Agenda and minutes

The Committee noted the apologies of Councillors Hannides, Fuller, Furnell, Whitbread and T Thomas.  The Committee also noted that following receipt of the temporary resignation of Councillor Morrell from the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee, the Service Director, Legal and Governance, acting under delegated powers, had appointed Councillor D Thomas to replace him for the purposes of this meeting.

To approve and sign as a correct record the Minutes of the final meeting of the Dementia Friendly Southampton Scrutiny Inquiry held on 26 April, 2016 and the Overview and Scrutiny Management meeting held on 16 June 2016 and to deal with any matters arising, attached.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 16 June 2016 be approved and signed as a correct record.

The Committee considered the report of the Leader of the Council detailing the Council’s performance in Quarter 4 of the 2015-2016 Municipal Year.

RESOLVED

(i)  that Members of the Committee consider the set of draft indicator set and identify additional / alternative measures for the consideration of the Executive;

(ii)  that the Leader identify a suitable transport measure for inclusion within the new indicator set;

(iii)  that the People’s Panel be utilised to develop awareness of the reasons behind the reduction in satisfaction levels with the Council;

(iv)  that recognising the need to improve outcomes for young people in Southampton through preventative action, the Executive pinpoint and incorporate the key drivers within the indicator set that will identify if the required improvements are being made, and set appropriate targets which are stretching but achievable;

(v)  that the Leader considers engaging universities to undertake research into the effectiveness of interventions in addressing some of the wider underlying issues behind the Council’s performance in 2015/16;

(vi)  to improve resident satisfaction with the Council the Leader review approaches to communicating changes being implemented by the Council;

(vii)  that the Leader circulate to the OSMC the recycling ‘heatmap’ that had been commissioned when available; and

(viii)  That a briefing note on developments in Southampton regarding Social Impact Bonds be circulated to the Committee.

Briefing Paper of the Learning Disability Joint Commissioning Manager Head as part of the Committee's consideration of the Forward Plan item, Learning Disability Residential Homes Future Options, attached.

The Committee considered the briefing paper of the Learning Disability Joint Commissioning Manager detailing the item “Learning Disability Residential Homes Future Options” requested for discussion from the current Forward Plan.

RESOLVED:

(i)  that to provide context to the decision the OSMC be provided with:

(a)  an overview of the number of people with learning disabilities in Southampton that are supported in the various settings (residential homes, supported living, living with family, etc.) and the number of learning disability residential homes and supported living premises in the City;

(b)  an outline of the longer term plans with regards to the de-registration of residential homes for people with learning disabilities in Southampton;

(ii)  that, to avoid tenants getting into rent arrears, officers consider options for paying rent directly to the landlord from the housing benefit payment; and

(iii)  that in recognition that support for the preferred option could be influenced by the level of housing / welfare benefit clients are eligible for, officers continue to work with partners  to understand the potential impact that proposals relating to the provision, value and eligibility of benefits has on the client group.

Briefing Paper of the Policy Manager as part of the Committee's consideration of the Forward Plan item, Draft Housing Strategy 2016-25, attached.

The Committee considered the briefing paper of the Policy Manager detailing the item “Draft Housing Strategy 2016-25” requested for discussion from the current Forward Plan.

RESOLVED:

(i)  that the Cabinet Member for Housing and Adult Care circulate a breakdown of the 8% non-decent Council owned housing stock by category (e.g. bathrooms, kitchens) to the Committee; and

(ii)  that statistics on housing adaptations be provided to the Committee detailing:

·  The number of adaptations undertaken in 2015/16

·  The average time from request to assessment being undertaken

·  The average waiting time between assessment undertaken and adaptation commencing

·  The number of individuals currently awaiting housing adaptations

The Committee received and noted the report of the Service Director, Legal and governance detailing the actions of the executive and monitoring progress of the recommendations of the Committee.