Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor White.

To receive declarations of interest from Members on items included in the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest.

To consider the minutes of the previous meeting of this Committee held on 30 September 2012. The minutes will be sent to follow.

Members noted the selection of efficiencies and the Town Centre Manager job description, as referred to in the minutes of the previous meeting, had not been received. A list of vacant posts and the job description were distributed to the Committee with time for them to consider the documents.

Members questioned what the rationale was for offering each of the vacant posts for deletion. A categoric reason could not be given for each post; the positions had been offered as potential savings by the Wider Management Team (WMT), no decision had yet been made and a strategic view could not be given.  Members further questioned what brief the Portfolio Holder had received from Officers regarding the posts inclusion on the list. WMT had been given more powers to move the budget forward how they felt best. Members questioned the removal of the Housing Market Renewal Officer post, and it was clarified the post was for the renewal of the housing market and was different to the empty property officer. Renewal funding had supported the Housing Market Renewal Officer position, but this funding was no longer received and Aspire now provided the service. The Committee could expect to be informed of the decision regarding the vacant posts at the meeting on 10 December and were asked to keep the documents that had been distributed for that meeting. There would also be an update regarding recruiting for the Town Centre Manager position at the 10 December meeting.

RESOLVED:                        (a) The minutes of the meeting held on 30 October 2012 be agreed as a correct record.

(b) That the Committee be informed of the decision regarding vacant posts and receive an update regarding recruiting for the Town Centre Manager position at the 10 December meeting.

To consider the modernisation of the Post Office network, in particular the possibility of partnership working, as a new scrutiny topic for the Committee. Richard Lynds, Senior Stakeholder Manager at the Post Office, will be attending to give a short presentation and to answer any queries.

The Committee received a presentation from Richard Lynds, Senior Stakeholder Manager for the Post Office, in order to consider the modernisation of the Post Office network, in particular the possibility of partnership working, as a potential new scrutiny topic for the Committee.

The modernisation programme would create two types of branches: larger main branches and smaller local models. There would be no branch closures and it was hoped the number of branches would increase as they became more profitable. Half of the Borough’s branches would be modernised, with any changes communicated to the Council in advance. Two branches within the Borough had indicated that they wished to be part of the modernisation programme and it was expected that in the next twelve months another ten would be added to them. It was requested that the contact details for all Parish Councils within the Borough be provided to Richard Lynds to allow him to pass communications to them.

The Post Office was looking at how they could work with local government and in the last twelve months had worked with 25 pathfinder councils. They had a good I.T. platform and infrastructure that could work well with both local authority and customer systems. A tender from the Post Office to a Council would depend on the services required by the Council, and could be a single item tender or a framework agreement. Some services could be implemented immediately, whereas others could be developed. In Birmingham, a customer facing computer room had been installed in a Post Office to enable public access to the Council’s website and online forms. Members highlighted that some members of the public did not have internet access. The Post Office wished to help the eight million people in the country who were not online, and were encouraging and assisting people to do so.

Members questioned how new services would be incorporated into Post Office franchises; would the Post Office or the franchise fund them. It would depend on the facility, but the Post Office would provide the products, computers, kits etc. There was a transactional link between the Post Office and the franchises, with a small fee based upon the transactions conducted being received from the franchises. The difference between Newcastle-under-Lyme and the London authorities the Post Office was working with was noted by Members. The Borough Council was a two-tier authority with Staffordshire County Council, with different services provided by the two authorities and Members questioned how services delivered by the Post Office would work. It was for the Council to specify what they would like the Post Office to help them with. For example if a bin collection had been missed, the Post Office could provide an online notification. The Post Office was working with county councils and in Warwick there was a branch in a library.

Members noted that if the Post Office was to take on Council work this could have implications for Council employees. Some of the suggestions made would take away  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

To consider the content of and scrutinise the Treasury Management Strategy for 2013/14, including the Prudential Indicators, Investment Strategy and Minimum Revenue Provision Strategy contained within it.

The Committee considered the Treasury Management Strategy 2013/14. This was an annual strategy that would be considered by Full Council on 27 February 2013, and had been brought to scrutiny for consideration beforehand. It would be for Full Council to take the decision regarding the strategy in February, however any recommendations or suggestions from the committee would be taken on board and the strategy could be amended if necessary.

The strategy set down the parameters for Officers to operate over the coming year and dealt mainly with investments and borrowing. However, as the Council was not currently borrowing funds, the borrowing element had less relevance at the present time. The Council had adopted the CIPFA Treasury Management Code of Practice and there was a requirement to produce the strategy as part of this. 

