No declarations of interest were received.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors L Collins and J Barr.

5:00pm to 5:15pm

– Verbal report

The Director of Finance and Resources attended to update Members on the General Fund Budget Outturn for 2016/17. A report had been received by Cabinet on 27 June, 2017 which provided details of significant variations from the revised estimates previously approved by Cabinet and also sought approval from the Cabinet for carry forward requests. The Director of Finance and Resources explained that the original budget forecast a £236k deficit, the revised budget in February 2017 had predicted a £105k surplus and the actual net surplus for 2016/17 was £100k. The Director of Finance and Resources explained which areas had come in over budget or created surpluses and the reasons why that had happened. A working balance of £1.5m would be maintained along with various reserves.

The Director of Finance and Resources noted that the reserves were on a downward trajectory and that £6m was not a very large reserve cushion. Members discussed options for strengthening the Council’s position including whether the Community Infrastructure Levy could be used; the Director of Finance and Resources explained that this Levy could only be used to fund infrastructure projects such as parks and play areas. Members also enquired whether the Council could build and sell houses on Council owned land. The Director of Finance and Resources explained that this has been considered by the Leader and Deputy Leader, however, there were significant issues including the Council not having capacity to undertake the construction of multiple houses along with the length of time it would take to see a return on this investment.

Members thanked the Director of Finance and Resources for providing the update and answering their questions.

RESOLVED –

1.   That the update be noted.

2.   That an update on the budget monitoring position and medium term financial forecast be brought to the meeting of the Forum on 28 November, 2017.

5:15pm to 5:40pm

– Verbal report

The Cabinet Member for Business Transformation and the Customers, Commissioning and Change Manager attended to provide Members with an update on the draft Digital Strategy.

The Customers, Commissioning and Change Manager explained the key reasons why Chesterfield needed a Digital Strategy:

·        The benefit of being online had been estimated to be £1064 per year, per household;

·        People had changed the way they accessed services and the council needed to adapt to demand;

·        To enable new developments in technology to support communities;

·        To enable improved capture and analysis of data to support more informed decision making by Members.

The Customers, Commissioning and Change Manager explained the current picture in Chesterfield and the high likelihood of digital exclusion in the Borough.

·        14.5% of adults in Chesterfield had never used the internet;

·        73% of adults had basic digital skills but only 37% had used all five recently;

·        Affordability was a key barrier to accessing the internet

The draft strategy contained three main areas:

·        Enabling Chesterfield to be a digital borough;

·        Enabling digital provision of council services in Chesterfield;

·        Enabling improved digital skills and reduced digital exclusion in Chesterfield.

The update explained the next steps of the draft digital strategy, these were:

·        Development of individual business cases to support strategy actions;

·        Wider consultation on the draft strategy be undertaken;

·        The Digital Strategy be adopted by the council.

Members enquired on various digital issues including whether Wi-Fi access was being considered for the town centre to which the Customers, Commissioning and Change Manager advised that the Council was in discussions with BT. Members also enquired about security measures in place considering recent ransomware attacks. The Customers, Commissioning and Change Manager explained that this was not a new risk but that investment in security was needed and security should be taken into account when moving forward with the Digital Strategy. 

Members thanked the Customers, Commissioning and Change Manager for providing the update and answering their questions.

RESOLVED-

1.   The progress made in developing the Council’s Digital Strategy be noted.

2.   That support for the proposed actions which will form the basis of the Digital Strategy be given.

3.   That a progress report be brought to the Forum on the 28 November, 2017.

To move “That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act".

RESOLVED –

That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

5:40pm to 6:20pm

– Verbal report

The Cabinet Member for Business Transformation and the Customers, Commissioning and Change Manager attended to provide an update to Members on the progress of the PPP Contract Renewal. The Customers, Commissioning and Change Manager emphasised that the review had not been concluded and the presentation would contain initial thoughts.

The presentation detailed the approach Chesterfield Borough Council was taking to carry out the review which included evaluating service areas using the following criteria:

·        Customer satisfaction;

·        Benchmarking of Performance;

·        Cost;

·        Affordability;

·        Potential to transform and deliver services differently.

The update also explained the other methods that would be used in the review which included commissioning external consultants to review the ICT service, seeking a peer review of Keir services and requesting views from Arvato as to how they have and could continue to support the organisation.

The next steps for the review were to:

·        Complete the contractual review for the remaining services (July);

·        Complete benefit case for ICT investment and digital investment (July);

·        Develop options for appraisal for consideration by Cabinet (July/August);

·        Approvals (September/October);

·        Contract amendments (by the years end).

The three possible outcomes from the contractual review were to extend, renew or end the contract early. Members discussed the potential benefits and issues relating to each option. Members noted that work to review the contract was at an early stage and there was a need to thoroughly analyse the review upon its conclusion.

Members thanked the Cabinet Member for Business Transformation and the Customers, Commissioning and Change Manager for providing the update and answering their questions.

RESOLVED-

1.   That the progress and the timescales for the completion of work be noted. 

2.   That a progress report be brought to the meeting of the Forum on 28 November, 2017.

To move that after the conclusion of items containing exempt information that the public be readmitted to the meeting.

RESOLVED –

That the public be readmitted to the meeting.

6:20pm to 6:30pm

-      Report to follow

The draft Scrutiny Annual Report was considered by Members. The report would be submitted to Council for approval on 19 July, 2017.

RESOLVED-

That the Scrutiny Annual Report be approved.

6:30pm to 6:35pm

The Forward Plan was considered by the Forum.

RESOLVED-

That the Forward Plan be noted.

6:35pm to 6:40pm

No items to be monitored.

6:40pm to 6:50pm

-      HS2 SPG

-      Town Centre SPG

-      HS2 Scrutiny Project Group

Councillor Flood reported on the HS2 Scrutiny Project Group and advised that the Group was seeking support for their objectives and additional members. The Members asked that the Overview and Scrutiny Project Start Report be approved subject to any amendments by the workforce management groups.

-      Town Centre Project Group

Councillor Borrell reported on the Town Centre Scrutiny Project Group and asked that the Overview and Scrutiny Project Start Report be approved.

RESOLVED-

1.   That the HS2 Scrutiny Project Group Start Report be approved subject to any amendments by the workforce management groups.

2.   That the Town Centre Project Group Start Report be approved.

6:50pm to 6:55pm

The Work Programme for the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum was considered. The Chair noted that there were no changes to the Work Programme.

RESOLVED-

That the Work Programme be approved.

6:55pm to 7:00pm

Councillor Sarvent noted that the Joint Chairs and the Senior Democratic and Scrutiny Officer would be attending the East Midlands Scrutiny Network and would report back to the Forum.

RESOLVED-

That an update be brought to the next meeting of the Forum from the East Midlands Scrutiny Network.

7:00pm to 7:05pm

Councillor Sarvent updated the Forum that the Chairs and the Senior Democratic and Scrutiny Officer would be delivering a presentation at the next service manager’s seminar to aid co-operation.

RESOLVED-

That the update be noted.

7:05pm to 7:10pm

The minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum held on 9 May, 2017 were presented.

RESOLVED –

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