SOCIAL SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

12th September, 2001

Meeting commenced:	9.30 a.m.

"	ended:	12.10 p.m.

PRESENT:	Councillor Pennington - in the Chair

Councillors Carson, Clague, Clarke, Heywood, J. Holt, Leaston, Memory and Upton

Mrs. Dixon, Mr. Dugmore, Mrs. Thompson and Mr. Wilson

Councillors Boyd, Garrido, Hudson, Mann and Sheehy also attended by invitation

(At the commencement of the meeting Members and officers stood in silence as a mark of respect for the people who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington on 11th September, 2001)

19.	APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Mr. Nathan and Mr. Wheelton and Councillor Connor, who had been invited to attend.

20.	MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS

The minutes of the meeting held on 11th July, 2001, were approved as a correct record subject to Councillor J. Holt’s apologies being recorded.

21.	DISPOSAL OF ASSETS FROM THE FORMER PEMBROKE HALLS

(Previous Minute 14(2) – 11th July, 2001)

Councillor Sheehy, Lead Member for Arts and Leisure, presented a report in response to the concerns of Members that assets from the former Pembroke Halls had been disposed of without holding an auction.

The report (a) clarified that an auction had not been held because the only items of significant value not to be distributed within the City Council were the sound and lighting system and a professional auctioneer had advised that an auction of the remaining items would not be viable and (b) described the procedure which had been followed in disposing of assets such as the sound system, carpets and chairs.

Members accepted that the requirements of the Council’s financial regulations had been observed throughout the process but felt that these should be sufficiently flexible

to allow community groups to be given notice, at an early stage, of any equipment which might be offered for sale in the near future.

AGREED:	THAT the report be noted.

22.	ROTA REVIEWING PANEL

The Director of Corporate Services submitted a report (a) listing the Members who had volunteered to serve on the Panel which was to be established to review the reports on visits to residential establishments and (b) setting out options for the operation of the Panel.

AGREED:	(1) THAT the following Members form the Rota Reviewing Panel:

Councillor Carson

Councillor Heywood

Councillor Upton

Mrs Dixon

Mr Dugmore

Mr Nathan

Mr Wheelton

(2) THAT meetings of the Rota Reviewing Panel be held monthly at 10.00 a.m. on a Tuesday to be determined following consultation with the Director of Community and Social Services.

(3) THAT the Rota Reviewing Panel submit to this Committee a summary of issues considered at its meetings.

23.	EDUCATION AND LEISURE SERVICES – BEST VALUE PERFORMANCE	INDICATORS 2000/01 AND 2001/02

(Previous Minute 90 – 9th May, 2001)

The Director of Education and Leisure submitted a report (a) giving an update on progress during the period April to August, 2001, with regard to key Performance Indicators for his Directorate, (b) indicating that the subjects covered in this period were limited as many of the activities for which the Directorate was responsible were measured on an annual, rather than quarterly, basis and (c) containing pupil attainment results for Summer, 2001, which would form the basis of Indicators for 2001/02.

Efforts were made to indicate trends in the period 1994/95 to 2000/01. Comparisons were made also between Salford’s performance and that of other Greater Manchester Authorities, those Authorities deemed to be similar to Salford and the performance of the best quarter of Metropolitain and of all Authorities.

Members noted (i) that whilst there had been some success in reducing the number of surplus school places the distribution of places remained a challenge and (ii) the difficulty in achieving accurate data on the provision of adult education in the city – the

statistics did not, for example, reflect computer training courses which Community Committees had funded in various areas.

AGREED:	THAT the report be noted.

24.	STANDING ADVISORY COUNCIL ON RELIGIOUS EDUCATION (SACRE) – ANNUAL	REPORT 1999/2000

Councillor Boyd, Chairman of the Salford SACRE, and the Director of Education and Leisure, submitted the Annual Report of the Council for 1999/2000.

The report included details of:-

(	The extent of which the Agreed Religious Education Syllabus had been adopted	in Salford schools.

(	The findings of the OFSTED on RE and provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral,	social and cultural development.

(	The increasing popularity of the GCSE (short course) on RE.

(	The text of prayers which had won an inter-faith competition to celebrate the	Millennium, sponsored by Mr. Nathan, on behalf of the Jewish community.

(	The provision for collective worship.

(	The issues discussed at the meetings of the SACRE.

AGREED:	THAT the Annual Report of the SACRE for 1999/2000 be noted.

