Agenda and minutes

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

Contact: Peter Marrington (0113) 39 51151  Email: peter.marrington@leeds.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

25.

Late Items

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

 

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

Minutes:

There were no late items.

 

26.

Declaration of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests

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.

Minutes:

There were no disclosable pecuniary interests declared to the meeting.

 

27.

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 J Cummins, A Lowe and R Wood.

 

Councillor M Rafique substituted for Councillor J Cummins and Councillor K Groves substituted for Councillor A Lowe. 

 

28.

Minutes - 22 July 2014 pdf icon PDF 60 KB

To confirm as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting held on 22 July 2014.

Minutes:

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 22 July 2014 be confirmed as a correct record.

 

29.

Local Council Tax Support Scheme pdf icon PDF 1 MB

To consider a report from the Chief Officer (Welfare & Benefits) outlining proposals to change the Local Council Tax Support Scheme from April 2015.

Minutes:

The Chief Officer (Welfare & Benefits) submitted a report setting out proposals to change the Local Council Tax Support Scheme from April 2015.  Public consultation was currently underway in relation to the scheme proposals and the views of Scrutiny Board (Resources and Council Services) were sought.

 

The following were in attendance and responded to Board Members questions and comments;

 

-  Steve Carey, Chief Officer (Welfare and Benefits)

-  Jane McManus, Project Manager (Council Tax Support).

 

In summary the main areas of discussion were:

 

·  Reasons behind the proposed change to the current scheme and the desired outcomes.

·  The recognition that the success of the proposed scheme would be dependent on successful collaboration between Jobs and Skills and the Welfare team.  Similarly working arrangements between the Council and other agencies (for example Job Centre Plus) will be crucial.

·  The capacity of the Jobs and Skills section to fulfil its part of the scheme.

·  The budget implications in terms of increased or decreased caseloads.

 

RESOLVED –

 

(i)  That consideration be given for any savings in the support scheme budget accrued through none payment as a result of a claimant not engaging with the council, to be diverted into specific job seeking support initiatives (and not diverted into the Council’s general fund)

(ii)  That the Chief Officer (Welfare & Benefits) consults with the equalities team on the development of the impact assessment for the scheme.

(iii)  That the introduction of a hardship fund into the proposed scheme be considered.

(iv)  That assurances are sought from the Chief Officer (Welfare & Benefits and from the Chief Officer (Employment and Skills) that the Jobs and Skills section has the capacity and resources to fulfil its part of the proposed scheme.

 

30.

Effective Procurement and Contract Procedure Rules pdf icon PDF 117 KB

To consider a report from the Chief Officer PPPU and Procurement providing an update on the operation of Contracts Procedure Rules and the implementation of the Effective Procurement documentation. 

Minutes:

The Chief Officer PPPU and Procurement submitted a report updating the Scrutiny Board on progress in implementing the new Contract procedure Rules and the other Effective Procurement documentation, and on anticipated changes to legislation and guidance.

 

Andy Eaton, Executive Manager, Legal, Strategy and Resources attended and responded to Board Members questions and comments.

 

RESOLVED – To receive at a future meeting the following information:

 

(i)  Further detail from the spend analysis of spend not on-contract

(ii)  A report on information available in relation to effectiveness of use of the contracts register and procurement calendar for procurement planning [to ensure sufficient time for decision-making and call-in and to prevent unplanned extensions of contracts and waivers.

 

31.

Best Council Plan 'Scorecard' pdf icon PDF 364 KB

To consider a report from the Deputy Chief Executive presenting a set of key performance indicators that collectively are referred to as the ‘Best Council Plan Scorecard’

Minutes:

The Deputy Chief Executive submitted a report presenting a set of key performance indicators selected to form a ‘scorecard’, against which progress to meet the Best Council Plan 2013 – 17 will be measured.

 

Coral Main, Principal Risk Management Officer, attended and responded to Board Members questions and comments.

 

In summary the main areas of discussion was the number of ‘key’ performance indicators and whether there was scope for reducing these further and those scorecard KPIs for which no targets are set.

 

RESOLVED – To receive the quarterly scorecard reports that will go to Corporate Leadership Team in future.

 

32.

Work Schedule pdf icon PDF 49 KB

To consider the Scrutiny Board’s work schedule for the 2014/15 municipal year.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The report of the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development presented the draft work schedule for the forthcoming municipal year. 

 

27 October 2014 Meeting

 

To add a discussion on Jobs and Skills

 

24 November 2014 Meeting.

 

To add a referral from Corporate Governance and Audit Committee in relation to Officer interests.

 

To add a discussion on Procurement.

 

RESOLVED – That the Board’s work schedule be updated to reflect the work areas identified during today’s meeting.

 

33.

Date and Time of Next Meeting

Monday, 27 October 2014 at 10.00am (Pre meeting for all Board Members at 9.30 am)

Minutes:

Monday, 27 October 2014 at 10.00 am (Pre-meeting for all Board Members at 9.30 am)

 

(The meeting concluded at 11.00 am).