Agenda and minutes

No declarations were received.

Apologies were received from Councillors J Barr and Dyke.

5:05 – 5:20pm

The Policy Manager attended to provide an update on the progress in establishing a Health and Wellbeing group for Chesterfield Borough Council and to clarify the role and remit of the group and how it links into the Chesterfield Health and Wellbeing Partnership.

The Policy Manager advised that the health profile of Chesterfield Borough continues to be an issue of significant concern to Chesterfield Borough Council. In response to this the Council Plan 2015 – 2019 identified a clear outcome to improve the health and wellbeing of people in the borough. In order to achieve this outcome the council has had an active role in the Derbyshire Health and Wellbeing Board. This board leads and advises on work to improve the health and wellbeing of the people of Derbyshire through the development of improved and integrated health and social care services.

Chesterfield Borough Council Borough Council currently makes a significant contribution to improving the health and well-being of local communities through both partnership and direct contributions, in order to maximise outcomes and reduce duplication the Chesterfield Borough Council Health and Wellbeing Group was established in October 2015 and includes officers from key service areas including housing, environmental  health, environmental services, sport and leisure, development and growth, town centre and culture and arvato. The Policy Manager outlined the group’s responsibilities and objectives as well as the group’s achievements since its formation which included:

·        Working on the council’s bid to the Healthy Cities programme.

·        Contributing to the council’s application to become an affiliate member of the Healthy Communities Network.

·        Coordinating mapping of the Indices of multiple deprivation data to avoid duplication of effort and ensuring consistency between services.

·        Promoting learning and development opportunities including mental health awareness training and healthy workplaces champion training.

·        Establishing a working group for the Healthy Workplaces initiative

Members noted with concern the Indices of multiple deprivation data, and asked whether deprivation was worsening in Chesterfield or if other areas were improving. The Policy Manager advised that deprivation levels were increasing nationally but the rate of increase in deprivation in Chesterfield was happening at a more rapid rate. Members asked why this was and were advised that there were great inequalities in health and income levels across the borough. Welfare Reform may also have impacted on some communities.  

Members asked whether other areas in Derbyshire had also suffered with worsening deprivation. The Policy Manager advised that all Derbyshire districts had seen increased levels of deprivation apart from Bolsover, Derbyshire Dales and South Derbyshire. Members noted with concern the impact of welfare reform and the bedroom tax on the working age population of the borough.

The Policy Manager did note that while there were areas of worsening deprivation in Chesterfield there were a great many areas that were average with regard to the Indices of multiple deprivation, and some areas that were performing extremely well.

Members thanked the Policy Manager for attending and providing the progress report.

RESOLVED –

1.   That the progress report be noted.

2.   That  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.

5:20 – 5:40pm

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Planning, Executive Director, Michael Rich and the Policy Manager attended to provide a  progress report on the implementation on the Council Plan during quarter 2 and discussed the development of the 2016/17 key Council Plan deliverables and the influencing factors.

The new framework had been designed to ensure that all services and employees; are clear about what projects are due to be achieved; ensure increased awareness and ownership of how projects are progressing; and focus resources and actions on the right outcomes. The Policy Manager noted that the new plan had the benefit of highlighting areas of performance that needed improvement “in year” so that improvement actions could be taken in a timely manner to improve performance before the year end.

The Policy Manager outlined the progress of current projects. During 2015-16 there were 34 Council Plan projects to be delivered. At the end of the second quarter, 8 of the 34 projects had been completed, 25 were rated as green, 7 as amber and 2 as red.

It was noted that projects rated as amber or red were subject to current or potential complications which could delay implementation. The project for the development of the regeneration plans for Staveley and Rother Valley Corridor had moved from green to amber rated during the second quarter due to the size and complexity of the project and the amount of stakeholder engagement and negotiation required in order to deliver them. The Great Place, Great Service transformation programme project had remained at amber rated however the programme had been thoroughly reviewed and refreshed during 2015 and a revised plan had been drafted for Cabinet approval.

