|
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 27 SEPTEMBER 2005
PRESENT: Ms J A Jenkins – Chairman
|
Mr D M Busby
Mrs S Carpendale
Mr N H J Irwin
|
Dr M R Miller
Mr J M Owen
Mrs W J Sadler |
Mr J C Brand and Mr G S White were unable to be present.
37 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
None declared.
38 MINUTES
RESOLVED
That the Minutes of the meeting held on 16 August 2005 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.
39 PETITIONS
None received.
40 QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS
None received.
41 WORK PLAN
The Acting Head of Legal and Administrative Services submitted a report (Paper E153), which provided details of the Committee’s anticipated work for the remainder of 2005/06 including items that may be the subject of call-in procedures.
It was noted that the Strategy Committee had requested that the Overview and Scrutiny (Stewardship) Committee carry out further investigations into strategic risks in relation to the Corporate Plan, and a report on this matter would be considered at the Committee’s meeting on 22 November 2005.
It was suggested that at a future meeting of the Committee consideration should be given to procedures for ensuring that Members are kept informed about issues or problems, particularly within their Wards. It was agreed to add this to the Work Plan.
RESOLVED
That the Work Plan submitted as Paper E153 be noted.
42 AUDIT AND INSPECTION PLAN 2005/06
Mr Geoff Kistner, Corporate Director, presented Paper E154, providing further information supplied by the Audit Commission, as requested by the Committee as its meeting on 16 August 2005 (Minute No. 29 refers).
Members were not satisfied with the amount of detail provided by the Audit Commission but acknowledged that there was nothing more Mr Kistner could do to obtain further information or further renegotiate the proposed fee. They noted that Babergh’s proposed fee increase of 4.6% was one of the lowest percentage increases for Suffolk authorities. They reluctantly agreed to recommend that the revised fee be approved.
RECOMMENDED TO STRATEGY COMMITTEE
(1) That in the light of the information received and earlier negotiations which have reduced the Audit Commission’s proposed fee for 2005/06, the revised fee of £130,000 be approved.
(2) That the Corporate Director on behalf of a number of Suffolk authorities write to the Chairman of the Audit Commission expressing concern and highlighting the discrepancy between national announcements by The Audit Commission on reducing fee levels and the reality of higher fees.
43 RISK MANAGEMENT AND INTERNAL CONTROL
The Head of Finance and Performance Review presented a report (Paper E155) explaining the need for the Terms of Reference of the Overview and Scrutiny (Stewardship) Committee to be updated to reflect the Committee’s proposed role and responsibilities on risk management and internal control. New arrangements for the review of the Council’s statement on internal control were also proposed. These included a recommendation that a small Member Group, consisting of two or three Members, should review the current statement on internal control.
RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL
That the Terms of Reference for the Overview and Scrutiny (Stewardship) Committee be updated to refer to the Committee’s risk management and internal control responsibilities, as set out in Appendix 1 to Paper E155.
RESOLVED
(1) That future arrangements for the review and approval of the Council’s Statement on Internal Control come under the responsibility of the Overview and Scrutiny (Stewardship) Committee and a small Member Group, consisting of two or three Members, reviews the current Statement on Internal Control (SIC) and supporting evidence, ensures that adequate action plans exist to address any significant internal control issues and considers further development of the SIC framework.
(2) That for the remainder of the year 2005-06 Mr D M Busby and Ms J A Jenkins be appointed to the Member Group referred to in Resolution (1) above.
44 E-GOVERNMENT GRANT
The Head of Organisational Development submitted a report (Paper E156), giving an update of the current position on capital projects and IEG grant. Members found the graph attached as an appendix to Paper E156 helpful, and suggested that for future updates it should show actual and committed expenditure.
The IT Manager answered a number of questions raised by Members. It was noted that the item of £148,000 for the CAST investigation contribution was to be replaced by other items such as E-Procurement and Document Image Processing in order to ensure that the full IEG grant of £900,000 was claimed. It was agreed that the E-Government Group should be asked to comment on what benefits had accrued from the £628,000 committed to date.
RESOLVED
That the report on E-Government Grant submitted as Paper E156 be noted.
45 BABERGH LEISURE TRUST
The Head of Leisure and Community Services presented a report (Paper E157) setting out progress to date and current actions in relation to the establishment of a Trust to be responsible for the future management of the Kingfisher Leisure Centre, Sudbury and Hadleigh Swimming Pool. He answered a number of questions raised by Members concerning the business plan for the Trust, the situation as regards dual-use sports centres, and electronic booking systems.
It was noted that on 29 September 2005 an open evening would be held where people interested in becoming trustees would be able to hear more about the Trust and the facilities to be managed. Formal interviews would take place in October. The Council was due to appoint its two trustees at its meeting on 18 October 2005.
RESOLVED
That the report on the Babergh Leisure Trust submitted as Paper E157 be noted.
