Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Phil Riley, welcomed all present to the meeting.

Apologies were received from the Deputy Youth MPs, Ethan Woods and Nadeem Iqbal.

That the Minutes of the Meeting held on 11^th July 2024 be agreed as a correct record.

That the Minutes of the Meeting held on 11^th July 2024 be agreed as a correct record.

No Declarations of Interest were received.

The Chair will ask Members to confirm that they have considered and understood any Equality Impact Assessments associated with reports on this agenda ahead of making any decisions.

The Chair asked Members to confirm that they had considered and understood and Equality Impact Assessments associated with reports on the agenda ahead of making any decisions.

To receive written questions or statements submitted by members of the public no later than 4pm on the day prior to the meeting.

No questions had been submitted by members of the public.

To receive written questions submitted by Non-Executive Members no later than 4pm on the day prior to the meeting.

No questions had been submitted by Non-Executive Members.

To receive an update from the Youth MPs along with any issues they would like to raise.

The Youth MP, Zainab Shah, verbally updated the Executive Board on recent events and activities including:

·       At last month’s Young Blackburn with Darwen youth forum, training from the Beacon Trust regarding gambling harms.  The Youth Forum were working in partnership with Public Health who had secured funding for young people to produce a video to highlight the negative impact gambling had on people their families and their communities.

·       Last week 15 young people form the leaving care forum, youth forum and the SEND Inclusion ASD youth club had participated in a 3-day residential to Water Park Coniston.  The young people had a fantastic residential with many of the young people having not experienced staying away from home before and they also had the opportunity to learn new skills.

·       The award of the first ever Gold by the Young Inspectors, which was awarded to the Earcroft Centre at Darwen following a recent inspection.

·       Summer events and activities attended by Youth Forum members.

·       Reference was made to the recent violence following the recent tragedy in Southport, which the Youth Forum condemned, and reference was also made to peaceful demonstrations and the need for people to support each other.

Members complimented the Youth MP and Youth Forum on the excellent work undertaken and also condemned the recent violence following the Southport tragedy and commended the Police and Council Officers on their work locally following the events in Southport.

Verbal updates may be given by each Executive Member.

The Leader verbally reflected on national events following the tragedy in Southport, thanked the Police and Council Officers for their support locally, and commented on the need for people to find the balance between being vigilant and over-reacting, noting that the speed of mis-information was a real issue.

RESOLVED –

That the Executive Board:

1)    Approve the remodelling plan for the existing Extra Care portfolio in Blackburn with Darwen: i. Extra Care Services at Kingsway, Spring Bank Court, Riverside Heights and Albion Mill will have 24-hour background care with two core care staff onsite. The funding model for each site will be for 10 dedicated daytime care hours plus two waking night staff, in addition to individual costed care and support packages.

 ii. Extra Care Services at Pembroke Court will support those who do not require 24-hour background care and will have 10 dedicated daytime care hours, in addition to individual costed care and support packages. No onsite overnight care will be provided. Note: If demand for care changes these background hours will be reviewed by commissioners.

 iii. The following will be decommissioned as Extra Care Housing facilities; Lees Court, Hindle Court and Cotton Spinners and the future use will be: - Lees Court and Hindle Court – return to Sheltered Housing - Cotton Spinners – scope for Mental Health Supported Living (subject to a separate paper)

iv. As part of the transitional plan, service users at Pembroke Court, Lees Court and Hindle Court, will be offered a social care review which will include how needs will continue to be met, through care and telecare options.

2) Approve timescales for the remodelling and decommissioned work - phased between August to December 2024, following further consultation with tenants and housing providers.

3) Approve the proposal to reprocure all remaining Extra Care provision within one procurement exercise. New Extra Care contracts to be awarded and commence by 8th November 2025.

