Health and Adult Social Care scrutiny committee – April 2024

Two items.

Mental Health services in Nottingham
The Nottingham Healthcare Trust (mental health services) have been found wanting by an investigation. Their officers had apologised, and apologised again after the Labour chair of the committee cited 5 & more years of complaints about their services, raised by the Cttee and elsewhere without acceptance; the statement took 21 minutes to read out.

East Midlands Ambulance Service
The performance of the Ambulance services serving Queens Medical Centre has plummeted in recent years – mainly because ambulances are stacked up whilst waiting for the patients to be taken to somewhere appropriate; the hospital trust came to say they were finding new ways of working (e.g. virtual wards) to relieve the queueing; but of course if the council had more money to help relieve beds, that would help too.

Looking forward to April 2024

April 2024
Advice session, Meadows Library; 3^rd;
Advice session, Meadows Library; 10^th,
Health and Adult Social Care committee, Loxley House; 11^th;
Joint Strategic Planning and Transport committee, County Hall; 12^th;
Bridges Community Trust cafe & hub soft opening; QWCC; 15^th;
Advice session, Meadows Library; 17^th;
Advice session, Meadows Library; 24^th;

Meadows ward status – March 2024

Further to the previous such report and building on mid-month progress report >>>

Parks and Open Spaces:
– the return of paddling is now set to be constructed for 4th October, subject to a permission from the Lottery to be sought in the first week of April; we will have lost another year;
– works on pavements from Wilford Suspension Bridge through the parks ongoing; a new ramp has been installed in the bandstand arena is response to concerns expressed over the los of the previous one (which did not meet standards);

Street Scene etc.:
– ward walk was held in the south-east of The Meadows;
progress on tackling drug dealing in public in The Meadows has been sustained; relatively simple action by the Police has mitigated ASB in the car park off Green Street / Felton Road;
– the streets are a mess especially around the north end of the Old Meadows;
– Longhurst Housing Association have now undertaken to improve their management of Henry Court including the entrance;

Street works:
– Street for People phase 1 implemented, including resurfacing of Bathley Street; 4 new street bins and 13 replaced; and installation of Robin Hood way french drain;
– Streets for People phase 2 to be designed;
– phase 2 is likely to prompt consultation in 3 areas – Arkwright walk; Robin Hood Way; Quay Close;

Meeting residents:
– OMTRA; NeMTRA; Beauvale Road; Voluntary Sector and Community Network Forum;
– Friends of Meadows Library, who are organising an anti-closure campaign: 27th; 20th; 18th; 4th;
– and St.Patrick’s Day;

Key council meetings –
– Budget; Health & Adult Social Care; Audit – including disappointing exchange with external auditors; Planning – including pitch to improve appearance of proposed block of flats; and observing Executive Board;
– neighbourhood action; (and speech on Valuing Neighbourhood Action and Community Development);

Struggling to keep up with duties.  Did not manage to issue a written report to public meetings during March, although reports of such meetings have been published on this web-site. I am still not keeping up with all policy queries from the public. 

Meadows Library update

The FoML form, which makes of a point of inviting people to express their personal experiences of, and their appreciation of, The Meadows Library.
Download and fill in if you want to join in, or fill one in at the library.

More banners on display and a thermometer showing the progress on the numbers of filled in questionnaires being sent to council headquarters.  Indeed Eunice and I took another 70 forms in to present to a member of the Executive.  

An anti-cuts public meeting has been called for April 16th, although the choice of speaker suggests the meeting might be about the decision made at the council’s budget meeting rather than looking forward to defending our facilities and services.

New bin management

A new charge for the garden bin scheme is being introduced. 
Driven by the cuts, but kinda almost universal practice now by local councils across the country. 
There will be a process for people who collect “garden” waste when they don’t have a garden – e.g. from leaf litter on streets or blown into yards.
Revenue from the scheme will allow more waste advisors – people who have increased collection rates in the past – and stronger enforcement on side waste.

Whilst people might be surprised about driving down on side waste, throwing bags into machines has led to injuries for staff, and even some fatalities across the country – so we want to stop the practice, and will ask for people’s support. 
We also want to stop “top-hatting” – waste in bins not fitting into a bin and waste being blown into the street.
Try packing waste down into bins.

