Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room. View directions

Contact: Jane Ansell  Members' Services

Items
No. Item

66.

Apologies for Absence.

Minutes:

Councillor John Truscott, Councillor Lynda Pearson and Councillor Nick Quilty.

67.

To approve, as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting held on 15 December 2014. pdf icon PDF 149 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED:

 

That the minutes of the above meeting, having been circulated, be approved as a correct record.

Councillor Powell requested that it be noted that CCTV cameras in Ravenshead were paid for by Ravenshead Parish Council.

 

68.

Declaration of Interests.

Minutes:

None.

69.

Portfolio Holding to Account pdf icon PDF 91 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Rolling Programme of Holding the Portfolio Holder to Account.

 

The Chair welcomed Councillor Henry Wheeler, Portfolio Holder for Health and Housing, David Wakelin, Corporate Director and Alison Bennett, Service Manager Housing who were invited to respond to questions on the following areas of the Health and Housing Portfolio:

 

·         Housing and Council tax benefits

·         Housing strategy

·         Safeguarding.

 

Advance Questions from Members:

 

1.    What procedures does Gedling Borough Council have in place to ensure the safety of vulnerable adults and children?

 

2.    Additional information on Q3 performance for the following items was also requested:

 

·         Ll313 – percentage of families engaged with the Supporting Families Programme who will not require further support.

·         Ll314  - The number of private sector households where Housing Act category 1 or 2  hazards have been remediated

·         Ll099 - Percentage of those presenting for housing advice who submit a homeless application. Why is this increasing?

·         Nl555 – disappointingly no affordable housing delivered this quarter. Information about the delivery of the 60 units in 2016.

 

3.    What plans are there for ensuring that people are provided with ‘housing for life’ when plans are agreed?

4.    As universal benefits are rolled out is there anything we can do to alert claimants to their responsibility for their council tax?

5.    Does Cllr. Wheeler have a view about any closer joining of resources at County level for adult and children’s safeguarding?

 

Question 1

What procedures does Gedling Borough Council have in place to ensure the safety of vulnerable adults and children?

 

Alison Bennett, Service Manager Housing outlined Gedling Borough Council’s response to safeguarding both adults and children informing Members that:

 

·         Safeguarding procedures are laid down by the County Council and it is a referral based system.  All referrals are investigated and recorded on a database

·         there was a major training programme carried out with officers and Members in 2014 and more training will be made available in 2015

·         there were 51 one cases were referred in 2014, in the main referred by leisure centre, public protection and housing needs staff.  These cases were referred to either the:

 

·         Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH), the County Councils multi agency unit which addresses safeguarding issues

or

·         for less serious cases the Vulnerable Persons Panel (VPP) which meets monthly and discusses vulnerable persons who have not met the safeguarding thresholds for MASH.  This is attended by officers from GBC, the Police, the Troubled Families programme, Adult Social Care, mental health, Police schools officers, Family Intervention Project workers, Fire and Rescue, Victim Support and Gedling Homes.  In 2014, 75 cases were addressed and actioned.

 

An example of how this referral system works was outlined:

 

              an initial referral from Housing Needs staff was made to Public Protection, a visit was carried out

              this identified health (person suffering from cancer) and housing  condition concerns

              case taken to the VPP, where multi-agency actions were agreed including a deep clean of property organised by  Nottinghamshire County Council  Social Care

              customer was relocated to temporary accommodation while property was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 69.

70.

Scrutiny Work Programme 2014/15 pdf icon PDF 87 KB

Minutes:

The Chair informed Members that the conclusions and recommendations arising from the:

 

·         Reducing Unemployment in the Borough

·         Homelessness and Hardship in the Borough Scrutiny reviews

 

would be discussed at Cabinet on 12th February and a written response to these reports would be available at the next Overview and Scrutiny Committee 13th April 2015.

 

The Transport Links to and within Gedling Borough Scrutiny Review would be having a further evidence gathering meeting prior to developing the conclusions and recommendations arising from the working group.

 

 

RESOLVED:

 

To note the report.

 

 

 

 

 

71.

Items referred to the the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee as required under the Constitution or Law pdf icon PDF 43 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED:

 

To note the report.

 

72.

Any other item which the Chair considers urgent.

Minutes:

None.