To consider the report.

Rebecca Hatch outlined that the report was a refresh of the context of the corporate plan, as it had been a year since the plan was adopted. The cost of living was having a widespread impact across communities, the council and its finances and meant that budget setting would be more challenging. There had also been a lot of change and uncertainty in central government and the council was awaiting direction in a number of different areas. More data had been gathered, in particular the residents survey, and the 2021 census data which had recently been released. Officers had been delivering against the corporate plan goals and it was now clear which areas had proved to be more challenging to achieve. The residents survey showed that overall the corporate plan was still appropriate, but there were five key areas which would be updated and strengthened:

·         Reflection on the cost of living increases and the work that was needed to support residents.

·         Increased focus on prevention.

·         Increased emphasis on reducing inequalities.

·         Strengthening links with partnership working.

·         Reflecting the decisions made in the budget through the corporate plan.

Councillor Bond referenced a piece of work on educational attainment which had been completed in his ward, he had been surprised by the differences in education between some areas which he knew well against the rest of the borough. Poor education and finances often led to poor health and Councillor Bond was pleased to see the council involved in partnership working with the NHS. On the equalities objectives, Councillor Bond felt that some of the objectives were more relevant than others. He liked the inclusion of socio-economic consideration to the equality impact assessments, which accompanied council reports.

Councillor Price was encouraged that there would be a greater emphasis on residents who lived in deprivation, she had a high number in her ward. On one of the outcomes, she felt that it was important to deliver both effectively and efficiently. Councillor Price said that the libraries provided an important service for residents, an individual had been using the library space to provide advice on legal and financial matters. However, residents now needed to pay to access this service and Councillor Price did not feel that this was right. It was important to ensure that goals in the corporate plan were not put up against the need for the council to generate revenue. On the equality impact assessments, Councillor Price also welcomed the improvements that had been made. Members needed training on what the assessments were saying so that everyone knew the implications. Members were corporate parents, Councillor Price asked if the impact of children in care could be included as part of the impact assessments.

Adele Taylor clarified that residents were not being charged to enter the library, a professional advisor had been using space at the library to provide advice to residents. As with any other individual or community group that used the library space, a small payment was required to cover costs.

Kevin McDaniel said that it was always a good idea to consider corporate parenting duties, he was unsure if the impact assessment was the right place for it on the report template but it was something worth considering.

Rebecca Hatch added that they had discussed including children in care in the impact assessments with the relevant team in Achieving for Children, where it would be relevant.

Councillor Sharpe said that as a high level report, it was very useful. He suggested that it would be interesting to see some of the detail behind the report.

Councillor Werner said that he wanted the corporate plan to put the council at the heart of the community and he felt that this was not the case, referencing the case of the individual providing services at the library which had been highlighted by Councillor Price.

The Chairman said that Councillor Werner could refer the relevant Cabinet Member to the objective in the corporate plan where the drop in service provided at the library was benefitting the community.

Councillor Shelim noted that on the survey residents had been asked both by phone and face to face. He asked how those by phone were chosen and if any particular areas of the borough were targeted for face to face interviews. On the data, the percentages did not add up to 100% on a number of areas, for example, ethnicity, working status and home ownership status.

Rebecca Hatch explained that the percentages did not always add to 100% due to the rounding of figures. Residents were recruited randomly by telephone, but statistics were tracked to try and ensure that a representative sample of the borough was gained. The face to face surveys were done to make up for the groups which had been hard to reach via phone, for example younger people.

Councillor Price noted that there was a group of residents that were not satisfied with the council, she questioned whether this group of people were less well off financially. The ‘report it’ tool was still not working properly and was a frustration in stopping things being done. Councillor Price commented on access to street space, she knew of residents who did not leave their homes often as they were concerned about falling over with uneven pavements and a lack of dropped curves. This was important to tackle loneliness amongst the older generations.

Rebecca Hatch confirmed that there was a correlation between being less well off financially and lower levels of satisfaction. The question of salary had not been directly asked in the survey but there were other proxies like home ownership and employment status which showed the correlation. The 18-34 age group scored low on the survey due to the cost of living crisis. The streetscape was a big topic through the Disability and Inclusion Forum, the equalities objectives had been developed with input from the Forum.

Andrew Durrant said that the council had to prioritise its resources but if there were issues with isolation, he was happy to pick this up outside the meeting and discuss the issue with the team.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Panel noted the report and:

i)             Considered the changes in context.

ii)            Provided feedback in relation to the draft equality objectives.