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

50.

Wayne Baxter

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:

Board Members wished to record their sorrow on the news of the death of Wayne Baxter and to pass on their condolences to his friends and family

 

51.

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:

Councillor Ron Grahame declared a personal interest in relation to agenda item 7, 2011/12 Quarter 2 Performance Report and agenda item 8, Waste Management Process Review Project, as a Member of the GMB Union. (Minute No 54 and 55 refers)

 

52.

Apologies for Absence and Notification of Substitutes

To receive any apologies for absence and notifications of substitutes.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor R Wood.

 

53.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 73 KB

To confirm as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting held on 7th November and a Call In meeting held on 9th November 2011.

 

(Copies attached)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 7th November 2011 and 9th November 2011 be confirmed  as a true and correct record

 

54.

2011/12 Quarter 2 Performance Report pdf icon PDF 93 KB

To consider a report by the Assistant Chief Executive (Customer Access and Performance) which presents a summary of the quarter 2 performance data  for 2011-12 and provides an update on the progress in delivering the priorities in the Council Business Plan which are relevant to this Board.

 

(Report attached)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Assistant Chief Executive (Customer Access and Performance) submitted a report which presented a summary of the quarter 2 performance data relevant to Scrutiny Board (Resources and Council Services).

 

The following officers attended the meeting and responded to Members questions and comments:

 

-  Doug Meeson - Chief Officer, Financial Management,

-  Lee Hemsworth – Chief Officer, Intelligence and Improvement

-  Heather Pinches – Performance Manager

 

The Performance Manager detailed to the Board the new performance management reporting arrangements which include a number of new reports including;  Performance Reports for the each of the City Priority Plan priorities and for the 5Cross-Council Priorities in the Council Business Plan.  Directorate Priorities and Indicators for each directorate which sets out the high level progress against each of the directorates’ priorities and indicators in the Council Business Plan and Self Assessment.

 

In brief summary, the main areas of discussion were:

 

  • The cost to the authority in managing the performance regime and how the collected data was used in driving improvement across the authority and within partners.
  • Concerns about a number of areas where the indicator had still to be developed and that this didn’t hinder performance in those areas
  • The need (where applicable) to use numbers and percentages to explain performance
  • The need to recognise that some priorities were linked, for example Treating People Fairly and Working with Communities and that there might be expertise in the third sector to help drive improvement in these areas and a recognition that the current indicators used were good.
  • The improvements seen in the number of staff appraisals undertaken and acknowledgment that the initial findings of the staff survey should be available in the New Year.
  • An explanation of the managers and employee’s self service project and the operational difficulties being experienced in its development
  • The need to reconsider the RAG status given to the delivery of budget savings through procurement. This was currently Green but predicted savings would not be achieved.
  • The acknowledgment that the development of category management was green.
  • The affect the ELI scheme may potentially have on achieving the service improvements required
  • The use of the £8.4 million VAT rebate.
  • The acknowledgement that all Scrutiny Boards would be considering relevant performance data and that this could be used to hold Directors and Executive Board Members to account

 

The following additional information was requested.

 

  • A report from procurement on how end of contracts are monitored and managed
  • The cost of Leeds Initiative and its Boards
  • Further detail in relation to staff appraisals and the reasons for some staff members not having had an appraisal
  • The number of residents involved in the 2010 research project
  • Current and projected ELI figures

 

RESOLVED

 

(i)  To note the progress in relation to the delivery of the Cross Council Priorities in the Council Business Plan. 

(ii)  To note the progress in relation to the directorate priorities and indicators within the Council Business Plan that fall within the remit of the Resources and Council Services Scrutiny Board.

(iii)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 54.

55.

Waste Management Process Review Project pdf icon PDF 78 KB

To consider a report by the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development which provides an update on the Waste Management Process Review Project.

 

(Report attached)

Minutes:

The Head of Scrutiny and Member Development submitted a report which provided a resume of the recommendations previously made by a working group of this board following its review of the Customer Access Programme and the issue of missed bins.

 

The following officers attended the meeting and responded to Members questions and comments:

 

-  Susan Upton – Head of Waste Management

-  Keith Lander –  Area Management

-  Andrew Hickford – Senior Project Leader

-  Cathryn Baggott – Project Manager

-  Roger Barry-Earnshaw –Environmental Services

 

Opening the discussion, the Project Manager provide the Board with an update on the Waste Management Process Review Project.

It was noted that the procurement and development of the new Integrated Waste Management System would offer considerable operational benefits and would remove some of the current constraints effecting bin collection performance.  However, until this new system was in place a number of interim improvements had been identified and would be implemented as set out below:

·  Short term - 

These changes would concentrate on the rationalisation of existing systems and technologies, streamlining current processes, providing customers with clearer information and improving communication between Waste Management and Customer Services.  The analysis was focusing on all aspects of the process, from the capture and recording of the service request from the customer, the workflow of the service requests through Siebel CRM to the depot, the Admin Team at the depot providing task sheets to the crews and, completion of the task request by the crew. Short term changes to be completed by March 2012.


 

·  Medium term 

Introduction of online self service access to report missed bin and bulky waste collection requests.  Work with the service to make recommendations to improve resource planning and meet service recovery targets.

·  Long term

This final phase would utilise the implementation of ‘in cab’ technology, currently being piloted, and the integrated waste management system.  This would enable crews to record real time information on service performance which could then be shared with the customer through integration of customer management systems. 

 

 

In brief summary, the main areas of discussion were:

 

  • The acknowledgement that the findings of the officer’s research mirrored those of the Scrutiny Board Working Group
  • The request that the Board be provided with a timescale document for the project, including where appropriate costings and approval requirements
  • The need to develop a consistent policy on how missed bins are managed
  • Further detail on the reduction of absence levels
  • Details on the most common reasons for bins being missed (ordered by frequency)
  • Further data in relation to performance related pay

 

RESOLVED

 

(i)  To receive a progress report on the Waste Management Process Review Project

(ii)  To consider the proposed action as described by the project

(iii)  To request additional information as detailed above

 

(Councillor Lowe left the meeting during discussion on this item at 11.25am)

 

56.

Work Schedule pdf icon PDF 50 KB

To consider a report of the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development on the Board’s draft work schedule, together with the latest Executive Board minutes and Forward Plan

 

(Report attached)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

A report was submitted by the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development which detailed the Scrutiny Board’s work programme for the current municipal year.

 

Appended to the report for Members’ information was the current version of the Board’s work programme, the minutes from the Executive Board meeting held on 2nd November 2011, together with an extract from the Forward Plan of Key Decisions for the period 1st December 2011 to 31st March 2012.

 

RESOLVED – That the work programme, as amended, be approved.

 

57.

Date and Time of Next Meeting

Monday 9th January 2012 at 10.00am in the Civic Hall, Leeds (Pre – Meeting for Board Members at 9.30am)

Minutes:

RESOLVED – To note that the next meeting will take place on Monday 9th January 2012 at 10.00am in the Civic Hall, Leeds (Pre- Meeting for Board Members at 9.30am)

 

 

(The meeting concluded at 12.Noon)