Agenda and draft minutes

Councillor R Hanigan declared a personal interest as Chair of the North Lincolnshire Health Care Partnership, and Cllr J Reed declared a personal interest in her work with Community Centres in North Lincolnshire.

Resolved - That the minutes of the meeting of Cabinet held on 11 December 2023 having been circulated amongst the members, be taken as read and correctly recorded and be signed by the chair.

The Director of Public Health submitted a report which following detailed discussion and consideration at the North Lincolnshire Health and Wellbeing Board, provided Cabinet with the agreed response to the Humber Acute Services Programme consultation by Humber & North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board. The agreed response was attached as an appendix.

The Director in her report summarised the key discussion points and concerns raised by members of the Health and Wellbeing Board regarding the Humber Acute Services Programme with a particular focus on the impact upon residents of North Lincolnshire.

Councillor Hannigan, Cabinet Member Adults, Health, Families and Communities thanked the Director for her report and work carried out by her officers and the Health and Wellbeing Board and highlighted, summarised and commented upon key aspects of its content.

Resolved - That the report be noted, with its appendix as a joint response to the Humber Acute Services Programme consultation by the Health & Wellbeing Board.

The Director: Children and Families submitted a report updating Cabinet on the progress being made towards the completion of the Complex Care Children’s Campus and sought a decision to adopt the proposed name for the new campus.

The Director in her report explained that the Complex Care Children’s Campus at Alvingham Road when open would make provision for: -

·       Short Breaks for children with complex learning and physical disabilities in facilities that were fit for purpose and met the future anticipated need.

·       A place where Health could support parents to meet the changing medical needs of their children.

·       Co-located Health and care provision for long-term care.

·       Provided an option for family space for children with life limiting conditions.

·       Developing independent living skills for preparation for adulthood.

The project was joint funded by the Council and a grant from the Department for Education (DfE). Snagging was currently underway, and an opening date is expected soon. Young people and their families continued to be involved in the development of the campus, with current consultation areas including the final specification of the sensory areas. Following consultation with children and families, the name ‘Tree Tops’ had been the most popular choice for the building and was the preferred option, with individual units being named Nightingale, Robin, Butterfly and Hummingbird.

Councillor Reed, Cabinet Member Children, Families and Communities thanked the Director for her report and work carried out by her officers and highlighted, summarised and commented upon key aspects of its content.

Resolved – (a) That the report be noted, and (b) that ‘Tree Tops’ be the name for the new Complex Care Children’s Campus, and ‘Nightingale’, ‘Robin’, ‘Butterfly’ and ‘Hummingbird’ as the names for the four units within the Campus.

The Director: Children and Families submitted a report which provided an update in relation to the development of Start for Life Family Hubs in North Lincolnshire, including progress against the key milestones of the DfE grant-funded programme, and key next steps.

The Director in her report explained that in line with government policy, North Lincolnshire continued with its journey to develop Family Hubs to further strengthen and integrate our local offer for families, aiming to enable children to thrive in their families, achieve in schools, and flourish in their communities, building resilience and community connections. Key achievements were set out in report and summarised as follows -

Launch of West Street Family Hub. The transformation of the West Street Family Hub was completed in October 2023 following a programme of construction and renovation work co-designed with local parents, carers and children. The Hub had been transformed into a modern, more accessible, agile community venue with a distinct youth space, repurposed bookable rooms, a clinical room for health service delivery, and updated kitchen facilities. 160 local people attended the launch event where families took part in baby massage and baby yoga, toddler reading, virtual reality headset demonstrations, health and wellbeing sessions, advice about childcare, and perhaps most importantly, connecting with each other and their community.

The offer at West Street continued to develop and respond to changes in need and feedback, reflecting the broad range of agencies and voluntary community sector partners involved in supporting families. Following the launch of West Street Family Hub, work had been underway on phase 2, developing Henderson Avenue Children’s Centre and Ashby Children’s Centre into family hubs. Each with its own unique community make-up and needs, the Hubs had continued to be open for families and would officially launch in coming weeks.

Development of a new digital platform. The Start for Life Family Hubs grant was being used to develop new ways to empower families to access information and self-help strategies, as well as to better connect with the community offer. The soon-to-launch NL Family app and website would provide a single access point for information aimed at parents and carers, and for those that need it, a more streamlined way to find out how to seek help for any aspect of family life, from support with breast feeding, to help seeking employment, to understanding and responding to teenagers.

