Venue: Council Chamber, District Council Offices, St Peter's Street, St Albans AL1 3JE
\n\t\tContact: Paul Warne, Democratic Services\u00c2\u00a0 \n\t\t\n\t\t
\n\t\t\nItems\n\t\t\nNo.\n\t\t\tItem\n\t\t\n\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tDisclosures of Interest
\nMinutes:
\nCouncillor White\ndisclosed a personal, non-prejudicial interest in the matter\nrecorded at Minute no. 6(b) below because he was a member of the\nAudit Commission and was partly responsible for publication of the\nreport entitled \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Positively Charged\u00e2\u20ac*, which was likely\nto inform the work of the Fees and Charges Task and Finish\nGroup.
\nNotification of Other Business
\nMembers and officers are invited to notify the\nChairman of other business which they wish to be discussed by the\nCommittee at the end of either Part I or Part II\nbusiness.\u00c2\u00a0 In doing so\nthe Member/s or officer/s concerned must state the special\ncircumstances which they consider justifies the matter being\nconsidered as a matter of urgency.
\n\u00c2\u00a0
\nThe Chairman will decide\nwhether the item(s) raised shall be\nconsidered under \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcOther Business\u00e2\u20ac\u2122.
\nMinutes:
\nWith the agreement of\nthe Chairman, the Chief Finance Officer advised that at the end of\nthis meeting he would raise the matter of the publication of a new\nGovernment White Paper, the grounds of urgency being the need for\nthe Council to submit a response within the deadline of 2 October\n2009.
\nMinutes
\nTo confirm the Minutes of Meeting No. 1 of the\nOverview and Scrutiny (Internal Performance) Committee held on 21\nJuly 2009 (previously circulated).
\nMinutes:
\nThe Minutes of Meeting\nno. 1 of the Committee held on 21 July 2009 were\nsubmitted.
\n\u00c2\u00a0
\nIn relation to the\nwording of Minute no. 11, Councillor Mills commented that her views\non the report on Use of the Council\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Sport and Leisure\nFacilities which had been submitted to that meeting had been\nendorsed by other Members of the Committee.\u00c2\u00a0 She was concerned that, having\nfirst asked for the information in January 2008, she had had a\nmeeting to discuss the matter with the Principal Sports and Leisure\nServices Manager earlier in 2009.\u00c2\u00a0 A report had then been submitted\nto the Committee meeting on 21 July which, in the view of\nCouncillor Mills, was inadequate and Members had asked for a\nrevised report to be submitted to this meeting but it was not on\nthe Agenda.
\n\u00c2\u00a0
\nIn reply the Chairman\nadvised that in the absence of a further meeting between Councillor\nMills and the Head of Culture and Community Development after the\nCommittee meeting on 21 July 2009 to clarify the issues there had\nbeen little purpose in including a further report on the Use of the\nCouncil\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Sport and Leisure Facilities in the Agenda for this\nmeeting.\u00c2\u00a0 The Chief\nFinance Officer anticipated that the Head of Culture and Community\nDevelopment would be contacting Councillor Mills shortly and that\nan updated report would be submitted to the next meeting of the\nCommittee on 5 November 2009.
\n\u00c2\u00a0
\nIn relation to Minute\nno. 12, Councillor Mills asked that an additional bullet point be\nadded to reflect the intention for election agents to be briefed by\nofficers prior to the next election count, so that the event would\nbe ordered, quiet and conducive to efficient working by counting\nstaff and their supervisors.
