Agenda and minutes

No declarations were received.

Apologies were received from Councillors Dyke and Tricia Gilby.

5:05 – 5:25pm

The Leader and Cabinet Member for Regeneration and the Communications and Marketing Manager presented a progress report on the internal and external communication strategies.

The progress report on the external communication strategy included progress made in implementing the recommendations of the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum from its scrutiny project work, approved by Cabinet in July 2014.

The Communications and Marketing Manager advised that teams within the Council were being asked to identify how they could work towards a “digital first” approach. It was noted that when services approached the communications and marketing team for advice on particular issues that they were taken through a process that encouraged them to think about, and use, different digital channels. Only when this has been looked at, were they asked to consider whether paper based communication was needed as well. It was also noted that the new corporate branding had now been rolled out and was giving a more consistent approach in look and feel to the materials produced by the Council. The branding had already been applied in areas including new council publications, social media and some signage and official documents.

Members enquired about the roll out of signage with the new branding. The Leader advised that old signage would be replaced as and when it wore out and that the new branding would be extended to other areas such as signs and vehicles when they were due to be replaced.

The Communications and Marketing Manager advised Members on the progress being made to develop the Chesterfield Borough Council website. There had been progress on the implementation of a new content management system which would improve the website user experience by making the web page fit the screen when viewed on different devices such as tablets and phones. It was also noted that the Council’s social media accounts were experiencing a steady growth, and had been attracting more followers.  Members asked about the growing number of social media followers and whether it was known exactly how many unique followers there were for the various accounts which the Council had. The Communications and Marketing Manager advised that it was difficult to know exactly how many unique followers the accounts had as some people followed both the corporate and individual service area accounts. It was also noted that growth had been gradual as the accounts had not yet been widely promoted.

The Leader and Cabinet Member for Regeneration noted the rapid changes and improvements that had been made to the way that Chesterfield Borough Council communicated with the public by employing a professional communications team. The Leader explained that the new professional approach to communication and the adoption of the new Council logo were already delivering benefits and savings for the Council. The Leader also advised Members that he was making real effort to engage with, and use social media to communicate.

The Communications and Marketing Manager provided a progress report to Members on the implementation of the internal communications strategy of which a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

5:25 – 5:45pm

The Policy Manager and Executive Director, Michael Rich presented a report to consult the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum on the development of the new Performance Management Framework.

The Policy Manager advised members of the Committee that Council’s no longer had formal assessments by external bodies and that performance management was voluntary. It was also noted that since 2010 the Council’s performance management framework had been eroded and that it was no longer considered to be effective in challenging and improving performance.

The Policy Manager informed members that the proposed new Performance Management Framework set out a high level approach to performance management ensuring that all services and employees would be;

·        Clear about what the Council is aiming to achieve, by when and by whom

·        Focusing resources and actions on the right outcomes

·        Increasing their awareness and ownership of how things are going- both the successes and where things need to improve

·        Able to report on progress to both internal and external audience

·        Able to access effective performance management improvement and support.

The Policy Manager also provided information to members on the Performance Management Cycle that would be employed, which would be to Plan, Do and Review, as well as on the Corporate Performance Scorecard which would be used to monitor and manage performance.

The Policy Manager noted that the information being monitored was not information that was not already being monitored but that currently the recording and monitoring of the information is done disparately and in a way that made improving performance “in year” difficult.  The Policy Manager also noted that the new framework and the Corporate Performance Scorecard would not change the way “red light” issues would be dealt with, but would flag up issues so that any problems, or potential problems could be dealt with sooner.

Members asked several questions regarding the collection and monitoring of the performance management data. The Policy Manager advised that the Policy section would be responsible for coordinating and bringing the information together. It was noted that a 6 monthly full data report would be available for scrutiny and cabinet, and that quarterly data may also be available for meetings depending on timetabling.

Members also asked questions regarding the systems that would be used to gather and collate the data needed for the new framework. The Executive Director noted that the framework would use existing systems and reporting methods and that the framework was about monitoring and improving performance not about putting new IT systems in place for collating information. The Executive Director advised that new IT systems may come later but that these would need to follow the structure of the Performance Management Framework, rather than define the structure of the Framework. The Policy Manager also noted that IT systems used for Performance Management in other organisations had been problematic and that the point of the new Framework was not new IT systems, but to gather and monitor existing data in a more effective way and to develop communication between staff  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5:45 – 6:00pm

The Cabinet Member for Business Transformation presented a progress report on the ICT Strategy and Action Plan.