46 LOCAL LAND CHARGES: PERFORMANCE, NLIS AND LAMP
The Acting Head of Legal and Administrative Services submitted a report (Paper E158) setting out the latest performance trends for the local land charges service and the latest position regarding the proposal received from MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd (MDA) to undertake required data capture and conversion work to enable the transition to electronic working. The Electoral and Administrative Services Manager reported that following the application of the additional resources as previously reported, the Land Charges Service was currently able to respond regularly to search enquiries within the BVPI target of ten days, the current average response time being eight days. The Land Charges staff were congratulated on this achievement.
The ICT Manager was also in attendance and in the ensuing discussion, the following were among the points noted:
· The Corporate Management Team had approved, subject to certain conditions and clarifications, the engagement of MDA to undertake a Solution Definition at a cost of £43,000, the cleansing of the Council’s Local Land and Property Gazetteer (LLPG) and the appointment of an LLPG Custodian, using E-Government and other funds.
· Members were concerned about the potential future cost. They noted, however, that at this stage the Council was only committed to the Solution Definition Phase, at the conclusion of which MDA would present various costed options.
· Members noted the importance of cleansing the LLPG as the Council’s corporate database by removing duplications and inconsistencies, and of appointing a Custodian to be responsible for ensuring that the LLPG, once cleansed, remained uncorrupted.
· The goals for the Local Land Charges service were to reduce search times and achieve NLIS Level 3 status.
· Members questioned whether it would be possible to outsource the work to another Council, but noted that most of the work to be done involved data capture, and officers were not aware of any Council with spare capacity in this regard.
· It was confirmed that officers had been in discussions with other local authorities to try to learn about best practice. Members recognized that no single solution was suitable for all councils, but expressed concern that there might be a failure to take advantage of economies of scale. It was noted that MDA would be looking at the “bigger picture” as part of the Solution Definition phase.
RESOLVED
(1) That the report on Local Land Charges submitted as Paper E158 be noted.
(2) That the Committee recognises the considerable amount of work that has gone into this and the recent improvement to search turnaround times, however:-
(i) it is concerned at the potentially large amount of money required to complete the whole project and doubts whether the money will be available;
(ii) it is also concerned that the focus seems to be internal and neglects the broader picture. All external opportunities for development should be examined.
47 ANNUAL MONITORING OF COMPLAINTS
The Corporate Support Manager presented a report (Paper E159) concerning complaints about the Council in 2004/05, whether received by the Council or by the Local Government Ombudsman. In the discussion which ensued the following were among the points noted:-
· Members believed that despite the fact that the Local Government Ombudsman was now requesting a response from Councils within 28 days, Babergh should aim to respond to the Ombudsman’s enquiries within the previous target of 21 days.
· Members questioned whether complainants were receiving sufficient feedback from the Council, and Officers undertook to investigate this issue.
· The Committee noted that a large proportion of the complaints came under the remit of the Overview and Scrutiny (Community Services) Committee and agreed that that Committee might wish to consider whether anything could be done to reduce the number of complaints.
· The Committee believed that Members should be kept informed about formal complaints relating to their particular Ward.
RESOLVED
(1) That the report on the Annual Monitoring of Complaints submitted as Paper E159 be noted.
(2) That improvements be sought to reduce the number of premature complaints to the Ombudsman and to reduce the time taken to reply to the Ombudsman’s enquiries to within 21 days.
(3) That a link from the Council’s website to the Local Government Ombudsman’s website be investigated.
(4) That the Ombudsman be invited to a meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny (Stewardship) Committee at the appropriate time to comment on the 2005/06 annual letter.
(5) That, subject to quality assurance, appropriate officers participate in the complaints handling training courses provided by the Local Government Ombudsman.
(6) That the Overview and Scrutiny (Community Services) Committee should receive an updated copy of report E159, and be asked whether they wish to examine any service issues and any possible improvements.
(7) That Ward Members be advised of complaints reaching the Ombudsman and of official complaints to Babergh.
48 APPOINTMENT OF MEMBER TO SERVE ON RECHARGING GROUP
It was noted that the Committee had been asked to appoint a Member to serve on the Joint Member Officer Working Group set up to review procedures used to undertake rechargeable estate maintenance/improvement work.
It was noted that the Group currently comprised Mr B D Hurren and Mr J W Roberts, who were Members of the Overview and Scrutiny (Community Services) Committee, and Mrs W Sadler, a Member of the Overview and Scrutiny (Stewardship) Committee.
RESOLVED
(1) That Mr G S White be approached to determine whether he is prepared to serve on the Recharging Group.
(2) In the event that Mr White is unable to serve on the Recharging Group, that Mr N H J Irwin be appointed.
Note: The Committee adjourned for refreshments between 11.10 and 11.35 a.m.
The business of the meeting was concluded at 12.10 p.m.
................................................
Chairman
|