The Senior Finance Business Partner introduced the report of the Director of Finance which presented the Statement of Accounts of the Mayor’s Charity for the year ended 14th May 2023 for approval. This included the carried forward amount of £16,117, which has subsequently been donated to various charities in 2023/24.

Internal Audit Manager presented the Internal Audit report into the Mayor’s Charity Account as per the Charities Commission Independent Examiners Checklist.

A query was raised by a Member regarding the costs of running the charity. This could be raised at a future meeting of the parent Committee, Regulatory and General Purposes Committee.

Resolved – That the Statement of Accounts and Internal Audit report be approved.

The Assistant Director for Leisure, Libraries and Engage introduced with the Senior Manager, Engagement, the report of the Director of Neighbourhoods which detailed the progress in the implementation of the Customer Experience Strategy.

Various graphs and narratives were presented which Members discussed and sought further detail on issues such as call waiting lengths, accessibility for people without digital access or who had alternative language needs, and the terminology.

Resolved - That the progress made in delivering the Customer Experience Strategy be noted.

The Director of Neighbourhood presented the report of the Director of Finance which provided an update on the budgets within the remit of the Committee in respect of forthcoming pressures and proposed savings that are being considered within the Medium Term Financial Plan. It was also for the Committee to consider feedback and outcomes from the Budget Workshops which had been held. The Policy and Service Committees are responsible for those services being delivered under their operational headings within their annual budget envelope. The Policy and Resources Committee, in consultation with the respective Policy and Service Committees, has been charged by Council to formulate a draft Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) and budget to recommend to the Council. The Council was required to set a balanced budget each year and set a Medium-Term Financial Plan which considers the future pressures and savings options that will be taken forward to result in a balanced budget position. The Council faces a challenging financial outlook due to inflationary and demand pressures alongside the previous significant reductions in Government funding and uncertainty around the future financial settlements. It was noted that there were apparent pressures caused by achievement against targets for some areas of work but the targets themselves have been reconsidered ready for future budget proposals.

Members debated the implications of the proposals.

Resolved - That:

1. the indicative pressures and proposed savings detailed in Appendix 1 and 2 be noted; and

2. the Budget Workshop feedback and outcomes, as detailed in exempt Appendix 3 be agreed.

The Lead Consultant Lawyer introduced the report of the Director of Law and Governance Committee which presented the Work Programme for the Committee.

Members suggested additions including:

• A workshop on Community Asset Transfers
• An item on communication including consultation bias, social media, listening as well as broadcasting and audiences, as engagement was in the Committee’s Terms of Reference

Resolved – that, subject to the addition of the items noted at the meeting, the work programme be noted.

Resolved – That, subject to Minute 52 paragraph 2 saying ‘could’ not ‘would’, the minutes of the meeting held on 30 November 2023 be approved and adopted as a correct record.

The Assistant Director of Neighbourhood Safety and Transport presented the report of the Director of Neighbourhood Services which provided performance information in relation to Community Safety, encompassing Community Safety delivered by the Council and partner organisations in Wirral. It was noted that the overall performance was good and indicator arrows had been used to show progress. There had been a spike in acquisitive crimes and the Police had put a team in place to tackle that, such as encouraging locking vehicles as 40% of thefts from vehicles was from unlocked vehicles, and working with pawn brokers over stolen goods.

Members debated the format and scope of the statistics and the responses to identified issues such as the lack of identification of locations in reports. Officers noted the suggestions and queries.

Resolved – That the content of the report be noted.

The Assistant Director for Children and Families presented a report on behalf of the Director of Children, Families and Education with an updated version  of the Children’s Social Care Workforce Strategy 2022-2025. The Strategy set out the local authority’s strategy and plans for developing and supporting the social care workforce over the remainder of its course. It outlined five priorities to attract, retain and support the development of a stable, talented, and committed workforce which had the skills, knowledge and motivation to improve children’s lives. These priorities were:

·  Priority 1: ‘Growing our own’ through recruitment and development

·  Priority 2: Support Continuous Professional Development to deliver a motivated and skilled workforce, with an emphasis on supporting staff retention

·  Priority 3: Develop high performing social work managers that support a performance management framework that reflects ‘high support high challenge’

·  Priority 4: Develop new and revised ways of working building on existing strengths to support children, young people and their families

·  Priority 5: Communication and change management

Underpinning those priorities was a commitment to developing a healthy working environment that supported a positive emotional health and wellbeing amongst the Council workforce and enabled Wirral Council to be an employer of choice in children’s social care services.

The Assisant Director for Children and Families provided Members with a simplified data set from that in the report, this data showed the number of starters, leavers and the net change in staff numbers of the past three years for Advanced Practitioners, Social Workers and Assessed abd Suppoered Year in Employment staff.

Members discussed the need for more foster carers across Wirral. Officers noted that it had been a constant challenge to recruit and retain foster carers but that this had improved and work was still underway to improve this further.

Members discussed the Yonder programme and the advantages it would offer to both the authority and agency social workers as a not-for-profit recruitment agency. The Director of Children, Families and Education suggested inviting Yonder to speak to Members directly.

Members raised the environmental impact of social work as there was still a requirement for face to face visits that necessitated travel. Officers noted that face to face visits were always likely to be needed but that there had been an increase in on-line meetings for those that were happy to meet in this way which would decrease the environmental impact of meetings.

Resolved – That

1. The progress made to date on the Social Care Workforce Strategy 2022-2025 be endorsed; and

2. A further update on progress at a future date be agreed.