Meeting of Scrutiny Committee on Tuesday, 25th July, 2017
Meeting documents
Scrutiny Committee
Tuesday, 25th July, 2017
Place: | Cross Room, Civic Centre, West Paddock, Leyland PR25 1DH |
Present: | Cllr M V Tomlinson (Chairman), Mrs C A Chisholm , Cllr M A Green , Cllr D Howarth , Cllr Mrs S Jones , Cllr K J Martin , Cllr Mrs B A B Nathan , Cllr M J Titherington (Mayor), Cllr Mrs K Walton , Cllr I D Watkinson , Cllr Mrs L R Woollard |
In attendance: | Councillor Colin Clark ? Cabinet Member for Corporate Support and Assets, Joanne Platt (Interim Corporate Improvement Officer), Darren Cranshaw (Scrutiny and Performance Officer) and Dianne Scambler (Democratic Services Officer) |
Public attendance: | None |
Other Officers: | 2 Other Members Present: Councillors Jacqui Mort, Susan Snape and Graham Walton |
Item | Description/Resolution | Status | Action | |
---|---|---|---|---|
OPEN ITEMS | ||||
10 |
Welcome The Chair welcomed Councillors David Howarth and Barbara Nathan who were attending their first meeting. |
Noted | ||
11 |
Apologies for absence An apology for absence was received from Councillor Colin Coulton. |
Noted | ||
12 |
Minutes of the Last Meeting Minutes attached The minutes of the Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 22 June were confirmed as a correct record for signing by the Chair. |
Agreed | ||
13 |
Declarations of Interests No declarations of interests were declared. |
Noted | ||
14 |
Transformation Strategy 2017/18 Report (63K/bytes) attached Appendix 1 (2M/bytes) attached The Chair welcomed Councillor Colin Clark, Cabinet Member for Corporate Support and Assets who was attending the meeting along with Joanne Platt, Interim Corporate Improvement Manager to present the Council?s Transformation Strategy 2017-18. The Committee welcomed the Strategy being presented to Scrutiny prior to its consideration by Cabinet on 27 July for approval, but made a plea for future reports to be written in plain English to help promote a greater understanding of what the Strategy is aiming to achieve. ? The Business Transformation Strategy and the Organisational Development Strategy had been merged into the one document as the two strategies were closely aligned. It was important that Council staff possessed the skills and capacity needed to drive through the transformation of the Council. The Member Development Champions, Councillors Jane Bell and Susan Snape supported this approach. Once the Strategy was agreed the Council would consult with stakeholders on its implementation.
? Facing significant budgetary challenges, the Council needs to become financially self-sufficient by 2019-20 and the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) for 2017-20 sets out a target to achieve ?300,000 efficiencies from business transformation by 2018, with a further reduction of ?200,000 by April 2019. Although specific targets, it was accepted by the Council that has the systems and processes needed had not yet been developed, the savings targeted for this year would be met from reserves. In response to members concerns, it was explained that these targets would be reviewed regularly and it was anticipated that they would be exceeded in subsequent years. ? It is intended to hold a number of workshops in October to identify where savings can be made and all Core Managers have been asked to look at different ways of generating sustainable income across their service areas. The Committee noted the commitment to bring forward proposals for the Banqueting Suite and Worden Arts Centre to be utilised more by its residents that would in turn generate revenue for the Council. ? The Chair commented on how important it was for members to engage in the transformation process and asked for the implications of the Strategy to be communicated more effectively to stress the importance of the strategy?s success. Online interactive services are undoubtedly the way forward and the Council is required to make best use of all social media. ? The Committee welcomed the proposals for a more holistic approach to Organisational Development across the Council by ensuring that all officers and Councillors undertake the same training and agreed for Group Leaders to help drive this change through for members. Although many of the current Senior Management Team posts were Interim, this resource would only remain in place until a more permanent management structure was in place. ? The Cabinet was confident that the current values of the authority; teamwork, integrity, learning organisation, positive attitude and excellence are embedded within the organisation and still relevant to its workforce. This was evidenced recently at the Chief Executive workshops. It was felt that these values could be retained and improved upon to help reshape the culture of the organisation and the Council will look to developing ?the South Ribble Way?. The Council will strive to be the Best Council, working cohesively towards the delivery of a single vision and priorities and five transformational aims have been identified. ? Actions contained against each of the projects listed within the Transformation Strategy will be monitored against SMARTer (specific, measurable, achievable, and realistic, time bound) performance measures to ensure their delivery within the required timeframes and measurable Key Performance Indicators (KPI?s) have also been identified that will monitor its success, along with staff surveys, sickness absence figures and job application statistics. The Council would look to obtaining relevant awards that will be identified from the onset and evidence collated when going through the process to avoid additional resources when applying. ? The Chair thanked Councillor Colin Clark and Joanne Platt for attending the meeting and asked that they be kept informed of progress made. ? RESOLVED: |
Agreed | ||
15 |
Scrutiny Matters Forward Plan (148K/bytes) attached a) Scrutiny Task Group ? Staff Morale ? The membership of the Task Group was confirmed as: ? A report on the findings and recommendations would be brought to the next Scrutiny Committee meeting in August. ? b) Cabinet Forward Plan ? The Committee noted the Cabinet Forward Plan. |
Agreed | ||
16 |
Lancashire County Council Health Scrutiny Committee ? 24 July 2017 The Chair encouraged the Committee to read a report on the Lancashire Trust Hospital Foundation Trust ? Recruitment and Retention and Mobilisation of Chorley and South Ribble Emergency Department and Urgent Care Centre that had been considered by the Health Scrutiny Committee at Lancashire County Council. |
Noted | ||
17 |
Joint Strategic Needs Assessment Workshop ? 12 July 2017 Councillor Martin reported that he and Councillor Titherington had attended the workshop on the JSNA and encouraged scrutiny members to look at the assessment for South Ribble. |
Noted | ||
18 |
North West Employers Scrutiny Network Councillor Titherington provided feedback on the Regional Network he chaired on 6 July. A report from Oldham Council on Commercialisation had recently been circulated to all Members of the Scrutiny Committee. Given the item considered at the meeting, Councillor Titherington asked all Members to look at the document. ? The next meeting of the North West Employers Scrutiny Network was in November. The date would be circulated to all members and the Committee were encouraged to attend. |
Noted |