Agenda and minutes

            The Minutes from the meeting held on 26 February 2008 were taken as read and signed as a correct record.

            It was confirmed that no public questions had been received.

The Minutes of the Executive Board and the Executive Board Sub-Committee relating to the work of the Corporate Services Policy & Performance Board since its last meeting were submitted for information.

A Member raised queries in relation to ES100 and ES108. It was agreed that the relevant officer would respond to the Member.

          RESOLVED: That the Minutes be received.

            The Board received a report of the Strategic Director, Corporate and Policy on the Draft Asset Management Plan 2008.

 

            The Council was required to have an Asset Management Plan to ensure that its asset base was suited in terms of quality, location, fitness for purpose and cost effectiveness to facilitate the achievement of the Council’s corporate goals and objectives.  The Plan would require formal adoption by the Executive Board.

 

            Arising from the discussion reference was made to the ownership of the Markets in Widnes and Runcorn, what housing properties where still in Council ownership and the location of schools in the Borough.

 

            RESOLVED: That the Draft Asset Management Plan be accepted.

            The Board received a report of the Strategic Director, Corporate and Policy which outlined topic brief for the disability discrimination act – the next steps. The topic had been chosen to consider whether the Council was adequately fulfilling its responsibilities under the disability discrimination legislation. Councillors Loftus and Bryant were thanked for their enthusiastic support throughout this review.

 

            The report set out the progress made by the Council towards Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) compliance, in particular on major refurbishment or repair works, findings of site visits and interviews, building modifications, emergency evacuation procedures and disabled toilet facilities along with secondary use of Council owned buildings. The report also outlined a number of recommendations which were endorsed by the Board.

 

            The Board discussed the need for the emergency evacuation procedures to be updated as a top priority and it was noted that a review was taking place of the Council Chamber to ensure it was DDA compliant.  It was suggested that a progress report be submitted to the Board on the implementation of the recommendations set out in the report.

 

            RESOLVED: That

 

(1)       the report be noted; and

 

(2)       a progress report on the implementation of the recommendations set out in the report  be submitted to a future meeting of the Board.

            The Board received a report of the Operational Director, Legal, Organisational Development and Human Resources on the proposed work programme for 2008/9.

 

            At its last meeting the Board agreed the following topics:

 

            Topic                                                             Lead Officer

           

            Access to Services                          to be agreed

            Transfer of Assets                           P. Searing

            Performance Monitoring                  R. MacKenzie

            Customer Complaints                R. MacKenzie

 

            The Board considered Topic Briefs for Access to Services and the Transfer of Assets. It was noted that the performance monitoring and customer complaints topics had been completed and that the final reports were included as part of the agenda. One of the recommendations of the Customer Complaints Review was that it should be followed up with a review of Customer Focus, and it was agreed that this should be conducted by the same group of Members.

 

            RESOLVED: That

 

(1)       the work programme proposed at the meeting of the Board on 26 February 2008 be confirmed;

 

(2)       the membership of the Topic Teams be agreed as follows:

 

            Topic Group                                                Membership

           

Access to Services                                Councillor Wainwright (Chair)

                                                                        Councillor Gilligan

                                                                        Councillor E. Cargill

                                                                        Councillor Browne

           

 

Transfer of Assets                                    Councillor Lowe (Chair)

                                                            Councillor J. Bradshaw

                                                            Councillor Gilligan

 

Customer Focus                         Councillor Lowe (Chair)

                                                            Councillor J. Bradshaw

                                                            Councillor Edge

                                                            Councillor Gilligan

                                                            Councillor Wainwright

           

(3)       the topic briefs for the Access to Services and Transfer of Assets be approved.

The Board considered a report which outlined the progress of the performance management second quarter against the service plan objectives and performance targets, performance trends/comparisons, factors affecting the services for:

·              Exchequer and Customer Services

·              Financial Services

·              ICT Services

·              Legal and Member Services

·              Personnel Services

·              Property Services

·              Policy and Performance

·              Halton Stadium

The Board requested and received confirmation of the reasons for the red lights in each of the services listed above. Issues raised included financial reporting, members IT issues, sickness absence neighbourhood management, the use of agency staff in Property services and Markets income.

The Board noted the excellent school meals service being provided by Halton Stadium and thanked staff for their hard work.

It was agreed that a report would be submitted to the next meeting of the Board outlining any potential ways of improving the financial performance of Runcorn market which may have already been identified but had not been pursued In light of this, consideration would be given to the value of adding a review of the performance of Runcorn market as a third scrutiny topic for the 2008/9 work programme.

RESOLVED: That

(1)       the fourth quarter performance management reports be received;

(2)            consideration be given to further scrutiny work on the future and development of the two Markets, in light of the reports already considered by Urban Renewal Policy and Performance Board.  

The Board considered a copy of the Annual Report for the Corporate Services Policy & Performance Board for 2007/08.

          RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

            The Board received a report of the Strategic Director, Corporate and Policy which outlined the findings of a review of the Council’s Corporate Performance Management arrangements and which set out the recommendations and conclusions of the topic group.

 

            The recommendations listed in the topic report were split into six areas; the role of members, the performance management framework and service planning, risk assessment, monitoring and reporting arrangements/use of information, the new NI set and local area agreements and were outlined in detail within Section 4 of the report.

 

            The Topic Group thanked the Operational Director, Policy and Performance and his team for their support and hard work.

 

            RESOLVED: That

 

(1)       the report of the topic group and its recommendations be endorsed;

 

(2)       the Executive Board be requested to approve the recommendations set out in Section 4 of the Topic Report;

 

(3)       the Operational Director, Policy and Performance prepare an action plan including financial implications;

 

(4)       a further report be submitted to the Board summarising the response of the Executive Board; and

 

(5)            subject to the decision of the Executive Board, regular reviews and progress reports be made to this Board.

           

            The Board received a report of the Strategic Director, Corporate and Policy which reported the findings of the scrutiny review undertaken in relation to compliments and complaints and which proposed a number of recommendations.

 

            The Board noted that Councillors received a number of complaints during surgeries and these were reported through the Councillors Complaints procedure. In response it was noted that ITC were looking at implementing a system for Councillors which would link into the complaints process.  

 

            RESOLVED:

 

(1)       the contents of the report and in particular the recommendations set out in 4.0 be endorsed;

 

(2)       the report and recommendations be forwarded to the Executive Board for approval; 

 

(3)       the Operational Director, Policy and Performance prepare an action plan and analysis of financial implications for inclusion in the report to the Executive Board; and

 

(4)       a further report be submitted to the Board summarising the response of the Executive Board.