\n\u00c2\u00a0
\n\nRESOLVED
\n\u00c2\u00a0
\n\n(i)\t\n
- \n\n\t\t
- Attendance Details \n\t\t\t
- Agenda Frontsheet\n\t\t\t
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PDF 133 KB \n\t\t \n\t\t\t \n\n\t\t\t\t - Agenda reports pack\n PDF 2 MB \n\n\t\t\t\t
- Printed minutes\n PDF 79 KB \n\t\t \n\n
Venue: Council Chamber, District Council Offices, St Peter's Street, St Albans AL1 3JE
\n\t\tContact: Paul Warne, Democratic Services \n\t\t\n\t\t
\n\t\t| No. | \n\t\t\tItem | \n\t\t
|---|---|
| \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t | \t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t Disclosures of Interest \nMinutes: \n\n \nCouncillor White\ndisclosed a personal, non-prejudicial interest in the matter\nrecorded at Minute no. 6(b) below because he was a member of the\nAudit Commission and was partly responsible for publication of the\nreport entitled “Positively Charged”, which was likely\nto inform the work of the Fees and Charges Task and Finish\nGroup. \n | \n\t\t
| \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t | \t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t Notification of Other Business \n\n \nMembers and officers are invited to notify the\nChairman of other business which they wish to be discussed by the\nCommittee at the end of either Part I or Part II\nbusiness. In doing so\nthe Member/s or officer/s concerned must state the special\ncircumstances which they consider justifies the matter being\nconsidered as a matter of urgency. \n\n The Chairman will decide\nwhether the item(s) raised shall be\nconsidered under ‘Other Business’. \nMinutes: \n\n \nWith the agreement of\nthe Chairman, the Chief Finance Officer advised that at the end of\nthis meeting he would raise the matter of the publication of a new\nGovernment White Paper, the grounds of urgency being the need for\nthe Council to submit a response within the deadline of 2 October\n2009. \n | \n\t\t
| \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t | \t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t Minutes \n\n \nTo confirm the Minutes of Meeting No. 1 of the\nOverview and Scrutiny (Internal Performance) Committee held on 21\nJuly 2009 (previously circulated). \nMinutes: \n\n \nThe Minutes of Meeting\nno. 1 of the Committee held on 21 July 2009 were\nsubmitted. \n\n In relation to the\nwording of Minute no. 11, Councillor Mills commented that her views\non the report on Use of the Council’s Sport and Leisure\nFacilities which had been submitted to that meeting had been\nendorsed by other Members of the Committee. She was concerned that, having\nfirst asked for the information in January 2008, she had had a\nmeeting to discuss the matter with the Principal Sports and Leisure\nServices Manager earlier in 2009. A report had then been submitted\nto the Committee meeting on 21 July which, in the view of\nCouncillor Mills, was inadequate and Members had asked for a\nrevised report to be submitted to this meeting but it was not on\nthe Agenda. \n\n In reply the Chairman\nadvised that in the absence of a further meeting between Councillor\nMills and the Head of Culture and Community Development after the\nCommittee meeting on 21 July 2009 to clarify the issues there had\nbeen little purpose in including a further report on the Use of the\nCouncil’s Sport and Leisure Facilities in the Agenda for this\nmeeting. The Chief\nFinance Officer anticipated that the Head of Culture and Community\nDevelopment would be contacting Councillor Mills shortly and that\nan updated report would be submitted to the next meeting of the\nCommittee on 5 November 2009. \n\n In relation to Minute\nno. 12, Councillor Mills asked that an additional bullet point be\nadded to reflect the intention for election agents to be briefed by\nofficers prior to the next election count, so that the event would\nbe ordered, quiet and conducive to efficient working by counting\nstaff and their supervisors. \n\n \nRESOLVED \n\n \n(i) \nThat the second sentence of Minute no. 11 be amended by the\naddition of the words “and this view was supported by other\nMembers” after the word “seeking”. \n\n \n(ii) \nThat an additional bullet point be added in Minute no. 12,\nas follows:- \n\n \n· \n“The need for election agents to be briefed by\nofficers prior to the next election count, so that the event would\nbe ordered, quiet and conducive to efficient working by counting\nstaff and their supervisors;” \n\n \n(iii) \nThat subject to the two amendments set out above, the\nMinutes of Meeting no. 1 of the Committee held on 21 July 2009 be\ntaken as read and confirmed. \n | \n\t\t
