Agenda and minutes

To elect a Chairman of the Select Committee for 2010/2011.

Nominations will be sought orally from those present at the meeting.  Voting will be by way of a show of hands.

Cllr Jeff Osborn was elected Chairman of the Committee.

To elect a Vice-Chairman of the Select Committee for 2010/2011.

Nominations will be sought orally from those present at the meeting.  Voting will be by way of a show of hands.

Cllr Tony Deane was elected Vice Chairman of the Committee.

Apologies were received from Cllr Christopher Devine.

To approve as a correct record and sign the minutes of the last meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Organisation and Resources Select Committee held on 25 March 2010.

The minutes of the previous meeting were approved and signed as a correct record.

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

No declarations of interest were received.

The Chairman thanked the Committee for electing him as Chairman.

The Council welcomes contributions from members of the public.

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.  The Chairman will, however, exercise his discretion in order to ensure that members of the public have the opportunity to contribute.

Members of the public wishing to ask a question should give written notice (including details of any question) to the officer named above by 12:00 noon on Tuesday 25 May 2010.

There was no public participation.

A report by the Service Director for Communities, Libraries, Heritage and Arts is attached providing details of the new proposed funding framework for the voluntary and community sector.  The report was submitted to Cabinet on 24 May 2010 where endorsement of the proposed framework was requested for implementation in April 2011.

The Committee is asked to review the report and comment as appropriate.

Councillor John Thomson, Deputy Leader & Cabinet Member for Adult Care, Communities and Libraries will be in attendance to respond to questions from the Committee.

A report by the Service Director for Communities, Libraries, Heritage and Arts was presented to the Committee and provided details of the new proposed funding framework for the voluntary and community sector.

Clarification was provided that the framework was at an early stage with a fuller report expected later in the year.  During the first year of Unitary it was agreed that funding levels would remain static for voluntary organisation. The framework was now being looked at with regards to funding thereafter.

Currently £25m was spent with the voluntary community sector which excluded the likes of the Order of St John.

Cllr John Thomson, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Adult Care, Communities and Libraries and Sandie Lewis, Head of Strategy VCS Support Unit, attended the meeting to provide further background and to answer any questions arising from the report.

Clarification was provided that the focus of the report was on the proposed framework for the allocation of Council funding to the voluntary and community sector and not the budget although additional information had been requested that the funding allocation should be shown in the form of a pie chart.  This was duly circulated to the Committee with an understanding that, as the figures related to the financial year 2009/10, not all the information was readily available at the time of circulation.

Ensuing discussion took place relating to the allocation of funding with specific note made to Area Boards and the VCS Support Unit.  Further information was also requested on ‘Buy Wiltshire’.

The ‘Buy Wiltshire’ service was hosted and part-funded by the Council and included all service based contracts to provide transparency and to encourage local businesses to pre-register for available contracts.  The site was promoted by the Council to ensure the voluntary sector was best placed to apply for contracts than at present. 

Following a request by members of the Committee, the Service Director for Resources confirmed that details would be provided on the number of successful quotes made through ‘Buy Wiltshire’ as outlined in the Procurement Strategy.

Clarification was provided that grants up to a maximum of £5k could be applied for through the Area Boards but that this was a separate revenue stream to the grants available through the VCS Support Unit.

The proposed framework encouraged joint up working with the voluntary sector and would provide clarity with one department monitoring funding across the County.  The Area Boards were also being encouraged to publicise the grants available through the community area board schemes.

Work also continued with local businesses and the Chamber of Commerce to encourage collaborative working across organisations to maximise available funding.  Ideas discussed regarding collaborative working included the potential for specialist service providers combining resources such as administrative support and office accommodation.

The VCS Support Unit was discussed further with clarification provided that the Unit was funded through the Communities, Heritage and Arts division of the Council.  Staff had been seconded from the voluntary sector with a small set of staff from within  ...  view the full minutes text for item 65.

The Committee considered a report in November 2009 by the Head of Customer Access on the Delivering Customer Focus Programme.

A resolution from the meeting was to receive a further update on the programme at the Committee’s meeting in May 2010. 

