Meeting documents

Councillor Miscandlon, Councillor Mrs Bucknor and Rob Jakeman (Cambridgeshire County Council Scrutiny and Improvement Officer) presented the Domestic Abuse Member Led Review - Final Report to the Panel.

Rob Jakeman stated that the review was conducted in collaboration with Scrutiny members from Huntingdonshire and Fenland District Councils as domestic abuse (DA) was highlighted as a priority issue within the Strategic Assessments produced for the Community Safety Partnerships in these areas.

Members asked questions, made comments and received responses as follows:

1. Councillor Mrs Bucknor stated that she feels, and the Chairman of the Cambridgeshire Domestic Abuse Partnership agrees, that it would be beneficial if elected members were also part of the new Committee. She also suggested that the Chairman should visit the refuge in Fenland to see first hand the work that is carried out there as they do an incredible job. Some of the worst experiences of DA in the Fenland area take place in Wisbech, there needs to be a greater emphasis on promoting where help is available and closer working with GP surgeries in this area. She stated that there is nothing more serious that we should be doing right now. We all need to ensure that we give as much support to these issues as we can. Rob Jakeman agreed to feedback to CCC;


2. Councillor Cornwell stated that with the refuge in Fenland in mind, we must help to get the message out there that there is help available if you need it. Perhaps we could encourage the use of the One Stop Shops to pass on information and to display publicity about where people can get help. Lots of people use the shops, leaflets or posters should be on display there, and anywhere there is public access including GP surgeries and libraries. Councillor Miscandlon confirmed that this issue was picked up as part of the review and is currently being addressed;


3. Councillor Jolley stated that we should publicise the outcomes from this review in the Fenlander Newspaper; ACTION: ANNA GOODALL


4. Councillor Chambers asked if the GPs are aware of this report. Rob Jakeman stated that this is the first step to publicising the final report from the review, there is a GP consortium and this information will be fed into that;


5. Councillor Booth stated that it is important to get the GPs informed and up to date with the findings as they will be the people making the referrals. Councillor Miscandlon stated that it was established during the review that initially people do not want to talk to someone face to face and are more likely to call a number from a poster, but agreed that it is important to get the report to the GPs in the area so that they are fully aware. Rob Jakeman stated that he is developing a strategy at the moment with Councillor Hoy and Councillor Curtis to implement the recommendations made;


6. Councillor Booth asked how much the funding is being increased by to deal with the issues of DA. Rob Jakeman confirmed that the funding is to be increased by £80,000;


7. Councillor Booth asked how the funding is distributed in the Fenland area, as it is clear from the findings that some areas are more affected than others. Rob Jakeman explained that the funding will be concentrated on the Multi-Agency Referral Unit (MARU) and they will deploy where necessary;


8. Councillor Mrs Bucknor stated that she is pleased to be able to report that previously when the police visited an address due to a report of DA they had to complete a 32 page form with regards to the incident, this is no longer the system used;


9. Councillor Miscandlon stated that 95% of Officers that apply to join the MARU are turned down, as they need very specialist skills to work in this team. Councillor Booth stated that this shows that more training is required to enable Officers to gain the skills required;

Councillor Jolley thanked Rob Jakeman for attending the meeting today, stating that it is very early stages for the recommendations from this review, but that it is clear that Councillors fully support the work to improve services.

Anna Goodall presented the Outside Body Appointment Feedback Report, informing members that the Council appoints Elected Members to represent it on a range of Outside Bodies, both at national and local level. Such appointments ensure that the Council's interests and therefore the people of Fenland are represented within key agencies. At present the Council does not have a formal mechanism in place which effectively enables Members to feedback to their fellow Councillors on activities of the outside bodies they have been appointed to.

