Agenda and minutes

No declarations were received.

Apologies were received from Councillors Bradford, Callan and Paul Stone.

Report attached.

The Head of Finance provided an update on the Council’s General Fund Budget 2013/14 and 2014/15.

The update included:-

-        details of the forecast 2013/14 year-end position;

-        key issues to monitor in 2014/15, including:

-        implementation of approved budget savings targets,

-        business rates income and appeals outcomes

-        key income sources

-        key expenditure budgets;

-        General Fund capital programme outline.

-        progress on implementation of budget-saving proposals.

Regular monitoring reports would be provided for Cabinet and Scrutiny, so that the effectiveness of measures intended to meet savings targets and reduce the predicted deficit could be assessed.

Members requested further details of the voluntary severance costs, and of the progress made in renegotiating the Public Private Partnership contracts.

RESOLVED –

That the report be noted, and staff and Members commended for their work to achieve a balanced budget.

a)      General Progress Update.

b)      ICT Strategy Implementation Progress Update.

c)      Corporate Asset Management Plan Progress Update.

Report attached.

General Progress Update

The Programme Manager gave a report on progress made with the Great Place:Great Service Transformation Programme.

The report included information on the objectives of Great Place:Great Service, which was intended to achieve an integrated approach to the Council’s four key strategies: ICT, Customer Services, Workforce Development and Asset Management. 

The strategies aimed to help deliver the Council’s Vision ‘Putting Our Communities First’ while maintaining a solvent and financially sound Council over the medium term (2014/17).

Customer Services Update - The Council was collecting data around its current interactions with customers, so that it would better understand their behaviour and expectations.  It was hoped that the first results would be available in May 2014.

Presentations had already been given to the Council on plans for self-service and improved workflow, and proposals to enable customers to access more Council services on-line, at a time that would suit them.

ICT Update (GPGS) - Several measures had been taken to implement the ICT Strategy. These included –

-        encouraging employees to ‘clock on’ on line;

-        demonstrating the technology used to deliver flexible working;

-        installing WiFi in Committee Rooms 1 and 2;

-        initiating the procurement process for a new intranet system;

-        collating data on all the IT systems used in the Council;

-        profiling users, to meet the requirements of each role in the Council.

It was hoped that this ICT work would deliver ‘quick wins’ and facilitate flexible working, as well as saving money by avoiding any duplication or overlapping of procedures and technology. The intention was to ensure that staff had the tools that they needed to do the job.

Workforce update - Service managers and the Corporate Management Team (CMT) were being trained to manage performance. 

Lean Academy master belt training was being given, so that the Council could undertake its own Lean reviews. 

An NVQ3 training programme for employees was being developed, to improve work in their service areas. 

The second phase of the Project Academy had just begun, with the aim of training staff to undertake work often done by external consultants, thus saving money and developing staff skills.

The employee survey had just finished, and results would be analysed and reported to Members.  There had been a 58% response rate, which was encouraging.

Members welcomed the formal update on GPGS provided at the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum meetings, and the additional informal update meetings held in between. They were reminded that if there were specific issues on which they needed more information, the officers would provide it on request.

The use of ICT by Members was discussed in some detail, and issues relating to training in the use of Ipads and accessing WiFi in Council premises were raised.  It was suggested that Elected Members would benefit from more information about devices when they were issued with them, and more training in how to use them.

Further information was requested on the proposals for New Square, so that Members  ...  view the full minutes text for item 77.

Verbal report.

The Policy Manager gave a presentation on the ‘Are You Being Served?’ Community Consultation Survey Results.

The survey used the MORI and Local Government Association (LGA) recommended methodology and met all data quality requirements to enable benchmarking with other authorities.

The Community Engagement Group, and the Executive Member for Customers and Communities and the Assistant Executive Member for Customers and Communities had endorsed the project, which had been delivered on time and on budget.  With a sample size of 758 the survey had yielded good quality data. Little ‘weighting’ had been needed, because the sample was a good match with the demographic data for the Borough.

It was possible to compare the 2008 Place Survey data with the ‘Are You Being Served?’ data. The vast majority of the indicators showed positive progress, indicating higher levels of customer satisfaction.

The responses showed the areas of greatest concern, which could be taken into account when deciding on Council policies and actions. 

A more detailed breakdown by ward would be made available to Members of Council, Community Assemblies could also access the data for their area. 

It was requested that a copy of the presentation and reports be circulated with the Minutes.

RESOLVED –

That the report be noted and the Policy Manager thanked for her presentation.

