To receive apologies for absence from Members of the Committee

43.1    Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Matt Lee, Elliot Lynch, Cecilia Motley and David Vasmer.

43.2    Councillor Roger Evans substituted for Councillor David Vasmer

Members are reminded they must not participate in the discussion or vote on any matter in which they have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest and should leave the room prior to the commencement of the debate.

44.1    There were no declarations of pecuniary interest made.

The minutes of the last meeting, held on 20 February 2019, are attached for confirmation.

45.1    The minutes of the meeting held on 20^th February 2019 had been circulated

45.2    RESOLVED

That the minutes of the People Overview Committee held on 20 February 2019 be approved as a true record and signed by the Chairman

To receive any public questions or petitions from the public, notice of which has been given in accordance with Procedure Rule 14.  The deadline for this meeting is 10.00am on 26 March 2019

46.1    There were no questions from memebrs of the public

To receive any questions of which Members of the Council have given notice.

Deadline for notification: 10.00am on 26 March 2019

47.1    There were no questions from Members

To receive updates on items not on the agenda

48.1    there were no updates for the Committee

The Annual Report of The Keeping Adults Safe in Shropshire Board is attached

49.1    At the request of the Chairman it was agreed that this item would be deferred to a future meeting of the Committee

To receive a presentation on Warmer Homes from Paul Kelly, Housing Operations Manager

50.1    Members received the report of the Housing Operations Manager which provided an overview of the work that the Council was undertaking to ensure that people in Shropshire live in homes that they can afford to keep warm and provided information regarding schemes that could be adopted to support this work.

50.2    The meeting received a presentation from the Housing operations Manager and the Senior Technical officer (copy attached to the signed minutes) which gave further information on current schemes and outlined further schemes which may be implemented.

50.3    In response to a query regarding the underspend in the Heatsavers budget,  the Housing Operation Manager explained that the work that was undertaken was very targeted and that only a limited number of projects met the criteria which had resulted in the underspend which would be carried forward to the next years budget.

50.4    A Member commented that all new build houses should be made as energy efficient as possible.

50.5    A Member proposed that the following recommendation: -

            That the Committee welcomes contributions made to help those in fuel poverty and improvements to reduce energy needs in our housing and would not wish this to be reduced in any way, and that as part of the revised local plan the Committee requests that we look at raising the insulation levels of all new builds and the installation of photo voltaic cells.

50.6    RESOLVED

            That the Committee welcomes contributions made to help those in fuel poverty and improvements to reduce energy needs in our housing and would not wish this to be reduced in any way, and that as part of the revised local plan the Committee requests that we look at raising the insulation levels of all new builds and the installation of photo voltaic cells.

To receive a verbal update from the Director of Children’s Services

51.1    The Chairman advised the meeting that this item had been placed on the agenda at the request of a Member who had expressed concern at the reduction in levels of support provided to School Governing Bodies. 

51.2    A Member expressed concern that levels of support to Governing Bodies was being reduced, especially the withdrawal of clerking services just as levels of work and responsibility were increasing.

51.3    The Service Manager advised that the reduction in support had arisen due to the increasing number of academies and federations in the county which had led to a loss of economies of scale and concerns regarding the sustainability of the service as the traded service needed to cover its costs.

51.4    The Governor Support Manager advised Members that a package was being developed to cover legal compliance and the role of the Governor, and that all training and development would be offered through University Centre Shrewsbury.

51.5    In response to a query, the Director of Children’s Services stated that it would have been possible to continue to make services available to schools on a full cost recovery basis which would include support for Clerks, but that this would make the service too expensive for schools to purchase.

51.6    Members thanked Officers for the update and commented that they felt more reassured about the level of support available.

To receive an update from the Director of Children’s Services, report to follow.

52.1    The meeting considered the report of the Director of Children’s Services which provided   them with copies of past cabinet reports regarding discretionary school and college transport.

52.2    The Transport Commissioning Manager reminded the meeting that at the Cabinet meeting held on 6 March it had been agreed to carry out a consultation on the following policy changes:

·         To increase the lower rate contribution to 50% of the cost of the mainstream scheme from £142.50 to £437.50, maintaining the upper limit of the scheme at its current £875 pa.

·         To expand the contributions scheme to include SEND post 16 students, in line with the mainstream scheme.

·         To withdraw the Council’s financial support for Nursery SEND pupil transport

52.3    A Member asked why 2 ESIIAs had been carried out. The Transport Commissioning Manager informed the meeting that an ESIIA had been carried out on the initial proposals and following consultations the proposals had been refined necessitating a second ESIIA on the new proposals, as contained in the report to Cabinet on 6 March

52.4    Several members expressed concern that parents would not be able to afford the increased costs. The Director of Children’s Services commented that the Colleges had a role to play and also had discretionary money that could be accessed in such cases.

52.5    A Member commented that the changes in charges would result on more people driving to college, which would cause more congestion and pollution.

52.6    In response to concerns regarding the proposal to introduce charging for SEND nursery pupils the Director of Children’s Services advised the meeting that as a result of more local provision of SEND education the number of pupils requiring transport had reduced. She added that Shropshire was one of the few Councils that still provided free SEND transport for nursery pupils.

52.7    The Portfolio Holder encouraged all Members to engage in the consultation process. It was agreed that all issues raised in the meeting would be fed into the consultation process

The Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme is attached

53.1    The meeting received the report of the Statutory Scrutiny Officer which set out the proposed work programme for Overview and Scrutiny for the forthcoming year.

53.2    Members were asked to advise the Chairman if there were any other topics that they wished to be covered by the Committee

Members are reminded that the next meeting of the People Overview Committee will be held on Wednesday 5 June 2019 at 10.00am

54.1    Members were reminded that the next meeting of the People Overview Committee will be held on Wednesday 5 June 2019 at 10.00am