25.	SCHOOL BUDGETS – DISTRICT AUDIT

Diane Rowland presented a report on District Audit’s Review, of the ways in which	Salford LEA supported financial and resource management in Salford schools, as well	as those aspects of management within the schools. The report (a) set out	developments which would have an impact upon schools budgets in the future, (b)	described the relevant factors in Salford, including economic and social trends and the	number of surplus school places, and (c) concluded that:

(	The LEA’s approach contained many examples of good practice.

(	Although the LEA had been criticised by the OFSTED in 1999/2000 for the	relatively low percentage of funding delegated to schools by 2000/01 the LEA	had met the targets set by the DfEE.

(	There was scope for further delegation and the LEA was in the process of	reviewing arrangements.

(	Consideration was given to providing an improved management information	service to schools.

The Review made a key recommendation that the LEA should undertake a fundamental review of the funding formula to ensure its relevance to the needs of schools. Whilst the Director of Education and Leisure welcomed the Review he expressed some reservations about this recommendation. Schools did not seem to welcome a review as it was unlikely to be accompanied by an increase in funding. Thus any increase which a review might generate for the primary sector would have to be financed by reductions in the secondary sector. The Director indicated, however, that he would pursue other key recommendations such as the production of financial benchmarking information.

AGREED:	THAT the report be noted.

26.	“THE CREATIVE CITY” – SALFORD’S CULTURAL STRATEGY

The Director of Education and Leisure submitted a report (a) indicating that all local authorities were required to produce a Cultural Strategy by 2002, (b) describing consultations which had taken place at a community conference (comprising representatives of the public, voluntary groups and agencies) to help formulate a Strategy for Salford and (c) setting out future actions which would be taken to develop and publicise such a Strategy and monitor its implementation.

Members expressed the opinion that the closure of venues such as the Pembroke Halls had had an impact upon local drama groups and, hence, upon the culture of the City.

AGREED:	(1)	THAT the report be noted and that the timetable for future actions contained therein be amended to indicate that a report on the Cultural Strategy and its associated Action Plan will be made to this Committee on 14th November, 2001.

THAT the Lead Member for Arts and Leisure examine option for

assisting local drama groups such as (a) compiling a directory of venues in Salford which they might use and (b) directing groups towards funds which might be made available to help them meet the cost of venues which are higher than those of the former Council-owned premises.

THAT the Director of Education and Leisure submit a report to this

Committee on 10th October, 2001, on proposals for the future of Clifton House Farm.

27.	PROGRESS OF THE LIBRARY REVIEW AND STATUTORY PUBLIC LIBRARY	STANDARDS

The Director of Education and Leisure submitted a report (a) containing details of

progress to date in achieving the targets set out in the Council’s annual Library Plan for 2001/02 and (b) indicating that, whilst much of the planned investment had been secured, several of the key standards would not be met without significant funding for

stock and computerisation to manage the same.

The report also (i) made an assessment of how the Council measured up to the Statutory Public Library Standards and indicated actions required to ensure that these were achieved by 2004, (ii) indicated that, whilst the Council fulfilled a number of these standards, without sustained investment in stock, staff and computerisation, several of the key standards would not be met by that date and (iii) listed areas which might, therefore, become	subject to inspection and the introduction of “special measures” including access to on-line catalogue, speed of response to requests, visitor numbers and annual stock acquisitions.

The report concluded that the Council’s indicators for the abovementioned services	were so low that only a sustained period of coherent investment could ensure that the	targets to be set out in the Annual Library Plan 2001/02 were realistic.

In discussing the report Members noted that, in spite of the difficulties to which it referred, users of the libraries expressed a high level of satisfaction with the service. The challenge was, therefore, not only to improve the standards of service but to attract persons who did not use the libraries on a regular basis. The Lead Member and Director reported on actions which were being taken to attract lapsed, or non, users. It was considered that the Libraries Service was a good example of the benefits which arose from the combination of the former Education and Arts and Leisure Departments because whilst reading was a recreational activity it had educational benefits. There was, however, a need to build on this success by securing materials of interest to groups (such as teenage boys) who tended to lose interest in reading.

AGREED:	(1)	THAT the progress made towards fulfilling the recommendations of the	Library Review and the necessary investment required to achieve the public library	standards by 2004, as set out in the report now submitted, be noted.

(2)	THAT the Director of Education and Leisure submit a further report on the outcome of the bid for additional funding for the Libraries Service.

