| Time: | 7.30pm | Place: | Council Chamber, Council Offices, Gernon Road, Letchworth Garden City |
| PRESENT: | Councillor R.L. Shakespeare - Smith (Chairman), Councillor Cathryn Henry (Vice-Chairman), Councillor Bill Davidson, Councillor Jean Green, Councillor John Harris, Councillor Steve Hemingway, Councillor David Kearns, Councillor Ben Lewis, Councillor Gerald Morris and Councillor Deborah Segalini. |
| IN ATTENDANCE: | Councillor Bernard Lovewell (Portfolio Holder for Housing and Environmental Health), Katie White, (Corporate Legal Manager), Fiona Timms (Performance and Risk Manager), Johanne Dufficy (Customer Services Manager), Brendan Sullivan (Scrutiny Officer) and Hilary Dineen (Committee and Member Services Officer). |
| ALSO PRESENT: | |
| Meeting attachment |
Agenda |
| Item | Description/Resolution | Status | Action | |
| PART I | ||||
| 1 |
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Frank Radcliffe and Mike Rice. |
Noted | ||
| 2 |
MINUTES Minutes RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the Meeting held on 18 March 2014 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chairman. |
Agreed | ||
| 3 |
NOTIFICATION OF OTHER BUSINESS No other business was submitted for consideration by the Committee. |
Noted | ||
| 4 |
CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS (1) The Chairman congratulated those who had been successful in the recent election; (2) The Chairman welcomed the new Members of the Committee; (3) The Chairman informed Members that he would be taking Item 14 - Comments, Compliments and Complaints (3Cs) Full Year Update - 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014 immediately prior to Item 10 - Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act Update; (4) Members were reminded that any declarations of interest in respect of any business set out in the agenda, should be declared as either a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest or Declarable Interest and are required to notify the Chairman of the nature of any interest declared at the commencement of the relevant item on the agenda. Members declaring a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest must withdraw from the meeting for the duration of the item. Members declaring a Declarable Interest which requires they leave the room under Paragraph 7.4 of the Code of Conduct, can speak on the item, but must leave the room before the debate and vote. |
Noted | ||
| 5 |
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION There were no presentations from members of the public. |
Noted | ||
| 6 |
URGENT/GENERAL EXCEPTION ITEMS No urgent or general exception items were received. |
Noted | ||
| 7 |
CALLED IN ITEMS Since the last meeting, no decisions had been called-in by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. |
Noted | ||
| 8 |
MEMBERS' QUESTIONS No questions had been submitted. |
Noted | ||
| 9 |
RESOLUTIONS OF THE OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE Resolutions Report The Scrutiny Officer presented the report entitled Resolutions of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and drew attention to the following: MINUTE 11 - JUNE 2013 - SAFEGUARDING Training sessions regarding Safeguarding would be offered in October 2014. MINUTE 41 - SEPTEMBER 2013 - HEALTHWATCH HERTFORDSHIRE Information requested by the Committee had now been received and circulated to Members by the Committee and Member services Officer on 8 May 2014. MINUTE 63 - DECEMBER 2013 - HIGHWAYS TASK AND FINISH GROUP REPORT The Senior Management Team did not support recommendation 6 of the report, but the other recommendations could now be taken forward. MINUTE 90 - TASK AND FINISH GROUP ON THE COUNCIL'S WEBSITE AND CITRIX CONNECTION An update regarding this Task and Finish Group would be presented to the meeting of this Committee due to be held on 9 December 2014. RESOLVED: That the actions resulting from the resolutions of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee be noted. REASON FOR DECISION: To enable the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to review and monitor the progress of resolutions made. |
Agreed | ||
| 10 |
REGULATION OF INVESTIGATORY POWERS ACT UPDATE Report The Corporate Legal Manager presented the report entitled Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act Update. She advised that there had been no use of RIPA since the last report to this Committee and drew attention to Paragraph 8.3 of the report regarding training. Some Members had attended the training session provided on 29 April 2014, although feedback had suggested that this had provided more detail than Members required. The next training session would take place on 27 June 2014 and would a "bitesize" overview specifically for Members. The Chairman advised that he had attended training and found it useful and recommended that all Members attend future training opportunities. RESOLVED: That the content of the report entitled Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act Update be noted. REASON FOR DECISION: To comply with best practice guidance and the Committee's terms of reference. |
Agreed | ||
| 11 |
