DAY/DATE:           TUESDAY, 11^TH SEPTEMBER 2007

 

TIME:                    4.00 PM

 

VENUE:                 SANDBACH ENTERPRISE CENTRE,

 

                             WESLEY AVENUE

 

                             SANDBACH CW11 1DG

 

Despatch date:       30^th August 2007

 

Enquiries to:            Carol Jones Committee Officer

                              (Crewe & Nantwich Borough Council)

                              Tel: 01270 537598

           

 

            Representing Congleton Borough Council

            Councillors B E Moran, J Wray

            Officer: I Simpson

 

            Representing Crewe & Nantwich Borough Council

            Councillors R A Bailey and C G Thorley

            Officers:  P Ancell, A Millington

 

            Representing Macclesfield Borough Council

            Councillors J Macrae and F Keegan

            Officers:  P Yates, I Bunn, J Wilcox

 

 

 

 

To elect a Chair and Deputy Chair for the Joint Committee.

 

Members' attention is drawn to agenda item 12, "Proposed Timetable of Meetings 2008" which suggests that the meeting to be held in January 2008 be designated as the Annual Meeting. Notwithstanding this provision, the meeting held on 16^th January 2007 was not designated an Annual Meeting and there is, therefore, a requirement to elect a Chair and Deputy Chair.

 

 

 

 

 

Any Member present (including non-Committee Members) to declare any personal or prejudicial interest, and the nature of the interest, which they have in any item of business on the agenda and, if necessary, to leave the meeting prior to discussion of that item.

 

Members who also serve as Town or Parish Councillors are reminded of the need to make declarations in respect of any item which directly concerns the business of the appropriate authority.

 

Declarations are a personal matter for each Member to decide.  Whilst Officers will advise on the Code of Conduct and its interpretation, the decision to declare, or not, is the responsibility of the Member, based on the particular circumstances.

 

 

 

To approve the Minutes of the Meeting held on 16^th January 2007. (4) 

 

Members are asked to note that the meeting scheduled to be held on 24^th April 2007 was not quorate.

 

 

 

The Joint Building Control Service has been in operation for 10-months and significant changes have been made to ensure that service-delivery requirements are met.

 

The report of the Head of Building Control (5) provides an outline on progress to date and invites the Joint Committee to note and accept the report.

 

 

 

Each of the three partner authorities has evaluated the Building Control posts as they stood prior to the Partnership Agreement and none have considered the new roles created within the partnership.   There is a need to undertake job evaluation for the new roles.

 

The report of the Head of Building Control (6) gives details of an action plan developed by the HR Section of Macclesfield Borough Council.

 

The Joint Committee is asked to

 

(a)       Agree to job evaluation for the roles within the Building Control Partnership, using the scheme developed by Macclesfield Borough Council; and

 

(b)       Agree the timetable for the process as set out in paragraph 2.2 of the report.

 

 

 

One of the key actions within the Building Control Business Plan for 2007/2008 is the development and review of performance indicators for the service.

 

The report of the Head of Building Control (7) invites the Joint Committee to adopt the national and local performance indicators as set out in the report.

 

 

 

To enable the Joint Service to deal with complaints in a structured and transparent manner, and to ensure that they are handled efficiently and with consistency, a proposed Complaints Procedure is attached. (8)

 

The Joint Committee is asked to adopt the procedure.

 

 

 

The Joint Service currently operates three separate building control computer systems.  Whilst operations can be performed in this manner in the short term, it is not considered to be the most efficient use of resources in the longer term.

 

The report of the Head of Building Control (9) invites the Joint Committee to authorise a review of the current computer systems for integration into a single system, with proposals being reported back to the Joint Committee at its January 2008 meeting.  Following that meeting, each partner authority would be notified of the outcome.

 

 

The Building Control Joint Service has created significant changes for its customer base across all three partner authorities and now prefers customers to make contact direct to the "East and South Cheshire Building Control Service". 

 

The report of the Business Support Team Leader (10) gives details of a proposal to undertake a customer satisfaction survey in respect of the transition from three separate services into one integrated service.   The results of the survey will be used to inform decisions in respect of the continued development of the service. 

 

The Joint Committee is asked to resolve -

 

(a)        That a customer satisfaction survey be undertaken, which includes a proposal to remove the service of issuing paper copies of "Decided Plans" with "Decision Notices"   for the joint service operations; and

 

(b)        That, subject to the outcome of the survey, delegated authority be granted to the Head of Building Control to decide whether or not to continue issuing copies of "Decided Plans" with "Decision Notices".

 

 

 

The report of the Head of Building Control (11) invites the Joint Committee to authorise a review of support services provided by each authority, with a view to creating Support Service Level Agreements for each service provided.

 

 

 

The agreement for the Partnership requires the Joint Committee to meet three times a year. The report of the Operational Team Leader invites the Joint Committee to accept the dates for its meetings in 2008, as detailed in the attached report. (12)