| \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t | \t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t Business Process Re-Engineering \n\n \nTo receive a\npresentation from the Business Improvement\nManager. \nMinutes: \n\n \nThe Business Improvement\nManager gave an update on the progress of the Business Process\nRe-Engineering project since her presentation to the Committee\nmeeting on 10 February 2009 and the verbal update given by the\nChief Finance Officer on 21 July. The Business Improvement Manager\nperceived that there was now growing support for the project among\nofficers. \n\n Some Members expressed\nconcern that any proposal to amend the Council’s complaints\nsystem from three stages to two might result in more junior\nofficers being required to deal with individual complaints rather\nthan Heads of Service. \nThe Business Improvement Manager replied that she would be\nbenchmarking the current complaints system with those operating in\nother Councils and that further advice would be taken from the\nconsultant, Michael Hill of Complaintsrgreat Ltd. \n\n It was confirmed that\npart of the project included streamlining the number of contact\nofficers within the Council to whom the public could make\ncomplaints and the need to encourage such complaints to be made by\nemail rather than letter or telephone because it was cheaper for\nthe Council to respond electronically instead of in\nwriting. \n\n In response to Member\ncomments about the large number of complaints made to the Council\nby members of the public concerning the refuse and recycling\nservice, the Business Improvement Manager advised that these\ncovered a wide range of issues, including missed\ncollections. \n\n \nRESOLVED \n\n \n(i) \nThat a detailed breakdown of the complaints received by the\nCouncil each month since April 2009 relating to the refuse and\nrecycling service be sent to all Members of the Committee\nshortly. \n\n (ii) \nThat a further presentation on the progress of the Business Process\nRe-Engineering project be submitted at the meeting on 27 January\n2010. \n | \n\t\t
| \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t | \t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t Action Tracker Minutes: \n\n \nMembers received a\nprogress report on the actions taken in response to decisions made\nby the Committee since its meeting on 21 July 2009. \n\n The Chairman commented\nthat, with reference to Minute 3 above, a report on the Use of\nCouncil Sport and Leisure Facilities would be submitted to the next\nmeeting. \n | \n\t\t
| \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t | \t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t Task and Finish Groups \n\n \nTo receive verbal\nreports on the progress of the Groups considering Performance,\nCharging and External Funding. \nMinutes: \n\n \n(a) Performance Information \n\n The Committee was\nadvised that an officer group had already been reviewing the large\nnumber of performance indicators used in the Council before the\nestablishment of a Task and Finish Group of Members, chaired by\nCouncillor Yates. With\nassistance from the Task and Finish Group, the number of\nperformance indicators had been halved from 150 to 75, comprising\nboth nationally prescribed and locally determined and work on\nfurther reviewing them was now almost at an end. \n\n A report on performance\nfor the first quarter of 2009/10 would be submitted to the Cabinet\nmeeting on 6 October 2009 reflecting the proposed new set of\nindicators. There would\nbe further consultation between officers and members of the Task\nand Finish Group before that meeting to consider whether a further\nmeeting of the Task and Finish Group was needed. A final report of that Group would\nbe produced thereafter. \n\n (b) Fees and Charges \n\n The Scrutiny Support\nOfficer circulated copies of the summary and recommendations of the\nreport, “Positively Charged”, published by the Audit\nCommission in January 2008, which was concerned with\nmaximising the benefits of\nlocal public service charges. He considered that that report was\nlikely to be highly relevant to the work of the new Task and Finish\nGroup once it had been established. Members were also reminded that a\ndelegate place was available on an LGC conference to be held in\nLondon on 17 September 2009, entitled “Generating Income:\nEffective Charging and Trading for a More Efficient Council”,\nand any Councillor who wished to attend was advised to contact the\nScrutiny Support Officer accordingly. \n\n The Chairman\nreminded the meeting that a scoping document had been produced for\nthe work of the new Task and Finish Group and he urged Members to\nvolunteer to serve on it. \n | \n\t\t
| \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t | \t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t Sustainable Procurement Policy Additional documents: \n\t\t\t\t\t\n