PERFORMANCE INDICATOR MONITORING REPORT - APRIL 2013 TO MARCH 2014 Performance Indicator Data The Performance and Risk Manager presented the Performance Indicator information for the period April 2013 to March 2014. She reminded Members that the information contained in the report had been generated from Covalent and asked that any Member wishing to learn more about this system contact her for a demonstration. She drew attention to the following: BV8 - PERCENTAGE OF INVOICES PAID ON TIME The Performance and Risk Manager advised that this target had been missed by 26 invoices, however overall NHDC paid suppliers efficiently. BV9 - PERCENTAGE OF COUNCIL TAX COLLECTED IN A YEAR The Performance and Risk Manager advised that the figure for April/May 2014 showed a small decrease in the amount collected when compared to the same period in the previous year, this may be due in part to people electing to pay their Council Tax over 12 months instead of 10 and that future rates of collection would be monitored closely. There was some discussion about the effect that the Social Sector Size Criteria may or may not be having on the collection of Council Tax. Members asked that the Performance and Risk Manager circulate the following information to members of the Committee: (i) BV9 - The amount of reduction of Council Tax collected in cash terms; (ii) The number of Housing Benefit claimants that have been subject to the Social Sector Size Criteria. BV12 - WORKING DAYS LOST DUE TO SICKNESS ABSENCE Members queried how the figures in this section compared with other organisations. The Performance and Risk Manager advised NHDC figures on sickness absence were good compared to other organisations. NI191 - KG RESIDUAL WASTE PER HOUSEHOLD & NI192 - PERCENTAGE OF HOUSEHOLD WASTE SENT FOR REUSE, RECYCLING AND COMPOSTING This was a very significant reduction in the residual waste per household of 92 kg per household and the percentage of household waste sent for reuse, recycling and composting had improved by almost 10 percent. These figures demonstrated the success of the kerbside collection service introduced in 2013/14. RESOLVED: (1) That the content of the report entitled Performance Indicator Monitoring - April 2013 to March 2014 be noted; (2) That the Performance and Risk Manager be requested to circulate the following information to all Members of this Committee: (iii) BV9 - The amount of reduction of Council Tax collected in cash terms; (iv) The number of Housing Benefit claimants that have been subject to the Social Sector Size Criteria. REASON FOR DECISION: To enable the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to consider Performance Indicator Monitoring. |
Agreed | ||
| 12 |
YEAR END MONITORING REPORT ON PROJECTS IN THE PRIORITIES FOR THE DISTRICT 2013/14 Report The Performance and Risk Manager presented the report of the Head if Finance, Performance and Asset Management entitled Year End Monitoring Report on Projects in the Priorities for the District 2013/14. She reminded Members that the report identified projects in the Priorities for the District and the progress made on them and that there had been a mid-term review of these projects in December 2013. RESOLVED: That delivery against key projects stated in the Priorities for the District 2013/14 be noted. REASON FOR DECISION: To enable the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to consider and comment on the achievements against the Priorities for the District 2013/14. |
Agreed | ||
| 13 |
CORPORATE BUSINESS PLANNING TIMETABLE 2015/16 Report The Performance and Risk Manager presented the report of the Strategic Director of Finance, Policy and Governance entitled Corporate Business Planning Timetable 2015/16. She informed Members that, on 5 September 2013 Council adopted the following high level priorities for the five year period ending 31 March 2019: - Promoting Sustainable Growth; - Working with our Communities; - Living within our Means. The key dates in the Corporate Business Planning Timetable tended to remain constant year on year and therefore it was proposed that, following agreement to the recommendation in this report, there would be no further need for annual agreement to the timetable. Should a significant and permanent change to the annual timetable be required an appropriate report would be brought to Cabinet, The Performance and Risk Manager drew attention to Paragraph 8 of the report which detailed the key dates in the Corporate Business Planning Timetable. RECOMMENDED TO CABINET: (1) That the Corporate Business Planning Process Timetable be approved; (2) That any significant variations that may be required to the annual timetable be reported to Cabinet as necessary. REASON FOR DECISION: to enable the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to consider the Corporate Business Planning Timetable for 2015/16. |
Agreed | ||
| 14 |
COMMENTS, COMPLIMENTS AND COMPLAINTS (3CS) FULL YEAR UPDATE - 1 APRIL 2013 TO 31 MARCH 2014 Report Appendix A Appendix B The Customer Services Manager introduced the report of the Strategic Director of Customer Services entitled Comments, Compliments and Complaints (3Cs) Full Year Update - 1 April 2013 to March 2014. She informed Members that the purpose of the report was provide a summary of 3Cs received by NHDC and its contractors. There had been 772,000 contacts during the report period and the report showed that the number of 3Cs had increased overall and when broken down the number of complaints had increased and compliments had decreased following the temporary closure of the museum service. The Customer Services Manager drew attention to Paragraph 8.3 which showed a breakdown of 3Cs by directorate and by service area. Paragraph 8.8 gave a monthly breakdown of complaints, which demonstrated increased complaints in July and August which coincided with the changes to the waste and recycling service, a seasonal increase in January and again in March, some of which would have been related to the withdrawal of caddy liners. Paragraph 8.11 showed three years of comparative volumes of complaints about the waste service and illustrated that the number of complaints increased at times of service disruption such as Bank Holidays and the significant increase in January 2013 followed suspension of services due to inclement weather. During changes to the waste service during the summer of 2013 figures were closely monitored with a weekly MIS to members and the Customer services team worked closely with the Waste Management Team and Veolia in order to respond to any operational matters that arose. The Customer Services