BABERGH DISTRICT COUNCIL
OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY (COMMUNITY SERVICES) COMMITTEE
MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY (COMMUNITY SERVICES) COMMITTEE HELD IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER, COUNCIL OFFICES, CORKS LANE, HADLEIGH ON TUESDAY, 4 DECEMBER 2007
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PRESENT: Mr J A B Long – Chairman
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Mrs S P Clarke
Mr B D Hurren
Mrs M O Munson
Mr M Newman |
Mr A F B W Osborne
Mr J R A Sayers
Mr D L Wood |
Mr B Riley was unable to be present.
Mr D L Wood declared a personal interest in the item referred to in Minute No 56 below by virtue of the fact that he is a member of the Suffolk County Council and the Suffolk Police Authority representative on the Babergh Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership.
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RESOLVED
That the Minutes of the meeting held on 16 October 2007 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.
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None received.
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None received.
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Members had before them reports (Paper G154) from representatives on the Western Suffolk Local Strategic Partnership (WSLSP), the Babergh East Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) and the Haven Gateway Partnership (HGP).
Western Suffolk Local Strategic Partnership
Mr C M Spence, Babergh’s representative on the WSLSP and Mr D Wood, Manager of the WSLSP, presented a report on that Partnership and answered a number of questions from Members.
The following were among the points noted:-
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One of the aims of the report was to demonstrate the benefits which Sudbury and the West of Babergh were gaining from the WSLSP. Members recognised that Babergh residents also benefited indirectly through work carried out with bodies such as the Primary Care Trust and the West Suffolk College. However, they called for greater efforts to encourage organisations in Babergh to become involved with WSLSP initiatives.
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An information booklet to provide advice, support and guidance to the public to enable them to access services in the whole of Babergh had now been completed in English, Polish, Portuguese and Russian. It was suggested that consideration might be given to putting this on Babergh’s website.
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The WSLSP was launching a scheme to address fuel poverty among older people, which would be of benefit to residents in both East and West Babergh. It was suggested that the problem of fuel poverty should be discussed as part of the Committee’s consideration of the Corporate Plan.
Babergh East Local Strategic Partnership
Mrs S P Clarke, Babergh’s representative on the Babergh East Local Strategic Partnership and Tim Mutum, Project and Programme Executive, presented a report on that organisation.
The following were among the points noted:-
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The LSP Board had written to Babergh recommending that the Authority should extend the remit of the LSP to cover the whole of the District. In response, the Board had been advised of Babergh’s imminent review of its strategic partnerships and had accepted the offer to feed into that review and be a consultee on the criteria.
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The LSP Board had agreed that the remaining funding available (£42,000) under the Performance Review Grant should be used to support a project in Hadleigh.
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Members were aware of the importance of ensuring that LSP priorities were in accordance with those of the Suffolk Strategic Partnership.
Haven Gateway Partnership
Mr A J Hinton, Babergh’s representative on the Haven Gateway Partnership, presented a report on the work of that organisation. In the ensuing discussion, the following were among the points noted:-
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The HGP’s Framework for Growth sought to protect and exploit the potential of key employment sites, such as the former Sugar Beet Factory at Sproughton Road and the Brantham industrial site.
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The HGP was developing a Green Infrastructure Strategy, and it was recognised that this should be harmonised with the County Council’s “Suffolk the Greenest County” initiative. The aim was to promote growth in the towns of Ipswich, Colchester, Harwich and Felixstowe so as to minimise the impact on greenfield sites. In this respect, it was important to retain the Sugar Beet Factory for employment rather than housing.
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Babergh was currently seeking support from EEDA and HGP with the aim of retaining the Brantham and Wherstead sites as primarily for employment. Officers were asked to keep Members informed on developments.
RESOLVED
That the contents of the reports contained in Paper G154, together with the presentations at the meeting, be noted.
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The Project and Programme Executive presented a report (Paper G155) seeking Members’ agreement to the criteria, methodology and timetable of a review of the Council’s strategic partnerships, as identified in the report.
It was noted that in paragraph 5.5 the following had been omitted in error from the list of partnerships proposed for review in Phase 1:
Western Suffolk Local Strategic Partnership (current BDC Councillor representative – Mr C M Spence).
It was noted that the criteria for the review had been shared with Babergh East LSP and they had agreed with the proposals outlined in the report.
RESOLVED
That the criteria, methodology and timetable of a review of the Council’s strategic partnerships as set out in paragraphs 5.5 to 5.14 of Paper G155 be approved.
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The Head of Finance and the Head of Corporate Services submitted a joint report (Paper G156), providing an integrated picture of the significant issues relating to finance and performance management in the current year up to 30 September 2007.
