Agenda and minutes

The minutes of the meeting held on 6 June 2016 were submitted and approved and the Chairman was authorised to sign them as a correct record.

Apologies for absence were reported from Councillors Blakebrough and Sabri.

None were declared.

Report of Chief Executive.

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Executive regarding the Council’s performance against the Corporate Plan’s priority actions, performance indicators and targets over the 2010 to 2016 period.

Appendix 1 to the report detailed the activities and outturns of the performance indicators listed within the 2010 to 2016 Corporate Plan.  According to the latest confirmed data available, the following performance indicators were showing as the best performing.

·         DE_007 – EBC Carbon Footprint – Vehicles

·         DE_011 – Number of reported fly-tipping incidents

·         DE_194 – Missed collections

·         TL_008 – Conference delegates

·         TL_005 – Marketing campaign value for money

Appendix 2 broke down the key performance indicators and outturns through the life of the Corporate Plan. Key areas highlighted within the performance indicator outturns were highlighted in the report.

The Assistant Director of Corporate Governance made reference to the Resident’s Surveys held in 2008 and 2015 that had demonstrated overall satisfaction with the Council had increased, along with the view that the Council provided good value for money.

The Committee discussed the Joint Waste Contract and it was agreed that a briefing session on the subject should be scheduled for a future meeting of the Committee.

RESOLVED: (Unanimous) (1) That the Council’s performance for year-end 2015/16 against local performance indicators and actions from the 2010/16 Corporate Plan be agreed.

(2) That the achievements highlighted and progress against the Corporate Plan priorities and aims for the 2010/16 period be noted.

(3) That a briefing on the Joint Waste Contract and recycling issues be added to the Scrutiny Annual Programme for 2016/2017.

Report of Chief Executive and Chief Finance Officer.

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Executive and Chief Finance Officer regarding the Council’s performance against Corporate Plan priority actions, performance indicators and targets for Quarter 1 2016/17.

Appendix 1 to the report provided an overview of current Corporate Plan performance information for Corporate Projects, Performance Indicators (PIs) and Devolved Budgets.

Of the 11 performance indicators reported in the quarter, 5 were on target, 1 was slightly off target, 4 were off target and 1 was data only.

The off target PIs were:

·         TL_017a - Redoubt visitors – paying visitors

·         CD_056 - Median average number of days for assistance with adaptations (Disabled Facilities Grants)

·         CS_010 - Calls to 410000 answered within 30 seconds

·         CS_011 – Telephone call abandonment rate.

Financial performance relating to the General Fund, Housing Revenue Account, Capital Programme, Collection Fund and Treasury Management was also detailed in the report.

The Committee commented on the significant increase in budget for Community Services, detailed in the report.  The Financial Services Manager advised that this was due to the housing benefit subsidy.  Future reports would explain the variances outlined in the report.

The Committee then enquired about the overrun of projects nearing completion such as Future Model Phase 2, detailed in appendix 4.  They were advised that the relevant officer would be contacted following the meeting and an explanation would be circulated to the Committee.

In response to a question from the Committee regarding an overrun of the Devonshire Park Theatre Rendering, Councillor Bannister, Cabinet portfolio holder for Tourism and Leisure Services advised that this was due to unforeseen circumstances, where one of the towers had slipped further than expected and required additional work.

The Committee discussed the costs around Princes Park and they were advised by Councillor Bannister that this was a Driving Devonshire Forward project and a special grant had been awarded to Princes Park for the whole of Devonshire, with additional investment coming from the University of Brighton.

RESOLVED: (Unanimous) (1) That the following be noted:

i)             The proposed framework for reporting on performance of the 2016-2020 Corporate Plan going forward.

ii)           The performance against national and local Performance Indicators and Actions from the 2016-2020 Corporate Plan for Quarter 1.

iii)          The General Fund, HRA and Collection Fund financial performance for the quarter ended June 2016, as set out in sections 3, 4 and 7.

iv)          The virements and transfer to and from reserves as set out in Appendix 3.

v)           The amended capital programme as set out in Appendix 4.

vi)          The Treasury Management performance as set out in section 7.

(2)    That further information in respect of capital project overruns be circulated to members as requested.

Report of Local Democracy Officer. Members are requested to approve the Draft Annual Scrutiny Programme. The final programme is due to be approved by Council on 16 November 2016.

The Committee considered the draft Scrutiny Annual Programme.  Once agreed by the Committee, the programme would be considered by Full Council at its November meeting for approval.

It was proposed and agreed by the Committee to add an update on local and national housing issues, provisionally booked for the meeting on 5 December 2016 and a briefing on the Joint Waste Contract and recycling issues to the programme.  In addition, it was requested by the Committee that consideration be given to organising a trip to a Recycling Centre.

There was one comment that the programme was insubstantial. The Assistant Director for Corporate Governance advised that items and issues discussed by the Scrutiny Committee are driven by the members via the Chair and Deputy Chair.  Full advanced access to forthcoming key executive matters are made available through the Forward Plan of Key Decisions from which Scrutiny members can identify any subject matters in which they wish to input prior to cabinet consideration.  All such information is available for inspection and discussion at the Scrutiny monthly planning meetings.

The Committee was also reminded that the quarterly performance reports were the key tools for members to identify any areas of service delivery concerns through the performance indicators, but that it was important to give some advance notice of issues to be raised to ensure that the appropriate officers and/or portfolio holders were in attendance.  The Committee was assured that all the relevant mechanisms were in place to enable Scrutiny Committee to have considerable freedom and flexibility in setting its agenda.  However, it was also important, when considering potential major review work, to be clear as to the scope, justification, desired outcome and resource implications.  An externally facilitated training session was held last year at a time agreed in advance by the Committee.  This went into great detail with regard to selecting and scoping topics for review.

RESOLVED (By 5 votes to 1) That the Scrutiny Annual Programme for 2016-2017 be agreed, subject to the addition of an update on local and housing issues and briefing on the Joint Waste Contract and recycling issues, and submitted to full Council for approval.