Agenda item

Verbal updates will be given at the meeting.

Members were provided with verbal updates on the work of each Select Committee as follows:

Adult Social Care and Health Select Committee

The Vice Chair advised that the next meeting of the Select Committee would be held later that day and Members would be continuing with their review of Reablement Services. North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust would also be providing an update on maternity services.

Children and Young People Select Committee

The Chair advised that at the last meeting the Select Committee had received an update on recommendation 1 “Improve Attendance” from their previous review of Narrowing the Gap in Educational Attainment. The review had culminated in 17 shared objectives and further updates on the other recommendations were scheduled into the Select Committee Work Programme.

The Select Committee’s current review was Holiday Activities and Food Programme known locally as Holidays Are Fun (HAF). The December meeting had received information from Children’s Services and Public Health and also from Catalyst who managed the provider contract on behalf of the Council. The January meeting would be an informal session and would provide an opportunity, amongst other things, to hear from organisations who had delivered activity as part of the HAF programme, including examples of best practice, successes, challenges and lessons learnt and also hear from young people who had benefited from the programme.

Members requested data regarding take up of HAF places and the Scrutiny Officer undertook to circulate the presentation which the Select Committee had received at their last meeting.

Members discussed the recent Sara Shariff case and the dangers of the automatic right to home schooling. Members suggested that the Select Committee receive an update on the numbers of home schooled children in the Borough and safeguarding in place and felt that this topic would benefit from in depth review.

Community Safety Select Committee

The Vice Chair reported that the November meeting of the Select Committee had received further evidence in respect of their current review of Welcoming and Safe Town Centres. The Select Committee had received evidence from Cleveland Fire Brigade and the Borough’s four Town Councils.  An SBC Ward Councillor survey had also been issued in early-December. The next evidence session in early-January 2025 would hear from local business groups / forums.

The December 2024 meeting had been cancelled and re-arranged for early-January 2025. Later that month there would also be a one-off item on Domestic Abuse attended by the Chair of the Domestic Abuse Steering Group which would outline the duties and powers for Councils to help victims.

Progress on outstanding actions from the previously completed Scrutiny Review of Tree Asset Management would be presented to the Committee meeting in February 2025.

Members advised that there were technical issues with the ward councillor survey. The Scrutiny Officer undertook to investigate and extend the deadline for completing the survey in view of the problems.

People Select Committee

The Committee’s next meeting would review the summary of evidence and consider draft recommendations in respect of their current review of Disabled Facilities Grants.

The Committee had received evidence from Housing Regeneration and Investment, Occupational Therapy, and Building Services teams, Foundations who were the national body for Home Improvement Agencies and Disabled Facilities Grant, and Stockton & District Information & Advice Service. They had also considered customer satisfaction survey results and consultation had taken place with residents via Stockton Parent Carer Forum.

Place Select Committee

The Scrutiny Officer advised that there had not been a meeting of the Select Committee since the last Executive Scrutiny meeting. The December meeting had been stood down to allow the option appraisal to be reported to the Select Committee before it concluded its review. The next meeting would take place in January and would receive evidence as follows:

·         Update on the option appraisal

·         Empty Homes

·         Feedback on the Common Allocation Policy

·         Implications of the National Planning Policy Framework for Affordable Housing

AGREED that the updates be noted.