Agenda and minutes

Venue: Civic Hall, Leeds, LS1 1UR. View directions

Contact: John Grieve (0113) 22 43836  Email: john.grieve@leeds.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

CHAIR'S OPENING REMARKS

Minutes:

The Chair welcomed everyone to the first meeting of the Scrutiny Board (Resources and Council Services) of the 2011/12 Municipal Year.

 

 

2.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

To declare any personal / prejudicial interests for the purpose of Section 81 (3) of the Local Government Act 2000 and paragraphs 8 to 12 of the Members Code of Conduct.

 

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest reported at the meeting ?.

3.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND NOTIFICATION OF SUBSTITUTES

To receive any apologies for absence and notifications of substitutes.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors: JL Carter, Chastney, Gabriel and Lowe

 

Notification had been received for Councillor C Fox to substitute for Councillor J L Carter

 

4.

MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING pdf icon PDF 59 KB

To confirm as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting of Scrutiny Board (Central and Corporate) held on 4th April 2011

 

(Copy attached)

Minutes:

RESOLVED -That the minutes of the former meeting of the Scrutiny Board (Central and Corporate) held on 4th  April 2011 be confirmed as a correct record.

 

5.

CHANGES TO THE COUNCIL'S CONSTITUTION IN RELATION TO SCRUTINY pdf icon PDF 67 KB

To consider a report by the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development which provides recent amendments to the Council’s Constitution, as agreed by Council at it’s meeting on 26th May 2011, which directly relates to and /or impact on the work of Scrutiny Boards.

 

(Report attached)

Minutes:

The report of the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development provided the Board with information on recent amendments to the Council’s Constitution, as agreed by Council on 26 May 2011, which directly related to and/or impacted on the work of Scrutiny Boards.  The more significant amendments made to the Council’s Constitution in relation to the Overview and Scrutiny function were summarised in the report.

 

Members of the Board were informed of the following main changes:

 

  • There would now be five themed Scrutiny Boards that reflected the Boards of the Strategic Partnership.
  • Changes to the Call-In process – these included the requirement to consider the financial consequences of calling in a decision and changes to allow sitting Members of a Scrutiny Board to be a signatory of the calling in of a decision for consideration by their respective Board.

 

 

RESOLVED – That the amendments to the Council’s Constitution as outlined in Section 3 of the submitted report be noted.

 

 

 

6.

SOURCES OF WORK AND AREAS OF PRIORITY FOR THE SCRUTINY BOARD pdf icon PDF 77 KB

To consider a report by the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development which provides information and guidance on potential sources of work and areas of priority within the Board’s terms of reference

 

(Report attached)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Head of Scrutiny and Member Development submitted a report which provided information and guidance on potential sources of work to be developed within the Board’s Work Programme for 2011/ 12. 

 

Copies of the Scrutiny Boards terms of reference along with recent Executive Board minutes and a copy of the Council’s Forward Plan were appended to the report.

 

The Chair welcome to the meeting Councillor Wakefield, Leader of the Council who suggested the following service areas where a Scrutiny Inquiry may be beneficial:

 

  • The Council Budget – Managing Diminishing Resources
  • Apprenticeship and Jobs – Explore opportunities to deliver services with the assistance of the Private Sector
  • Consequences of Benefit Changes – To explore the implication when changes are made to the Benefits System
  • Customer Access Strategy – An investigation into Customer Care

 

Other topics raised by Board Members included:

 

·  Best Utilisation of Surplus Properties

·  Vehicle Maintenance Garage at Torre Road – Generation of Income

·  Quality Control and Contracts

·  Best Value Review of ITC

·  Internet Provision in Deprived Areas

·  Marketing Leeds – Costs of Producing marketing material, value for money and effectiveness

·  Council Wide Costs of Publications

·  Translation Service – Cost of Service

 

The Chair confirmed that the Contact Centre Working Group established last year would be reconstituted and continue it’s inquiry

 

The Chair thanked Councillor Wakefield for his attendance and contributions

 

 

RESOLVED – That the Work Schedule be amended in line with the discussion and prioritised accordingly.

 

7.

WORK SCHEDULE pdf icon PDF 53 KB

To consider a report by the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development which sets out the Boards Work Schedule for the forthcoming municipal year

 

(Report attached)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Head of Scrutiny and Member Development submitted a report which gave opportunity for consideration of the Board’s work schedule for the forthcoming Municipal Year.  A draft work schedule was appended to the report.

 

 

RESOLVED

 

a)  That the contents of the report and appendices be noted.

b)  That the following topics be scheduled for the July meeting:-

 

  • Customer Access Strategy
  • Final Outturn Report
  • That Members be provided with briefing notes on the quality control of contracts and Agency Staff

8.

CO-OPTED MEMBERS pdf icon PDF 69 KB

To consider a report by the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development seeking the Scrutiny Boards formal consideration for the appointment of

Co-opted Members to the Board

 

(Report attached)

Minutes:

The report of the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development sought the Board’s formal consideration for the appoint of co-opted members.  Reference was made to the provision in the Council’s Constitution for the appointment of co-opted members.

 

Members discussed the different options for co-opting members to the Board including appointing co-opted Members for the duration of the Municipal Year or making ad-hoc appointments to provide specialist support and advice on specific inquiries.

 

RESOLVED - The Board agreed to appoint co-optees on an ad hoc basis, as and when considered necessary to assist with particular matters or inquiries.

 

9.

DATE AND TIME OF MEETINGS FOR THE 2011/12 MUNICIPAL YEAR

To note the arrangement for future meetings of the Board:

 

Monday 11th July 2011

Monday 5th September 2011

Monday 3rd October 2011

Monday 7th November 2011

Monday 5th December 2011

Monday 9th January 2012

Monday 6th February 2012

Monday 5th March 2012

Monday 2nd April  2012

 

(All meetings to take place in the Civic Hall, Leeds commencing at 10.00am)

Minutes:

 

RESOLVED – To note that future meetings of the Board be scheduled as follows:

 

Monday 11th July 2011

Monday 5th September 2011

Monday 3rd October 2011

Monday 7th November 2011

Monday 5th December 2011

Monday 9th January 2012

Monday 6th February 2012

Monday 5th March 2012

Monday 2nd April  2012

 

All meetings to held in the Civic Hall, Leeds commencing at 10.00 a.m.

(Pre-meeting for Board Members to commence at 9.30 a.m.)

 

 

(The meeting concluded at  11.15am)