Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Bennett, Brennan (and his Substitute Member Councillor Myers) and Lewis.

Councillor Bradshaw welcomed Members to this first physical meeting of the Committee in the 2021/22 Municipal Year.

Councillor Bradshaw welcomed specially Councillors Bennett, Brennan, Howard and Morris who were new members of the Committee; and offered her thanks to Councillors Brodie-Browne, Brough and Doyle and former Councillor McCann for their help and support on the Committee during 2020/21.

Members are requested at a meeting where a disclosable pecuniary interest or personal interest arises, which is not already included in their Register of Members' Interests, todeclare any interests that relate to an item on the agenda.

Where a Member discloses a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest, he/she must withdraw from the meeting room by switching their camera and microphone off during the whole consideration of any item of business in which he/she has an interest, except where he/she is permitted to remain as a result of a grant of a dispensation.

Where a Member discloses a personal interest he/she must seek advice from the Monitoring Officer or staff member representing the Monitoring Officer to determine whether the Member should withdraw from the meeting room, including from the public gallery, during the whole consideration of any item of business in which he/she has an interest or whether the Member can remain in the meeting or remain in the meeting and vote on the relevant decision.

No declarations of interest were received.

Minutes of the meeting held on 2 March 2021

RESOLVED:

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 2 March 2021 be confirmed as a correct record.

Report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer

Further to Minute No. 16 of 20 October 2020 the Committee considered the report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer that updated on the implementation of recommendations contained in the final report of the Ethical Business Practices Working Group that was approved by Council in February 2020.

The report highlighted responses from the Head of Strategic Support in relation to recommendations concerning the adoption of revised statements of ethical procurement principles/policy; and the adoption and implementation of a Social Value Action Plan.

Members asked questions/commented on the following issues:

·        The Government Commercial Function document “Guide to Using the Social Value Model”, published in December 2020, which indicated that following a review of its outsourcing processes in 2018 government committed to extend the requirements of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 in central government to ensure that all major procurements explicitly evaluate, where appropriate, rather than just consider it

·        Social value within the National Planning Policy Framework and Spatial Development Strategies to recognise that the role of planning policy was to ensure development was engaging with, uniting and benefiting the local area

·        Sefton’s Social Value from Development Supplementary Planning Document 

RESOLVED: That

Report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer seeking the views of the Committee on the Work Programme for 2021/22; the identification of potential topics for scrutiny reviews to be undertaken by a Working Group(s) appointed by the Committee; the identification of any items for pre-scrutiny by the Committee from the Key Decision Forward Plan; and providing an update on the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Members asked questions/commented on the following issues:

·        A Working Group could potentially be established to review the Council’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. It was anticipated that many other local authorities, together the Local Government Association, would be looking at this issue to find out how local Councils coped during the pandemic to help their local residents and businesses. Any work undertaken in Sefton could be fed into the national debate

·        The community centred approach to local economic development, Community Wealth Building, was referred to and particularly the “Preston Model”; and it was suggested that it may be beneficial in the future for the Committee to receive a report on Sefton’s work towards Community Wealth Building  

RESOLVED: That

Briefing Note of the Cabinet Member – Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Services

Further to Minute No. 29 of its meeting held on 12 January 2021 the Committee considered a Welfare Reform and Anti-Poverty update of the Head of Health and Wellbeing and Cabinet Member - Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Services.

The update provided information on the latest meeting of the Welfare Reform and Anti-Poverty (WRAP) Cabinet Member Reference Group and in particular on activities associated with:

·        A Motion approved by Council on 4 March 2021 regarding Poverty Emergency

·        Childhood poverty

·        Healthy Start vouchers

·        Breathing Space

·        Emergency Limited Assistance Scheme

Councillor Lappin, Cabinet Member – Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Services presented the update.

Members of the Committee commented on the following issues:

·        The up to date position in respect of the call for action relating to childhood poverty

·        Whether the Breathing Space initiative offered tenants protection from eviction from their homes. It was noted however that protection to social and private tenants by delaying when landlords could evict tenants was governed by Government legislation

·        Concern was expressed at the proposed cessation, at the end of September, of the £20/week uplift received by universal credit claimants. It was anticipated that this would have a dramatic effect on claimants, coupled also with the ending of the furlough scheme, and would have an impact on the Emergency Limited Assistance Scheme

RESOLVED:  That

Report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Officer

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Legal and Democratic

Officer that included the most recent report from the Cabinet Member –

Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Services.

Councillor Lappin, Cabinet Member – Regulatory, Compliance and

Corporate Services presented her report; and commended the Business Grants and ICT Teams for their dedicated work during the pandemic.

Members asked questions/commented on the following issues:

·        Council staff were praised for their swift responses to queries raised by staff working on behalf of Bill Esterson MP

·        The debt recovery section of the report was referred to and the potential for the situation to worsen once the furlough scheme had ended

·        Concern was expressed at the high level of referrals to the Occupational Health Unit that were stress and mental health related. It was noted that 50.3% of referrals were for this reason and that pandemic associated issues could test the service further

RESOLVED: That