Manager advised that 71 percent of complaints had been responded to, in full, within 10 working days, in cases where a full response could not be provided within this timescale, complainants were kept informed of the progress of their complaint. Due to improved classification of both complaints and their resolution justified complaints had increased to 30 percent. She informed Members that a new Customer Relationship Management System (CRM) had been installed and would be fully operational shortly. This system included timed reminders and automatic escalation of complaints if no action taken. It would also enable some additional useful information to be captured in relation to complaints. The Portfolio Holder for Housing and Environmental Health remarked on the tremendous number of contacts dealt with over the twelve month period. He acknowledged that the percentage of complaints responded to within 10 working days needed to increase and the new Customer Relations Management System would support Officers in this aim. Members asked several questions including how complaints and compliments made through social media were dealt with. The figure of 30 percent justified complaints concerned Members and they queried whether this would reduce over time and whether breakdown figures could be provided. They asked for some clarification regarding complaints which were found to be justified for which NHDC made some reparation. The Customer Services Manager informed Members that social media was monitored by the CSC team for Waste and also by the Communications Team and should any comment suggest contact was needed, the customer would be asked to contact the Customer Service Centre directly. In respect of justified complaints the current figure was more realistic than those previously reported and the figures would continue to be monitored, a breakdown figure of this category linking to the three complaint definitions could not be provided at present, however the new Customer Relations Management System would be capable of providing this level of detail. In relation to the one case where the LGO found fault, the Portfolio Holder for Housing and Environmental Health advised that it was rare for findings to be made against NHDC, but if we make a mistake it is admitted and lessons were learnt. Members asked that the Customer Service Manager investigate how NHDC compared with other similar Local Authorities and include this in future reports. RESOLVED: (1) That the continued good performance in managing 3Cs between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2014 be noted; (2) That the reasons for the increase in complaints and that these have now decreased in number since the new waste service has become embedded and that the most recent measure of public satisfaction with the service shows a net satisfaction level of 85% compared to 79% in 2012, a net increase of 6% be noted; (3) That the handling of one complaint resulted in the Local Government Obudsman finding fault and remedial action being taken as well as appropriate measures being put in place to avoid a similar situation arising again, be noted; (4) That the Customer services Manager be requested to include comparative data regarding NHDC's performance against those of other Local Authorities in future reports. REASON FOR DECISION: To enable the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to consider and comment on the full year update regarding Comments, Compliments and Complaints for the period 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014. |
Agreed | ||
| 15 |
OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE WORK PROGRAMME Report Appendix A - Programme for Meetings Appendix B - Forward Plan The Scrutiny Officer presented the Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme Report and drew attention to the following: He informed Members that It was necessary to identify the subject of the next Task and Finish Group. Although Parking had been identified as a topic, this was too wide a subject. He suggested that the following areas of Parking could be considered: Payment Methods or Enforcement. Members discussed various options including: The lack of enforcement on verges and yellow lines and The benefits of free parking to Town Centres. The Performance and Risk Manager advised that the Strategic Director of Customer Services would be undertaking a review of parking and that the Task and Finish Group may be able to support that review. Members were advised that the Letchworth Parking Review had just commenced and that the Baldock Parking Review was drawing to a close. Members asked the Scrutiny Officer to liaise with other NHDC Officers in order to identify whether a Task and Finish Group on a particular aspect of Parking could support the current reviews taking place and bring a draft scope to the next meeting of this Committee. They felt that it would be valuable to have sight of the completed Baldock Parking Review. Members asked the Performance and Risk Manager to confirm whether details of expenditure for each car park was available and respond to Members by email. The Scrutiny Officer advised that Grants Review Report would be presented to this Committee in July and Cabinet in August 2014. RESOLVED: (1) That the Scrutiny Officer be requested to liaise with other NHDC Officers in order to identify whether a Task and Finish Group on a particular aspect of Parking could support the current reviews taking place and bring a draft scope to the next meeting of this Committee; (2) That the Performance & Risk Manager be requested to confirm if details of expenditure for each car park is available; (3) That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme be noted. REASON FOR DECISION: To enable the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to plan and carry out its workload efficiently and effectively. |
Agreed | ||