Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Byrom, Preece (and substitute Tonkiss) and Roberts.

The Chair welcomed everyone to the first meeting of the Municipal Year, and thanked those Members who had been on the Committee the previous year for their contributions.

Members and Officers are requested to give notice of any personal or prejudicial interest and the nature of that interest, relating to any item on the agenda in accordance with the relevant Code of Conduct.

There were no declarations of interest received.

Minutes of the meeting held on 15 February 2011.

Councillor Gibson informed the Committee that a report of the Bribery Act Working Group would be presented at the next meeting.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 15^th February 2011 were accepted as a correct record.

RESOLVED: That

(1)               the Committee would receive a report from the Bribery Act Working Group at the next meeting; and

(2)               the Minutes of the meeting held on 15^th February 2011 be accepted as a correct record.

Update from Strategic Finance Manager.

Further to Minute No. 67 the Head of Corporate Finance and ICT reported to the Committee that the Asset Disposal Group had confirmed that both leasing and sales would be considered when disposing of assets, with the main priority being obtaining the best commercial advantage for the Council. The Committee discussed the optimisation of building use, and requested a comprehensive list of assets held by the Council to be presented at the next meeting, along with an update of the accommodation strategy.

RESOLVED: That

(1)               the Head of Corporate Finance and ICT present a comprehensive list of Council assets, and an update of the accommodation strategy at the next meeting of the Committee; and

(2)               the Head of Corporate Finance and ICT provide an update at the next meeting of the Committee regarding any outstanding issues with the District Auditor in relation to the sale of Council assets

Report of the Head of Transformation Services.

Further to Minute No. 69 the Committee received a comprehensive report from the Head of Transformation Services regarding the progress of the transformation programme. The information provided included a significant amount of savings that are currently at ‘amber’ stage. The Committee was informed that a further update of the progress being made to achieve these savings would be presented to Cabinet on 23^rd June. The Chair requested that a further update be presented to the next meeting of the Committee.

Councillor Carr asked whether the increased revenue of local business rates would be considered when reviewing the budget for next year. The Head of Corporate Finance and ICT informed the Committee that this would be included in the review as the formula for national re-distribution of local business rates had not yet been decided upon and the Council would not be aware of whether there would be additional funds available.

The Head of Transformation Services explained that where shortfalls had been identified there would be close monitoring by the Strategic Leadership Team and Cabinet, and if the savings could not be met then a request to Members to meet those shortfalls from reserves would be made.

Members expressed concern about the high figure of savings needed to be achieved for 2012/13.

The Head of Corporate Personnel provided the figures for voluntary and compulsory redundancies. Members were informed that the anticipated figures for this year would be dependant on the outcomes of reviews that are ongoing or proposed for this year. The Committee received information about the process affecting those staff identified as ‘at risk’. The Chair requested that a breakdown of the figures (to include sex, age, department, full time or part time posts and salary) be presented at the next meeting of this Committee.

RESOLVED: That

(1)               the Head of Transformation Services present a further update report at the next meeting of this Committee; and

(2)               the Head of Corporate Personnel present a breakdown of the figures for voluntary and compulsory redundancies (based on sex, age, department, full time or part time workers and salary) at the next meeting of this Committee.

Update from Partnership Director, Avarto.

Further to Minute No. 66 the Committee received a verbal update from representatives of Arvato. The Committee was informed that all Members had been transferred to the new system, which had solved the problems affecting the reply and forward email functions, and the issue of smart phone synchronisation had been resolved. Councillor Gibson raised a specific concern about his smart phone which would not allow certain functions. David Davies (Arvato) agreed to meet with him separately to resolve this issue.  Collection of ICT kits from former Members would take place shortly and kits had been given to new Members, or were in the process of being delivered. Training requests had been received from six Members and these requests would be followed up shortly. Councillor Weavers asked whether Members would receive a warning regarding password expiration. David Davies agreed to follow up this query and report back to Members.

RESOLVED: That

(1)               the update be received;

(2)               David Davies (Arvato) would meet with Councillor Gibson to resolve the specific problem concerning smart phone synchronisation; and

(3)               David Davies (Arvato) would inform Members of the Committee of the password expiration policy and procedure.    

Report of the Director of Corporate Commissioning.

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Corporate Commissioning, which presented the Cabinet Member reports for the period March – April 2011 for the following portfolios which fall under the remit of this Committee: -

(a)               Cabinet Member – Communities

(b)               Cabinet Member – Corporate Services

(c)               Cabinet Member – Performance and Governance

Members discussed the role of Merseyside Fire Service within the community, and it was felt that it would be beneficial to the Committee to hear more about their community involvement work.

Members felt that it would be beneficial to be kept informed of the legal issues in relation to the Thornton to Switch Island Link Road, including the progress of Compulsory Purchase Orders.  

Members requested that an update be presented to the next meeting of this Committee in relation to the Voluntary Sector Review work.

The Chair requested that the consultation plan being presented to the Public Engagement and Consultation Standards Panel be presented to this Committee at the next meeting. 

Members discussed the new electronic decision making process introduced for Cabinet Members and expressed concern that the new process would exclude community involvement. The Head of Corporate Finance and ICT informed the Committee that senior officers would continue to meet informally with Cabinet Members and spokespersons, and that the public would be able to access Council and Cabinet Meetings, and through the Overview and Scrutiny process would be able to have input into issues. Members requested clarification on how the exclusion of public access to Cabinet Member decision making had been considered when proposing the new decision making process. 

RESOLVED: That

(1)               Merseyside Fire Service be invited to attend the next meeting of this Committee;

(2)               the Cabinet Member and relevant officer be invited to attend the next meeting of the Committee and provide an update of the issues in relation to the Thornton to Switch Island Link Road;

(3)               the appropriate representative of the Member Overseeing Group for the Voluntary Sector Review work, and the support officer, be invited to provide an update of the progress so far at the next meeting of this Committee;

(4)               the consultation plan being presented to the Public Engagement and Consultation Standards Panel be presented to the next meeting of this Committee; and

(5)               the Assistant Director (Democratic Services) be requested to provide clarification to the Members of this Committee on how the exclusion of public access to Cabinet Member decision making had been considered when proposing the new decision making process.

Report of the Director of Corporate Commissioning.

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Corporate Commissioning in relation to the Committee’s programme of work. There were a number of decisions within the latest Key Decision Forward Plan that fell under this Committee’s remit.

The Chair asked the Committee to consider items for review during the Municipal Year, following direction from the Assistant Director (Democratic Services) that Committees would undertake no more than two in-depth reviews. The Chair suggested that the Committee consider undertaking a mini-review of the transformation programme in late summer / beginning of autumn. Councillor Carr suggested that the Committee be updated on the progress of the Core Strategy. The Committee agreed that this would be useful, in the context of the transformation programme, whilst acknowledging that the issue fell under the Terms of Reference for the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Regeneration and Environmental Services).

RESOLVED: That

(1)               the contents of the Key Decision Forward Plan for the period 1 June 2011 – 30 September 2011 be accepted;

(2)                the Committee receive an update about the Core Strategy, in agreement with the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Regeneration and Environmental Services); and

(3)               the Committee further considers the work programme topics at the next meeting of the Committee.