Agenda and draft minutes

To receive apologies for absence and notification of substitutes (if any).

Apologies for absence were tabled by Councillor Richard Austin with Councillor Alison Austin substituting.  Further apologies were table by Councillor Jyothi Arayambath with Councillor David Scoot substituting and by Councillor Barrie Pierpoint.   Portfolio Holder Councillor Sandeep Ghosh also tabled his apologies.

To sign and confirm the minutes of the last meeting.

With the agreement of the committee the Chairman signed the minutes of the previous meeting.

To receive declarations of interests in respect of any item on the agenda.

To answer any written questions received from members of the public no later than 5 p.m. two clear working days prior to the meeting – for this meeting the deadline is 5 p.m. on Monday 22^nd July 2024.

No questions tabled.

A report by the Assistant Director - Corporate

The Business Intelligence and Change Manager presented the report supported by the Group Manager for Insights and Transformation.  Committee were advised that the policy for the partnership had been drafted in consultation with Portfolio Holders, Senior leadership team, the Transformation department, ICT, the Monitoring Officer, and the Data Protection team.

This policy would ensure that AI applications would be aligned with ethical standards, regulatory requirements, and public interest. It would provide a framework for transparency, accountability, and fairness in AI deployment, addressing concerns related to privacy, bias, and security.

By proactively establishing an AI policy across the partnership, its councils could foster innovation while safeguarding community trust, ultimately enhancing service delivery and decision-making processes for the benefit of all citizens. The policy would further benefit the partnership with a consistency across the Partnership workforces which was important as officer teams worked more closely together.  In the future the Councils might look to also source single ICT systems to support the delivery of services which common ICT policies facilitated.

Committee deliberation followed which included:

Responding to a question on how much AI was currently in use, a member was advised that it was minimal but was starting to creep into the systems, hence the need for the policy.  There were minor AI suites within Teams and PSPS also used some within their services, with a minimal use within the Council. 

Voicing concern at the potential drawbacks of AI, a member questioned the lack of AI being able to assess any personality traits. It would not identify any tone of voice and not be able to differentiate, as such it would treat each person in the same way. Committee were advised that there had to be a degree of human oversight.  AI used language-based learning and could identify when language became negative or frustrative and could show some form of empathy.  Anything generated via AI would need human overview to cover any concerns.  Members were further reassured that whilst there was opinion that AI would replace jobs, it was not about replacing jobs.  What it would do would be to improve efficiency and as a result, enable vulnerable residents to access operators in person a lot quicker. 

On questioning what safeguards were in place to avoid any problems for the Council, officers advised that if a query was not answered in the first one or two attempts, Chatbot would automatically push the call out to a human traditional channel, and there would be rigorous testing across all capacities before any implementation.

Summarising the Chairman noted that the report had been well written and that he agreed the concerns noted that a more

constant review would be required during the first five years.  The Business Intelligence and Change Manager confirmed that he would amend the review cycle in line with the request of the committee.

A report by the Deputy Chief Executive - Communities

The Portfolio Holder presented the report supported by the Assistant Director for Wellbeing and the Community Leadership Manager.  Members were advised that the sovereign councils and the ‘South and East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership’ recognised the important work of the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS). That included supporting the communities in South and East Lincolnshire to lead longer, safer, and healthier lives.  What has contributed to making South and East Lincolnshire great, was its people and its communities. Notably, the communities played a significant part in providing an active volunteering role in their localities. The reasons for that could be for community or personal advantage, with volunteering showing positive physical and mental health benefits to participatory individuals. The report provided an overview of activity that had taken place in the last year with the Voluntary and Community Sector.  It included a summary of the South and East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership ‘Trusted Volunteer Scheme’ funded through UK Shared Prosperity Funding, forming part of the Partnership’s strategic approach to working with the VCS within the Sub-Region.  In addition, the report sought the committees’ views on the approach taken to working with the Voluntary and Community Sector in Boston and across the South and East Lincolnshire Councils area, and further included the promotion of a Volunteer Charter for Members consideration.

Committee deliberation followed which included:

Members commended the report which they felt to be balanced but questioned what mechanisms were in place for the safety of volunteers who were often seen litter picking on main roads without any safety wear and as such, were putting themselves at risk. A further question asked what training, if any, was provided in respect of any physical activity required by volunteers.

Officers advised that the Charter was explicit in identifying the support needed for volunteers to undertake their activities, including provision of safety wear and also any manual handling of items. Members were also reassured that volunteers would not be undertaking any work previously carried out by paid employees, but they could claim out of pocket expenses for training and PPE and furthermore they were covered under the Council’s insurance.

On noting the number of single volunteers who were active within the town a member questioned how the Council would make them aware of the Charter and the support they could receive and was advised that the Council would ensure inclusion as part of its role was to support individuals alongside the groups.  

On referencing the implementation of the warm hubs programme, activated to provide a shelter for warmth over the winter months, a member noted that one parish had opted not to continue with the facility due to a low uptake, and questioned if other sites would be open through the forthcoming winter months.  Officers advised that a number of hubs had extended their initial time lines and become activity driven ‘clubs’ to both address the stigma that was often attached to the ‘warm hubs’ name and to also help combat social isolation, especially in rural areas.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 108.

Standing Item for members to discuss future reporting to committee.

Members were advised that a review of the Council Tax Support Scheme would be tabled at the next scheduled meeting, and that a form of pre-scrutiny for the budget would be scheduled ahead of the budget to allow members to understand the formula and structuring of the budget.

On questioning reviewing the decisions taken on previous reports for HMO’s and fly Tipping, a member was advised that an update to the 2013 report on the Social Impact of Immigration had been provided at an earlier meeting of the committee, which had considered the outcomes from the original 27 recommendations, identifying which had been taken forward and which for whatever reason, had not been possible.  It was agreed to schedule a report on HMO’s at a future meeting.  On requesting a report on the economy of the town, a member was advised it was a report for the sister scrutiny committee Environment and Performance.