Tuesday 11 April 2023
Please pass this on to district, borough, parish and town councillors as appropriate. The bulletin can be shared as a link by clicking the 'View it as a Web page' link at the top.
Pausing the consultation process for our in-house day and respite services
Members will be aware of the current consultations within integrated adult social care, with proposals put forward for potential ways of helping the council to make budget savings. You will recall that the council as a whole looks to make savings in the region of £45 million.
Two of our current consultations concern proposed changes to our in-house day services and respite services for adults with learning disabilities.
Devon County Council has received detailed correspondence from Mencap alongside feedback from staff, unions and carers.
The Council greatly values its ongoing working relationship with all its stakeholders and believes it is only right, due to this and the volume of concerns, that time is taken to listen and evaluate.
We have therefore agreed to halt our current public consultations regarding day services and respite services, so we can review all comments in detail.
We have written and thanked Mencap for their comments, which, alongside the responses received so far from our current consultation, will help inform the content of any future proposal to our services.
We will update Members on this matter as it progresses.
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You may have heard in the news that the UK Government’s new Emergency Alerts system is now live. The system will enable people to be contacted through their mobile phone if their lives are at risk in an emergency. The service will be used to warn you about life-threatening emergencies, for example severe flooding.
Emergency Alerts are messages sent to all compatible 4G and 5G mobile phones when there’s a danger to your life, health or property in the area you’re located. They don’t need your location or phone number and only the Government and the emergency services can send them. If you don’t have a mobile, you’ll still be kept informed through other channels.
There will be a UK-wide test of the Emergency Alerts system taking place on Sunday 23 April 2023. If you have a compatible phone, you will receive a welcome message. You do not need to do anything when you receive it, as it’s just a test to ensure the service is working effectively.
There is a list of frequently asked questions available and for more information about the Emergency Alerts system, you can go to the GOV.UK website.
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Site security – can I see your ID?
Everyone has a right to feel safe at work, including when working in our offices. We also have a duty to protect the data we hold. This includes keeping our buildings secure, to protect ourselves and our data. Everyone has a responsibility to avoid allowing unauthorised access and tailgating into DCC buildings and sites.
Here is a quick guide on how to help do that, and keep us safe.
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Code of conduct training
Code of conduct training has been arranged and will include a number of other related aspects, where questions have been asked by Members. Training will cover:
- code of conduct
- register of interests and disclosure at meetings (dispensations)
- Standards Committee and the role of the Independent Person
- decision making
- how we can support you
The sessions are on Wednesday 19 April at 10am with a repeater session at 5pm
Members can attend in person (Fortescue Room) or online using Microsoft Teams, whichever is preferred.
Please ensure you respond to one of the meeting requests that have been issued.
Are you staying up to date with safeguarding training?
The Devon Children and Families Partnership training page provides current safeguarding training and events. There is a diverse catalogue of online learning to ensure you are up to date, such as:
- autism – top tips on how to support autistic young people
- Children’s Act 1989
- spotting the signs of child criminal exploitation
- online radicalisation
- and many more e-learning and videos opportunities
Children’s Scrutiny and Ofsted
In March, the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny (CFGS) published a blog about the relationship of DCC's Children’s scrutiny functions and Ofsted. It outlined how we are upskilling Members and how we created a Children’s Scrutiny Action Plan. Scrutiny was praised:
'Devon County Council's Scrutiny Committee provides robust challenge to senior leaders. Elected Members are taking the shortfalls identified at the previous monitoring visit seriously and are now asking questions better targeted to ensuring that services for children and their families improve.'
Read the CFGS blog about Scrutiny in Devon.
Changes to iTrent system - new Single Sign On (SSO)
The rollout of Single Sign On (SSO) for iTrent system is well underway and the majority of DCC corporate users have been migrated to SSO. SSO means you can access iTrent without needing to log-in with your username or password.
To log in, please click on the ‘Organisational login’ button and this will log you into iTrent.
Please do not complete the email address and password fields. These fields should be left blank, as per the screenshot (right).
You can use this link to access your Employee Self-Service iTrent account: https://hr.devon.gov.uk/ess/mfa
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Dates for the diary
- Tuesday 18 April: Children’s Scrutiny Committee – Children’s Standing Overview Group meeting at 3pm
- Thursday 20 April: Health and Adult Care Scrutiny Committee Masterclass: Five Year Joint Forward Plan at 10am to 11:30am.
- Wednesday 26 April: Health and Adult Care Scrutiny Committee Masterclass: Digital and Technology Enabled Care Solutions (TECS) at 10am
Members' area
Don't forget your Members' Area SharePoint site is your one-stop-shop to access resources to aid you in your role as a Devon County Councillor. Key documents from the Council's various service areas, including induction resources, are posted in the Document library, and the Who's who? highlights the best person for you to contact to help answer any queries you may have.
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