Scrutiny Committee - 04/12/2024

At a MEETING of the SCRUTINY COMMITTEE held remotely on 4th December, 2024.

Present:-

BAILIES

COUNCILLORS

Bailie Kevin KEENAN, Convener, in the Chair.

The minute of meeting of this Committee of 25th September, 2024 was held as read.

Unless marked thus * all items stand delegated.

I DECLARATION OF INTEREST

There were no declarations of interest.

II MEMBERSHIP - SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

It was reported that Depute Lord Provost Cordell had resigned as a member of the Committee and would be replaced by Councillor Jimmy Black and in terms of Standing Order No 45(2) this change would be effective from the next meeting of the Committee.

The Committee agreed to note the position as indicated.

III EDUCATION SCOTLAND (HMI) INSPECTION OF GLEBELANDS PRIMARY SCHOOL AND NURSERY CLASS

There was submitted Report No 343-2024 by the Executive Director of Children and Families Service, reporting on the findings of the Education Scotland (HMI) inspection of Glebelands Primary School and Nursery in September, 2024.

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.

IV EDUCATION SCOTLAND (HMI) RETURN VISIT - BALDRAGON ACADEMY

There was submitted Report No 342-2024 by the Executive Director of Children and Families Service, reporting on the findings of the Education Scotland (HMI) return visit to Baldragon Academy in June, 2024.

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.

V CRAIGIE COTTAGE

Reference was made to Article III of the minute of meeting of this Committee of 24th April, 2024, wherein it was agreed to note the Inspection Report. There was submitted Report No 341-2024 by the Executive Director of Children and Families Service, providing an update on the second Care Inspectorate Inspection of Craigie Cottage since the house was opened in September, 2023. The Inspection was published on 2nd May, 2024 a copy of which was attached to the report as Appendix I.

The Committee agreed:-

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

(ii) to remit the Executive Director of the Children and Families Service to continue to provide a summary of progress following the return to now routine annual Care Inspectorate Inspections.

VI FIRE AND RESCUE QUARTERLY PERFORMANCE REPORT - 1ST JULY, 2024 TO 30TH SEPTEMBER, 2024

There was submitted Report No 345-2024 by Area Commander Todd, providing information relating to the second quarter July, 2024 to September, 2024 on the performance of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service against the priorities, outcomes and performance measures detailed within the Local Fire and Rescue Plan for Dundee, to facilitate local scrutiny.

The Committee agreed to note, scrutinise and question the content of the report.

VII DUNDEE LOCAL POLICING AREA QUARTERLY POLICE REPORT - 1ST JULY, 2024 TO 30TH SEPTEMBER, 2024

There was submitted Report No 346-2024 by Chief Superintendent Russell, providing information regarding the performance of Police Scotland against performance indicators that would facilitate local scrutiny.

The Committee agreed to note and scrutinise the operational report.

VIII INTERNAL AUDIT PLAN UPDATE AND PROGRESS REPORT

There was submitted Report No 339-2024 by the Chief Internal Auditor, providing an update on the progress towards delivering the 2024/2025 Internal Audit Plan; the audits from previous years plans that were not complete at June, 2024; and information about the number of open internal audit recommendations.

The Committee agreed:-

(i) to note the progress with the Internal Audit Plan;

(ii) to note the progress with the implementation of agreed internal audit recommendations;

(iii) to note the addition of a review of MOSAIC system payments to the plan; and

(iv) to note the position with revised Public Sector Internal Audit Standards.

IX INTERNAL AUDIT REPORTS

There was submitted Report No 340-2024 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 BI-ANNUAL REPORT ON COMPLAINTS 2024/2025

There was submitted Report No 308-2024 by the Chief Executive on Complaints for 2024/2025 as contained in Appendix I of the report and presenting an update on performance in the first half of 2024/2025, with comparisons to previous periods and showing how the Council continued to learn from complaints.

The Committee agreed:-

(i) to note the key performance indicators on complaints closed between 1st April, 2024 and 30th September, 2024, with trends from previous periods as outlined in section 3 of the report;

(ii) to note the summary of complaints about the Council received by and determined by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman during 2023/2024 as outlined in section 5 of the report;

(iii) to note the examples of the range and volume of transactions the Council had with customers and citizens as a context for the number of complaints as outlined in section 7 of the report;

(iv) to note the examples of how complaints had been used to improve services as outlined in section 8 of the report;

(v) to note the examples of compliments received about Council services as outlined in section 9 of the report; and

(vi) to note the results of the satisfaction survey sent to people who made complaints as outlined in section 10 of the report.

XI NEIGHBOURHOOD SERVICES SERVICE PLAN 2022/2027 - ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT 2023/2024

Reference was made to Article VII of the minute of meeting of the City Governance Committee of 19th August, 2024, wherein it was agreed to submit the above report to this meeting of the Scrutiny Committee for further consideration.

There was submitted Report No 169-2024 by the Executive Director of Neighbourhood Services, providing an annual update showing progress as of 31st March, 2024 for the Neighbourhood Services Service Plan which was agreed by the Council in June, 2023.

The Committee agreed to note the progress made as outlined in the report.

XII COUNCIL PLAN 2022/2027 - MID-YEAR PROGRESS REPORT FOR 2024/2025

Reference was made to Article VII of the minute of meeting of the City Governance Committee of 18th November, 2024, wherein it was agreed to submit the above report to this meeting of the Scrutiny Committee for further consideration.

There was submitted Report No 306-2024 by the Chief Executive presenting a mid-year update showing progress so far during 2024/2025, being year three of the five-year plan.

The Committee agreed to note the progress made as outlined in the report.

Kevin KEENAN, Convener.