Agenda item

(1)  At the time of publication no notifications had been received.

(2)  To note that members of the public who have given the requisite notice to the Democratic Services Officer will be able to submit a written statement to the Panel. There will be a word limit of 500 words for each statement.

The Chairman announced that statements had been received from David Redgewell and Councillor Robin Moss and that these had been circulated to the Panel. The Chairman read them both out, also they are attached as an online appendix to these minutes and a summary is set out below.

Statement from David Redgewell - South West Transport Network and Railfuture Severnside

We are concerned about social distancing regulations within Bath and North East Somerset on the public transport network.

With government guidance to local authorities, Transport operators and passenger groups - we are concerned about the lack of social distancing notices on bus shelter and stops. There is no clear social distancing marking on pavements. 

Realtime information displays need to explain timetables and social distancing guidance and the wearing of face masks and CONTACTLESS payments on buses.

Clear destinations need to be displayed and provide information on the front when the bus is full for passengers - DISABLED ACCESS is protected. 

Hand gels are required at key interchanges and public toilets need to be reopened in the district and the block at Avon Street Coach Station. 

On Railway services social distancing is required on trains with just 45 passengers allowed on a 3-car train and 60 on an intercity train - social distancing on trains and station is important. Notices and signs need to be in place at Keynsham, Oldfield Park, Bath Spa and Freshford. 

Enforcement of social distancing is required by transport staff, including marshalling at key interchanges by support from the British Transport Police and the Avon and Somerset Police. 

The Chairman thanked him for the statement on behalf of the Panel and asked that it be passed to the Cabinet Member for Transport and the Leader of the Council.

Statement from Councillor Robin Moss

I am asking that the scrutiny panel considers reviewing the current B&NES corporate outsourcing arrangements, not just in light of the Covid-19 emergency, but also that there have been concerns about the lack of flexibility, the quality of service & value for money even prior to this year.

The use of the private sector to provide home care & associated services has resulted in staff surveys showing high levels of dissatisfaction & internal monitoring reports showing service delivery being ‘red flagged’ as poor.

There have been consistent national & local reports that residential care providers are under severe financial strain. This is likely to get worse as the increased PPE costs as well as social distancing reducing the number who can be accommodated reduces.

Outsourcing our services does not outsource our responsibility as a local authority. Outsourcing does however make it more difficult to respond to crises, it makes it more difficult to introduce improvements when quality is deteriorating & it is increasingly a more expensive option.

I believe there needs to be a debate on how local councils provide their services, what is appropriate in the private sector, what should be in ‘house’ & where the co-operative & ‘3^rd sector’ should be used.

The current financial crisis does mean we have to look not only at what services we provide, but also how we provide those services. It is an opportunity to move away from the 'private profit is best' nostrum, that may have benefited shareholders in the past, but which has failed to benefit residents. 

Councillor Andrew Furse commented that the outsourcing of services does make it harder for the Council to pull certain levers in times like these.

Councillor Shaun Hughes asked for the Panel to receive a summary of all services that are currently outsourced from the Council.

The Chairman agreed that it would be good to see a summary of services and then consider what further work the Panel could do in the future. He added that they could look to explore the experiences of different sectors and have feedback from those that receive these services.

Councillor Richard Samuel stated that around £90m is spent on contracts, which is a quarter of the Council’s gross spend per year. He added that this is a long-term strategic issue which he is willing to look into and bring a report back in due course to the Panel for an informed discussion.

Councillor Karen Warrington said that there is a role for consultants to play within the life of the Council. She added though that it would be good to have a review to see if any could be used on a less frequent basis.

Councillor Hal MacFie said that he would welcome a presentation on this matter from the Cabinet Member.

Councillor Vic Pritchard commented that there are profound implications to the statement made by Councillor Moss. He added that the Virgin Care contract is monitored on a daily basis. He explained that one of things that the crisis has highlighted is that there is not adequate integrated care between acute care and social care and that changes regarding this are required on a national level.

The Chairman proposed that an initial briefing paper on the definition of outsourcing and how much and what is outsourced be received by the Panel from the Cabinet Member for Resources and lead financial officers.  He added the Panel could try to gain experience of services that have been outsourced, review this information and then seek to form recommendations.

He suggested that the work could involve the other two Policy Development & Scrutiny Panels.

The Panel unanimously agreed with this proposal.

The Chairman thanked Councillor Moss for the statement on behalf of the Panel.