Agenda and minutes

[To receive any apologies for absence and notification of substitutions]. 

An apology for absence was received from Cllr Barbara McGarrity QN.  There were no substitutions. 

[To receive any declarations of interest]. 

Cllr Stephen Simkins attending in his capacity as Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Inclusive City Economy, declared an interest on the Blue Badge item, as his mother was in receipt of a Blue Badge. 

[To approve the minutes of the Scrutiny Board meeting held on 24 January 2023]. 

Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on 24 January 2023 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

[To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 7 February 2023 as a correct record]. 

Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on 7 February 2023 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair. 

A Panel Member stated that he had not received a response to his enquiry in relation to the Bert Williams Café.  The Director of Strategy responded that there had been issues with the Café at the Bilston site earning a profit over the last few years.  Work was ongoing with key partners on how the site could be repurposed. 

The Deputy Leader commented that the space had been repurposed previously for Covid vaccinations. 

The Panel Member requested updates on the matter in the future. 

[To consider the improvement working taking place on the Blue Badges Service]. 

The Contact Centre Manager gave a presentation on the Blue Badge Scheme.  There had previously been a report on the Blue Badge Scheme in October of the last year.  The presentation covered four areas, application processing performance, Customer Contact and surgery update, Customer Feedback and Service Improvements. 

The Contact Centre Manager stated that average processing time had decreased from 32 days for Q1 to 20 days for Q3.  The timescale set for processing applications by the Department for Transport was 84 days.  3892 applications had been received between 1 April 2022 to 31 December 2022.  94% (3760) had been processed with applicants receiving an outcome.  3% (110) were waiting for a Desk Based Assessment or Mobility Assessment by an Occupational Therapist.  2% (70) were awaiting further information from the application.  1% (42) applications were at other stages which included awaiting payment, at appeal or waiting for a cheque to clear.  From Quarter 1 to Quarter 3 calls had been reduced by 8% and emails had reduced by 47%.  77% of calls were answered in 80 seconds from Quarter 1 – Quarter 3.  The noticeable reduction in call and email volumes could be attributed to the reduction in processing time and additional resourcing. 

The Contact Centre Manager stated that with reference to the surgeries they were continuing to deliver Blue Badge surgeries in the community as well as from the Civic Centre.  There were four surgery locations currently running.  The institute in Tettenhall had recently been added as a location.  They would use the data and customer feedback to continue to deliver the surgeries where there was a need. 

The Contact Centre Manager commented there was now live on the Council’s website a step-by-step video guide on how to complete a Blue Badge application with audio and subtitles.  An Occupational Therapy Assistant had been in post since 15 November 2022 processing all physical desk-based assessments for the team.  They had appointed two additional Customer Service Officers to the team.  Since Gov Pay had gone live in February 2022, 74% (2556) of applicants had paid online.

A Panel Member asked about enforcement and whether people could park in disabled spaces without a Blue Badge.  The Contact Centre Manager responded that someone parking in a disabled space without a Blue Badge would face a fine if caught and this was done by the enforcement team.  They were also addressing the issue of people misusing Blue Badges, such as people using out of date badges or appropriating another persons badge and using it as their own. 

A Panel Member commended the presentation and the improvements which had been made to the Service and the surgeries. He asked about bench marking with other authorities. 

The Head of Customer Engagement and Registration responded that the way some authorities set the timescale for Blue Badge processing differed to others, which was why it could be difficult to compare. 

The Vice-Chair asked for some more information about how the surgeries worked.  The Contact Centre Manager responded that they  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

[To consider a report on Levelling Up Funding]. 

The Cabinet Member for Inclusive City Economy gave a statement on Levelling Up Funding.  The Council had submitted two strong bids in round 2 of the Levelling Up Funding programme announced by the Government.  Each bid had been supported by a Wolverhampton MP.  He was really disappointed that the Council had not received funding for either of the bids, he had been shocked by the news.  The vision for Wolverhampton would however continue and they would continue to champion the bids.  The Council had learnt a couple of weeks before the announcement that there were new criteria for who would receive funding in round 2.  Areas that had received funding in round 1 would not receive any in round 2.  The Council were still awaiting feedback for the failed bid for the Health and Wellbeing Hub for Bilston.  He was critical of the Government process for Local Authorities seeking funding, as had been the Mayor of the West Midlands Combined Authority area. 

The Director of Strategy and the Director of Regeneration gave a presentation on Levelling Up and the Funding bids which had not been successful, a copy of the presentation is attached to the signed minutes.  They described the nature of the bids that had not been successful.  A timeline was provided.  The Bilston bid had taken up 429 hours of staff time and £78,000 had been spent on Consultants costs.  The Green Innovation Hub had taken up 390 hours of staff time and £74,000 had been spent on Consultants costs.  The majority of the Consultants costs had been met by a grant provided by the Government, but it did not cover all the staff time spent on the bids. 

The Director of Strategy commented that the West Midlands were the fourth highest region in terms of funding awarded, out of a total amount of £2.1 billion nationally for round 2 Levelling Up funding.  In the West Midlands there had been 8 successful bids with over £155 million being allocated across the region.  Feedback as to why the Green Innovation Corridor bid was unsuccessful was received on 21 February 2023.  They were in ongoing discussions with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.  Nationally only two Local Authorities in Northern Ireland had received funding in both rounds.  A new rule that had been introduced during shortlisting stated that authorities would not receive any round 2 funding, if they had been successful in securing funding in the first round.

The Director of Strategy remarked that the feedback on the Green Innovation Corridor bid was that it was a relatively strong bid.  They said it was:

·       Clearly written and took a guidance led approach to appraisal.

·       There was clear evidence to support the bid.

·       It could have been further strengthened with more detail on consultation and conclusions drawn from engagement, options appraisal and further explanatory notes to support Benefit Cost Ratio calculations, though it was noted the BEIS model was used.

·       Could have been strengthened with more information on governance  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

[To consider the Forward Plan of Key Decisions]. 

A Panel Member remarked that the Forward Plan of Key Decisions referred to the City Centre Public Realm Improvements Programme.  She asked when the programme would be finished with regard to Phase 1 in particular Victoria Street and when Phase 2 was projected to finish. 

The Chief Operating Officer responded that details would be provided in the report which was being received by Scrutiny Board on 14 March 2023.

A Panel Member commented that the road works on North Street had been extended until the end of April 2023, which was contrary to what had been reported in the past, in relation to when they would be finished. 

[To consider the Scrutiny Work Programme]. 

The Vice-Chair commented that the Scrutiny Work Programme had been very strong for the Municipal year.  He commented that better scrutiny led to better decisions, leading to the best outcomes for the City.

The Director of Regeneration stated that a site visit was taking place for the Economy and Growth Scrutiny Panel to the National Brownfield Institute the following week.  He offered to arrange a site visit for Scrutiny Board Members and others at a later date. 

[The date of the next scheduled Scrutiny Board is 14 March 2023 at 6:30pm]. 

The date of the next Scrutiny Board meeting was confirmed as 14 March 2023 at 6:30pm. 

The meeting concluded at 7:53pm.