The Policy Manager noted that during 2015/16 the large “Are You Being Served” residents’ satisfaction survey was undertaken and while there had not been a full data analysis as yet, levels of satisfaction with the council and council services remained high. The Policy Manager however noted that with cuts to local government budgets it would become more challenging going forward to maintain these levels of satisfaction.

The Policy Manager and the Executive Director noted that the key projects for 2016/17 update of the plan were currently being identified and developed, and that these priorities would be set with regard to performance and satisfaction data, data from the Indices of multiple deprivation as well as with regard to the councils emerging budget position.

Members asked several questions on specific projects in the council plan. Regarding Stand Road Park, it was asked why the project was included in the Council Plan whilst other similar projects were not.  The Executive Director explained the reason related to the project being reliant on external funding.  Regarding the redevelopment of the Queen’s Park Sport Centre site and the public consultation on the site’s redevelopment, Members questioned whether the red rating given should be reviewed.

Members also expressed concern that the customer satisfaction data showed a decline in resident’s belief that they were able to influence decisions taken  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.

5:40 – 6:00pm

The Executive Director, James Drury presented a report to update members on the performance of the PPP (Public, Private Partnership) contracts with arvato and Kier between October 2014 and September 2015.

The Executive Director highlighted key areas of achievement and improvement for members to note including:

·        An increase in housing tenants paying their rent by direct debit.

·        Improved Council Tax collection rates.

·        The smooth integration of changes introduced by welfare reform.

·        The awarding of Customer Service Excellence accreditation.

·        ICT progress in the rollout of flexible working solutions.

·        High occupancy rates of commercial properties.

The progress report also looked at developments over the next six months including the Town Hall restack, the opening of the new Queen’s Park Sports Centre and the implementation a new corporate website and how arvato and Kier would be involved with delivering these projects.

The Executive Director advised that a good working relationship existed between the council, arvato and Kier, which would be critical as the council rolls out its transformation programme and continues to operate in an increasingly fluid and financially restricted context. It was noted that arvato and Kier had increased the amount of work they delivered for other local authorities but that it must be ensured this is not to the detriment of the services provided to the council and to its customers.

Members asked how the rollout of flexible working arrangements was progressing. The Executive Director advised that the technology was working well and that the staff involved in using the technology had responded well to the new working arrangements.

Members asked several questions about the progress of the town hall restack and when service areas would be relocating. The Executive Director advised that Environmental Services and Support Services would be the first to move in order to enable the registrar’s office to move into the ground floor of the town hall.

Members noted despite the move from town centre to out of town and internet shopping that town centre occupancy rates remained above the national average. Executive Director, Michael Rich advised that maintaining this level of occupancy was an on-going challenge and that when shop lets were renegotiated they were often on much less favourable terms for the council, bringing in less income. Members expressed concern on how the town centre is shifting towards Markham Road and the Markham retail park and away from areas such as Knifesmiths Gate and the Victoria Centre. Members hoped that the redevelopment of the Coop building would lead to further regeneration in that area of the town centre.

Members were pleased to see progress with these key performance indicators.  Members thanked the Executive Director for attending and providing the progress report.

RESOLVED –

1.   That the progress report, and the comments of the committee, be noted.

2.   That a further progress report be brought to the November, 2016 meeting of the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum.

6:00 – 6:20pm

The Cabinet Member for Governance, the Policy Manager and Executive Director James Drury presented a report outlining the findings of Stage 2 of the Overview and Scrutiny Review and recommended actions to continue to improve the Overview and Scrutiny function. The second stage of the review focussed on areas for improvement that were identified in stage 1 in February 2015.

The Policy Manager advised that stage 1 of the review had identified the need for enhanced learning and development for members and officers which needed to include clarity on Scrutiny processes, requirements, roles, responsibilities and expectations. It also highlighted that a cultural change would be required to allow Scrutiny to be viewed as a partner in improving services and decision making, and that there would be a need to prepare for Scrutiny’s role in the emerging devolution agenda.  The development of an increased presence of Overview and Scrutiny on the Intranet and Internet would also be a key focus during the end of 2015/16 and start of 2016/17.