A report by the Head of Customer Access is attached which provides details of the progress made in order that the organisation is able to deliver improved services to customers across the organisation.

The Committee is asked to consider the report and comment as appropriate.

The Committee considered a report on the Delivering Customer Focus Programme in November 2009.  An ensuing resolution from the meeting was to receive a further update on the programme in May 2010. 

An update report by the Head of Customer Access was duly presented to the Committee which provided details of the progress made to enable the organisation to deliver improved services to customers.

Cllr Alison Bucknell - Portfolio Holder for Customer Care, Jacqui White - Director of Shared Services and Customer Care and John Rogers – Head of Customer Access attended the meeting to answer any questions arising from the report.

Clarification was provided that Cabinet had approved the programme in January 2010 and was expected to receive a further update shortly.  The Head of Customer Access confirmed that the Committee would be provided with confirmation of the submission date once known.

Ensuing discussion included the need for the implementation of a joint safety, enforcement and treatment service contact number provided 24 hours a day by 2012.  Discussions were taking place to ensure this was achieved.

The location of the 20 local contact points within community areas had yet to be decided but would be discussed prior to implementation with those living in the local areas to ensure the best location for the community was achieved.  Where possible the location of contact points would remain within existing Council offices.  The information received through the Council’s centralised telephone number was also being reviewed to ensure a consistent approach to service provision.

The technology used to deliver ‘virtual face to face’ contact points was still under development although clarification was made that the technology used would provide assistance in reaching the correct member of staff only and would not replace the ability to converse with a member of staff. 

The out of hours telephone service specifically in relation to reported planning infrigements was discussed as an area of confusion for customers.  Acknowledgement was made that the current service provision allowed for customers to connect with designated duty officers.  The concerns of the Committee were noted by the Head of Customer Access and Portfolio Holder for Customer Care.

Members of the Committee acknowledged the customer contact figures provided were in relation to calls and e-mails received through Customer Services and that there was potential for these to increase as broadband access improved. 

Resolved:

1)                 To note the report and thank the officers and portfolio holder for their contribution.

2)                 To support progress made on the Delivering Customer Focus Programme subject to the comments made.

3)                 To receive a copy of the six month progress report submitted to Cabinet when available.

4)                 That the Committee supports the attendance of a Committee member to sit on the Customer Access Board and that nominations for attendance will be sought following the meeting.

A report by the Service Director Shared Services and Customer Services was presented to the Committee in January 2010 which informed the Committee of the development issues and work plan for business improvement necessary to ensure the organisation uses SAP effectively to extract maximum performance and cost benefit from the solution. 

It was resolved at the meeting that the Committee would receive a further update report in May 2010 which should include KPI measurements and progress against the work plan.  It was also agreed that the report would provide an introduction to the HR and Procurement aspects of SAP.

A report by Jacqui White, Service Director, Shared Services and Customer Services, is now attached.

The Committee is asked to consider the report and comment as appropriate.

The Committee received a report in January 2010 which informed Councillors of the development issues and work plan for business improvements needed to ensure the organisation used SAP effectively to achieve maximum performance.

It was resolved that the Committee would receive a further update in May which should include KPI measurements and progress made against the work plan.  The Committee also requested that the report provided an introduction to the HR and Procurement aspects of SAP.

The Service Director for Shared Services and Customer Services attended the meeting to present the report and answer any questions arising.

Discussion commenced with clarification that restructuring of the Shared Services team was being undertaken.  As a result of the restructure it was agreed that a report to include an introduction to the HR and Procurement aspects of SAP would now be submitted to the Committee in the Autumn.

The impact of the restructure included that the payroll and lifecycle teams were being amalgamated under one department and that harmonisation of job grades was taking place.  2 Officers from the Shared Services team were now embedded within Procurement.

Ensuing discussion included that targets were set within individual indicators.  For example invoice payments were measured both in terms of contractual requirements as well as an overriding target to make payment within 10 days where possible.  Members requested that target information was in future clearly included within the report.

Work was also being conducted with the Corporate Procurement Unit to reduce the number of paper transactions as a significant proportion were still received on paper. 

