Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED:  That all items on the agenda be webcast.

It was noted that apologies for absence had been received from Councillor Yates.

It was noted that Councillor Brindle was substituting for Councillor Yates.

Councillor Moss attended as a witness in relation to agenda items 8 and 9.

There were no disclosures by Members or Officers.

RESOLVED:  That the items on the agenda be taken in public as proposed.

RESOLVED:  That the Minutes of the meeting held on 6 August 2013 be approved as a correct record and signed.

Minutes 28 and 35 – Disclosure of Interests

In response to a question, the Chairman said that she had discussed Members’ concerns regarding the requirements in relation to the disclosure of interests with the Officers.  The Monitoring Officer only had delegated powers to grant dispensations where so many Members of the decision making body had interests in the matter that it would impede the transaction of business.  This had not been the case at the last meeting.  It was considered that specific training on the disclosure of interests was not justified, but an information sheet had been circulated.  She had looked at other Council websites for additional information, and she would share what she had found with Members.

RESOLVED:  That the position be noted.

Interviews with: Clare Wood, Policy and Performance Officer, Dena Smart, Head of HR Shared Service, Bal Sandher, HR Shared Services Manager, Rob Jarman, Head of Planning and Development and Peter Hockney, Principle Planning Officer.

Clare Wood, Policy and Performance Officer, provided an overview of the quarter 1 Key Performance Indicator report 2013/14.  It was noted that:

·  There were 40 performance indicators that could be monitored on a quarterly basis to ensure that the Council was on track to meet its annual performance targets.

·  Overall, for quarter 1, 40% (15) of performance indicators had been rated green (currently on target), compared to 48% (13) at the same point in 2012/13.  Of the 13 performance indicators that had been rated amber, 5 were within 2% of target and 8 were within 5% of the target.  10 performance indicators had been rated red (target not achieved).

During the ensuing discussion, reference was made to the following:

·  The need for Members to have an input into the Parking Manager’s plans to mitigate the impact of the continuing decline in Park and Ride on-board transactions on income targets.

·  The need to update the Committee before the next quarterly report on the performance in relation to the waste and recycling indicators having regard to the launch of the new waste collection contract.

·  The need to update the Committee before the next quarterly report on the performance in relation to the housing indicators taking into account the funding allocated from the revenue underspends to schemes promoted by the Head of Housing and Community Services and the fact that some of the indicators have been rated red.

The Policy and Performance Officer also undertook to arrange for the following information to be provided for Members:

·  An update for Councillor Black on the recovery rate in respect of benefits overpayments which have arisen as a result of fraud.

·  An update for Councillor Mrs Grigg on the reasons for the increase in the average wait times for calls into the Contact Centre during the last quarter, including the impact of the new automated telephone system.

·  An update for Councillor Mrs Grigg on the work of the Employability and Skills Officer in facilitating employer engagement with NEETs.

Rob Jarman, the Head of Planning and Development, and Peter Hockney, Principal Planning Officer, attended the meeting to explain the reasons why the percentage of residential planning applications processed within statutory timescales (DCV 003) had not achieved the quarterly target and performance had declined compared to the same period last year.

A Member referred to the budgetary underspend due to a Planning Officer post not being filled, and asked whether the recruitment of another Planning Officer would help clear the backlog and mitigate the impact of having to prioritise work on the Local Plan.

The Principal Planning Officer explained that an advertisement had been placed with a view to recruiting two permanent full time Planning Officers.  None of the applicants were considered to be suitable for interview, and two consultants had been appointed, initially on four month contracts, to deal with the backlog of planning applications.  The position would be reviewed as the contracts neared an end.

The Head of Planning and Development advised the Committee that although  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.

Interviews with: Councillor Moss, Cabinet member for Corporate Services and Sam Bailey, Research and Performance Officer.

Sam Bailey, Research and Performance Officer, presented the complaints report to the Committee.  The report also included details of compliments received by the Council during the last quarter.  It was noted that:

·  94 Stage 1 complaints were closed of which 90 (95.70%) were responded to in time.

·  23 Stage 2 complaints were processed which represented a 92% increase on quarter 4 of 2012/13.  The number of Stage 2 complaints would be monitored by the Policy and Performance team to assess whether this was a cyclical trend or a genuine increase.

·  Only 10 complaints handling satisfaction surveys were returned which represented a 13% response rate.  The Policy and Performance team was looking at ways to improve the response rate, including telephone surveys.

Concerns were expressed by Members as to the point of the complaints handling satisfaction surveys given that it appeared that the majority of those who were not satisfied with the way in which their complaint was handled could not separate the outcome of their complaint from how it was processed.  The Research and Performance Officer undertook to look at best practice and how the survey form could be redesigned to separate customer satisfaction with outcome and process.

The Research and Performance Officer also undertook to provide the following information in the quarter 2 report for 2013/14:

·  An update on the way in which complaints filtered by Members are recorded.

RESOLVED:

(a)  That the Council’s performance in relation to complaints be noted;

(b)  That the teams and individual Officers within the Council be congratulated on the compliments received; and

(c)  That the following information be provided for the Committee in the quarter 2 report for 2013/14:

  (i)  An update on the action taken to improve the effectiveness of the complaints handling satisfaction surveys; and

  (ii)  An update on the way in which complaints filtered by Members are recorded.

The Chairman introduced the Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report 2012/13.

The Committee felt that the report clearly and comprehensively reflected the work of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees over the past year.

RESOLVED:  That subject to the inclusion of an introduction from all three of the Committee Chairmen and typographical amendments as appropriate, the Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report 2012/13 be approved for submission to the Council pursuant to Article 6.03 (d) of the Constitution.

The Committee considered its future work programme.  It was noted that arrangements were being made for a joint meeting on MKIP and that the training on questioning skills was in hand.

Concern was expressed by Members that whilst performance monitoring and monitoring of complaints were areas of work that required particular attention, the Committee should be more involved in influencing and monitoring decision making by the Cabinet.  In this connection, it was suggested and agreed that the work programme should include the following:

·  An update from the Budget Working Group at each meeting and quarterly reports from the appropriate Cabinet Members and Directors on strategic issues, including work undertaken and planned.

It was also suggested and agreed that the work programme should be the first item on the agenda for meetings of the Committee and that there was no need for Officers to spend time introducing their reports as this would enable Members to concentrate more on the issues.

RESOLVED: 

(a)  That the work programme should include an update from the Budget Working Group at each meeting and quarterly reports from the appropriate Cabinet Members and Directors on strategic issues, including work undertaken and planned;

(b)  That the work programme should be the first item on the agenda for meetings of the Committee; and

(c)  That there is no need for Officers to spend time introducing their reports as this will enable Members to concentrate more on the issues.

6.30 p.m. to 9.00 p.m.