Agenda and minutes

No apologies for absence were received for the meeting.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 8 October 2013 (Copy attached).

Resolved:

To approve and sign the minutes of the meetings held 8 October 2013.

To receive any declarations of disclosable interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations of interest received.

The Chairman advised that the outcome of the Staffing Policy Committee’s consideration of staff morale would be reported to the next meeting of the Management Committee.

The Council welcomes contributions from members of the public.

Statements

If you would like to make a statement at this meeting on any item on this agenda, please register to do so at least 10 minutes prior to the meeting. Up to 3 speakers are permitted to speak for up to 3 minutes each on any agenda item.  Please contact the officer named above for any further clarification.

Questions

To receive any questions from members of the public or members of the Council received in accordance with the constitution. Those wishing to ask questions are required to give notice of any such questions in writing to the officer named above no later than 5pm on  Tuesday 29 October 2013.  Please contact the officer named on the first page of this agenda for further advice.  Questions may be asked without notice if the Chairman decides that the matter is urgent.

Details of any questions received will be circulated to Committee members prior to the meeting and made available at the meeting and on the Council’s website.

There were no comments or questions received from the public.

The Committee received a presentation by Nicole Smith, Head of Strategic Housing at its meeting on 28 February 2013 about changes in national legislation requiring a review of the Council’s Housing Allocations Policy. Extensive consultation was undertaken including with Area Boards which ended on 26 April and it was agreed that the outcome of the consultation would be reported back to the Committee prior to a final decision by Cabinet.

As reported at the last meeting, the Chairman and Vice-Chairman (and Scrutiny Manager) met with the Cabinet Portfolioholder and the Head of Strategic Housing for an initial briefing on 7 October and it was agreed to undertake a one-off rapid scrutiny exercise on the matter with an invitation extended to all members of the Management Committee. This has been arranged for Monday 28 October. A brief report on the outcome of the rapid scrutiny exercise will be circulated.

The Committee will be asked to endorse the report for consideration by Cabinet on 21 November when it is being asked to approve a revised Housing Allocations Policy.

The Committee were reminded of the process that had taken place for scrutinising the Housing Allocation Policy, and a copy of questions submitted by Cllr Deane, and officer responses had also been circulated to the Committee.  The Chairman outlined the recommendations contained within the Housing Allocations rapid scrutiny report. The Committee discussed the role of campuses and the location of housing allocations teams within them. It was clarified that campuses would act as a central signposting service, with no plans to relocate the staff currently based at Bourne Hill. Following discussion, the Management Committee;

Resolved:

To support the revised Housing Allocations Policy as appended to the report for approval by cabinet on the 21 November 2013 subject to the following being taken into account:

1)    To support the benefit of seeking a common allocations policy among all social housing providers in Wiltshire.

2)    To change the description of the banding structure to a letter or number classification in order to signify that current arrangements have been extensively revised.

3)    To provide a graphical presentation of the new process in the form of a flowchart.

4)    To allow local connection to also mean officially recognised neighbourhoods as defined within an adopted neighbourhood plan encompassing more than one parish.

5)    To rename the new “expression of interest” category to better reflect that it no longer forms part of the revised Policy.

6)    To submit a further appendix to Cabinet and Council highlighting where the changes have been made within the banding structure.

7)    To utilise the Council’s hubs and new campus provision to improve access to housing services.

8)    To support an extensive housing newsletter for stakeholders and councillors.

The following request for a scrutiny exercise on the BBLP (Balfour Beatty Living Places) contract from Councillor Jeff Osborn who is a member of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee was received on 16 October. As such, he is able to do so under the overview and scrutiny procedure rules in the Council’s Constitution. In the first instance all member requests are considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee.

“This request for a scrutiny exercise was initially to be focused on the grass cutting element of the BBLP contract.  Subsequently concerns have emerged with other aspects of the contract, plus there is now information in the public domain that BBLP has lost one million pounds on operating the first few months of the contract.  Amongst the public a major concern is how BBLP will cope with a harsh winter.  The talk on the ground is that BBLP deliberately bid low in order to secure the contract.

Consequently, I am requesting a scrutiny exercise that goes back to the procurement process involving this contract – members need to understand the contract – then have  an understanding of the monitoring of the implementation and operation of the contract and its performance management.  From that flows an appreciation of the penalty clauses involved and what happens if and when it becomes apparent That BBLP cannot deliver a good service for the people of Wiltshire”.

It will be for the Committee to determine whether to agree to the request and add this to the overview and scrutiny work programme or to decline it with reasons. So that the Committee can be in an informed position, an opportunity is given to the Executive to initially comment on the request and supply any supporting information. A report is circulated.

As part of the exercise to develop the overview and scrutiny work programme, select committee chairs and vice-chairs have met with Cabinet members to discuss priority areas for overview and scrutiny engagement. As part of the discussion on potential topics for the Environment Select Committee, a review of the BBLP contract has been raised. A report on the outcome of these discussions on priority areas will be taken to the Environment Select Committee on 29 October as well as an overall first draft of a work programme across the whole function to the Management Committee – see separate item below on this agenda. This information may therefore be helpful in responding to Cllr Osborn’s request.

The Chairman outlined the position, and reminded the committee that the report and debate would direct the committee as to whether a scrutiny exercise would need to be conducted. The report proposed that a scrutiny exercise be undertaken in June 2014 after the first year of the operation of the contract.

The Chairman invited the Committee to comment on the report. There was a division of opinion between committee members with regard to evidence supporting the alleged contractual failings. The Committee discussed the bedding in period and the suggestion to scrutinise the contract document itself following the previous disbanding of the major contracts review task groups.