The decision to centralise Property under one resource allowed for a stronger negotiation point for the Council.  A single SAP code for Property would assist in the process.  The Shared Service team also continued to help staff with any SAP queries.

Resolved:

1)                 To thank officers for the report.

2)                 To note the progress made and plans in place within the Shared Services Team subject to the comments made.

3)                  To receive an updated report on the Shared Services Team developments, including the HR and Procurement aspects of SAP in September 2010.

The Committee considered a report by the Director Human Resources and Organisational Development at it’s meeting in November 2009.  The report provided a brief on the scope and outline plan for the harmonisation of terms and conditions of staff employment and was submitted to Cabinet at its meeting on 24 November 2009.

Resolution was made at the Committee to request an update report following completion of negotiations with unions and once the collective Agreement had been drafted. The report estimated the best minimum timescale for completion as February 2010 - May 2010.

An update report by the Director, Human Resources and Organisational Development is now attached.  The Committee is asked to consider its contents and comment as appropriate.

The Committee considered a report in November 2009 which provided details of the scope and outline plans for harmonisation of staff terms and conditions.  Resolution was made at the meeting to request an update report following completion of negotiations with unions and once the collective agreement had been drafted.  The timescale anticipated was between February and May 2010.  As a result the Committee requested an update report was provided at its meeting in May 2010.

The Service Director, Human Resources and Organisational Development and Tricia Glover, HR Project Manager, attended the meeting to present the update report and answer any questions arising. 

Upon presentation, clarification was made that negotiations continued and that the Pay Harmonisation project awaited the recommendations of the Business Travel strand of the Workplace Transformation project which was anticipated in June 2010.  An additional 5,000 school staff was now required for inclusion within existing negotiations and was anticipated to delay completion of union negotiations until at least August 2010 following an anticipated submission to Cabinet in July.

Resolved:

1)                 To thank officers for the report.

2)                 To note the update provided and request that the Cabinet member note the concerns of the Committee over the delay and continuing uncertainty for staff.

3)                 To receive an update report following completion of negotiations and once the collective agreement had been drafted in August 2010.

A meeting with the Chairman and Vice Chairman and the Service Director for ICT and Business Transformation took place on 10 May 2010.

The purpose of the meeting was to consider how best to scrutinise the wind down of the current contract and the development of structures for the new in-house service.

An update on ICT provision was also provided by the Cabinet Member for Resources at the Full Council meeting where it was clarified that work is underway to design the in-house ICT provision and an exit plan for the Steria contract is currently being agreed. A report on the ICT Programme will also be submitted to Cabinet in June.

The Committee is invited to consider the engagement of scrutiny in this process and the option of setting up a Task Group.

The Committee was asked to note that a meeting had taken place between the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Committee and the Service Director for ICT and Business Transformation to consider how the Committee could best scrutinise the wind down of the existing contract with Steria and development plans for the new in-house service.

The Cabinet Member for Resources reported at Full Council that work was underway to design the in-house ICT provision and develop an exit plan for the Steria contract and that an ICT transition programme paper was due to be considered by Cabinet in June.

The Cabinet Member for Resources and Service Director for ICT and Business Transformation were in attendance to answer any questions arising from the updated and provided the following additional information.

The in-house provision under review related primarily to desk-top maintenance which, under an in-house service, was not anticipated as causing an impact.  Application support relating to maintenance and system support was already provided in-house.

Discussion ensued on the benefits of establishing a Task Group to provide scrutiny of the service provision and to provide an input into policy development of the service.

Cllr Jon Hubbard and Cllr Nigel Carter expressed their interest in becoming members of the Task Group.

Resolved:

1)                 To establish a Task Group to scrutinise the wind down of the Steria contract and the development of structures for the new in house ICT service.

2)                 To seek a further 3 or 4 members in addition to Cllr Jon Hubbard and Cllr Nigel Carter to participate in the Task Group.

The Committee is asked to note the Task Group updates provided and comment as appropriate.

The Committee was asked to note the updates on the standing task groups and additional information provided as follows:

Partnerships:

Ongoing work continued with the Community Safety Partnership.  Cllr Roy While, as Chairman of the Task Group, would be requested to provide an update for the next meeting.

