Agenda and minutes

To identify items which have been admitted to the agenda by the Chair for consideration.

(The special circumstances shall be specified in the minutes.)

The following information was provided as supplementary information to Item 7: Performance Reporting to the Scrutiny Board (minute 44 refers):

·  Additional financial information regarding Civic Enterprise Leeds

To disclose or draw attention to any disclosable pecuniary interests for the purposes of Section 31 of the Localism Act 2011 and paragraphs 13-16 of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

There were no declarations of disclosable pecuniary interest made at the meeting.

To receive any apologies for absence and notification of substitutes.

The following apologies and notifications of substitute members attending were received at the meeting:

·  Councillor A Sobel – Councillor R Grahame attending as a substitute member

·  Councillor D Nagle – Councillor D Regan attending as a substitute member

·  Councillor A Garthwaite – no substitute member in attendance

·  Councillor R Wood – no substitute member in attendance

To confirm as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting held on 26 October 2017.

The minutes of the meeting held on 26 October 2017 were agreed as an accurate record.

There were no matters arising identified or discussed at the meeting.

To receive and consider a report from the Director of Resources and Housing that sets out a summary of performance information relating to Civic Enterprise Leeds (CEL) and Digital and Information Services (DIS) covering the first six months of 2017/18.

The Director of Resources and Housing submitted a report to the Scrutiny Board introducing performance reports in relation to (a) Civic Enterprise Leeds and (b) Digital and Information Service.

The following were in attendance to introduce the report and performance information and to address questions from the Scrutiny Board:

·  Cllr James Lewis – Executive Member for Strategy and Resources

·  Sarah Martin – Chief Officer, Civic Enterprise Leeds

·  Mandy Smith – Head of Service (Catering Leeds)

·  Julie Hatton – Head of Service (Passenger Transport)

·  Dylan Roberts – Chief Officer, Digital and Information Service

·  Bev Fisher – Deputy Chief Officer, Digital and Information Service

·  Steve Bedford – Business Planning Manager, Digital and Information Service

The Scrutiny Board considered the report in two parts; the first part covering Civic Enterprise Leeds and the second part covering the Digital Information Service.

Civic Enterprise Leeds

The Chief Officer, Civic Enterprise Leeds, and Heads of Service introduced the item and highlights from the report covering the following areas:

·  Facilities Management/ cleaning

·  Catering

·  Passenger Transport

·  Fleet Services

Members of the Scrutiny Board considered and discussed the information presented, raising a number of specific areas, including:

·  Fire safety audits and checks – post Grenfell.

·  Levels of overtime and overtime payments.

·  Accident reporting and mitigating actions.

·  Budget challenges and financial action plans.

·  Levels of food waste and mitigating actions.

·  Absence management across the range of service areas.

Digital and Information Service

The Chief Officer, Digital and Information Service, and other officers in attendance introduced the item and highlights from the report covering the following areas:

·  Service operation and delivery.

·  Service developments and major projects.

·  Performance and benchmarking information.

Members of the Scrutiny Board considered and discussed the information presented, raising a number of specific areas, including:

·  Invest to save programmes of work.

·  The replacement case management system, including member access.

·  Operational performance indicators and customer feedback.

·  Benchmarking performance and the role of SOCITM.

RESOLVED –

(1)  That the details presenting in the Civic Enterprise Leeds and Digital and Information Service performance reports be noted.

(2)  That additional information be provided by Civic Enterprise Leeds in relation to the overall level of overtime and extra time payments.

(3)  That Civic Enterprise Leeds:

(a)  Continues to reduce and minimise the overall level of food waste.

(b)  Continue to promote the composting of food waste at schools (where available).

(c)  Seeks to reduce the overall level of food waste sent to landfill, including the potential use of anaerobic digestion as an alternative method of disposal.

(4)  That the following additional information be provided by the Digital and Information Service:

(a)  Service Desk Performance – average waiting time on telephone calls.

(b)  A briefing note on performance targets / SOCITM standards.

(c)  An update on the replacement case management system, including access for elected members.

To receive and consider a report from the Head of Governance and Scrutiny Support presenting a suite of financial reports in order to provide an overview of the Council’s overall financial health.

The Head of Governance and Scrutiny Support submitted a report introducing the following suite of financial monitoring reports, considered by the Executive Board at its meeting on 15 November 2017:

·  Financial Health Monitoring 2017/18 – Month 6   

·  Treasury Management Strategy Update 2017/18

·  Capital Programme Quarter 2 Update 2017-2021

The following were in attendance to introduce the report and performance information and to address questions from the Scrutiny Board:

·  Cllr James Lewis – Executive Member for Strategy and Resources

·  Richard Ellis –  Head of Finance (Communities & Environment, Resources & Housing, Corporate Finance)

·  Bhupinder Chana – Head of Finance (Technical)

·  Naomi Eastwood – Senior Financial Manager  (Financial Management (Corporate))

The Executive Board members and finance officers gave an introduction to each of the financial reports presented.  The Scrutiny Board considered the details outlined in the reports.  The Scrutiny Board discussed a number of matters and raised a number of questions, including:

·  Details of the slippage in the Capital Programme.

·  The Council’s asset base and levels of borrowing.

·  The balance between short-term and long-term borrowing.

·  Capital receipts through ward based initiatives.

·  Income targets across Sport and Active Lifestyles.

·  Details of in-year mitigating actions and forecast budget impact across City Development.

·  The level of City Development expenditure with Mouchels.

RESOLVED –

(1)  That the details presented in the financial reports consider by the Scrutiny Board be noted. 

(2)  That the following additional information in relation to City Development be provided to the Scrutiny Board.

a)  Details of in-year mitigating actions and forecast budget impact.

b)  More detailed information in relation to the level of expenditure with Mouchels.

To receive and consider a report from the Head of Governance and Scrutiny Support providing an update on the Scrutiny Board’s inquiry into Business Rates. 

The Head of Governance and Scrutiny Support submitted a report that provided an update on the Scrutiny Board’s inquiry into Business Rates; and summarised some of the key information previously presented and requested by the Scrutiny Board.

The report also set out the proposed next steps of the inquiry, including details of forthcoming attendance at a Valuation Tribunal Hearing. 

The Principal Scrutiny Adviser introduced the report and members of the Scrutiny Board discussed the details presented.  Members of the Scrutiny Board also noted the proposed next steps.  The Chair of the Scrutiny Board suggested that input from an appropriate government minister should be considered.

RESOLVED –

(1)  That the details presented in the report, including the proposed next steps, be noted and supported.

(2)  That, as part of the Scrutiny Board’s next steps, input from an appropriate government minister should be sought.

To consider the Scrutiny Board’s work schedule for the remainder of the 2017/18 municipal year.

The Head of Governance and Scrutiny Support submitted a report that presented an outline of the Scrutiny Board’s work schedule for the remainder of the current municipal year (2017/18), and detailed specific developments since the previous meeting in October 2017.

RESOLVED –

(1)  That the report be noted and the work schedule as presented be agreed.

(2)  That a date for the ‘Apprenticeships Levy’ working group in early 2018 be progressed.

Thursday, 21 December 2017 at 10:30am (pre-meeting for all members of the Scrutiny Board at 10:00am).

Thursday, 21 December 2017 at 10:30am (pre-meeting for all members of the Scrutiny Board at 10:00am).

The meeting closed at 12:30pm.