Minutes: \n\n \nIt was reported that at\nits meeting held on 8 September 2009, Cabinet had agreed the\nfollowing actions:- \n\n \n(a) \nto adopt the Sustainable Procurement Policy and to review\nit annually; \n\n \n(b) \nto\ntest the Procurement Strategy against the Sustainable\nProcurement Policy as part of Cabinet’s three-year review\nwhich was planned for later in 2009. \n\n In relation to the\nintended reduction of District-wide greenhouse gas emissions from\n2006/07 levels by 60% by 2025, the Committee was advised that the\n2006/07 baseline had been calculated using measures of traffic\nvolumes and performing various calculations based on national\nguidance. With\nreference to value for money (VFM) and whole life costs, the\nCommittee was advised that if a tender for goods or services was\nsustainable but not good VFM it would not automatically be excluded\nfrom consideration but would be subject to an environmental\nassessment as part of any tender evaluation process. \n\n The following specific\ncomments were made on the Sustainable Procurement Policy, which\nofficers confirmed would be referred to service departments with a\nrequest for responses:- \n\n
\n Members expressed\nconcern that this item was one of three on the Agenda for this\nmeeting which had been previously considered and determined by\nCabinet at its meeting the previous day, i.e. on 8 September\n2009. It was considered\nthat the Committee should have had the opportunity to scrutinise\nthose matters at an earlier meeting and then forward its views to\nCabinet before decisions were made, rather than conduct\npost-decision scrutiny. \nAs an alternative, Cabinet could have determined the\nrecommendations contained in all three reports with the proviso\nthat their decisions were made subject to the reports being further\nconsidered subsequently by this Committee. \n\n \nRESOLVED \n\n \n(i) \nThat the decisions of Cabinet in relation to a Sustainable\nProcurement Policy be noted. \n\n \n(ii) \nThat it be recommended that the Council’s Calendar of\nMeetings for the Municipal Year 2010/11 be drafted in such a way as\nto allow the Overview and Scrutiny Committees to have opportunities\nto scrutinise proposals and comment accordingly before they are\nsubmitted to meetings of Cabinet for decisions. \n | \n\t\t
| \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t | \t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t Pathfinder, Other Forms of Partnership and Organisational Change Additional documents: \n\t\t\t\t\t\n
Minutes: \n\n \nThe decisions of Cabinet\nin relation to this item which had been made at its meeting on 8\nSeptember 2009, as recorded in a draft Minute, were reported to the\nCommittee. \n\n Several Members\ncommented that Hertfordshire County Council had used the Pathfinder\nProject two years ago as part of their defence when the existing\ntwo-tier system of local government in the County had been under\nscrutiny. Members had\nreservations about the Pathfinder Agreement and considered that a\nchange to unitary councils in Hertfordshire would be the best way\nforward. \n\n \nRESOLVED \n\n \n(i) \nThat the decisions of Cabinet in this matter be\nnoted. \n\n \n(ii) \nThat the decision to ask the Chair of the Local Strategic\nPartnership to consider further joint working in the District\nCouncil area be supported. \n\n \n(iii) \nThat the creation of a unitary Council for St Albans City\nand District be advocated. \n | \n\t\t
| \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t | \t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t Autumn 2009 Electoral Canvass - Action Plan \n\n \nTo receive a verbal\nreport. \nMinutes: \n\n \nA briefing note for all\nMembers of the Committee was tabled which set out the various\nmeasures taken to publicise the electoral canvass 2009 and also set\nout the number of responses received to date. \n\n In reply to questions\nfrom Members, the Head of Legal and Democratic Services confirmed\nthat in order to publicise the canvass among young people an\nadvertisement had been placed in a school magazine and an enquiry\nhad been made with the University of Hertfordshire about displaying\npublicity in the Students’ Union. The Council had insufficient time\nor resources to send officers into schools but it was understood\nthat some or all of the political parties sent birthday cards to 18\nyear-olds, publicising their new right to vote, provided they had\nregistered. It was\nconfirmed that the Council was publicising the fact that once the\nelectoral canvass had ended in mid-November 2009, the resulting\nelectoral roll would be the one that would be used in the next\nGeneral Election. \n\n The Head of Legal and\nDemocratic Services undertook to investigate the feasibility of\ntaking the following actions or to ensure that that action had\nalready been taken, and to advise Members of the outcome in each\ncase:- \n\n