Budget & Performance:

A meeting was held on 30 April 2010 where discussion included how the information provided within the profile budgets could be best used taking into account the date of which it was compiled.

The Corporate Director also confirmed that a letter had been received from KPMG which advised that the Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) had been suspended under the new coalition government.

Major Contracts:

Attention was drawn to the announcement that Jarvis had gone into administration and the need for Corporate Procurement to continue with due diligence work to monitor the situation. 

As the Task Group had completed its first full year cycle a report providing a complete review of the work of the Group would be submitted in the Autumn.

The Committee endorsed the request for a sixth councillor to join the Group to ensure effective scrutiny continued.

Resolved:

1)                 That a sixth Councillor would be added to the membership of the Task Group.

2)                 That the existing membership would continue to review major contracts of significance to the authority.

Workplace Transformation:

The Workplace Transformation team were reviewing the PFI contract with Jarvis to establish the most suitable position for the Council.

Following discussion amongst members of the Task Group the terms of reference had been amended to provide clarity on the role of scrutiny. 

Resolved:

To endorse the revised Terms of Reference as provided:

“To scrutinise the delivery of the Workplace Transformation Programme, ensuring it achieves the efficiencies and savings in the running cost of the Council’s offices whilst enabling business transformation to improve provision of services to customers”.

As the Committee is aware, the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Scrutiny

Manager have been meeting with the Resources services directors on an individual basis in order to get a better understanding of the way in which the services are delivered and funded, and the priorities, developments and pressures that exist.

Previously meetings have been held with Deborah Farrow (Business Transformation, ICT and Information Management), Barry Pirrie (HR and Organisational Development), Jacqui White (Shared Services and Customer Care) and Ian Gibbons (Legal and Democratic Services). The outcome of these were previously reported to the Committee and where appropriate topics added to the work programme.

A similar meeting was held with Laurie Bell (Service Director Policy, Research and Communications) and Sharon Britton (Service Director for Performance) on 14 April.

Whilst the Policy, Communications and Research Department sits separately from the Department of Resources  the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the departments corporate responsibilities and also the relationship between Policy and Performance and how these merge in supporting service improvement and cultural change throughout the organisation.

The following topics were covered during discussion:

• Comprehensive Area Assessment – engaging with the Audit Commission throughout the Organisation and Area Assessment Process.

• The cycle of performance reporting to Cabinet, Budget & Performance Task Group, Wiltshire Family of Partnerships and the Corporate Leadership Team (CLT).

• Exception reporting process

• The role of the Corporate Risk Management Group and Performance Leadership Group

• Action Plans – how these are developed within departments and the role of the Performance Team in monitoring their implementation and providing support.

• The membership and remit of the Corporate Working Group  to develop the Corporate Plan

• The working relationship between:

-          Benefits Realisation Officer and the Finance Team

-          Programme Office and Business Transformation

• The 17 Major Programmes currently being co-ordinated by the Policy, Communications and Research Team.

• Importance of an effective Communication Strategy -success of major programmes underpinned by successful communication (with customers, staff and members)

• The re-structure of the Policy, Communications and Research team which is currently underway.

• Communications support for Overview & Scrutiny and opportunities to promote and increase awareness of scrutiny activity.

At the end of the discussion the Chairman and Vice-Chairman asked for a list of the 17 Major corporate programmes being co-ordinated by the Policy and Communications Team including brief descriptions and timescales for their delivery.

The Chairman and Vice-Chairman now plan to meet with Martin Donovan in respect of the Finance and Procurement and will report on the outcome to the next meeting of the Committee.

In addition to the information contained in the Agenda clarification was provided that task groups had now been established as a result of discussions with the Service Directors of Resources and that most of the 17 Major Corporate Programmes were likely to be covered by scrutiny through its various select committees.

The Chairman, Vice Chairman and Scrutiny Manager were due to meet with Martin Donovan in respect of Finance and Procurement and would report the outcome to the next meeting.

A copy of the draft Forward Work Programme is attached for consideration.

The draft Programme was considered by the Committee with the following additions:

ICT Task Group

Procurement Strategy

Agency and Temporary Staff Board

15 July 2010.

15 July 2010.