Agenda and minutes

(Directorate of Governance) To report the appointment of any substitute members for the meeting.

There were no substitutions made at the meeting.

(Director of Governance) To declare interests in any items on the agenda.

In considering whether to declare a personal or a pecuniary interest under the Code of Conduct, Overview & Scrutiny members are asked pay particular attention to paragraph 11 of the Code in addition to the more familiar requirements.

This requires the declaration of a personal and pecuniary interest in any matter before an OS Committee which relates to a decision of or action by another Committee or Sub Committee of the Council, a Joint Committee or Joint Sub Committee in which the Council is involved and of which the Councillor is also a member.

Paragraph 11 does not refer to Cabinet decisions or attendance at an OS meeting purely for the purpose of answering questions or providing information on such a matter.

(a)  Pursuant to the Member’s Code of Conduct, Councillor G Shiell declared a non pecuniary interest in the following item of the agenda by virtue of being the District Council representative on the Epping Forest Citizens Advice Bureau. She indicated that she would remain in the meeting for the consideration of the item:

·         Item 5 Presentation by Epping Forest Citizens Advice Bureau

(b)  Pursuant to the Member’s Code of Conduct, Councillor K Angold-Stephens declared a non pecuniary interest in the following item of the agenda by virtue of being the District Council representative on the Loughton Roding Citizens Advice Bureau. He indicated that he would remain in the meeting for the consideration of the item:

·         Item 5 Presentation by Epping Forest Citizens Advice Bureau.

To confirm the minutes of the last meeting of the Panel, held on 28 September 2015.

            RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 28 September 2015 be taken as read and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

(Director of Communities) To consider the attached report (GAR-004-2015/16).

The Panel received a presentation from R Poulter, Manager at Epping Forest District Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) and J Woods, Chairman of the Citizens Advice Bureau Trustee’s Board regarding the services and activities of the CAB in Epping Forest.

R Poulter began the presentation and highlighted the following:

(a)  CAB clients experienced complicated problems, 3 out of 4 clients felt a negative impact from their experiences.

(b)  73% of clients were below the average income threshold. However following consultation with the CAB 2 out of 3 clients had their problems solved.

(c)  Every £1.00 invested in the CAB generated £3.10 in fiscal benefits, £15.83 in public value and £19.58 in benefits to the individuals who used their service.

(d)  A saving of £96,000 had been made in reducing homelessness by the CAB.

(e)  Epping Forest CAB had 56 volunteers and had recently recruited an extra 6 volunteers.

(f)    The Epping Forest CAB had provided advice to 2,497 people in 2014/15.

(g)  33% of enquiries to the Epping Forest CAB concerned benefits and tax credits.

(h)  Over 25% of CAB clients had a disability or long term health problem.

(i)    4 in 5 CAB clients felt less stressed after receiving their advice.

(j)    2 in 3 CAB clients had their debt problem solved.

J Woods spoke next about the finances of the CAB. Funding for the CAB came from District Council grants, CAB fundraising, Parish and Town Councils and donations. However the bulk of funding came from specific projects which the CAB had applied for.

The CAB had cut staffing costs from April 2014 and they made savings through sourcing second hand office furniture and equipment where this was possible. However they needed top of the range IT equipment, particularly for assessing official websites.

It was explained that the 3 CAB branches currently open in the district were needed as the district was 131 square miles and had poor public transport in some places. The branches provided face to face contact which was preferred by 92% of the CAB’s clients. R Poulter advised that the CAB were planning to move two of their branches to Loughton Library and Hemnall Street, Epping.

The Chairman thanked the representatives from the CAB and asked for Panel questions.

(i)            Councillor B Surtees asked if there was any information on client satisfaction in terms of problem solving.

R Poulter replied that from the client feedback forms satisfaction was around 95%.

(ii)           Councillor B Surtees enquired about difficulties experienced by some clients in obtaining appointments.

R Poulter advised that anybody could drop into a bureau but there was a waiting period before being seen. Clients would be greeted immediately on arrival and their priorities assessed, this allowed for more pressing enquiries to be dealt with sooner. Appointments could be arranged for more complicated enquiries. The CAB were trying to put experienced staff on the door to their bureaus to assess more readily the immediate needs of clients.

(iii)                  Councillor G Shiell asked if clients had confidential  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

(Director of Communities) To consider the attached report (GAR-005-2015/16).

The Panel received a report from the Policy Officer, C Overend, regarding the Review of the Grant Aid Scheme Service Level Agreement with Voluntary Action Epping Forest (VAEF).

When the terms of reference for the Task and Finish Panel were determined, it was agreed that the arrangements in respect of Service Level Agreements (SLAs), including those for VAEF, would be reviewed during the second stage in 2015/16. Therefore the Chief Officer of VAEF, J Foile, gave a presentation on services and activities they provided at the Panel meeting on 28 September 2015.

The VAEF existed to support the voluntary, community and social enterprise sectors, and was established district wide during the early 1990s. The District Council had provided financial support to VAEF by way of an SLA for many years. The funding agreed for 2015/16 was £39,120 which had remained unchanged since 2009/10. From this sum, VAEF paid the Council annual accommodation costs of £11,360 for use of the premises at Homefield House.

Members were asked to consider the current funding arrangements and make recommendations with regard to any funding to VAEF from 2016/17 onwards. Given the current uncertain financial climate faced by local government, it was vital that any funding agreement with VAEF included a range of key performance measures and an “added value” requirement through that agreement. The Policy Officer, C Overend, felt that the VAEF lacked spearheading and required stricter performance measures. The Community, Health and Wellbeing Manager, G Wallis, echoed this view by suggesting that setting targets would help with performance. She felt that there should be potential for a large pool of volunteers which could be recruited locally which could help the VAEF’s profile.

Although funding continuity for the VAEF was important, it was equally important not to enter into a long term agreement at this stage, between VAEF and the District Council, so that effective service monitoring could take place. Councillor H Kane, Leisure and Communities Portfolio Holder advised that, as with funding for the Citizens Advice Bureau, working practices needed to change and evidence was important in justifying the investment made by the District Council.

RECOMMENDED:

(1)  That the District Council maintain provision for longer term funding to Voluntary Action Epping Forest from 2016/17 onwards, based on performance management benchmarking closely monitored on an annual basis; and

(2)  That a draft Service Level Agreement for Voluntary Action Epping Forest would be brought to the Panel.

Section 100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972, together with paragraphs (6) and (24) of the Council Procedure Rules contained in the Constitution require that the permission of the Chairman be obtained, after prior notice to the Chief Executive, before urgent business not specified in the agenda (including a supplementary agenda of which the statutory period of notice has been given) may be transacted.

In accordance with Operational Standing Order 6 (Non-Executive Bodies), any item raised by a non-member shall require the support of a member of the Committee concerned and the Chairman of that Committee. Two weeks notice of non-urgent items is required.

There was no other business for consideration at the meeting.

(Director of Governance) To note that the next meeting of the Panel will be held on 23 November 2015.

The next meeting of the Task and Finish Panel would be held on Monday 23 November 2015.