Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Cosham, Mrs Kaberry-Brown, Powell, Mrs Smith and Turner.

Members are asked to disclose any interests in matters for consideration at the meeting.

No interests were disclosed.

                                                                                                            (Enclosure)

The action notes from the meeting held on 27 November 2012 were noted.

At its meetings on 9 October 2012 and 27 November 2012 the Scrutiny Committee discussed the East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) ‘Being the Best’ consultation. As a result of consultation, EMAS was considering additional options and carrying out further analysis to ensure proposals were viable operationally and financially. Final proposals would be submitted to the EMAS board for consideration on 25 March 2013 (consideration was originally scheduled for 28 January 2013).

Committee members were pleased that EMAS was taking account of issues raised during consultation and that there would be continued work with staff representatives. The Committee suggested that if anything other than minor changes were made to proposals, further consultation should take place.

Action point

Committee support officer to contact East Midlands Ambulance Service and request that the programme be brought back to the committee for consultation should anything other than minor changes were proposed.

Presentation from the Human Resources and Organisational Development Manager.    (Enclosure)

The Service Manager for Human Resources and Organisational Development gave a presentation on the council’s member development programme:

·         The member development programme was delivered over four-years, with the front-loading of training for the benefit of new Councillors.

·         There had been a number of countywide and regional training programmes which received external funding.

·         The first two years of the training programme incorporated induction, core skills, quasi-judicial training, scrutiny committee training and media training.

·         Beyond the core training programme further training opportunities were available to members based on their roles and responsibilities.

·         Committee-specific training was set up in consultation with the chairman.

·         Delivery opportunities for future member training including further collaborative working, self-study options, e-learning and distance learning.

Committee members agreed with the principle of all members having their own training log, so they could identify training that they had completed and training that they required.

One councillor expressed a concern over combining core training sessions for old and new members, suggesting joint arrangements could be intimidating for new members. Combined sessions were designed to give councillors an opportunity to get to know one another and share the experience and knowledge of existing councillors. Members also agreed that it was good all councillors were trained and not just new members.

Attendance at training sessions varied depending on Member availability, interest and timing. With the exception of quasi-judicial committees where untrained members were not allowed to take part in decision-making, the Council could not compel members to attend training. One-to-one sessions between officers and councillors were arranged for those members unable to attend training or who were appointed after training had been completed. Committee members felt it was important that all members attended training sessions.

Report number ENV578 by the Environmental Health Service Manager.    (Enclosure)

The Environmental Health Service Manager presented report number ENV578 which gave a summary of legislative requirements in respect of first aid provision, the Council’s current first aid provision, background information on defibrillation and its application and information on the Lincolnshire Integrated Voluntary Emergency Service (LIVES).

Councillors discussed the report and raised a number of considerations:

·         As a voluntary service LIVES did not provide cover 24 hours a day.

·         The key time that affected the survival rate of patients was between the point of collapse and the first shock.

·         LIVES responders target response time was five to six minutes following a 999 call. The likelihood of successful resuscitation could increase if treatment was provided inside that response time.

·         The geography of the council offices could add delays getting a LIVES first responder to a patient – there would need to be an agreed meeting point and an officer to take them straight through to the patient.

·         Defibrillators were becoming increasingly visible in public places (e.g. shopping centres, railway stations, etc).

·         A number of villages were investing in their own defibrillators (Barrowby, Caythorpe and Frieston and Corby Glen)

·         Members discussed whether first aid staff would be prepared to accept additional responsibility and, if they were, whether they would be prepared to administer a shock.

·         The report expressed concern that staff members might be reluctant to shock a patient. It was further suggested there be an additional fear of litigation.

·         The specifications of different defibrillators would need comparing to identify whether it was a common feature that a shock would only be applied when required.

Action point

1.    That Councillor Sampson be added to the membership of the defibrillator working group

2.    The Committee agreed that its defibrillator working group begin investigating whether the council should invest in defibrillators, looking particularly at:

·         Research into different types of defibrillators and how they work. This should also include cost and ongoing costs including training, the lifespan of a defibrillator, maintenance, etc.

·         Talking to experts and research into the LIVES service and community defibrillator schemes

·         Research into the risk of litigation and case law

·         Research into training (whether first aid trained staff would be prepared to undergo defibrillator training and whether they would be prepared to apply a shock, the type of training required and the frequency with which it would need to be refreshed)

Verbal update from the Community Engagement and Policy Development Officer.

The Community Engagement and Policy Development Officer provided an update on improvements to communications between policy development groups, cabinet members and officers. She explained that PDG chairmen and vice-chairmen attended regular meetings with cabinet members, at which issues from the schedule of decisions were allocated to the relevant PDG(s) for consideration. The working practices of PDGs were also discussed at these liaison meetings.

Agenda items were agreed at pre-agenda meetings (actual or virtual) between the chairman, the vice-chairman and the lead officer. Pre meeting briefings were also held for chairmen and vice-chairmen with the officers who would be attending the PDG meeting. These provided the opportunity to brief the chairman on key issues for consideration and on which the PDG needed to make recommendations.

A copy of the work programme for each of the PDGs was circulated to members of the scrutiny committee for their information. The work programmes recorded action points and recommendations against any outcomes and decisions.

Councillors were encouraged by the changes and commented that they were keen to see PDGs getting involved in policy development at the earliest possible stage. Members recommended that the work programme should identify ongoing issues so that there was an audit trail; this meant it would be easy to identify any recommendations and action points which were not implemented.

Recommendation

That the Community Engagement and Policy Development Officer provide a progress update to the Scrutiny Committee on a three-monthly basis for one year.

·         Proposals for reporting on Council members’ attendance on outside bodies (Councillors Michael King and Bob Sampson).                                                        (Enclosure)

Reports from members on outside bodies

Councillors King and Sampson presented a draft form on which councillors who represented the authority on outside bodies could feedback. It was proposed that a copy of the form would be placed in a folder in the Members’ Lounge with 6-monthly updates to the Scrutiny Committee.

Councillors acknowledged there were bodies to which the council was required to appoint representatives and sometimes meetings of those bodies would not consider issues that directly affected the district. It was suggested that councillors should still submit a record of those meetings to record attendance and the value of the body for the council.

Recommendation

That the draft form be presented to Council at the annual meeting on 18 April 2013 with the recommendation that all councillors who represent the council on outside bodies use it as a mechanism to report back.

                                                                                                                  (Enclosure)

The work programme was noted.

The meeting was closed at 12:03pm.