of the interest, if not previously notified of it, within 28 days of the meeting.

 There were no declarations of interest made.

There were no indications that members would be participating while under the party whip.

There were no items of urgent business.

No submissions had been made by members of the public under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme for Overview and Scrutiny.

Council Plan Overview Report (CPOR) covering the second quarter of 2021/22 is attached.

Members of the Commission are asked to submit technical or detailed questions in advance of the meeting.

The Executive Director: Resources at Bracknell Forest Council, Stuart McKellar, introduced the Council Plan Overview Report (CPOR) covering the second quarter of 2021/22. The Executive Director: Resources highlighted that:

·       There was a slight change to the format of the CPOR from previous versions as it included a more detailed update on the activity of the Chief Executive’s office. This was due to separate quarterly reports being created for the Resources Directorate and the Place, Planning and Regeneration Team.

·       The Council was on track to deliver the Corporate Plan except for transformation savings which was RAG rated red. The delay in transformation savings was largely due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the People Directorate. Members were assured the groundwork had been done in this area, but the transformation team were not as far ahead as they hoped they would be at this point.

·       Changes to The Lookout Café meant there was a more exciting offer for residents which would help to generate more income and bring visitors back.

·       The Council had allocated a number of business grants across the borough.

·       The draft Health and Wellbeing Strategy for the borough was out for consultation and progressing well.

·       There was a slight delay on some traffic works around the borough, but these were being addressed.

·       There was a global issue obtaining IT equipment, which had been an issue, but good progress had been made this quarter by the team and new starters were receiving kit.

·       Work was being carried out to ensure Time Square would be ready when it was reopened to the public. This included a new café area and soundproof, glass booths for staff to meet with residents.

·       The Bracknell Forest Giants in the Town Centre had proved hugely popular and brought many people back into town. It was noted there had been good publicity reach for this initiative.

·       The corporate peer challenge took place during this quarter and feedback was overwhelmingly positive about Bracknell Forest Council.

·       The Council had taken steps to support vulnerable people. This included additional welfare support for children eligible for Free School Meals, such as  meals over the holiday period, and that support was continuing currently.

·       It was anticipated there would be a small underspend in the budget when previously there was a risk of an overspend. The anticipated underspend was due to the situation not deteriorating as quickly as predicted because car parks and leisure centres were being well used again.

The following questions were asked:

·       In response to a query about the amber RAG rating and low number of apprenticeships available in the Council (Page 27) the Executive Director: Resources explained two teams who were currently in the middle of a restructure (Digital Services and Human Resources & Organisational Development) would be creating a total of five apprenticeships in the near future. The delay to creating more apprenticeships was partly due to the Covid-19 pandemic impacting on teams’ ability to take on new starters requiring a lot of assistance, particularly in the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 60.

Overview and Scrutiny Panel Chairs to provide verbal updates on the work programme and highlight any proposed changes such as scope, scheduling or duration.

The Commission to consider the scope for SEND review from the Education, Skills and Growth Panel.

Each Panel Chair provided a verbal update on work programme progress.

Education, Skills and Growth

The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) review scope was agreed.

Health and Care

The Mental Health draft report and recommendations were finalised and would be brought for consideration to the April Commission meeting.

Ideas for the Panel’s next review had been discussed but it was noted one suggestion regarding the recruitment marketplace in social care was being reviewed by the Employment Committee.

Environment and Communities

The inaugural meeting of the Integrated Enforcement Review would take place on Thursday 9 February. A number of dates were booked in for March.