|
BABERGH DISTRICT COUNCIL OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY
(STEWARDSHIP) COMMITTEE
MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY (STEWARDSHIP) COMMITTEE HELD IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER, COUNCIL OFFICES, CORKS LANE, HADLEIGH ON TUESDAY 21 MARCH 2006
PRESENT: Ms J A Jenkins – Chairman
|
Mr J C Brand
Mr D M Busby
Mrs S Carpendale
Dr M R Miller |
Mr J M Owen
Mrs W J Sadler
Mr G S White
|
Mr N H J Irwin was unable to be present at the meeting.
76 DECLARATION OF INTERESTS
There were no declarations of interest.
77 MINUTES
RESOLVED
That the Minutes of the meeting held on 31 January 2006 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.
78 PETITIONS
None received.
79 QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS
None received.
80 ANNUAL REPORT OF OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY (STEWARDSHIP) COMMITTEE
The Acting Head of Legal and Administrative Services submitted a report (Paper E301) advising that in accordance with the Constitution, the Committee must report annually to Council on its work during the previous year and make recommendations for future programmes and if appropriate amended working methods.
The following were among the points raised by Members:-
- On paragraph 4.1, first bullet point, Geoff Kistner Corporate Director had had talks with the new District Auditor about the Committee’s wishes for greater transparency in the audit and inspection work programme for 2006/07 and for alterations to the timing of payments. It seemed that the District Auditor would be able to go some way towards meeting those wishes.
- It was suggested that Members had a role to play in trying to restrain the expenditure of public finances on unnecessary audit and inspection work.
- It was envisaged that the report on the review of the Overview and Scrutiny role at Babergh would be considered by the Committee at its meeting scheduled for 23 May 2006.
- In relation to Appendix 3, proposed review of call-in process, Members noted that the aim was to focus on the call-in process and how it might be amended for the future. It was agreed that a review should be undertaken along the lines set out in the Planning Assessment Sheet attached as Appendix 3, subject to the following amendments:-
-Under ‘Consultation Who/What’, the wording to read “organisations representing the political parties, such as the Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors; Members and Officers from other Councils”
-Under ‘Questions to be asked’, the final question to read “If members wanted to appeal an Officer’s action in such circumstances – whom should they appeal to? Eg ODPM?”
-Under ‘Over what period should it be carried out’, completion date to be 18 July 2006 (Stewardship) and 25 July 2006 (Community Services)
RESOLVED
(1) That the Acting Head of Legal and Administrative Services, in consultation with the Committee Chairman, complete the Committee’s annual report for submission to the next meeting of Council based upon Paper E301 and the views expressed at the meeting.
(2) That a Working Group be established to carry out a review of the call-in process and to report to the meeting of the Committee scheduled for 18 July 2006.
(3) That the Working Group referred to resolution (2) above should consist of two Members of the Overview and Scrutiny (Stewardship) Committee and two Members of the Overview and Scrutiny (Community Services) Committee (subject to that Committee’s agreement). Further, that Mrs S Carpendale and Mr J M Owen be appointed as the Stewardship representatives on the Working Group.
81 2004/05 NATIONAL PERFORMANCE INDICATOR COMPARISONS
The Corporate Support Manager presented a report (Paper E302) setting out the Council’s performance and position in relation to the Audit Commission’s figures on performance indicators for English Authorities in 2004/05.
In the ensuing discussion the following were among the points noted:-
- Members’ attention was drawn to the table in paragraph 4.3 which showed that there had been a continuous improvement in performance in the period since 2002/03. The trend looked likely to continue in 2005/06. Managers and staff were congratulated on this achievement.
- Paragraph 4.11 of Paper E302 highlighted areas where Babergh was estimated to be in the bottom quartile for 2006/07. Some of these were satisfaction performance indicators surveyed every three years, and therefore difficult to influence directly. However, it was agreed that it would be important to ensure that the public was aware what actions Babergh was taking on issues such as waste collection and leisure facilities.
- In areas such as brown field sites, Babergh’s performance was being compared with urban authorities where the circumstances were different. Officers were asked to investigate how Babergh’s performance compared with similar rural authorities.
- It was suggested that it would be helpful to have a brief note relating to the areas of poor performance set out in paragraph 4.11, stating any reasons for the poor performance or giving contextual information.
- It was noted that many of the areas of poor performance fell within the responsibility of the HR Panel, the Housing Panel and the Overview and Scrutiny (Community Services) Committee. It was agreed to draw them to the attention of the relevant Chairmen.
RESOLVED
(1) That the 2004/05 National Performance Indicator comparisons as set out in Paper E302 be noted.