The current Chesterfield Borough Council ICT strategy was produced to cover the period 2012–2014 but now needed to be updated to reflect the Council’s current ICT needs. The Cabinet Member noted that work had begun to understand and map the Council’s current ICT systems and infrastructure in order to ensure that there was an accurate baseline and asset list moving forward. The new ICT Strategy would be focussed on service and business outcomes rather than focussing on delivery of technology for its own sake. The key outcomes that were being considered in the shaping of the new strategy included improved ICT access, mobile and agile working and reliability and compliance.

The Cabinet Member noted that ICT provision at the Council was not as good as it needed to be and that changes in how ICT was provided had to happen. The Cabinet Member advised that he wanted to see ICT as a key enabler for the changes that needed to be made to make Chesterfield Borough Council effective and able to cope with current and upcoming challenges.

Members enquired for clarification that the new ICT Strategy would cover all aspects of ICT delivery. The Cabinet Member advised that all aspects of ICT provision would be looked at in order to enable a better service to be provided and change in how services are delivered, for example by channel shifting customer interactions on-line where possible

Members asked if the PPP contract with arvato was a roadblock to changing ICT provision and making it responsive to the Council’s current and future needs. The Cabinet Member advised that arvato were open to discussion and that as the Council was five years through the 10 year contract with arvato that now was a good time to look at how the contract could be best delivered to meet the Council’s current needs. The Cabinet Member also noted that while it was essential that ICT provision needed to change it was important that any changes made were considered and done correctly rather than being done quickly.

Members asked if there was any possibility of ICT provision coming back in-house to Chesterfield Borough Council. The Cabinet Member advised that this was not an option being considered.

Members felt that currently the service provided through  ICT was not as good as it should be, and that this made the work of Members and employees more difficult than if the technology functioned as it should, and service was provided in a better and more responsive way.

The Cabinet Member advised that he was happy to attend any future meeting of the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum to provide further ICT progress reports. Members thanked the Cabinet Member for attending and answering their questions.

RESOLVED

1.   That the progress report be noted.

2.   That a progress report on the ICT Strategy be requested for the September meeting of the Overview and Performance Scrutiny  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6:00 – 6:15pm

The Cabinet Member for Business Transformation presented a progress report on the Chesterfield Procurement Service.

The Procurement team currently consists of an external consultant as Procurement Manager working three days per week, supported by a full time project academy officer assisting with the procurement officer role. The Business Transformation Manager, along with James Drury, Executive Director, is currently exploring options for the future provision of the Procurement Service, analysing how different delivery models could best meet the council’s future procurement needs, taking into consideration the budget position and current procurement recruitment market. The Cabinet Member advised that a report containing options would be prepared and presented to Cabinet in due course.

Members asked what options were being considered for the future of the Procurement Service. The Cabinet Member advised that a move to corporate level procurement was being looked at as currently departments throughout the Council were purchasing separately which caused inefficiencies.  Members also asked whether the option to work with others was also being considered as the Council could benefit from the savings provided by jointly buying larger amounts of goods and services. The Cabinet Member advised that all possible options were being looked at to provide the best, and best value procurement solution for Chesterfield Borough Council.

Members thanked the Cabinet Member for attending and answering their questions.

RESOLVED -

1.   That the progress report be noted.

2.   That a further progress report be brought to either the September or November meetings of the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum, dependent on when there are significant developments to report to members for consideration.

6:15 – 6:25pm

The Forward Plan was considered by the Committee.

RESOLVED -

That the Forward Plan be noted.

6:25pm – 6:30pm

To give consideration to the resolution of the Enterprise and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee held on 23 April 2015:

- To refer to this Forum for its view, the matter relating to monitoring remits in relation to reference EW5 on the monitoring form.

The Committee considered the Implementation Monitoring Form for Scrutiny Committee Recommendations.

RESOLVED -

1.   That the Monitoring Report be noted.

2.   That the monitoring remit in relation to reference EW5 on the Monitoring form (regarding the corporate consultation and engagement elements) be transferred to the Community, Customer and Organisational Scrutiny Committee.

