Agenda item

To consider and decide on the recommendations as set out in the associated report.

RESOLVED –

1. That the Council’s point of contact for coordinating a cross organisational working group to focus on poverty, including income, education & training and housing be Steve McGinnes be approved.
2. That the Council’s recently introduced new dashboard will be presented as part of an All Members Briefing.
3. That the Council will engage with residents experiencing difficulties in a targeted and meaningful way.
4. That the continuation of the Task and Finish Group be supported.

REASON FOR DECISION:  

It was agreed at Full Council in February 2020 that this work be undertaken by a working group of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to give consideration and address the rising levels of poverty in Tunbridge Wells. 

Councillor Pound introduced the report set out in the agenda. In addition the following points were made:

-       The process of progressing reports through the Committee system took too long.

-       The report included 4 recommendations that had been carefully considered and were sufficiently robust to be carried through to the next stage. 

-       The amended recommendations submitted just prior to the meeting were not representative of the original recommendations agreed by the Working Group and the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

-       The amended recommendations did not adequately address the issues that affected the Borough – it was recognised Tunbridge Wells was an affluent Borough but failed to recognise that there were still pockets of deprivation in discrete areas that needed to be addressed.

-       The recommendations included in the report to Cabinet were those agreed by the Working Party, Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the Cabinet Advisory Board.

Discussion and questions from Members included the following:

-       It was noted that the Council’s Committee cycle was quite long and so if a report missed a cycle it did result in things taking a long time to progress. 

-       The report was considered at the Overview and Scrutiny meeting in July 2021.  Unfortunately the report missed the September Committee cycle which was why it was now being considered in this cycle.

-       It was unfortunate that this information had not been relayed to either the Chair of Overview and Scrutiny or the Chair of the Task and Finish Group. 

-       After the Cabinet Advisory Board (CAB) the recommendations were reconsidered and amended by the Portfolio Holder as follows:

o   I can confirm that Steve McGinnes will initially be the Council’s single point of contact and coordinate a cross organisational working group to focus on the poverty, including income, education & training and housing.

o   The Council has recently introduced a new dashboard (Policy & Practice – Low Income Family Tracker) that will be presented as part of an all member briefing.

o   Given the overall low levels of deprivation within the Borough and extensive data already held by the Council it is felt that engagement with residents experiencing difficulties is best delivered in a targeted and meaningful way.

o   I am happy for the task and finish group to continue.

-       In considering these amendments (and in particular recommendation 3)  it was thought there were more effective ways of encapsulating issues related to costings, lack of effectiveness, existing measures and partnership working that would better target individuals in need of assistance.

-       TWBC were already discretely working with 9 different areas and agencies that supported deprived and vulnerable residents.  These included, working with the Pension Services, Kent County Council, housing benefits and disability services, South East Water, homeless intervention, TWBC Council Tax team, Citizen’s Advice Bureau, Go-Card Scheme and the services offered through the TWBC Gateway. 

-       It was noted that Steve McGinnes had recently resigned from the Council but would remain the accountable officer until his departure at which time his responsibility would be reallocated.

-       In terms of the original recommendation 3, resources were not available in house to undertake this work.   

-       It was suggested that the cost of any work would be dependent on who was in the lead.  If the Council were in the lead, a cost in the region of £100k would be a reasonable estimate.  However, if the Council were participants that fed into work being undertaken by other organisations then the cost was likely to be lower.

-       There was concern that the amended recommendations were not included in the papers.  This was because the agenda was produced prior to the amendments being prepared. 

-       It was agreed to take the proposed amended recommendations in turn

-       I can confirm that Steve McGinnes will initially be the Councils single point of contact and coordinate a cross organisational working group to focus on the poverty, including income, education & training and housing:

o   It was noted that a suitable replacement would be in place following Steve McGinnes’ departure.

-       The Council has recently introduced a new dashboard (Policy & Practice – Low Income Family Tracker) that will be presented as part of an all member briefing:

o   Whilst the dashboard did offer some value, it did not provide metrics on employment, education or training services. 

o   It was recognised the dashboard had not originally included all the information required but that going forward that would not be the case. All the relevant data would therefore be available. 

o   Communication within the Council was paramount. 

o   Some of the areas that could be included in the dashboard were outside of the Council’s control.  It was therefore not possible for the Council to commit to providing information that fell within the remit of a third party organisation (e.g. housing, education and income).

o   There was no problem assembling the information that was within the control of the Council. 

-       Given the overall low levels of deprivation within the Borough and extensive data already held by the Council it is felt that engagement with residents experiencing difficulties is best delivered in a targeted and meaningful way.

o   This was not what was supported at the CAB.

-       I am happy for the task and finish group to continue:

o   This was agreed.

-       It was suggested that the views of the working group and the CAB were not reflected in the proposed amended recommendations.

-       An evaluation report on the work previously undertaken in Sherwood Ward would be circulated to Members of Cabinet after the meeting.

-       The Troubled Families Initiative ensured that people had one point of contact.  The scheme was driven at County level.  Whilst the programme had now ceased to exist, some of the practices had been embedded into the system.

-       It was suggested that those in need would not want to participate in surveys. 

-       Information about how/where people could claim benefits and/or get help and assistance should be more widely available.  Local magazine could be one source where this information could be included.

-       The report was progressive and although amended recommendations had now been proposed, a lot of work had already been undertaken and it would therefore not be appropriate to refer the report back to Overview and Scrutiny.

-       Recommendation 4 made clear that work would continue.

RESOLVED –

1. That the Council’s point of contact for coordinating a cross organisational working group to focus on poverty, including income, education & training and housing be Steve McGinnes be approved.
2. That the Council’s recently introduced new dashboard will be presented as part of an All Members Briefing.
3. That the Council will engage with residents experiencing difficulties in a targeted and meaningful way.
4. That the continuation of the Task and Finish Group be supported.

REASON FOR DECISION:  

It was agreed at Full Council in February 2020 that this work be undertaken by a working group of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to give consideration and address the rising levels of poverty in Tunbridge Wells.