PERFORMANCE AND OVERVIEW COMMITTEE

ORGANISATION

RECORD OF MEETING HELD ON 25^TH MAY 2007

Present: (for whole or part of the meeting)

Councillor J A Beech; in the Chair

Councillors W T Beard, H W Curran, B Evans K Healey, J Lewis and A Moran

In Attendance:

Lisa Carr               Policy and Performance Officer

Jennifer Cross       Executive Director – Treasury and Corporate Support

Carol Jones          Democratic Services Officer

Non-Committee Member in attendance:

Councillor R Westwood      Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhoods

Apologies:    Councillors A C Johnson and D H D Charlesworth

1          DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Councillor W T Beard declared a personal interest in Board Agenda Items 12 (Wulvern Housing – Governance Review) and 17 (Request to Waive Regulations as to Contracts in respect of the Homelessness Contract) on the basis that he was a Member of the Wulvern Housing Board.   Councillor R Westwood declared a personal interest in Board Agenda Item 12 (Wulvern Housing – Governance Review) and a personal and prejudicial interest in Board Agenda Item 17 (Request to Waive Regulations as to Contracts in respect of the Homelessness Contract) on the basis that he was a Member of the Wulvern Housing Board.

No other Member made any declaration of interest in any item of business on the agenda.

2          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.

3          RECORD OF MEETING

AGREED:  That the Record of the Meeting held on 2^nd April 2007 be approved as correct.

4          BOARD BUSINESS

4.1       Meeting 31^st May 2007

The Committee was invited to comment on Board reports which fell within its remit.  Comments were made on the following -

Item 8        BVPI Out-Turn – 2006/2007

The Committee supported the proposals contained in the Board report, and also discussed the indicators which fell within its own remit.

The Policy and Performance Officer reported on an announcement by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) that nine national BVPIs had been deleted, with effect from 1^st April 2007, on the basis that they no longer provided useful information, or in response to recent reports released from the “Lifting the Burdens Task Force” commissioned by Ruth Kelly, Secretary of State for Communities.  Those deleted were noted –

Some concern was expressed at the deletion of these BVPIs.  The Committee was informed that those considered to be of importance could be retained as local performance indicators.

The Committee asked about BVPI 199a (Litter on land and highways), which fell within the remit of the “Local Economy and Environment Committee”.  The Policy and Performance Officer undertook to provide information to Members on the rationale for purchase of an additional sweeper.

(Note:  At this point in the proceedings, Councillor R Westwood withdrew from the meeting.)

AGREED:  (a) That, in respect of the Board report on Performance, the Committee support the recommendations;

(b) That the key basket of Performance Indicators for the out-turn period 2006-2007 together with the target forecasts for the period 2007 to 2011 be approved; 

(c) That the existing basket of performance indicators be refreshed; and

(d) That the additional performance indicators below be included for review by the Committee -

National BV 2b – The duty to promote race equality

National BV 9 – Percentage of Council Tax collected

Local LCH 105 – Ranking in the Local Authority Website League          

Item 12      Wulvern Housing – Governance Review

The Housing Corporation had recommended that Wulvern Housing reduce its Board from 15 to 12 members and the Borough Council was being consulted on the proposal.  Members of the Committee objected to the proposed reduction in representation, and AGREED that the following comments be submitted to the Board.

- There should be a named Liaison Officer from Wulvern Housing to be appointed to provide a communication link with the Borough Council.

- The item should be referred to Full Council on the basis that the Committee did not accept that this decision was within the Board’s powers.

- The current membership of 5 local authority representatives should be retained, subject to confirmation of the attendance record of the current members.

(Note: In accordance with Procedure Rule 18(2), Councillor W T Beard  requested that his abstention from voting on this item be recorded.)

4.2        Provisional Items (Board’s Forward Plan)

The Committee noted the Board’s forward plan for June, July and September 2007.

4.3         Responses/Referrals from the Board or Council

It was noted that there were no responses or referrals from the Board or Council on this occasion.

5          WORK PROGRAMME

5.1       The Committee had agreed to include the following for review in its work programme for 2007/2008.

    Delivery of Capital Schemes

The Committee had considered a list of capital schemes at its meeting in April and had made a number of recommendations to the Board.

    It was agreed that the timescale for reviewing the following two items be agreed at the July meeting –

(1) Communications and Press and Media Relations

Review of communications as it applied across the authority from a policy and practice perspective and its links with Members.

(2) Member Support and Development

Training sessions were often arranged in accordance with the approved Member Development Programme, but abortive costs accrued to the authority when sessions were cancelled at short notice.

    Asset Management Plan

The Asset Management Plan was due for consideration at the Board’s July meeting, and this Committee would be able to comment at its next meeting (23^rd July 2007).

5.2       Other Potential Reviews

The Committee considered the A-Z of Portfolios and Performance and Overview Responsibilities for 2007/2008 and was invited to consider other topics for review.  A copy of a Scrutiny Form was attached and Members were reminded that this should be completed by any Member requesting a review and should define the scope of it, identify perceived reasons for the review, the way in which it should be conducted, together with the intended outcome.

Election Process:  It was suggested that this Committee could review the effectiveness of the election process on an annual basis.

Emergency Planning:  A member made reference to the recent electrical fault which had affected the Municipal Buildings, resulting in an interruption to the electricity supply for most of one day.  He enquired into planning for major emergencies.  The Committee was informed that the electrical supply interruption did not constitute a “major emergency” in terms of the Council’s Emergency Planning procedures; it was a business interruption only.  Notwithstanding this, the Committee agreed that the emergency planning procedure be reviewed by the Committee.

AGREED:  That at its meeting to be held on 23^rd July 2007, a report on Elections (3^rd May 2007) and Emergency Planning, be submitted to the Committee.

6          DATE OF NEXT MEETING

23^rd July 2007

…………………………………………………. Chair