Establishing Parent-Carer Panels. Meeting six-weekly, the Scunthorpe North parent carer panel had worked together to co-produce the West Street Family Hub redesign, plan the launch, and shape the multi-agency and community offer that continued to develop. Reflecting the cultural and ethnic diversity of the area, the panel had helped to promote the Hub and the offer within local schools and faith groups as well as the wider community. Panels were being established in the South of Scunthorpe and in other community areas the council developed the Family Hubs model further.

Councillor Reed, Cabinet Member Children, Families and Communities thanked the Director for her report and work  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1563.

The Director: Communities submitted a report updating Cabinet on the progress with the Enhanced Bus Partnership Plan and Scheme 2023 – 2027 and on the bus service improvement measures.

The Director in her report explained that he North Lincolnshire Enhanced Bus Partnership Plan was made by both North Lincolnshire Council and key stakeholders including bus operators in accordance with Section 138G(1) of the Transport Act 2000. The Enhanced Partnership Plan and Scheme had been developed to support the delivery of the desired outcomes of the Bus Service Improvement Plan (first published in October 2021):

·       Enhanced services and investment on key corridors, with routes that were easier to understand.

·       Significant improvements in bus priority

·       Integrated local ticketing between operators.

·       Fares must be simpler and provide value for money.

·       Service patterns must be integrated with other modes e.g. rail

·       Clear passenger information with simple numbering system.

·       Modern buses and decarbonisation

·       Give passengers more of a voice and a say.

·       Services which were safe for all.

·       More demand-responsive services and ‘socially necessary’ transport i.e. shift patterns, health centres.

An Enhanced Bus Partnership had been developed with the intention to deliver the vision and ambition set out in the North Lincolnshire Bus Service Improvement Plan and oversee the Partnership Plan and scheme for buses and any further Enhanced Partnership schemes made in accordance with the Transport Act 2000.   Members of the Enhanced Partnership include Bus and Community Transport Operators as well as North Lincolnshire Council representatives.  A number of measures had been identified as part of the delivery of the Enhanced Partnership Plan and Scheme:

·       Additional bus services

·       Review ongoing maintenance, repair and servicing of bus infrastructure

·       Section 22 Community Transport in North Lincolnshire

·       Bus disruption survey

·       Extensions to existing services

·       Villages South and East of Brigg including Humberside Airport.

·       Scunthorpe to Barton and Hull

·       Main residential corridors in Scunthorpe

·       Reduced fares for young people.

Based on the above measures identified in the Enhanced Partnership Scheme, the reports also identified proposals related to bus services which had been recommended and supported at the Enhanced Partnership Board, with some already highlighted as implemented.

Councillor T Mitchell, Cabinet Member Connectivity thanked the Director for her report and work carried out by her officers and highlighted, summarised and commented upon key aspects of its content.

Resolved – That the progress on the plan and scheme proposals be noted.

The Director Communities submitted a report updating members on Levelling Up for Scunthorpe.

The Director’s report explained that ‘levelling up’ required a focused, long-term plan of action and a clear framework to identify and act upon required interventions. Evidence supported six themes as drivers for levelling up:

·       Physical capital – infrastructure, machines and housing.

·       Human capital – the skills, health and experience of the workforce.

·       Intangible capital – innovation, ideas and patents.

·       Financial capital – resources supporting the financing of companies.

·       Social capital – the strength of communities, relationships and trust.

·       Institutional capital – local leadership, capacity and capability

North Lincolnshire Council (NLC) had been working to support those key drivers in the six themes above as summarised below –

Physical Capital – NLC had taken an infrastructure first approach to development for both employment and housing across the area with significant investment in Road (e.g. North Junction, A160), Rail (Guage Enhancement) and Digital (Gigabit Broadband). The impact of this was a significant growth in our net housing completions over the last three years, where in 2022/23 the council completed 550 completions, and in this current year the council was well on its way to achieving beyond our target of 383. Automation in North Lincolnshire’s key food and furniture manufacturing sector had enabled a strong competitive and productive local companies supporting our economy and UK PLC giving food security locally, regionally and nationally.

Human Capacity – NLC alongside its local skills provider had delivered University Centre North Lincolnshire where over 1500 students were working towards a level 4 qualification, alongside this the council had provided opportunities through shared prosperity fund to improve their functional maths skills. The Skills and Employability plan set out the council’s medium term plan to build upon our recent success.

Intangible Capital – NLC was playing an integral role in the delivery of the Humber Freeport, an idea that was integral to our Economic Plan in 2019.  The development of the freeport would provide through the business rate uplift the opportunity to shape innovation across all sectors as North Lincolnshire continued its journey to decarbonisation. The council’s  Economic Growth Plan set out the council’s priorities and intent for North Lincolnshire Economy in the medium term.

