Agenda and minutes

At this point Members are asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they may have in the business on this agenda.

At this point in the meeting Members were asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they may have in the business on the agenda. None were declared.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 23 November 2010.

RESOLVED:             That the minutes of the meeting held on 23^rd November 2010 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

At this point in the meeting, members of the public who have registered their wish to speak regarding an item on the agenda or an issue within the Committee’s remit can do so. The deadline for registering is Monday 11 January 2011 at 5pm.

It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

The Chair of SMC to attend the meeting to learn about the Scrutiny Committees views on the effectiveness of scrutiny generally in York and specifically on the success of ongoing changes and improvements to current scrutiny practices.  This will help inform SMC in its efforts to improve the experience of scrutiny at work in York.

The Chair of the Scrutiny Management Committee attended the meeting to learn about the Scrutiny Committee’s views on the effectiveness of scrutiny generally in York and in particular on the success of ongoing changes and improvements to current scrutiny practices.

Members made the following points:

• No way of implementing the majority of actions of Scrutiny reviews due to budget issues.
• There has been reviews in the past that have tried to have ambition and vision rather than focusing on actions that require financial backing.
• Some Members felt that scrutiny meeting agendas need to focus on processes and procedures within the council rather than on information reports.
• Other Members felt that information reports were useful in identifying what to scrutinise.
• More liaison with directors needs to take place to establish exactly what needs to be scrutinised.
• In general good scrutiny topics are being covered.

RESOLVED:      That the Chair of SMC received the feedback as above.

REASON:To keep the Chair of SMC informed on Members views on Scrutiny.

This report provides an update on progress with fairness and inclusion matters in the council.

Members considered a report which informed them on the progress being made in relation to fairness and inclusion matters in the Council. The report focused on actions arising from the corporate Fairness and Inclusion Strategy  (FIS) and the Single Equality Scheme (SES) 2009-12.

Members noted the progress being made particularly in respect of the Equality Advisory Group and the Equality Impact Assessments.

RESOLVED:             That Members noted the report.

REASON:                  To keep Members informed on issues

This report provides Members with feedback on progress made against actions in the Workforce Plan 2010-12 during its first six months (May – Oct 2010) and it outlines how the Plan and action plan will be refreshed to take account of the substantial changes in government spending and policy and be aligned with the refreshed corporate plan and 2011/12 budget.

Members considered a report which updated them on the following:

• Feedback on progress made against actions in the Workforce Plan 2010-12 during its first six months (May-Oct 2010).
• How the plan and action plan will be refreshed to take account of the substantial change in government spending and policy and be aligned with the refreshed corporate plan and 2011/12 budget.

Officers outlined the report and advised that a number of the 80 plus actions associated with the plan will be ongoing over the next two years and not completed until 2012, but already 6 actions had been completed and a further 2/5 of the actions are on track.

Officers advised Members of the following key points:

• Apprenticeships, which had been the focus of a Scrutiny topic, is an area that will be focused upon in the long term, at present HR is focusing its efforts on matters such as redeployment of existing staff in light of budget cuts.
• A workforce plan steering group will be established and will lead on refreshment of the plan as required.
• Eureka the scheme through which staff can submit suggestions to improve ways of working at the Council had been a success.

RESOLVED:             That Members note the progress made against the Workforce Plan action plan in the first six months, May to October 2010  and proposed next steps.

REASON:                  To keep Members informed.

This report was considered by the Executive at their meeting on 14 December 2010.   The report provides an update on the 2011-12 budget process.

Members considered a report which had originally been received by the Executive. It provided them with an update on the 2011/12 budget process, with emphasis on the latest information available regarding funding and how this might effect the Council’s provisional grant settlement.

The Assistant Director  of Customer and Business Support Services (Finance) outlined the report and advised Members that the Council is expecting a 13.3% drop in formula grant with a further 10% drop expected in 2012/13.

RESOLVED:             That Members noted the report and the current position and the ongoing work being conducted in relation to developing the 2011/12 budget.

REASON:                  So that the 2011/12 budget process can be completed in a timely manner.

This report will present the draft final report of the Customer Complaints scrutiny review. 

Members considered a report which presented the findings from the scrutiny review of the Council’s Customer Complaints policy carried out by a Task Group made up of members from the Effective Organisation Committee. Members were asked to consider and approve the recommendations arising from the review.

The Members who had formed the Task Group advised the rest of the Committee of the Committee that the review had been undertaken at the correct time and had enabled Members to feed into the Corporate Customer Feedback Policy.

In terms of the recommendations the Committee felt that recommendation 6 could be worded differently to reflect that stage one complaints do not receive an acknowledgement letter as it is policy for officers to deal with stage one complaints within 10 days.

RESOLVED:             That the Effective Organisation Overview and Scrutiny Committee agreed the recommendations listed in the report.¹

REASON:                  To achieve the objectives of the review, including reducing the number of complaints and contributing to any further efficiency savings beyond those identified by the More for York review.

Members are asked to consider the workplan for the Committee for the
2010-11 Civic Year.

Members considered the draft workplan for the Effective Organisation Overview and Scrutiny Committee for the remainder of the 2010-11 municipal year.

At Members request, the remaining meeting scheduled for 22 February 2011 will be cancelled and the information only report be circulated via email to the Committee.

RESOLVED:             That the amendment above be approved.

REASON:                  To ensure a robust and relevant workplan is in place for the municipal year.