Agenda item

i)          Local Area Agreement/Partnerships – Final Report

Membership:Cllr Roy While (Chairman)

                        Cllr Jonathan Seed

                        Cllr Chris Caswill

                        Cllr Desna Allen

                        Cllr Jane Burton

The final report of the Local Area Agreement – Partnerships Task Group is attached.

The Committee is asked to endorse the findings and recommendations of the Task Group as set out in the report.

ii)         Local Service Review

Membership:Cllr Desna Allen (Chairman)

                        Cllr Roy While

                        Cllr Bill Roberts

                        Cllr Bill Douglas

                        Cllr Howard Marshall

The Task Group last met on 2 December to consider a draft area board review proposal which outlined how the review will be implemented, including the scope, a draft timetable and the proposed methodology.

The Head of Community Governance also provided the Task Group with key lines of investigation for the review which focused on the areas of area board operation which require refinement and which would form the basis of consultation throughout the review.

The work previously done by the Task Group in respect of councillor call for action and the operational relationship between scrutiny and the area boards was circulated to the Select Committee members after the last meeting.  The Task Group will consider the draft review report on 2 March ahead of Cabinet on 23 March.

iii)        Budget & Performance

Membership:Cllr Tony Deane (Chairman)

                        Cllr Jeff Osborn

                        Cllr Mollie Groom

                        Cllr Rosemary Brown

                        Cllr Carole Soden

                        Cllr Jon Hubbard

                        Cllr Mike Hewitt

                        Cllr Pip Ridout

At the last meeting held on December 22 the Task Group considered the Comprehensive Area Assessment Results. The Service Director for Performance and Risk outlined the areas where further work or information is required as identified by the CAA inspectorates. The Task Group agreed to make recommendations to the relevant Select Committees to address the areas identified within their own work programmes. The Budget Monitoring updates (Capital and Revenue Budget Monitoring Reports covering data up to the end of October 2009) were also considered along with an interim report on the Treasury Management Strategy.

The Task Group also received updates on the first round of Fact Finding Meetings and on the SAP Health check report. The Task Group was informed that the SAP report would be made available for its next meeting on 9 February.

A valuable visit was undertaken by the Task Group to SST on 27 November where they received a demonstration of SAP.  A special joint scrutiny committee will be held 16 February to scrutinise the cabinet’s proposals for the 2010/11 budget in advance of Full Council.

iv)        Major Contracts

Membership:Cllr Richard Britton (Chairman)

                        Cllr Ricky Rogers

                        Cllr Nigel Carter

                        Cllr Judy Rooke

                        Cllr Roy While

The Task Group met on 12 January to review the Energy Contract. Councillors were satisfied with the current arrangements and potential plans for the future in light of the work of the Workplace Transformation project. The meeting highlighted that more information was felt to be needed by Scrutiny on energy efficiencies and carbon footprint strategies for the authority. This will be passed to the relevant select committee to consider.  

Consideration was given to the forward work plan and the Task Group concluded not to review the Steria contract since the revised contract only commenced in April 2009 and would shortly be retendered. An update will come to the Councillors in six months and report on progress towards this new provision. The Task Group discussed the incorporation of past District Council contracts into the forward work plan and were reassured that the Scrutiny Officer is working with the Procurement Team to compile the necessary information.

v)         Workplace Transformation Programme

Membership:Cllr Philip Brown (Chairman)

                        Cllr Nigel Carter

                        Cllr Charles Howard

                        Cllr Judy Rooke

                        Cllr Jonathan Seed

                        Cllr Jeff Osborn

The Task Group had its second meeting on 11 January and received a presentation on the redevelopment of Bourne Hill and the rationalisation of offices in Salisbury.

The Service Director for ICT and Business Transformation also attended the meeting to address the Group on the ICT budget and the ICT and telephony transformation requirements to support flexible and sustainable home and mobile working.

The Task Group will undertake a site visit to Bourne Hill in February and the Workplace Transformation Programme Director wishes to extend this invitation to all members. An email will be sent out confirming the arrangements of this visit in due course.

Updates on standing task groups were provided as follows:

i)          Local Area Agreement/Partnerships

Cllr Roy While as Chairman of the Task Group presented it’s final report for endorsement by the Committee.

The Chairman confirmed that pre Unitary a standing ‘Performance Task Group’ existed to look at local and national indicators but it did not consider  Local Area Agreements in depth.

The Community Safety Partnership was chosen for more detailed consideration by the Task Group to gain an understanding on the specifics of partnership working.  The focus was to ensure the right priorities were adopted, appropriate targets set and that the system worked and delivered. 

The Group felt the most appropriate line of approach for the immediate future would be to adopt a standing ‘partnerships’ task group under this Committee but would work across all Select committees.

Ensuing discussion included the need to understand key pinch points as the Committee would not be able to scrutinise all National Indicators set; the importance of understanding LAAs; how area boards were involved with LAAs; the impact of new legislation which included local authorities being given a role in leading and coordinating services within their area.

The Committee felt it was important for continuity that as many of the existing members of the Group as possible should remain on the future Partnerships Task Group.  Cllr While and Cllr Caswill confirmed they would be happy to do so and it was further proposed to extend the membership in order to deal with the increased workload if undertaken well.

Resolved:

(1)       To thank the Task Group members for their work and endorse the findings and recommendations in the final report.

(2)               To create a standing ‘Partnerships’ Task Group falling within the remit of this Committee to undertake scrutiny reviews on cross cutting issues in relation to the LAA and partnership scrutiny (for example NI 8 Adult participation in sport) and also carry out a co-ordinating role involving referrals to relevant Select Committees to undertake further scrutiny where necessary.

ii)         Local Service Review

Cllr Roberts addressed the Committee and confirmed that the Executive would be reviewing the Area Boards lead by Cllr John Thomson and Cllr Chris Williams.  A survey would be sent to key stakeholders, the task group and the standards committee, the findings of which would be submitted to the Task Group on 2 March and Cabinet on 23 March.  This evaluation process was now anticipated to take place between 1 and 16 February.

Ensuing discussion included that the Task Group would need to adjust it’s terms of reference to account for its involvement in the area boards review; concerns over the speed in which the review was being conducted and the importance that all councillors had the opportunity to contribute to the survey; how the delayed issue of the Area Board handbook may have caused difficulty to their operation and how the Constitution Focus Group may help to improve Area Boards as a whole.

In conclusion, the Chairman requested the attendance of the Cabinet Member responsible for Area Boards at the next Committee meeting in March to answer any questions arising from the consultation process.

iii)        Budget & Performance

The Chairman confirmed there was little to add in addition to the information previously provided within the Agenda other than clarification received that profile budget reports and a balanced budget were expected by year end.

iv)        Major Contracts

The Scrutiny Officer reported on the outcome of the meeting on 12 January.  Clarification was received by the Head of Procurement and Contract Management that a revised contracts register incorporating previous district council contracts would be available for the next Committee meeting in March.  It was also confirmed that Scrutiny would be invited to appoint a representative to serve on the Project Board for the new ICT contract at the appropriate time.

v)         Workplace Transformation Programme

In addition to the information provided in the Agenda, clarification was given that Area Boards would be informed of the disposal of surplus building assets to ensure that local communities were advised at as early a stage as possible.