The Policy Manager noted the excellent feedback in the report regarding scrutiny pre agenda meetings with officers welcoming the opportunity to clarify what will be expected of them at the scrutiny committee meetings and Chairs having the opportunity to request a particular focus of an officer’s report.

The review had raised concerns about the current work programming approach, where it was noted that there should be more focus on quality rather than quantity of Scrutiny activities, linking the timetable scrutiny work to the forward plan, policy development as well as identifying policy areas where Scrutiny could lead. Centre for Public Scrutiny (CFPS) and Local Government Information Unit guidance suggested a programme should not contain too many reviews and should be timetabled in a way to fit with executive decision-making schedules in order to allow scrutiny to intervene for maximum impact.

The CFPS guidelines also highlighted the importance of setting aside a time to decide on some key issues for Scrutiny to investigate the following year and suggested holding away days for Scrutiny members to review performance data, emerging issues, public consultation data and Council priorities, and then collaboratively develop a draft work plan.

The Cabinet Member for Governance and members of the committee agreed that it was important that the profile of scrutiny needed to be raised so that residents could be more engaged with, and understand better the scrutiny process. Members noted that the public could become more involved in scrutiny if an annual work programme for scrutiny was published in order that they could see in advance when areas of work that interested them were be due to be considered. The Executive Director noted that if there was an annual work plan, the launch of the plan would provide a good opportunity to engage with residents, especially if the plan was available on the council website. Members also agreed that there should be a focus on pre-decision scrutiny as it was this type of work that allowed scrutiny members to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

6:20 – 6:25pm

The Forward Plan was considered by the Committee.

RESOLVED -

That the Forward Plan be noted.

6:25 – 6:30pm

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

RESOLVED -

1.   That the Monitoring Report be noted.

2.   That the recommendation at OP5 should be amended to:

That the Council recognises and values the varied and specialist knowledge required to support the Council’s ICT needs and requirements and that a sum of money equivalent to one full time equivalent post is put aside for this purpose.

3.   That the recommendation at OP5 be rescheduled for a progress report in 6 months.

6:30 – 6:40pm

·        Concessions on Fees and Charges

The Committee and Scrutiny Coordinator provided members with an update on the work of the project group looking at the council’s approach to providing concessions on fees and charges.

It was noted that the project group had requested that there be an extra meeting of the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum held in December to enable the project group’s report to be considered in time for the report to be submitted to Cabinet on January 12, 2016. This would then enable the group’s recommendations to be incorporated into department’s budget setting processes.

RESOLVED -

1.   That the update be noted.

2.   That the request to hold an extra meeting of the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum be considered under the work programme item on the agenda.

6:40 – 6:50pm

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

RESOLVED -

1.   To approve the Work Programme.

2.   That an extra meeting of the Overview and Performance Scrutiny forum should be held on 8 December, 2015 to enable Forum members to consider budget reports and the project group report on Concessions on Fees and Charges.

3.   That a progress report on the External and Internal Communication Strategies be added to the agenda for the next ordinary meeting of the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum.

4.   That a progress report on the implementation of Public Space Protection Orders be added to the agenda for the next ordinarymeeting of the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum.

6:50 – 6:55pm

Councillor Borrell provided members with an update on the work of the Joint Scrutiny Panel with Bolsover and North East Derbyshire District Councils. At the last meeting of the panel it had been resolved that due to the reduced number of shared services between the authorities that meetings of the panel would only be called when there was business for the panel members to consider.

RESOLVED -

That the update be noted.

6:55 – 7:00pm

Councillor Tricia Gilby advised forum members that as Chesterfield Borough Council’s representative of the Sheffield City Region (SCR) Scrutiny Panel she had recently attended a meeting where a presentation had been given on the latest situation with regard to devolution to the SCR. It was noted that the devolution bill would place a requirement for the combined authorities to have a scrutiny function.

RESOLVED -

That the Committee and Scrutiny Coordinator circulate the presentation to all scrutiny members for their information.

7:00 – 7:05pm

The Minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Performance Scrutiny Forum held on 8 September, 2015 were presented.

RESOLVED -

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