Financial Capital – NLC had been supported in delivering significant investment to local businesses and communities through a range of funding opportunities including, Shared Prosperity Fund, Future High Street Support Fund, Levelling Up Fund and Town Deal. Looking forward the Government had announced a further £20m Town Deal funding over 10 years – allowing NLC to plan a long-term strategy for North Lincolnshire, supporting an, immediate intervention through our successful £15.8m Levelling Up Bid for Scunthorpe Town Centre which would continue to enable immediate market opportunities to regenerate of our Town Centre.  This sat alongside the Levelling Up Investment for Barton upon Humber of £19.8m.

Social and institutional Capital - Cabinet had taken a recent decision on a new frame for a Community Plan for North Lincolnshire.  The framework and the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1565.

The Director: Communities submitted a report updating Cabinet on the implementation of our Sustainable Fleet Replacement Plan.

The report stated that the council’s Sustainable Fleet Replacement Strategy was to set out our approach to ensure the council had an operational fleet that was resilient, enabling efficient service delivery across all functions. The plan provided the framework for the selection, procurement and management of all vehicles, plant and mechanical equipment operated by the council. This strategy was underpinned by strong data and intelligence and linked to the Green Futures Plan and the Fleet Asset Management Plan (AMP). The  objectives for replacement were also summarised in the report.

The Director’s report explained that during 2023 the council procured several replacement vehicles to support the continued delivery of our community functions including – Waste, Schools Transport, and Street Cleansing. It had also already taken delivery of five new sweepers in January 2024, and a further 15 new vehicles would be introduced into the fleet in the next eight weeks including – seven 26 tonne Waste Collection Vehicles, five 16 tonne Waste Collection Vehicles and three Truck Mounted Vehicles.

Councillor Waltham MBE, Leader and Cabinet Member Place Shaping and Steel and Heavy Industry thanked the Director for her report and work carried out by her officers and highlighted, summarised and commented upon key aspects of its content.

Resolved – That the progress of the Sustainable Fleet Replacement Plan be noted.

The Director: Outcomes submitted a report informing Cabinet of the council’s activity relating to surveillance matters under the RIPA regime for the period 1st January 2023 to 31st December 2023.

The Director in her report explained that RIPA provided a legislative framework which detailed a system of authorisation which existed to secure the lawfulness of surveillance activities and ensure that they were consistent with obligations under the Human Rights Act 1998. The different types of authorisation included covert surveillance directed at a person(s) and the use of a "covert human intelligence source" (CHIS) which involved the establishing of a relationship for the covert purpose of obtaining information and access to communications data such as telephone subscriber details and itemised phone logs.

Between 1st January 2023 and 31st December 2023, the Council presented one RIPA application to the Authorising Officer which was authorised and approved by the Magistrates Court in accordance with the Council’s RIPA Policy.  This surveillance was to carry out underage sale test purchasing of vapes and to test the compliance of two stores, where intelligence had been received that underage sales were taking place. One store had closed and the other refused the sale. Therefore, the surveillance demonstrated compliance with the law and no further action was taken.   

The report stated that Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office advised that as a good practice measure officers who regularly use RIPA should receive refresher training.  Training was provided by an external provider and took place in April 2023. As part of the RIPA process the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office also inspected the authority. They provided a positive report in December 2023 and made constructive suggestions on improvement of practice and on the RIPA policy to ensure the authority remained current. These have all been addressed.

As a result of staffing changes within the organisation, the Assistant Director: Public Protection will remain as Authorising Officer but following the retirement of the Assistant Director: Resources and Performance the second Authorising Officer was lost. Although the number of applications were low it was felt that a second Authorising Officer was still required to ensure continuity of cover and it is anticipated the new  Chief Financial Officer ( S151) would cover that role.  The Senior Responsible Officer was now  Director: Communities. All new appointees had or would receive training.  The Council’s existing RIPA Policy set out in an appendix had been amended to reflect these changes.

The RIPA Coordinator would also provide a briefing session to the Chief Executive in relation to RIPA roles and responsibilities once they are in post.

Councillor Waltham MBE, Leader and Cabinet Member Place Shaping and Steel and Heavy Industry thanked the Director for her report and work carried out by her officers and highlighted, summarised and commented upon key aspects of its content.

Resolved - That the content of the Director’s report be noted, and that the amendment to the existing RIPA Policy regarding Authorising Officers as set out in the appendix be approved.