4) Approve the decision to reprocure Extra Care, based on the following procurement strategy:

i. Undertake an open tender exercise to comply with the Public Contracts Regulations and the Council’s Contract and Procurement Procedure Rules.

 ii. Through the procurement exercise seek to award contracts to two providers which focus on geographic areas i.e. one provider for Blackburn and one provider for Darwen. This will be built into the contract.

iii. Contracts to be for a total of up to 7 years (3 years with extension options of 2 + 1 + 1) and to start from November 2025.

iv. The contract/s for extra care services will include core background support, in addition to individual costed care and support packages which are based on the assessment of eligible needs.

v. The specification will indicate the requirement for staff to have contracted hours, and to work shifts rather than hours based on care undertaken i.e. staff will not work on zero hours contracts.

vi. Nomination agreements will be in place with all housing providers. vii. Pending timely completion of the procurement exercise, a waiver may be required for a short[1]term extension, should there be any slippage (in addition to below).

5) Note that any future Strategic Housing Needs Programme should actively focus on the expansion of suitable housing provision for older people including sheltered housing options. These future  ...  view the full decision text for item 8.1

The Executive Board was asked to note the completion of the review of Extra Care Housing, and to agree the recommendations related to the re-modelling of future provision, including the decommissioning of under-utilised provision.

The report also detailed the proposed re-procurement strategy for Extra Care services across Blackburn with Darwen. There were currently eight designated Extra Care (housing and care) tenancy-based schemes in the borough: three schemes in Blackburn (174 units of accommodation) and five schemes in Darwen (190 units). Seven schemes were for older people, and one was all age i.e. for people over 18 with a specific housing and care need. Extra Care provisions all had a housing manager on site, and at least one member of staff providing care 24/7 hours per day, although care and support models varied across schemes.

The Authority currently commissioned two providers (three contracts) to provide the on-site care provision, and all three contracts were due for renewal. As part of the Commissioning cycle, a review of schemes had taken place. Although this review identified the positive outcomes Extra Care could deliver, it also identified several issues which needed to be addressed. These included: an over provision of Extra Care Housing in relation to demand and usage; some properties which were not fit for purpose as Extra Care Housing; and inconsistencies across the different contracted care and support models currently in place. The proposals outlined in the report have been developed to make the best use of resources, meet current and future demand, and provide a consistent care and support model across schemes.

RESOLVED –

That the Executive Board:

1)    Approve the remodelling plan for the existing Extra Care portfolio in Blackburn with Darwen: i. Extra Care Services at Kingsway, Spring Bank Court, Riverside Heights and Albion Mill will have 24-hour background care with two core care staff onsite. The funding model for each site will be for 10 dedicated daytime care hours plus two waking night staff, in addition to individual costed care and support packages.

 ii. Extra Care Services at Pembroke Court will support those who do not require 24-hour background care and will have 10 dedicated daytime care hours, in addition to individual costed care and support packages. No onsite overnight care will be provided. Note: If demand for care changes these background hours will be reviewed by commissioners.

 iii. The following will be decommissioned as Extra Care Housing facilities; Lees Court, Hindle Court and Cotton Spinners and the future use will be: - Lees Court and Hindle Court – return to Sheltered Housing - Cotton Spinners – scope for Mental Health Supported Living (subject to a separate paper)

iv. As part of the transitional plan, service users at Pembroke Court, Lees Court and Hindle Court, will be offered a social care review which will include how needs will continue to be met, through care and telecare options.

2) Approve timescales for the remodelling and decommissioned work - phased between August to December 2024, following further consultation with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.1

RESOLVED -

That the Executive Board recommend the Youth Justice Service Annual Plan set out at Appendix 1 for approval by Council Forum.

A report was submitted advising that the Youth Justice Service (YJS), previously referred to as the Youth Offending Team (YOT), was a statutory service located within Children’s Services.

Its primary function was to prevent offending and reoffending amongst children and young people and was structured in a way to support children who had committed offences and been through a Police and/or court process, and support those children identified as being at risk of offending. The service was inspected by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP) in November 2022 and judged to be a ‘good’ service, within which there were a number of ‘outstanding’ features identified.

The YJS was required to develop and produce an annual plan for submission to the national Youth Justice Board (YJB). This needed be informed by the multi-agency partnership that contributed to the YJS, to outline the performance of the service in the previous year, and its future delivery plan.

The Youth Justice Plan was included in the Council’s Policy Framework and was therefore a matter for consideration and approval by Council Forum.