3.   That the item on ICT Developments (under Great Place, Great Service) be moved to September, 2015 for a progress report.

4.   That the rescheduling of a progress report on External Communications (monitoring reference OP4) to January 2016 be noted.

6:30 – 6:50pm

To review the Work Programme of the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum.

To give consideration to the recommendation of the Enterprise and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee held 23 April 2015:

- To consider undertaking an evaluation of the impact and effectiveness of integrated working across different service teams across the council and to recommend to Cabinet that this be a joint review working with scrutiny.

To give consideration to the appointment of the scrutiny project groups recommended at the meeting of the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum of 19 March, 2015 regarding;

·        the implementation of Public Space Protection Orders (PSPO’s) across the borough;

·        how the council offers concessions on fees for chargeable services;

·        how the Corporate Plan is working at addressing the problem of deprivation in the borough.

The Work Programme for the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum was considered.

RESOLVED -

1.   To approve the Work Programme.

2.   That a Scrutiny Project Group be appointed to look at how the Council offers concessions on fees and charges with Councillor Jeannie Barr as Lead Member and Councillors Catt, Sarvent and Slack to be members of the group. It was also resolved that non-Scrutiny members be invited to join the project group.

3.   That the consideration of appointing Scrutiny Project Groups to look at the implementation of Public Space Protection Orders (PSPO’s) across the borough, and on how the Corporate Plan is working at addressing the problem of deprivation across the borough be deferred to the September meeting  pending further information and delivery of Scrutiny Project Groups member development. 

4.   That consideration of the recommendation of the Enterprise and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee held 23 April 2015 at Minute No 70 “To consider undertaking an evaluation of the impact and effectiveness of integrated working across different service teams across the council and to recommend to Cabinet that this be a joint review working with scrutiny”, be deferred to the September meeting of the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum pending further information to inform consideration.

5.   That the Tenant Consultation Results item be moved to the work programme for the Enterprise and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee.

6.   That a progress report on Great Place, Great Service (including a progress report on ICT Strategy and Action Plan) be added to the agenda for the next meeting of the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum.

7.   That a progress report on the implementation on the Council’s Corporate Plan be added to the agenda for the next meeting of the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum.

8.   That the item on Council Corporate Performance be moved to the November meeting of the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum.

6:50 – 7pm

·        Appointments to Chesterfield, North East Derbyshire and Bolsover Joint Overview and Scrutiny Panel

The Policy and Scrutiny Officer advised new members of the Forum on the remit and role of the Joint Scrutiny Panel with Bolsover and North East Derbyshire District Councils. The Policy and Scrutiny Officer also advised that the Overview and Performance Scrutiny forum would need to reappoint Chesterfield Borough Council’s members on the Panel and that those members were normally both Scrutiny Committee Chairs and the Minority Group Vice-Chair.

RESOLVED –

That Councillors Borrell, Tricia Gilby and Slack be appointed to be Chesterfield Borough Council’s representatives on the Joint Scrutiny Panel.

7:00pm – 7:15pm

·        To give consideration to the recommendations made at the meeting of the Enterprise and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee held on 23 April, 2015;

To consider adopting a continued use of the scrutiny approach (method) used for this review work.

·        Training opportunities for Scrutiny members.

Pursuant to the recommendation of the Enterprise and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee held 23 April 2015, Minute No.70 (2014/15) the committee was asked to consider adopting a continued use of the scrutiny approach that was used for the delivery of the Leisure, Sport and Culture Activities Scrutiny Project Group work.

Due to unavoidable circumstances the paper explaining the detail of this approach was not yet available for consideration.

The Committee and Scrutiny Coordinator advised the committee that meetings of the Member Development Group would be restarting in the near future. It had been suggested that a member of the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum join  the group to represent scrutiny members and help ensure Member training met the needs of Scrutiny members. 

RESOLVED -

1.   That consideration on adopting the continued use of the scrutiny approach used by the Leisure, Sport and Culture Activities Scrutiny Project Group for other Project Group work be deferred to the September meeting of the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum.

2.   That Councillor Derbyshire be the Scrutiny representative on the Member Development Working Group.

7:15 – 7:20pm

The Minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum held on 19 March, 2015 were presented.

RESOLVED -

That the Minutes be approved as a correct record and be signed by the Chair.