(2) That the Corporate Support Manager draws the attention of the relevant Chairmen to the items in paragraph 4.11 of Paper E302, with the request that they inform the Overview and Scrutiny (Stewardship) Committee what, if any, action should be taken in relation to those items.
(3) That further information regarding Babergh’s performance in comparison with similar rural authorities be brought before the Committee.
82 PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT – QUARTERLY REPORT
The Corporate Support Manager presented a report (Paper E303) setting out figures for the Best Value Performance Indicators (BVPIs) and Local Performance Indicators (LPIs) for the period 1 April 2005 to 31 December 2005. The following were among the points noted:-
- Of the 112 BVPIs and LPIs, 8 were not on target, and information relating to these was given in Tables 3 and 4 of Paper E303.
- It was acknowledged that substantial savings and improvements had been achieved in the Benefits Service. However, concern was expressed that in general the Council might have been over-optimistic in the targets it had set for savings through service transformation. Nevertheless, it was agreed that challenging targets were needed and it was noted that the results of exercises such as Business Process Re-engineering would be reflected in the figures for 2006/07.
- It was agreed that “Casting Light” should be used to highlight what had been achieved and learned as a result of Business Process Re-engineering and to comment on whether similar results could have been achieved by any other means.
RESOLVED
That the figures for the Best Value Performance Indicators and Local Performance Indicators for the period 1 April to 31 December 2005 as set out in Paper E303 be noted.
83 BENEFITS SERVICE – PERFORMANCE AND SERVICE DEVELOPMENTS 1 OCTOBER 2005 TO 31 MARCH 2006
The Head of Revenues presented a report (Paper E304) updating Members on performance and service developments in the period 1 October 2005 to 31 March 2006.
It was noted that strategic development work to support and improve the Benefits Service was now complete. New processes for handling benefit claims and subsequent changes in circumstances were being implemented. As a result, savings would be achieved of approximately £30,000 during 2006/07 and of £56,000 in each subsequent year. Members’ attention was drawn to the facts that performance had dipped slightly while the development work had been undertaken and that some minor projects had been temporarily deferred.
Members were aware that a great amount of work had been done to introduce the new procedures and they recorded their thanks to the staff of the Revenues Division for the demonstration given at the conclusion of the Committee’s meeting held on 31 January 2005.
RESOLVED
That the performance of the Benefits Service and the developments completed during the period 1 October 2005 to 31 March 2006 as set out in Paper E304 be noted.
84 E-GOVERNMENT PROJECTS – EXPENDITURE AGAINST GRANT
The Head of Organisational Development submitted a report (Paper E305) giving an update on expenditure against grant for e-government projects.
The IT Manager reported that the Government had not yet indicated whether any unspent grant would be reclaimed. As expected, in February 2006 expenditure had fallen to the “worst case” scenario. However, currently, taking into account invoiced and paid expenditure on IEG projects, it appeared that the Council would meet the target of using all of the £900,000 IEG grant by 31 March 2006.
RESOLVED
(1) That the information relating to e-Government projects set out in Paper E305 be noted.
(2) That the e-Government Steering Group continues to monitor and take appropriate action to maximise the expenditure of the IEG grant under existing delegated authority arrangements.
(3) That the IT Manager and his staff be congratulated on achieving full use of the IEG grant within the Government’s timescale.
85 INTERNAL AUDIT TERMS OF REFERENCE, STRATEGY AND STRATEGIC WORK PROGRAMME 2006/07
The Head of Finance presented a report (Paper E306) detailing the proposed Internal Audit revised Terms of Reference, Strategy and Strategic Work Programme for the financial year 2006/07.
It was noted that for the proposed fundamental audit and process mapping time in 2006/07 a total of 223 days had been allocated. This was 62 days more than in the previous year and would be achieved by a re-allocation of resources within the Audit Team. The allocation of the extra days was seen as a means of cost avoidance, as it should reduce the amount of time required by the external auditors.
Members’ attention was drawn to Paragraphs 4.16 and 4.17 which highlighted areas excluded from the internal audit work programme. It was agreed that steps should be taken to include Section 106 Agreements in the programme.
RESOLVED
(1) That the revised Terms of Reference for the Internal Audit Service as set out in Appendix 1 to Paper E306 be approved.
(2) That the Internal Audit Strategy as set out in Appendix 2 to Paper E306 be approved.
(3) That the 2006/07 Internal Audit Work Programme as set out in Appendix 3 to Paper E306 be approved, subject to the inclusion of Section 106 Agreements.
Note: The Committee adjourned for refreshments between 11.05 a.m. and 11.25 a.m.
The business of the meeting was concluded at 12.25 pm.
Chairman
|