Report attached.

The Scrutiny and Policy Officer reported on the presentation of the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny role to Community Assemblies. 

The report included information about the priorities raised by the Community Assemblies, for inclusion in the scrutiny work programmes.  It also included options to involve Community Assembly representatives in scrutiny work.

Each Community Assembly had been visited by the Scrutiny and Policy Officer and the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Chairs.  A presentation had been given to the Community Assemblies, and workshops had been held to prioritise issues for scrutiny, using the ‘issues for change’ agenda already drawn up by each Community Assembly.

The priorities identified were, in order of importance:-

-        community development for people of all ages;

-        dealing more effectively with dog fouling;

-        litter and street scene issues;

-        protection of green spaces and verges;

-        parking and roads issues;

-        public service agencies working better together, and on community safety.

Community Assemblies would be kept informed of the response of the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum to their suggested priorities. 

Consideration was given to the future role of Community Assembly representatives in the scrutiny process, as co-opted members of Scrutiny Project Groups, or by attending meetings to give evidence and inform the scrutiny reviews. It was suggested that Community Assemblies be requested to put a Scrutiny item on their agendas at regular meetings, to provide an opportunity for an update on issues raised by the Community Assembly for action by Scrutiny, and to enable people attending the Assemblies to raise matters for Scrutiny.

The first two priorities for Scrutiny would be dog fouling and building communities, and the other priorities could be considered at a future Scrutiny meeting. Items raised by Community Assemblies would be covered by the appropriate Scrutiny Committee.

Two-way communication between Scrutiny and Community Assemblies was important, so that expectations of Scrutiny action raised at Community Assemblies remained realistic. It was also necessary to ensure that there was a good understanding of the Scrutiny process by Community Assemblies.

RESOLVED –

1.  That the priorities outlined in paragraph 4.2 of the report  be considered when drawing up the scrutiny committee work programmes, prioritising community development and action to deal with dog fouling as the first two priorities to be added to the work programmes.

2.  That involvement of Community Assembly representatives be encouraged, and further consideration be given to how best to achieve this objective at a future meeting of the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum.

Attached.

The Forward Plan was considered.  Some information was requested around the Review of Town Centre Events.  It was requested that the Member contact the responsible officer directly.

Attached.

Consideration was given to the Monitoring Form for the implementation of Scrutiny Committee recommendations.

It was reported that Councillor Innes would be attending the Joint Cabinet and Employment and General Committee meeting on 8 April, 2014, to present the Scrutiny Committee recommendations on Anti Social Behaviour.

-        Welfare Reform

-        External Communications Strategy

Verbal report.

An update was provided on the Scrutiny Project Group progress on:-

Welfare Reform

No report was given.  The Chair agreed to contact Councillor Hawksworth to get an update on the situation.

External Communications Strategy

It was reported that the Scrutiny Project Group’s draft report was near to completion. 

There was still more information to be collected, but the working group were close to being able to make recommendations based on information collected on the work and policies, through interviews and survey results. Information had been gathered on the use of the Council’s website.

It was regretted that support had not been available to assist with this work. For this reason, despite support from the Policy and Scrutiny Officer, it was unlikely that the Scrutiny Project Group’s report would be produced in time to meet its original deadline.

Attached.

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

The Work Programme included items that were on the Agenda for every meeting, as well as those that having been dealt with at this meeting, could now be removed.

Suggestions for the next Agendas included:

-        Constitution

-        Refresh of Tenant Involvement

-        Tenant Consultation Survey Results

-        Overview and Performance Scrutiny Arrangements -         Action Plan progress

-        Dog Control Measures Progress Report

-        Corporate Performance.

These suggested priorities were in addition to the standing agenda items, which included the budget and Great Place: Great Service. reports. It was possible that some of the issues could be dealt with by written reports rather than in the next meeting.

Verbal update.

The Scrutiny and Policy Officer reported that the last scheduled meeting of this committee had been cancelled.

Items for inclusion in the Agenda of the next Joint Overview and Scrutiny Panel should be given to the Policy and Scrutiny Officer.

Verbal report.

The Scrutiny and Policy Officer reported that the next training session for Scrutiny Members, before the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum, would be on the Councillor Call for Action.

An extra session was being arranged on Questioning Skills, and Members would be notified of its date and time.

Further suggestions about training needs would be welcomed by the Policy and Scrutiny Officer.

Attached.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum held on 30 January, 2014 were presented.

RESOLVED –

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