PERFORMANCE AND OVERVIEW COMMITTEE ORGANISATION

RECORD OF MEETING HELD ON 27^TH NOVEMBER 2006

Present:

Councillor M R Jones, Chair

Councillors W T Beard, J A Beech, D H D Charlesworth, R E Dodd and A C Johnson

In Attendance:

Jennifer Cross                      Executive Director (Treasury and Corporate Support)

Carol Jones                          Democratic Services Officer

Mark Ward                          Trainee Accountant

Harvey Woodward                 Senior Accountancy Assistant

Councillor S W Hogben

Apologies:      Councillors B Evans, R Jones and Z S Krizanac

35        DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Councillor John Beech declared a personal interest in the proceedings on the basis that he was a Parish Councillor.  No other Member made any declaration of interest in any item of business on the agenda.

36        WHIPPING DECLARATIONS

In accordance with Paragraph 18 of the Performance and Overview Procedure Rules, Members were invited to declare in respect of items where the whip had been applied.  No such declarations were made.

37        RECORD OF MEETING

AGREED:  That the Record of the Meeting held on 4^th September 2006 be approved as correct.

38        BOARD BUSINESS – MEETING 30^TH NOVEMBER 2006

The Committee was invited to consider the following reports to be considered by the Board on 30^th November 2006 -

§                   Local Area Agreements

§                   2006-2011 Revenue Strategy

§                   Revised Capital Strategy 2006-2011

§                   Local Government White Paper “Strong and Prosperous Communities”

§                   Corporate Self-Assessment

§                   2006/2007 BVPI and LPI Monitoring

§                   2006/2007 Financial Monitoring – to 30^th September 2006

§                   Fees and Charges for the Financial Year 2007/2008

§                   Tax Base for Council Tax and Discount for Second Homes

§                   Job Evaluation

§                   Race Equality Scheme – 2006-2008

§                   Review of Redundancy Policy

§                   Not for Publicity:  Write-offs

During discussion of Report 10 (Corporate Self-Assessment) it was noted that there were plans in preparation to amend the Council’s decision-making cycle to two-monthly. Members of the Committee were reminded that the Timetable of Public Meetings was to be considered by the Board in January 2007 at which time the Committee would be able to submit formal comments on the proposals.

The Committee challenged the Board’s power to make a decision in respect of Fees and Charges (Report 13), commenting that this had, hitherto, been a decision made by Council.  It was agreed that this be submitted as a formal question to the Board at its meeting.

AGREED:  That the Board be asked to confirm its authority to make a decision in respect of Fees and Charges.

(Note:  In accordance with Procedure Rule 26 (2), Councillor S W Hogben spoke on this item, with the permission of the Committee.)    

39        GERSHON EFFICIENCY SAVINGS

The report of the Executive Director (Treasury and Corporate Support) informed the Committee of the projected efficiency savings in the current financial year (2006/2007) based on actual savings as at 30^th September 2006, compared with expected savings for the year, previously reported in March 2006.

Mark Ward (Treasury and Corporate Support) was in attendance for this item and tabled a revised Appendix 2.           

AGREED:  That the report be received and noted.

40        EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC

RESOLVED: That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item pursuant to Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A (as amended) of the Act.

41        WRITE-OFFS

The Committee discussed the report on Write-Offs to be submitted to the Board on 30^th November 2006.

42        RE-ADMITTANCE OF PRESS AND PUBLIC

RESOLVED:  That the press and public be re-admitted to the meeting.

43        BOARD FORWARD PLAN (PROVISIONAL ITEMS)

The Committee received the Board’s Forward Plan for January and February 2007.

44        RESPONSES FROM THE BOARD/COUNCIL

 The Committee noted that there were no referrals from Board or Council on this occasion. 

45        PERFORMANCE MONITORING – BVPIs AND LPIs

The Committee received service performance information on the agreed basket of key national performance indicators for the period April 2006 to September 2006.

46        COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP PROGRAMME

The Committee noted that Councillor M J Simon, Portfolio Holder for Customers, had set up a Community Leadership Advisory Group comprising Councillors Bebbington, Cartlidge, Conquest, Evans, Howell, Krizanac and Mottram.  Its first meeting had been held on 15^th November.

The Committee was reminded that it received six-monthly reports on progress on implementation of the Programme.

47        RECRUITMENT PRACTICES, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

The newly-formed Working Group established by the Committee to review Recruitment Policies, Practices and Procedures had met on 19^th September 2006.  The Group had agreed to meet again in January 2007, with a final report of the review being submitted to the Committee at its meeting on 5^th February 2007.

48        DATE OF NEXT MEETING

            8^th January 2007

………………………………………………….Chair