Officers clarified the position with regard to recommendation ‘c’ of the report. This was for the current contract with Sector Treasury Services Ltd to be extended for a further twelve months. There had been a contract for three years already, with one twelve month extension. If the contract was extended for a further twelve months, it would be the last contract extension and a tendering exercise would then be undertaken.

Members questioned whether the figure of £4.5 million available for investment would alter by the time the strategy was considered by Full Council in February. Officers advised the figure was not expected to change much. It had been proposed that training on treasury management be provided to Members in the new financial year. The Committee were in support of the strategy and all three of the recommendations.

RESOLVED:                        (a) That the information be received.

(b)  That the Committee were in support of the strategy and the three recommendations provided on the report.

To consider the Financial and Performance Review for the 2012/13 second quarter (July-September).

The Committee received the Financial and Performance Management Report to the end of Quarter Two (September) 2012.

The revenue budget showed a favourable variance of £15,000. Members noted there was a significant shortfall in parking income and Officers advised that areas where this was occurring were being looked at as part of the scale of fees and charges review. Members questioned whether the figures for Jubilee 2 were still in deficit. It was expected that Jubilee 2 would be slightly in surplus, with some additional expenditure due to the facility being used more.

The quarterly performance report was in the process of changing to a new style of measuring and reporting performance, and was now split into the four corporate priorities. There would be a more detailed approach in the next financial year. 75% of indicators were on target with the direction of travel positive overall.

The Leader advised the report was being received by scrutiny prior to Cabinet, and the Committee’s contribution would be valued. There were three issues on the report relating to crime where figures had not been provided by partners, and were therefore showing as not applicable. With regard to anti-social behaviour, 70% of cases were being dealt with satisfactorily. Closure interviews were being conducted, and all of the 70% mentioned were satisfied with the conclusion. The Leader considered that the community safety team were doing a good job and that this should be highlighted.

With regard to cleanliness, the Leader stated that the figures were not satisfactory and the relevant Portfolio Holder had been asked to meet with the Head of Service to establish what had caused the problems. Members considered that there had been a significant percentage increase in littering offences and questioned how the statistics were obtained. It was acknowledged that more clarification regarding the reason for the increase was required. Members questioned whether the figures were due to an increase in littering activity or the same amount of littering activity that was not being dealt with. This would be clarified further for the January meeting of the Committee. Overall, if there were any issues that were not shown positively on the report then these would be reported back to the Committee with a summary of what had been done to address the problems. Further information was not available at the meeting, but the Portfolio Holder had been asked to establish the reason and come back with a plan to tackle the problem.  When the report was received in January 2013, the Leader would provide an update regarding the issue, with an explanation of the reasons for the increase in the figures and the result of meetings between the Portfolio Holder and the Head of Service on this subject.

The percentage of major planning applications determined within time had not met its target in quarter two, but was on target for the current quarter. The number of people accessing leisure and recreational facilities had not met its target and this was attributed to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To receive a briefing note regarding the Constitution Working Party’s meeting on 7 November 2012.

The Committee considered a briefing note regarding the Constitution Working Party’s meeting on 7 November 2012. The working group would be looking at the saying of prayers at Full Council meetings. It had been acknowledged that there was an issue, but the working group had progressed no further with the issue. The working group would be looking at best practice and the views of all Members would be sought. It was requested that Members highlight any problems they encountered with the working group.

Members considered the saying of prayers at Full Council was a cross party issue that was about abiding with the law and where the Council sat in comparison to neighbouring authorities. It was suggested Members could have their own time for their beliefs before the Mayor arrived. The Chair concurred the start of the meeting was viewed to be when the Mayor’s procession arrived.  It was also necessary to be mindful of Officers as well as Members. It was also noted that it was necessary to be in line with the Bideford Case. This was aHigh Court ruling that Bideford Town Council had acted unlawfully by allowing prayers to be said at meetings. It was ruled that the prayers were not lawful under Section 111 of the Local Government Act 1972. However, prayers could be said as long as councillors were not formally summoned to attend a meeting. Members did not want the Council to be in the same position as Bideford and considered that people with different faiths should be allowed to do as they wish.

Other Members did not agree and considered the saying of prayers should remain as it is, with prayers being said with the Mayor and Mayor’s Chaplain.

RESOLVED:                        That the information be received.  

To discuss and update the work plans to reflect current scrutiny topics.

It was noted that two items needed to be added to the work programme. The Committee could expect to receive an update regarding Universal Credit at the March meeting. The Asset Management Strategy overlapped the Economic, Development and Enterprise and Transformation and Resources scrutiny committees. This would be received by Transformation and Resources on 10 December.

RESOLVED:             (a) That the information be received.

(b) That an updated work plan be distributed to the Committee members.

To consider any business which is urgent within the meaning of Section 100B (4) of the Local Government Act 1972.

There was no urgent business considered.