Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors R Bastin, M Fairhurst,
R Galloway, R Heard, J Hunt  Mrs M Smallcorn and  K Smith.  

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Scrutiny Board held on
4 February 2013 be approved as a correct record.

There were no arising from the minutes of the last meeting.

There were no declarations of interests from any of the members present.

There were no matters the Chairman wished to report to the Board.

The Board received a report from the Economy and Communities Panel, setting

out findings and recommendations in relation to its Leisure Strategy review. In

undertaking this review, the Panel investigated why Havant Borough Council

should deliver sports development, assessed whether there should be continued

support for cultural infrastructure and, if so, how it would be best delivered. 

The Panel had made extensive enquiries within the resources available to it and

had concluded that the Council’s contribution to sports and leisure development

within the Borough was valued by both clubs and individuals.  A summary of the

evidence gathered by the Panel, together with the Panel’s recommendations,

was set out in their report to the Board.

The Service Manager (Community) joined the Scrutiny Panel for the debate on

this item and undertook to provide the following additional information to the

Board following the meeting:

·        An update on whether a model lease had been drawn up in relation to the self-management of sports pitches and whether any arrangements had yet been concluded;

·        To what extent self-management of sports pitches might affect public access; and

·        Membership of the Havant Sports Partnership;

RECOMMENDED to the Cabinet that

(1)               Havant Borough Council continues to invest in leisure and sports

development, but should capitalise on opportunities to improve the offer without increasing budget costs;

            (2)       the following opportunities, identified by the Panel, be pursued:

                        (i)         actively promoting the self-management of pitches:

                        (ii)        investigating the feasibility of outsourcing the sports development function;

                        (iii)       exploring the advantages of amalgamating the functions of the three officers involved in leisure and sports development;

(3)       Havant Borough Council should maintain its current level of funding for sports development and cultural infrastructure.

            (4)       officers be requested to undertake a comprehensive review of the usage of existing sports pitches in the Borough.

The Board received a 12 month review from the Service Manager for Marketing and Customer Relations, setting out progress to date in relation to the recommendations put forward in February 2012 by the Marketing and Development Panel following its policy review of Social Media and Communications.

The Portfolio Holder for Marketing and Development and the Service Manager joined the meeting for the debate on this item.

The Board was pleased to note that significant progress had been made over the last 12 months in taking forward the Panel’s recommendations, particularly with regard to the new Website and developing social media as an additional means of communication with residents.  In response to a member, the Service Manager undertook to provide statistical information in relation to useage of the Council’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Further work needed to be done to assess the suitability of various “Apps” for use by the Council and the Panel would be exploring this in conjunction with the Portfolio Holder and the officers.

RESOLVED that the report be noted and that the Marketing and Development Panel be requested to build upon the work done to date by undertaking a review of ‘Applications’ and how/when these might be used by the Council.

The Board received a report from the Environment and Neighbourhood Quality Panel in connection with its review of street cleanliness.  The Panel had been asked to investigate concerns from the Scrutiny Leads Panel arising from the Quarter 1 Corporate Performance Healthcheck report, which had indicated that there had been a reduction in levels of cleanliness during that period. 

The Executive Head for Environment and Neighbourhood Quality, Operational Services Manager, Interim Service Manager for Neighbourhood Quality and the Environmental Quality Team Leader joined the Scrutiny Lead Councillor for the debate on this item.

The Panel had made enquiries and concluded that considerable work had been done, and continued to be done, to improve street cleanliness in the Borough.  The Panel was pleased to report that, as a result, there had been a significant improvement in litter levels in Quarters 2 and 3 and that current levels were now well below the performance target.

Additional information was circulated for the Board’s information, illustrating the wide variety of tasks undertaken by the Environmental Quality Team.  The Board was also provided with statistics showing that, in the period from August 2011 to February 2013, the vast majority of customer complaints received had been in relation to fly tipping and abandoned vehicles and, in response, these issues were dealt with by the team as a priority.

The Environmental Rangers worked closely with the Frontline teams to identify and deal with problems associated with litter across the Borough, enforcing the legislation as and when this was possible and appropriate.  Raising public awareness with regard to the environmental impact of dropping litter was seen as a priority in encouraging people to take more responsibility for their actions. 

In response to a member of the Board, the Operational Services Manager undertook to ensure that litter bins are suitably located within the Borough and of adequate capacity to cope with demand.

(A)       RESOLVED that the report be noted; and

(B)       RECOMMENDED to the Cabinet that further consideration be given to alternative forms of technology that may be used to improve the reporting system, enabling residents to report issues more quickly.

The Board received an interim report from the Marketing and Development Panel on its work to support the officers in developing a shared Marketing Strategy for Havant Borough and East Hampshire District Councils.

In undertaking this review, the Panel sought:

·        To build on work previously done in connection with the Customer Access Strategy, to better understand the needs and aspirations of our customers, so as to be able to target the services they require, within available finances;

·        To consider how the Council’s Corporate Strategy priorities could be delivered by offering a new, innovative, approach to providing the services our customers need, in a better and more cost-effective way; and

·        To look at examples of best practice, the alternative service delivery models adopted by other local authorities, to consider what has worked well and whether any of the services this Council provides would neatly fit any of these alternative models.

(A)       RECOMMENDED to the Cabinet that:

(1)       the draft Marketing Strategy be approved and adopted; and

(2)       direction be sought from the Cabinet with regard to the priorities that the Scrutiny Panels should focus on in taking forward this review in 2013.

(B)       RESOLVED that all five Scrutiny Panels be tasked to formulate a timetable to review priority services as identified by the Cabinet.

The Council’s Constitution required the Scrutiny Board to report annually to Full

Council on its workings and to make recommendations for future work

programmes and amended working methods, if appropriate.

The report provided a summary of the work undertaken by the Scrutiny Board in 2012/13 and gave the Board an opportunity to review its performance over the last year and make recommendations in respect of its 2013/14 work programme.  The Chairman congratulated the Panels for their hard work in 2012/14.

RECOMMENDED to Full Council that the Scrutiny Board’s annual report for

2012/13, amended at paragraph 5.1(v) to show that Cllr Faith Ponsonby joined

the Marketing and Development Scrutiny Panel in January 2013, be noted.

The Board was given an opportunity to review progress with regard to the work

undertaken by the scrutiny/policy review panels since the last meeting and to

identify any additional matters for inclusion in the Board’s work programme.

RESOLVED that progress to date with regard to the Board’s work programme be

noted and that no additional matters be selected for scrutiny/policy review at the

present time.