Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence.

There were no apologies for absence.

To confirm the minutes of the Scrutiny Board held on 30 January 2015.

It was RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 30 January 2015 be set as a correct record.

To consider any matters arising from the minutes of the previous meeting.

There we no matters arising.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Chairmans advised there were no updates at the time.

The Chairman invited Mark Thompson, Head of Integrated Planning and Richard Hodgson, Senior project manager for Southern Water to address the board and give an update on Discharges into Local Harbours.

The board received a presentation detailing the work undertaken regarding discharges into local harbours which included details of Portsmouth’s sewer network, reconfigurations made and infrastructure improvements. It was advised that Southern Water were working onsite to move to automated controls of their stations.

The Chairman asked questions that were circulated prior to the meeting.  The officers advised that they would be seeking to educate the public on the proper means to dispose of household items. It was also advised that the Eastney Outfall Pipe had been replaced mid February.

The Chairman asked members if there were any further questions. Concerns were raised over the levels of discharges into local harbours and some clarification over the technical information included in the presentation. Officers advised that they shared concerns regarding discharging into local harbours unnecessarily. It was also advised that this water was thoroughly filtered and diluted before it entered local harbours. Officers also commented that they routinely reminded the public not to swim following a storm event.

The Chairman thanked officers for their presentation.

It was RESOLVED that the scrutiny Board noted the progress to date.

The Governance and Logistics Panel were invited to address the board and present their report on the review of Council Catering.

Members advised that they had undertaken the review in order to monitor money spent on catering for members and officer events. It was advised that the sum spent on vending was not deemed significant, however members would look to reduce catering costs to the council for food.

The Chairman thanked the panel for their report and asked members if there were any questions.

Concerns were raised over the lack of catering available to members after the Plaza facilities closed at 3.00PM. Members addressed concerns over health issues, long working days and late meetings. The Chairman invited the Leader, Cllr Cheshire to address the board.

Cllr Cheshire advised that in order to address these concerns, he would investigate the making vending machines available for general use within the Plaza.

RECOMMENDED to the cabinet that:

(1)  Tea and coffee be provided for councillor events including meetings;

(2)  Food and drink be provided at mayoral events if appropriate; and

(3)  All lunch requests for officer events be approved by the relevant service manager. 

(4)  The Leader investigates vending machines available at the Plaza.

The Marketing and Development Scrutiny Panel and the Service Manager for Marketing and Customer Relations were invited to address the board to present a report on Personalisation.

Cllr Smith advised that the purpose of Personalisation was to offer extra services to residents above traditional core services. It was outlined that this practice was already being used at Havant Borough Council as customers were able to access additional services such as green waste collection and car parking. It was advised that Personalisation was an ongoing project that could be revisited in the future.

The Chairman thanked Cllr Smith for his report and asked members if there were any questions.

Members raised concerns over the implication that increased choice for residents would reduce the quality of core services. Members also queried the level of interest there would be from customers to increase services they receive from the local authority. It was advised that core services would always remain the same, Personalisation was a method of offering choice of extra services to customers. It was also advised by the Service Manager for Marketing and Customer Relations that pilot surveys had been completed and there had been a positive response to offering additional services to residents.

RECOMMENDED to cabinet that:

(1)  The Agile approach was not about officers adopting a new way of operating, it was about Councillors using a different operating methodology. The Council should take further steps to encourage Councillors to embrace this method.

(2)  There needed to be escalated progress with the delivery of Agile projects such as Operational Services and Community led services.

(3)   The policy of a “customer-centred” approach to help specific groups and individuals should continue. These additional services must be designed around the needs of our residents to create their own unique account where they can see all services and products they use and that are available to them.

(4)  Additional services must be designed so that they were easily accessible by residents, fit for purpose and efficient.

(5)  We need to continue to align our internal culture towards Personalisation and Agile working.

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 2014/15 and gave the Board an opportunity to review its performance over the last year.

RESOLVED that the annual report be submitted to Full Council subject to the following changes:

(1)  3.4 to include ‘Ponsonby (coopted)’

(2)  5.1 iii to read ‘E Shimbart’

(3)  5.1 iv to remove ‘R Bastin’.

The Board was given an opportunity to review progress to date with regard to the various scrutiny and policy reviews currently being undertaken by the Panels and to identify potential new matters for scrutiny.

The Service Manager for Operational Services, Peter Vince, addressed the Board with the Cabinet Lead for Operational Services, Cllr Briggs, to give an update on grass cutting. Peter Vince advised members that due to problems experienced in previous years, he could assure that teams were in place and equipment and vehicles were fully operational. Members raised concerns over the schedule of cuts per annum and were advised that in the last municipal year, nine cuts had been sufficient and this would remain, unless further cuts were deemed necessary. Members also asked when cuts would commence and were informed that this was dependent on many factors, including weather and obstruction, but the team would look to begin the second week of March 2015.

The Board received an update from each scrutiny lead regarding further projects and reviews.

RESOLVED that no additional matters be included in the Board’s work programme at the present time.