Agenda and minutes

There were no disclosable pecuniary interests declared.

(a)  To agree the minutes of the previous meeting held on 9 September,

 2015

(b)  Matters Arising

The Minutes of the meeting held on 9 September, 2015, were agreed as a true record.

Further to Minute 20/15, the Chair, Councillor Duggins, indicated that a response had been received to the 2 Recommendations from the Committee for the Cabinet Member for Education in relation to Female Genital Mutilation. The Committee noted the response received, but felt that the issues raised in the Recommendations had not been fully satisfied.

RESOLVED that the Committee recommends that the Cabinet Member for Education requests that:-

  (1)  All school governing bodies have Female Genital Mutilation

on their agendas as a safeguarding issue, with special

regard to the changes to the law regarding mandatory reporting.

(2)  That officers from Public Health be invited to attend both

Primary and Secondary Head’s meetings to raise the important role schools can play in addressing and preventing Female Genital Mutilation.

Briefing Note of the Executive Director of People

Councillor Dr R Auluck, Deputy Cabinet Member for Policing and Equalities, has been invited to attend the meeting for consideration of this item.

The Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee considered a Briefing Note, together with a comprehensive presentation, that provided an update on the implementation and performance of the new commissioned Domestic Violence and Abuse services in the City, which commenced on 29 September 2014 and which replaced existing contracts.

The Briefing Note focused in particular on:-

  ?New features of the service which have made a tangible change to

 service delivery

?Development areas across the term of the contract

The new services include the Single Point of Access (SPA) service for Coventry, which aims to provide a one-stop contact point for victims of domestic violence. The new service consists of four key providers, representatives of whom attended the meeting, each providing a specific element of the service model:-

  ?Refuge – helpline/single point of access and victim community based

  support

?Safe and Supported Partnership – victim supported accommodation

?Barnardo’s Defuze – children and young people’s service

?Fry Housing Trust – perpetrator service

The Briefing Note indicated that fundamental to all services is the focus on children who may be involved or subject to domestic violence. All services ensure that information is shared across providers and statutory agencies to ensure that no child is missed and services are linked appropriately to support children who are affected by DVA. The strengthened focus on partnership working and the aspiration for a seamless service are integral to the way the new commissioned services are provided.

Details of performance, including changes that have made a difference in the last year, development areas and summarised data/number were detailed in the Briefing Note, together with governance arrangements.

The Committee questioned officers and service providers on a number of issues, including:-

  ?Achievements against targets and areas for improvement

  ?Prevention and awareness - raising work undertaken in schools

  ?Work undertaken with communities

  ?Work undertaken with perpetrators, including child perpetrators, and

 referrals times

  ?Response times from Housing Associations and arrangements for

 male children

    ?Services provided by Coventry Haven, a non-contracted provider for

 DVA services

RESOLVED:-

(1)  That progress of the new commissioned services against key performance indicators be noted

(2)  That the Committee receive a yearly update on progress which should include comparative baseline figures and progress against targets

(3)  That the governance arrangements in place regarding monitoring and how the service links to statutory services be noted

(4)  That officers be requested to submit a report back in January, 2016 regarding progress in dealing with perpetrators, including child perpetrators, and referral times

(5)  That for future meetings where this issue is considered, the Committee request that representatives of the Police and Whitefriars Housing Association be invited to attend. 

Briefing Note of the Executive Director of Resources

Councillor P Townshend, Cabinet Member for Policing and Equalities, has been invited to attend the meeting for consideration of this item

The Committee considered a Briefing Note which provided information on activities undertaken within the Electoral Participation Framework, together with details of electorate figures and response rate to the annual canvass.

The Briefing Note indicated that the Framework, a draft copy of which was appended to the Briefing Note, has the following general objectives:-

?Encourage people to register to vote during the annual canvas and

  respond to forms

?Promote electoral registration and voting in “Hard to reach”

  community groups, including young people and home movers

?Encourage people to register to vote at the election in May 2016 and any future referendum

?Assist effective local reporting of electoral issues and events

The Briefing Note indicated that the annual canvass this year is the first since the move to Individual Electoral Registration (IER) and presents certain challenges around residents understanding the new processes.

The Committee questioned officers on aspects of the Briefing Note including:-

  ?Engagement work, particularly with hard to reach voters

  ?The impact of IER on the canvass

  ?Registering students

  ?Work undertaken with social landlords

RESOLVED that the Electoral Participation Framework be noted and that officers be requested to submit a further progress update in relation to the annual canvass to the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee meeting scheduled for 10 February, 2016.

Report of the Executive Director of Resources

The Committee considered a Briefing Note which detailed proposed reporting arrangements for the 62 bodies to which the Council appointed to at its Annual General meeting in May, 2015.

To help manage Scrutiny business and ensure that the time spent preparing and considering reports reflects council priorities, Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee had previously agreed to receive reports from those bodies which received funding from the Council. Those outside bodies for which Members receive remuneration are also requested to provide a report for 2015/16. If the outside body is of relevance to the work of the Council, but sits very clearly under the remit of a specific Scrutiny Board, the outside body report is referred to the relevant Scrutiny Board.

RESOLVED:-

  (1)  That approval be given to the list of outside bodies that

report to Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee as detailed in Section A of Appendix 1 attached to the Briefing Note, subject to the inclusion of the Police and Crime Panel on that list

(2)  That the report back on the Police and Crime Panel be

 submitted to the meeting of the Scrutiny Co-ordination

 Committee scheduled for 20 April, 2016

(3)  That approval be given to those outside bodies identified in

 Section B of Appendix 1 reporting to other Scrutiny Boards

(4)  That the content and requirements of the reporting template be noted

(5)  That officers be requested to timetable the required outside bodies report on the appropriate work programmes.

Report of Councillor Kershaw

The Committee considered reports of the Councillors indicated on the work of the following three Outside Bodies over the preceding twelve months, together with details of attendance by the City Council representatives on those Bodies:-

(1)  Albany Theatre Trust – Councillor Kershaw

(2)  Coventry Citizens Advice Bureau – Councillor Abbott

(3)  Voluntary Action Coventry – Councillor Abbott

RESOLVED:-

  (1)  That the Committee notes the work undertaken by the three

 Outside Bodies detailed above

(2)  City Council be recommended to continue to appoint to

those Outside Bodies detailed above

All outstanding issues have been included in the Work Programme

The Committee notes that all outstanding issues had been included in the Work Programme for the current year.

Report of the Scrutiny Co-ordinator

The Committee considered their Work Programme for 2015/16 and noted that the meeting scheduled for 4 November, 2015 had been cancelled.

Any other items of public business which the Chair decides to take as a matter of urgency because of the special circumstances involved.

There were no other items of public business.