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| \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t | \t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t Civic Review Additional documents: \n\t\t\t\t\t\n
Minutes: \n\n \nA report had been\nconsidered by Cabinet at its meeting on 8 September 2009 which\npresented the initial findings from work being done to refresh the\ncivic leadership role of the Council and to set out a possible way\nforward. The decisions\nof Cabinet at that meeting in relation to the civic review were\nreported, which included an invitation to this Committee to express\nits views on the recommendations contained within the\nreport. \n\n Members expressed a wide\nrange of views on the proposals. One Member considered that the\nCouncil existed in order to provide services to residents and that\nits reputation would not be enhanced if it now sought to enhance\nits ceremonial activities. The Council needed neither an\nHonorary Recorder nor a Town Crier but it did need to modernise,\nincluding bringing to an end the requirement for Members to stand\nwhen speaking in Council meetings and for religion to play no\nfurther part in such meetings because it was not\nappropriate. One effect\nof the creation of a unitary authority would be to modernise the\nCouncil. \n\n Another Member commented\nthat there would be no benefit to having an Honorary\nRecorder. The Council\nneeded to think carefully about what it was trying to achieve in\nrelation to its civic role. There were some benefits to\nretaining the civic regalia. \n\n A third Member expressed\nconcern that if the Council enhanced its civic activities it might\ncreate a perception of being a closed club. There was still some enthusiasm\nfor retaining a Mayor and the creation of a post of Town Crier\nmight bring an element of fun into the District. There was a need to make the\nmayoralty more relevant to local people. Visits by the Mayor to all parts\nof the District did generate goodwill and the associated regalia\nneeded to be more accessible for people to see. \n\n The Chief Executive\nadvised that he would have further discussions with the Portfolio\nHolder for Community Engagement and Support and would report back\nto a future meeting of this Committee. \n | \n\t\t
| \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t | \t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t Executive Forward Plan and Work Programme for 2009/10 Minutes: \n\n \nThe draft Executive\nForward Plan for the period 1 October 2009 – 31 January 2010\nwas submitted with a view to informing a possible future work\nprogramme for the Committee. \n\n Members expressed\nconcern that they were not being updated on the progress of the\nbudget at each meeting of this Committee. In reply, the Chief Finance\nOfficer advised that at the previous meeting of this Committee he\nhad submitted a report entitled “Corporate Plan and Budget Process\n2010-13”. For the\nnext meeting on 5 November 2009 he would provide a further update\nwhich would cover both the monitoring of the 2009/10 budget and the\nlatest outlook for a budget for 2010/11. He also undertook to consider other\nways of providing financial information to Members outside of the\nCommittee cycle. \n\n The\nChairman commented that hitherto the Committee had tended to rely\non the Executive Forward Plan to identify issues which might be\nappropriate for scrutiny. However, in his view the Committee\nshould giver greater consideration to generating its own\nbusiness. \n | \n\t\t
| \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t | \t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t Other Business \nMinutes: \n\n \nThe Chief Finance\nOfficer advised that on 10 September 2009 he would send an email to\nall Members concerning a new Government White Paper entitled\n“Strengthening Local Democracy”. That document proposed extending\nthe scrutiny powers of local authorities so that Members of\nscrutiny committees would have equal status with those on the\nExecutive. The\nGovernment intended that scrutiny committees would be empowered to\ncall a Council’s partners to account, including the Police,\nFire Authority, Probation Service and others. The White Paper did not make it\nclear to which tiers of local government the new powers would be\nextended but the District Council’s response would include\nthe point that this should include Districts. Members would be invited to send\ntheir comments on the White Paper to the Chief Finance Officer who\nwould then ensure they were taken into account in co-ordinating the\nCouncil’s response. \n | \n\t\t