Agenda and minutes

To note any changes in membership of the Panel made in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 4.3.

The Panel noted the apologies of Councillors Hammond and Morrell, Mr Blackshaw and Mrs Topp and that Councillor Paffey was in attendance as a nominated substitute for Councillor Hammond in accordance with Procedure Rule 4.3

To approve and sign as a correct record the Minutes of the meetings held on 11^th July 2013 and to deal with any matters arising, attached.

RESOLVED that the minutes for the Committee meeting on 11^th July 213 be approved and signed as a correct record, subject to amending Item (iii) on Page 6 to read “that the Committee noted……”.  (Copy of the minutes circulated with the agenda and appended to the signed minutes).

Report of the Head of Communities, Change and Partnerships detailing items requested for discussion from the current Forward Plan, attached.

The Committee considered the report of the Head of Communities, Change and Partnerships, detailing items requested for discussion from the current Forward Plan.  (Copy of the report circulated with the agenda and appended to the signed minutes).

RESOLVED:

(i)  on consideration of the briefing paper relating to the forthcoming Cabinet Decision “Homelessness Prevention Strategy”, the Committee recommended that:-

a.  the draft homelessness action plan be brought back to the Committee for discussion;

b.  the Cabinet Member ensures that the Committee be kept informed of the funding position relating to the Homelessness Day Centre;

c.  information relating to the volume of homelessness that was being dealt with within the homelessness team’s fixed budget and the extent to which homelessness was being prevented, be circulated to the Committee;

d.  the Cabinet Member ensures that officers work closely with landlords and registered providers to encourage maximisation of the take-up of direct payments to protect the most vulnerable and to prevent rent arrears, wherever possible and sensible to do so, within the Homelessness Strategy;  and

e.  the Cabinet Member ensures that officers explore what funding levels would be required to address homelessness in Southampton relating to rough sleepers who did not have recourse to public funds.

(ii)  the Committee noted the  briefing paper relating to the forthcoming Cabinet Decision “Safe City and Youth Justice Strategy” and that the key issues for success would be the co-ordination of activities and the sharing of information and intelligence by all partners.

Superintendent Fulton, Hampshire Constabulary and Chair of the Safe City Partnership for 2013/14 and Group Manager Avery, Hampshire Fire and Rescue and Chair of the Safe City Partnership for 2012/13 were present and with the consent of the Chair, addressed the meeting.

Report of the People Director requesting that the Committee approve a proposal to incorporate the Corporate Parenting scrutiny function under the umbrella of the OSMC, attached.

The Committee considered the report of the People Director requesting approval of a proposal to incorporate the Corporate Parenting scrutiny function under the umbrella of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.  (Copy of the report circulated with the agenda and appended to the signed minutes).

RESOLVED:-

(i)  that the proposal outlined in Appendix 1 to incorporate the Corporate Parenting scrutiny function under the umbrella of Overview and Scrutiny Management, not be approved and the Lambeth model be adopted;  and

(ii)  that the Cabinet Member and officers ensure that consideration is given to the frequency of reporting from the Corporate Parenting Committee to full Council.

Report of the Head of Communities, Change and Partnerships seeking approval of the draft outline terms of reference for the review by Scrutiny Panel A, attached.

The Committee considered the report of the Head of Communities, Change and Partnerships, seeking approval of the draft outline terms of reference for the review by Scrutiny Panel A.  (Copy of the report circulated with the agenda and appended to the signed minutes).

RESOLVED:-

(i)  that the draft outline terms of reference for the scrutiny review be approved;  and

(ii)  that authority be delegated to the Head of Communities, Change and Partnerships in consultation with the Chair of Scrutiny Panel A, to finalise the terms of reference for the review.

Report of the Head of Communities, Change and Partnerships detailing the actions of the executive and monitoring progress of the recommendations of the Committee, attached.

The Committee noted  the report of the Head of Communities, Change and Partnerships, detailing the actions of the executive and monitoring progress of the recommendations of the Committee.    (Copy of the report circulated with the agenda and appended to the signed minutes).

Report of the Director, People detailing the forthcoming executive decision in respect of the above, attached.

In order to comply with the Council’s Access to Information Procedure Rules, the Committee gave urgent consideration to the report of the Director of People, detailing the forthcoming executive decision in respect of the People Directorate Transformation Programme.  The reasons for urgency being that the issue was not included on the agenda as the consultation on the cabinet report had not been concluded at the time of publication.  (Copy of the report circulated with the agenda and appended to the signed minutes).

The Director of People was in attendance and with the consent of the Chair, addressed the meeting.

RESOLVED

(i)  that information relating to monies spent on external consultants to date and proposed monies to be spent on external consultants going forward, be circulated to the Committee;

(ii)  that information relating to the IT time table and key stages to be undertaken including costs prior to the system being implemented, be circulated to the Committee;  and

(iii)  that the Cabinet Member ensures that officers include an appropriate safety net for vulnerable people, to prevent them from being excluded from accessing the appropriate support and services through the Chanel Shift initiative.