Members asked questions, made comments and received responses as follows:

1. Councillor Mrs Bucknor stated that she is very pleased with recommendations made, as this could have been onerous. This will be a good way to update, with a summary report; Councillor Jolley stated that we will only require one of the representatives on each Outside Body to feedback, and only on matters that affect the Council, so that we ensure we know what is going on that will affect us;


2. Councillor Miscandlon stated that with regards to Appendix 1, Fenland Citizens' Advice Bureau are now called Rural Cambridgeshire CAB. Anna Goodall agreed to amend the details; ACTION: ANNA GOODALL


3. Councillor Booth stated that there are many Drainage Boards with representatives on from FDC, and suggested that several could prepare reports for one meeting, as this would be a practical way of looking at them all and this is a key subject. Councillor Jolley stated that Middle Level will be attending the next meeting;


4. Councillor Melton stated that he understands the concerns regarding the Outside Body representation. 72 organisations is not acceptable and these will be looked at very carefully. Attending all these meetings costs this Council a lot of money in mileage and train fares. He added that he looks at the agenda for a meeting and if he does not feel that there is anything on there directly relating to Fenland, then he does not attend. Where we have put capital into an organisation, we will make sure that we have representation, and that we feedback to fellow members. Councillor Jolley agreed that there are too many organisations to represent effectively, and stated that he is glad that this is going to be looked into;


5. Councillor Melton stated that Middle Level are attending the next Overview and Scrutiny Meeting, and suggested that members ask if they should be streamlining their organisation. Councillor Jolley stated that the drainage boards are coming down in numbers and there are more plans to streamline further in the future;


6. Councillor Mrs Bucknor stated that she had concerns when she previously represented on Middle Level, and would like some reassurance that the Council are getting value for money;


7. Councillor Sutton stated that once the Leader has narrowed the list of organisations down, there should be a hierarchy of bodies to report back on, from the ones that we are contributing the most financially, down to those where our contributions are not so big;


8. Councillor Booth stated that although the outside bodies information is available online, it is only accessible on individual member pages, there is not a full list as published in the report. Anna Goodall agreed that she will look into adding this to the website; ACTION: ANNA GOODALL


9. Councillor Mrs Bucknor stated that this should also apply to Town and Parish Councillors. Councillor Melton stated that people who stand on Town and Parish Councils are elected separately;


10. Councillor Booth asked if there will be another report to follow looking at how this system will work in practice. Anna Goodall confirmed that there would be another report.

The Overview and Scrutiny Panel agreed the feedback mechanism in relation to Outside Bodies as follows:

• Utilise the effective established processes already in existence for feeding back information to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee;


• Provide delegated opportunities within the Overview and Scrutiny work programme for feedback from Outside Bodies;


• Include feedback received from the Outside Bodies in the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Annual Report.

Members considered the Future Work Programme 2012/2013 for the Overview and Scrutiny Panel.

Anna Goodall informed members that there is currently work taking place with regards to the Paperless Office, and there may be the opportunity to add a meeting when more information is available.

Councillor Stebbing stated that the issues relating to the grounds maintenance contract need to be looked at. Neighbouring areas have received the same rainfall, but are not experiencing the same issues with grass cutting as we are in Fenland. This Panel needs to look closely at the contractual obligations for everything to do with grounds maintenance. Can the contract be circulated to the panel? Anna Goodall confirmed that she would circulate the contract to the Panel and reminded members that the Progress of Corporate Priority -  Streets Ahead item is scheduled for the March meeting. ACTION: ANNA GOODALL

Members agreed the Future Work Programme 2012/2013 for the Overview and Scrutiny Panel.

Councillor Cornwell informed the panel that recent discussions at the Adult Health and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee were focused on how to scrutinise following the changes in the NHS, and how are relationships going to be built with the Local Clinical Commissioning Groups?

Further discussions will take place here at FDC and Councillor Cornwell asked members to think how they see this happening in Fenland, and how members want to take this further.

Councillor Jolley stated that members need time to think about this. Members need to think about how and what they feel it will be important to scrutinise. Councillor Jolley stated that he will meet with Councillor Butcher to discuss this further and will feedback to the panel.