Scrutiny Committee - 26/04/2023

At a MEETING of the SCRUTINY COMMITTEE held remotely on 26th April, 2023.

Present:-

Depute Lord Provost Kevin CORDELL

BAILIES

COUNCILLORS

Bailie Kevin KEENAN, Convener, in the Chair.

The minute of meeting of this Committee of 8th February, 2023 was held as read.

Unless marked thus * all items stand delegated.

I DECLARATION OF INTEREST

Councillor Short declared an interest in relation to the item of business at Article VIII of this minute by virtue of an unnamed member of staff referred to in the report being known to her in a personal capacity and took no part in the proceedings and withdrew from the meeting during its consideration.

II EXTERNAL INSPECTION REPORT FOR GILLBURN HOUSE

There was submitted Report No 127-2023 by the Executive Director of Children and Families Service, providing a summary of a recent external inspection carried out by the Care Inspectorate on Gillburn House Young Peoples Home. The inspection covered two areas of inspection of firstly children and young people being safe, feeling loved and getting the most out of life, which was graded as Good. Secondly, of leaders and staff having the capacity and resources to meet and champion children and young people's needs and rights, which was also graded as Good. This was detailed in Appendix 1 of the report.

The Committee agreed:-

(i) to note the inspection report on Gillburn House, as detailed in Appendix 1 of the report, which in both categories of inspection received grades of Good; and

(ii) to remit the Executive Director of Children and Families Service to ensure that the areas for improvement were acted upon.

III EXTERNAL INSPECTION REPORT FOR THE JUNCTION

There was submitted Report No 128-2023 by the Executive Director of Children and Families Service, providing a summary of a recent external inspection carried out by the Care Inspectorate on The Junction Young Peoples Home. Based on previous positive inspection grades of Good and Very Good, the inspection covered just one area of children and young people being safe, feeling loved and getting the most out of life, for which the house received a grade of Very Good. A copy of the inspection report was attached as Appendix 1 of the report.

The Committee agreed:-

(i) to note the inspection report on The Junction Young Peoples Home, as detailed in Appendix 1 of the report, which received a grade of Very Good; and

(ii) to remit the Executive Director of Children and Families Service to ensure that the areas for improvement were acted upon.

IV EXTERNAL INSPECTION REPORT ON MILLVIEW COTTAGE

There was submitted Report No 129-2023 by the Executive Director of Children and Families Service, providing an outline of recent external inspection of Millview Cottage, which over three categories of inspection received grades of Good in how well childrens rights and wellbeing were supported; Good in leaders and staff having the capacity and resources to meet young peoples needs and champion their rights; and Very Good in children and young people feeling safe, loved and getting the most out of life. A copy of the full inspection report was attached as Appendix 1 of the report.

The Committee agreed:-

(i) to note the summary of the inspection report on Millview Cottage, as detailed in Appendix 1 of the report; and

(ii) to remit the Executive Director of Children and Families Service to ensure that the areas for improvement were acted upon.

V EXTERNAL INSPECTION REPORTS ON FOSTERING AND ADOPTION TEAMS

There was submitted Report No 130-2023 by the Executive Director of Children and Families Service, providing a summary of an external inspection of the Children and Families Services Fostering and Adoption Teams published in December, 2022, as detailed in Appendix 1 of the report. As a regulated service, these two teams were inspected periodically by the Care Inspectorate and this was the first inspection after the Covid-19 pandemic. They were inspected in three categories on how well peoples wellbeing was supported, which was graded as Adequate; how good leadership was, which was graded as Weak; and how good care and support was planned, which was graded as Adequate. The inspection outlined three requirements and five areas for improvement. The inspection coincided with an externally commissioned review of the teams carried out by the Association of Fostering, Kinship and Adoption (AFKA). Coming out of the pandemic, the purpose of the AFKA review was to pro-actively identify strengths and areas for improvement, including with reference to research on best practice and benchmarking with other areas. This review was also finalised in December, 2022 and mirrored the findings of the inspection. The recommendations would contribute towards the continued development of local family-based support for children and young people.

The Committee agreed:-

(i) to note the contents of the report, including the implementation of all three inspection requirements within the stipulated timescale of 28th February, 2023; and

(ii) to remit the Executive Director of Children and Families Service to ensure that all other areas for improvement were acted upon and requested an update report in six months.

VI EDUCATION SCOTLAND (HMI) INSPECTION OF ST JOHN'S RC HIGH SCHOOL

There was submitted Report No 131-2023 by the Executive Director of Children and Families Service, reporting on the findings of the Education Scotland (HMI) inspection of St Johns RC High School.

The Committee agreed:-

(i) to note the contents of the report; and

(ii) to instruct the Chief Education Officer to monitor progress towards meeting the areas for improvement outlined in the report.

VII EDUCATION SCOTLAND (HMI) INSPECTION OF VICTORIA PARK PRIMARY SCHOOL

There was submitted Report No 132-2023 by the Executive Director of Children and Families Service, reporting on the findings of the Education Scotland (HMI) inspection of Victoria Park Primary School.

The Committee agreed:-

(i) to note the contents of the report; and

(ii) to instruct the Chief Education Officer to monitor progress towards meeting the areas for improvement outlined in the report.

VIII ALLEGATIONS IN RELATION TO GIFTS, HOSPITALITY AND THEFT

There was submitted Report No 121-2023 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services, advising of the outcome of the Corporate Fraud Team (CFT) investigations into allegations in relation to gifts, hospitality and theft related to Smoke Alarms equipment supplied to Construction Services.

The Committee agreed to note the contents of the report.

IX INTERNAL AUDIT REPORTS

There was submitted Report No 123-2023 by the Chief Internal Auditor, providing a summary of the Internal Audit Reports finalised since the last meeting of the Scrutiny Committee.

The Committee agreed to note the information contained within the report.

X INTERNAL AUDIT PLAN UPDATE AND PROGRESS REPORT

There was submitted Report No 124-2023 by the Chief Internal Auditor, providing an update on the progress towards delivering the 2022/2023 Internal Audit Plan; the audits brought forward from the 2021/2022 Plan and information about the number of outstanding internal audit recommendations.

The Committee discussed and agreed to note the information contained within the report.

XI DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - AUDIT SCOTLAND ANNUAL AUDIT PLAN 2022/2023

There was submitted Report No 120-2023 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services, describing how Audit Scotland would deliver the audit of Dundee City Council for the year ending 31st March, 2023.

The Committee agreed:-

(i) to note the information included in the report;

(ii) to note that the outcome of the 2022/2023 audit would be reported to the Scrutiny Committee on 26th October, 2023; and

(iii) to note that the Councils performance in meeting its Best Value duties would be reported to the Accounts Commission in November, 2023.

XII 2023/2024 INTERNAL AUDIT PLAN

There was submitted Report No 125-2023 by the Chief Internal Auditor, regarding the Internal Audit Plan for the 2023/2024 financial year.

The Committee agreed to review and approve the 2023/2024 Internal Audit Plan as detailed at Appendix A of the report.

XIII RISK MANAGEMENT ANNUAL REPORT

Reference was made to Article V of the minute of meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee of 6th March, 2023, wherein it was agreed to remit this report to this meeting for further consideration.

There was submitted Report No 32-2023 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services, presenting the annual review of Risk Management and the Review of Risks in the Councils Corporate Risk Register.

The Committee agreed to note the content of the report.

Kevin KEENAN, Convener.