28.	WORK PLAN FOR THE SOCIAL SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

Members (a) considered a work plan setting out the issues which were scheduled to be presented to the Committee over the next four months and details of the issues which have yet to be incorporated into the programme and (b) noted the likely need to

amend the workplan to reflect changes to the Scrutiny Committee structure referred to in Minute 31 below.

AGREED:	THAT the existing work plan and details, and the potential need to amend same as a result of changes to Scrutiny functions, be noted.

29.	LOCAL AUTHORITY SOCIAL SERVICES AND VOLUNTARY SECTOR WORKING	RELATIONSHIP – REPORT BY THE SOCIAL SERVICES INSPECTORATE (SSI)

The Director of Community and Social Services submitted a report containing details

of action which had been taken in response to recommendations made by the SSI following an inspection of the working relationship between her Directorate and the

voluntary sector. These included (a) a review of the commissioning arrangements with the voluntary sector, (b) the establishment of consistent monitoring arrangements, (c) the clarification of accountability within the Directorate and (d) the development of a rolling budget strategy into grant regimes, management information systems and an integrated and simplified system for grant applications.

AGREED:	(1)	THAT the ongoing work in relation to the recommendations of the SSI (and specifically with regard to the practice and management points set out in the report now submitted) be supported.

(2)	THAT the Commissioning Sub-Group established by the Community and Social Services Directorate submit a further report to this Committee or its successor on 13th February, 2002, on ongoing implementation of the procedures.

(3)	THAT the Director of Community and Social Services examine the feasibility of reports giving an indication of grants paid and the uses to which they were put.

30.	CHILDRENS SERVICE PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

The Director of Community and Social Services submitted a report (a) describing circumstances which had hindered the production of the analysis of performance by the Children’s Services and (b) indicating that the production of national comparative data on children looked after by local authorities would facilitate comparison of Salford’s performance with regional and national statistics.

Accordingly, the report analysed the performance of Salford in comparison with national	and North West averages in terms of:

(	The education of children looked after by the Authority for at least one	year.

(	The education and employment strategy for young people looked after by the	local authority after school leaving age.

(	The extent to which such children got into trouble with the Police.

(	Activities to promote the good health of children looked after by the local	authority.

The number of statutory reviews and unallocated cases.

The number of children of the Child Protection Register and the reasons for registration.

(	The age, gender and type of placement of children looked after by the	local authority.

Members noted that the reductions in the number of unallocated cases varied depending upon the area of the City. This could be attributed to difficulties in maintaining staffing levels and to the fact that whilst certain areas had fewer children the percentage on the Child Protection Register was greater. A number of actions were being considered such as new accommodation and revision to ensure that Teams reflected more accurately the workload generated by an area.

An apparent decline in the number of children in foster care demonstrated a need to give this activity constant attention. The national recruitment campaign had had little impact in Salford and whilst a local one had been more successful it would be some time before the benefits became apparent. The welcome increase in the number of children adopted would also have reduced the number fostered.

AGREED:	THAT the report be noted.

31.	DISCONTINUATION OF THE SOCIAL SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

(The Chairman had indicated that he had agreed that this item of business, which had	not been included on the agenda for the meeting, should be considered as a matter of	urgency by reason of special circumstances, i.e. to give Members early notice of

proposals for revising the role of this Committee.)

The Director of Corporate Services reported that (a) local authorities were to be given new responsibilities to scrutinise health services in their area, (b) accordingly, the Council at their meeting scheduled for 19th September, 2001, was to be asked to establish a Committee to take on this responsibility, (c) the responsibilities of the Social Scrutiny Committee would be divided so that the new Health and Social Issues Committee would cover also the activities of the Community and Social Services Directorate, whilst Education and Leisure issues would be scrutinised by the Life-long Learning and Leisure Scrutiny Committee and (d) the membership and pattern of meetings of these new Committees had not yet been determined.

In anticipation of the discontinuation of the Social Scrutiny Committee the Chairman thanked Members and officers for their contributions.

32.	EXCLUSION OF THE PUBLIC

AGREED:	THAT, under Section 100a(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business, on the ground that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as specified in paragraph 6 of part 1 of schedule 12(a) to the Act.

33.	ROTA VISITS TO CHILDRENS RESIDENTIAL UNITS

The Director of Community and Social Services submitted details of (a) rota visits to	children’s residential units which Members and Officers had carried out in the period	April to June, 2001, and (b) action taken as a result.

AGREED:	THAT the report be noted.

r:\status\working\admin\omin\sscm120901

Social Scrutiny Committee - 12th September, 2001

SOCIAL SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

Pat Taylor

2001-10-02

City Of Salford

COS