To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 7 September 2021

Decision

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 7 September 2021 as a correct record.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer attached

This report provides an update on the activity of the Revenues and Benefits Unit, including details of how the service was affected and maintained during the pandemic and includes performance data for the 2019/20 and 2020/21 financial years.

The Committee considered the report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer, that provided an update on the activity of the Revenues and Benefits Unit, including details of how the service was affected and maintained during the pandemic.

Key points and themes in the report included:

• Benefits administration, including Council Tax Support and the management of the Welfare Provision Scheme as well as other discretionary schemes;
• The financial support provided as part of the Test and Trace Scheme;
• Performance in the collection of council tax and how we balance collection, whilst working in an ethical way and supporting those residents on a low income; and
• Performance in the collection of business rates including the support that has been made to businesses during the pandemic.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:

• Welcoming the comprehensive report and recognising the positive contribution the service made to the residents of the city;
• Noting that 79% of applications to the Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) funding were successful, what alternative support was provided to those application that were not successful;
• Noting the increased pressures experienced by residents as a result of a reduction in Universal Credit and the freeze in Local Housing Allowance (LHA), was it anticipated that the LHA rate would increase;
• Was the budget allocated to deliver support to residents sufficient to meet the demand;
• Were the incidents of evictions increasing;
• Are there any figures available to indicate how many households were seeking to move to more affordable accommodation;
• What measures had been introduced through the Council Tax scheme to encourage owners of empty properties to bring them back into use;
• Was data available at a ward level that detailed the numbers of long term empty properties;
• Were officers confident that all residents that were eligible for Council Tax support during the pandemic had accessed this;
• What was the approach taken to the assessment of applications to the Welfare Provision Scheme;
• An explaining was sought as the to the changes in the reported figures of 4,331 children who received Free School Meals – Alternative Support during the Easter period and 6,709 for the autumn half-term;
• How had the findings of the Manchester Poverty Truth Commission been communicated to staff administrating support;
• With reference to Council Tax collection rates, how did Manchester compare to other cities; and
• What modelling was done to predict future Business Rates levels in the city;
• Was the Director confident that staff were capturing all of the larger families who were potentially eligible for support under our Council Tax Support Scheme, whose third and subsequent children were potentially not eligible for benefit support under national government criteria?

The Deputy Leader (Finance) said that the report represented and reflected the important work that the service provided to protect the most vulnerable residents across the city. She paid tribute to the staff working in the service who continue to strive to improve the outcomes for residents. She highlighted that this was in the context of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 47.

Report of the Director of HROD attached

This report provides Members with an update on progress to date to increase diversity, ensure that Manchester City Council is an inclusive employer and to challenge discrimination.

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Human Resources and Organisation Development, which provided Members with an update on progress to date to increase diversity in the organisation, ensure we are an inclusive employer and to challenge discrimination.

Key points and themes in the report included:

• The context and development of the Strategy, which had arisen from the findings of an external review of race issues published in 2020;
• An update on a range of activities over the last 12 months against identified actions, arising from the review;
• An update on the ongoing development of a revised Workforce Equalities Strategy; and
• Conclusions.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:

• The extended scope of the data the organisation now gathers from its workforce, and how the collection of data is embedded across the Strategy
• Progress towards achieving parity across the disciplinary action process for employees
• Changes to the organisation’s recruitment practices
• Communication strategy

The Race Lead for Women welcomed the report and the organisation’s ambition to eradicate all forms of discrimination.  She spoke about her involvement in the Working Group and said that she was encouraged to see that early feedback from staff had been positive.  She said it was important to recognise that the overarching purpose of the Strategy was to ensure that the organisation’s employment practices recognised and respected differences amongst all employees, and that those differences were not solely confined to race or ethnicity but were represented across all of Manchester’s communities.  She acknowledged the breadth and quality of work undertaken at pace to develop a more comprehensive and inclusive workforce strategy that discriminates against no one.  She thanked officers for their ongoing commitment to developing the Strategy.

There was a discussion about the work undertaken to close the gaps that had been identified in the data that the organisation gathers on the workforce. The Committee was informed that the organisation’s staff monitoring classifications had been significantly broadened out to develop a richer picture demographically of the workforce population.  This had been done in consultation with Trade Unions, focus and community interest groups and the information gathered would again be evaluated alongside updated census data due next year.  The revised categories were tested out in a recent staff survey and had received a good response rate with further surveys underway.  The Chair commented that completion of the revised survey had been disappointingly low (44%) amongst managers graded 10 and above. The Chair noted that although she would not wish to see anyone pushed to provide information if it made them uncomfortable, she would be worried if given the work done in this area, large numbers of senior leaders were unhappy about providing it. There was a discussion about potential barriers to completion and the essential role Leaders and Managers play in headlining the implementation of policy change. Mindful that completion itself was discretionary and therefore not a compulsory requirement for any staff, the Committee noted that active discussions with the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48.

Report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit.

This report provides the Committee with details of key decisions that fall within the Committee’s remit and an update on actions resulting from the Committee’s recommendations. The report also includes the Committee’s work programme, which the Committee is asked to amend as appropriate and agree.

The Committee considered the report by the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit which provided details of key decisions that fall within the Committee’s remit and an update on actions resulting from the Committee’s recommendations. The report also includes the Committee’s work programme, which the Committee was asked to amend as appropriate and agree.

No amendments to the Work Programme were proposed.

Decision

To note the overview report and agree the Committee’s Work Programme.