It was noted that the sixth line of Appendix 1a should refer to BV109c – the percentage of other planning applications determined in eight weeks.
In the ensuing discussion the following were among the points noted:-
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On the General Fund Revenue Budget a net saving/underspend of up to £150,000 could arise. This would depend on the level of increased expenditure on concessionary bus fares and other factors. Based on current information, the new Concessionary Bus Fares Scheme could lead to additional costs of between £160,000 and £310,000. The Strategy Committee at its meeting on 15 November 2007 had supported in principle the retention of a 24/7 concessionary travel scheme in Babergh and across Suffolk. Reducing the hours of service would not have a major impact on reducing costs. Nationally, local authorities were lobbying the government to press for additional funding to support the new scheme.
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On the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) there were strong indications that the additional cost of £100,000 on void properties which arose in 2006/07 would be repeated in 2007/08. This further overspend on void properties would make it difficult to achieve the plan to recover excess costs on the HRA which had occurred in 2006/07. The Housing Panel was considering the position and the outcome would be reported in the next monitoring report to the Overview and Scrutiny (Community Services) Committee.
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Overall, the current position on performance management was very positive with 97% of PI’s in the basket improving. However, two key PI’s were deteriorating as follows:-
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BV109c – the percentage of other planning applications determined in eight weeks.
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BV212 – average time taken to re-let local authority housing.
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Members expressed grave concerns about the poorer performance on other planning applications. It was noted that the Service and Financial Planning Group had been asked to recommend additional staffing resources in this area.
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In relation to the length of time taken to re-let local authority housing, attention was drawn to the fact that currently any expenditure on a void property above a certain level required committee approval. It was agreed that this should be investigated to determine whether the limit should be revised. It was suggested that officers should be given greater powers to authorise expenditure on void properties, but that there should be a mechanism for regular reporting back of action taken under delegated powers.
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BV66a-d relating to rent collection showed a small deterioration in performance. This appeared to be a trend, so further close monitoring was required.
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There were no significant variances that required reporting to the Strategy Committee.
RESOLVED
(1) That the key points relating to variations against the 2007/08 budget, Best Value Performance Indicators (BVPI’s) and Local Performance Indicators (LPI’s) as set out in Paper G156 be noted.
(2) That further investigation take place into the delegation of power to officers to authorise expenditure on void properties.
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The Head of Corporate Services and the Head of Customer Services submitted a joint report (Paper G150) updating Members on progress in understanding why user satisfaction with informal complaints handling was low, and in remedying the situation. It was noted that the User Satisfaction Surveys considered at the Committee’s meeting held on 4 September 2007 had indicated that satisfaction with informal complaints handling was low. These surveys pre-dated the establishment of the new customer services arrangements which had been put in place in the current financial year.
RESOLVED
(1) That the findings of research undertaken to understand Babergh’s low performance on customer satisfaction with complaint handling as set out in Paper G150 be noted.
(2) That the next steps outlined in paragraph 5.7 of Paper G150 to address the issue of customer care and informal complaint handling be approved.
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The Head of Corporate Services submitted a draft Overview and Scrutiny Handbook (Paper G152).
It was noted that a review of the Overview and Scrutiny role at Babergh had been undertaken in 2006. As part of an action plan arising from that review, it had been agreed that a Babergh Overview and Scrutiny Handbook (which could be a guide for Members, Officers and the general public) be developed. Following consultation with various Officers and the Chairmen of the two Overview and Scrutiny Committees, a draft guide had been developed as set out in Paper G152, which Members were requested to adopt.
Members noted that in future the Handbook might need to be amended as a result of the deliberations of the Constitutional Review Task Group. They also noted that at its meeting on 27 November 2007, the Overview and Scrutiny (Stewardship) Committee had adopted the Handbook, subject to the concurrence of the Overview and Scrutiny (Community Services) Committee.
RESOLVED
That the Overview and Scrutiny handbook submitted as Paper G152 be adopted.
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The Head of Corporate Services submitted a report (Paper G157) which provided details of the Committee’s anticipated work for the remainder of 2007/08, including items that may be the subject of call-in procedures.
It was agreed that reports from representatives on the Babergh East LSP, the Western Suffolk LSP and the Haven Gateway Partnership should be deferred to May 2008. It was also noted that a report on the review of strategic partnerships should be added to the Work Plan for the Committee’s meeting scheduled for 25 March 2008.
RESOLVED
That the Work Plan submitted as Paper G157 be noted, subject to the amendments referred to above.
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Note: The Committee adjourned for refreshments between 11.20 a.m. and11.25 a.m.
The business of the meeting was concluded at 1.10 p.m.
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