Cllr Phillip Whitehead (Portfolio Holder for Highways Contracts) responded to the Committee, detailing the arrangements in place for winter preparedness. The Committee discussed some specific incidents of good and poor performance across the County and were concerned about addressing performance after events had transpired.

The Management Committee debated the potential areas of risk over the winter period and highlighted concern with reviewing performance after the event. At the conclusion of the debate, the Chairman proposed a three stage approach to the future scrutiny of this major contract.

Resolved:

1)    A Rapid Scrutiny Exercise would be conducted on the content of the report to enable greater clarity on the concerns raised.

2)    A progress report would be presented to the Environment Select Committee after the winter, addressing operational performance.

3)    Environment Select Committee to conduct a full scrutiny exercise in June 2014 after the first full operational year of the contract.

An essential scrutiny skills training event was held on 15 October for the chairs and vice-chairs of the select committees and members of the Management Committee. It was run over a half-day at Shurnhold and was delivered by Gateway Training and Development Ltd based in Salisbury – the same company that facilitated the scrutiny induction event following the elections. The event covered the nationally recognised principles of good scrutiny, highlighted the potential benefits of applying Appreciative Inquiry techniques and provided an introduction to transactional analysis – the Games People Play.

The event was put together recognising that many of the attendees held senior positions within overview and scrutiny and therefore already possessed a good working knowledge of the basic concept, skills and processes of the overview and scrutiny function. This event went further and introduced humanist behaviours and communication methods and how these impacted on the delivery of an effective overview and scrutiny function. Although the event achieved its objectives feedback was mixed in terms of its value from some. Those who attended may like to offer further insight at the meeting.

The intention is to roll out this event to a wider non-executive councillor audience with some changes in the degree of emphasis placed on each part ie. more extensive coverage of the principles of good scrutiny – what they are, how they are applied etc. and a lighter touch on the behavioural aspects. The Committee may wish to express a view on whether to offer a single large event or a series of smaller more intimate events in order to provide greater opportunity for interaction. These could be delivered on a geographic basis?  

The Scrutiny Manager has already taken a report to the Councillor Development Group who have approved the training and for costs to be met from the main councillor development budget.  

The Committee is asked to agree to move forward in developing a rollout of the event subject to the comments of the Committee, adjustment in content mentioned above and the Chairman and Vice-Chairman approving final details.      

The Management Committee were asked to comment on the Councillor Development: Scrutiny Skills training event held in October 2013, and to propose any recommendations for amendments to the session prior to the wider rollout.

The opinion of some of the Committee was that the session failed to address key training skills for scrutiny. The Committee agreed that for future events to be successful, greater focus would need to be placed on applied skills. Barry Pirie (Associate Director of People and Business Services) commented that the Council would be better placed to source training using in house expertise from the learning and development team.

Resolved:

To review the current training programme based on the comments received, and to make the necessary amendments before rolling out.

The Committee is asked to note the following updates:

Financial Planning Task Group – A report establishing this task group was agreed at the last meeting of the Management Committee. Its first meeting is scheduled for 29 October. An oral update will be given.

Area Boards Task Group – The Management Committee agreed to establish this task group on invitation by the Executive at the last meeting. The Chairman and Vice-Chairman are currently consulting on potential membership. Once resolved then a first meeting will be arranged as soon as possible.   

Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Task Group – The Management Committee agreed to establish a task group to consider the arrangements necessary for a joint scrutiny of the LEP to be undertaken with Swindon Borough Council.  Advice on governance is currently being sought.  

An update from the following task groups was made:

Financial Planning Task Group:

The Committee noted that monitoring procedures had now been more closely aligned with the financial plan, and another session would be held in November to finalise these arrangements. The Committee discussed how to engage members with the Financial Planning process, as the previous briefing session run by the Director of Finance held on 21 October 2013 was attended by only nine Councillors.

The Committee agreed that members could better engage with the process, stating that a lack of knowledge of task group accessibility and of financial reporting as potential reasons for limited member engagement.

Area Boards Task Group

The Committee noted that the Area Board Task Group was in the process of appointing members from a wide geographic area. There had been some opposition to the way appointments had been made. The Committee agreed that the opportunity for members to sit on the Task Group (and other activities) should be made available to all members.

Local Enterprise Partnership Task Group

The Committee noted that guidance on the Joint Scrutiny of the LEP had not been forthcoming, and requested that more rapid progress be made.

Resolved:

To note the updates from Task Groups.

Following consideration of the Officers Report, the Chairman invited each of the Select Committees to comment on their own work plans.

The Committee expressed concern at the capacity to manage the burgeoning workplan of each of the Select Committees. A review of the work plan priorities was discussed by the Committee, with particular concern expressed over the engagement of members with some task groups. The circulation of the work programme to all Councillors was suggested, with the possibility of a scrutiny newsletter to keep members informed of the work programme also suggested.

Resolved:

1)    To note the positive work undertaken to date in developing the work programme.

2)    To agree the first draft single overview and scrutiny work programme appended to this report.

3)    To note that it will continue to be informed through ongoing dialogue with the Executive linked to priorities in the Business Plan and other discussions.

4)    To receive an update on progress with activities and to review the content of the work programme at each future meeting.

5)    To note the possible need to prioritise activities in order to best utilise the resources available to each of the Select Committees.

Any other items of business which the Chairman agrees to consider as a matter of urgency.

There were no Urgent Items.

To note that the next meeting of the Committee is due to be held on Tuesday 14 January 2014 at a venue to be advised.

The date of the next meeting was noted as being 14 January 2014.

POST MEETING NOTE:

The date of the next Management Committee was confirmed as being held on the 7 January 2014.