Also: 
– street scene staff now work with vehicles rather than barrows, so the practice of leaving waste in black plastic bags at the side of street bins should now have stopped;  see also a list of 13 renewed bins and and 4 new ones.
– The Meadows does not have the problems that other neighbourhoods do, but progress on “top-hatting” is needed in some of our streets – we suggest our hot-spot streets for side gate are Wilford Crescent West north, Glapton Road, Beauvale Road – but let us know of any others.
– stickers do exist for putting on older recycling bins that are marked “no glass” when in fact glass can be put in our brown recycling bins (with grey lids); so again let us know if you have such bins (e.g. Eugene Gardens?)

LINKS TO BE ADDED

Meadows Library events but commissioners visit not billed

Friends of Meadows Library anti-closure display

Events in April include –
– Lego, April 6th, 10:30-11:30am;
– Charlie Comet and the Magic in the Attic; April 10th, 2-2:30pm;
– Grufallo, April 13th, 10:30-11:30am;

Children Activities:
– Totstime: every Friday, 11am-11:30am;
– Lego Club, every first Saturday, 10:30-11:30am;
– Craft Corner every second Saturday, 11am-1pm;
– Saffron Science Club every third Saturday, 10:30-11:30am;

Adult activities:
to be added

Meanwhile, turns out the officials appointed to enforce the cuts on Nottingham City Council by the government – referred to as Commissioners – visited the library at 3pm.
Not particularly sure why – but Cllr. Eunice Regan did speak about saving the library at full council when the Commissioners were sat 6 foot behind her – but who knows?

FoML have been getting lots of forms filled in.

Executive Board – March 2024

Period 9 forecast project the full year overspend to be down by £3.7 million, at £19.7 million.
Portfolio Holders spoke on current situations, including the demand generated by increased social need.

Meanwhile, plans to improve facilities at the Forest Recreation Ground were celebrated; talk of a play zone for The Meadows has gone quiet.

Period 9 Budget Monitoring Report :

The report set out the forecast outturn position for the General Fund, Housing Revenue Account and Capital Programme at the end of December 2023.
The in-year overspend for the General Fund has reduced from £23.351 million in Period 6 to £19.316 million at the end of December 2023

75.14% of this in-year overspend is in the People’s Directorate and it continues to be driven by high level of inflation, increase in demand and complexity of need and costs of social care, SEND transport and temporary accommodation and the impact of cost of living crisis which also affects important income streams of the Council.

The Housing Revenue Account is projecting an underspend of £6.091 million, mainly due to additional income on cash balances following an increase in interest rates.
Should this materialise at the year end, then the balance will then be moved into the General HRA Reserve.

The 2023/24 capital programme was revised to £261.160m as reported to Executive Board February 2024 and Full Council March 2024. However, expenditure to date remains low and the Council is at risk of further slippage in the delivery of projects within 2023/24 unless delivery against capital projects (and spend) is accelerated.

45.80% of Transformation Programme savings have been delivered compared to 39.20% at Period 6.

FoML displays to save Meadows Library

So not May 2nd for a General Election

… which I think liberates a lot of people ready to protest against the national Conservative government to use it in local elections to be held on May 2nd.
It was not the plan. Conservatives have been spending money in anticipation of May 2nd.
That YouGov is currently saying Labour 44% vs. Conservatives at 20% might be a factor; although it merely confirms how strategically useless the Conservatives have been.
Putting back the vote in the hope of a bounce from future events – such as England winning this Summer’s Euros – is hopeful given what the plan was – a bounce from the budget just passed and the passing of legislation of the Rwanda scheme without it being tested – scuppered by going in the Autumn.

Whatever, Nottingham Labour had a particular incentive for the election being in May.

Health and Adult Social Care scrutiny committee – March 2024

Two items – dentistry and mental health crisis treatment.

Mental Health Crisis services: turns out the lead medical practitioner witness cited that they can tell already how the provision of Children’s Centres / Sure Start services had impacted on the number of people they treat. 
TO BE UPDATED.