RESOLVED -

That the Executive Board recommend the Youth Justice Service Annual Plan set out at Appendix 1 for approval by Council Forum.

RESOLVED -

That the Executive Board:

Notes the Fostering three monthly report for Quarter 4, alongside Appendix 1 which provides a service progress overview and summary of service development.

Members received a report providing information on the management and performance of the Local Authority’s fostering service which was revised on a quarterly basis. This report, alongside Appendix 1, provided analysis of the period 1st January 2024 until the 31st of March 2024 and reflected upon data and service development over this period and recommendations for the next three-monthly period.

RESOLVED -

That the Executive Board:

Notes the Fostering three monthly report for Quarter 4, alongside Appendix 1 which provides a service progress overview and summary of service development.

RESOLVED -

That the Executive Board:

1) approve the commencement of a procurement process comprising an Invitation To Tender (ITT) exercise to be undertaken via the e-procurement portal The Chest.

2) give delegated authority to the Strategic Director of Environment and Communities, in consultation with the Executive Member for Housing and Public Health, to award the contract to the most appropriate provider, following the completion of the procurement process

The Executive Board considered a report that advised that the current Domestic Abuse Service commission was due to end on 31st March 2025 with no option to extend the commission beyond this date.

There was a need to commence the procurement and commissioning process to meet required deadlines to enable new contracts to be in place from 1st April 2025. An independently commissioned Domestic Abuse Needs Assessment was completed July 2024 which would help inform the detail and direction for any future provision. The existing overall contract value was approximately £404,000 per annum. It was anticipated that the future service value would be at a similar level, however, the contract value would be determined by the funding available to the Council.

RESOLVED -

That the Executive Board:

1) approve the commencement of a procurement process comprising an Invitation To Tender (ITT) exercise to be undertaken via the e-procurement portal The Chest.

2) give delegated authority to the Strategic Director of Environment and Communities, in consultation with the Executive Member for Housing and Public Health, to award the contract to the most appropriate provider, following the completion of the procurement process

Councillor Quesir Mahmood verbally reminded Members that at the Executive Board in June, recommendations were agreed relating to the

King William Street Accelerator Green Spaces Funding, subject to the next Government confirming the funding. Councillor Mahmood was pleased to advise that confirmation of the funding from the Government had now been received, so therefore the project could now move forwards.

RESOLVED -

It is recommended that Executive Board:-

a) give approval to the Portfolio Cash Limit Adjustments as outlined in Appendix 1;

b) note the General Fund Budget Summary position as at 30th June 2024;

c) note the current forecast overspend of £1.931m at the end of Quarter 1 and, in relation to the position of the individual Portfolios, request Portfolio Holders to review their budgets for the remainder of 2024/25 with a view to identifying potential mitigating actions.

d) note the Earmarked Reserves and General Fund Balance position as at 30th June 2024.

Members received a report which provided the Executive Board with an update on the Council’s Revenue Budget for 2024/25 on the basis of a budget monitoring exercise undertaken at the end of June 2024 (Quarter 1).

RESOLVED -

It is recommended that Executive Board:-

a) give approval to the Portfolio Cash Limit Adjustments as outlined in Appendix 1;

b) note the General Fund Budget Summary position as at 30th June 2024;

c) note the current forecast overspend of £1.931m at the end of Quarter 1 and, in relation to the position of the individual Portfolios, request Portfolio Holders to review their budgets for the remainder of 2024/25 with a view to identifying potential mitigating actions.

d) note the Earmarked Reserves and General Fund Balance position as at 30th June 2024.

RESOLVED -

The Executive Board is asked;

• to approve the revised capital programme as per Appendix 1,

• to approve the variations to the programme shown in Appendix 2.

A report was submitted the overall financial position of the Council in respect of the capital programme as at 30th June 2024, highlighting key issues and explaining variations in the first 3 months of the year.

RESOLVED -

The Executive Board is asked;

• to approve the revised capital programme as per Appendix 1,

• to approve the variations to the programme shown in Appendix 2.

None.

No matters had been referred to the Executive Board.

At the close of the meeting, the Leader advised that this would be Phil Llewellyn’s last Executive Board before leaving the Council for a new position and thanked Phil for his work for the Council over many years.