Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the July meeting of the Scrutiny Board (Resources and Council Services).

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

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

There were no formal late items although the Board did receive additional information in relation to the Community Right to Challenge Process Flow Chart (Minute 22 refers)

To disclose or draw attention to any disclosable pecuniary interests for the purposes of Section 31 of the Localism Act 2011 and paragraphs 13-18 of the Members’ Code of Conduct.  Also to declare any other significant interests which the Member wishes to declare in the public interest, in accordance with paragraphs 19-20 of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

In accordance with paragraphs 19-20 of the Members Code of

Conduct, the following declarations were made by Members who felt it was in the public interest to do so: Councillor Ron Grahame in relation to Agenda item 7, Environment and Neighbourhoods Appraisal and Engagement Results as a Member of the GMB Union (minute 20 refers).

To receive any apologies for absence and notifications of substitutes.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor A Lowe and Councillor J L Carter.

Notification had been received for Councillor M Rafique to substitute for

Councillor A Lowe and Councillor G Wilkinson to substitute for J L Carter

To confirm as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting held on 25^th June 2012

(Copy attached)

RESOLVED -That the previous meeting held on 25^th June 2012 be confirmed as a correct record subject to an amendment to show that Cllr D Collins was in attendance.

To consider a report by the Director of Environments and Neighbourhoods which sets out the present position on appraisal and employee engagement in Environment and Neighbourhoods. A reports on appraisals and employee engagement was considered by this Board on 25^th June 2012 when clarification around a number of issues was requested.

(Report attached)

The Director of Environments and Neighbourhoods presented a report providing the current position in terms of appraisals and employee engagement in Environments and Neighbourhoods. 

The following officers were in attendance;

Neil Evans – Director of Environment and Neighbourhoods

Susan Upton – Head of Waste

Helen Freeman – Head of Waste Management

Joss Ivory – head of Human Resources - Development

  In brief summary, the main issues of discussion were

·  results for different services

·  an explanation why targets have not been met in terms of service context

·  why different approaches to appraisal have been used in some areas

·  action to be taken to improve performance

·  the role of senior management in changing the culture of the directorate

·  the use of agency staff and overtime (additional information was requested on this area)

(Cllr Rafique joined the meeting during this item at 10.20 am)

RESOLVED – To note the contents of the report and that the additional information requested be provided.

To consider a report of the Chief Officer Private Public Partnerships Unit  which  acknowledges Members’ concerns about the consideration of call-in with respect to procurement decisions. The report also provides an update on activities being implemented through the Transforming Procurement Programme to improve the Council’s approach to procurement.

(Report attached)

The Chief Officer, Corporate Procurement and Public Private Partnership Unit submitted a report  outlining the programme put in place to ensure greater corporate visibility of when contracts end and the timeline for future procurements to ensure successful planning, better allocation of resources and to support service directorate commissioning. The programme also seeks to more effectively support decision making processes around Call In.

The following officers were in attendance;

David Outram - Chief Officer, Corporate Procurement and Public Private Partnership Unit

Philippa Toner – Senior Executive Manager, Project and Technical Management –PPPU

In summary, the main areas of discussion were:

·  An understanding of the Assurance and Compliance workstream which seeks to develop and implement   strategies to promote appropriate levels of consistency and to ensure compliance with relevant policies and procedures.

·  the procurement calendar, which enables the planning and prioritisation of future projects.

·  the resource planning tool which ensures projects are properly assessed, prioritised, and allocated within available resource to ensure they are delivered to time, budget and required quality level.

·  a scoping document to determine the scale and complexity of each procurement project, including the impact for elected Members

·  measures to ensure that the call-in process is recognised as a valuable aspect of decision making, ensuring appropriate timescales are incorporated into each procurement project.

·  the Transforming Procurement Programme and the initiatives undertaken through the programme to ensure greater visibility of when contracts end and the timeline for future procurements

In addition discussion was held on Lawnswood incinerator and Member training in relation to PFI schemes

(Cllrs Bentley, Mcniven, Wilkinson and Rafique left the meeting at 12 noon)

RESOLVED - To note the contents of the report and the change programme being undertaken to improve the council’s approach to procurement.

To consider a report of the Chief Officer Private Public Partnerships Unit and Procurement Unit which provides a summary of the requirements arising from the ‘Community Right to challenge’ provisions of the Localism Act 2011. The report has been referred to this Board to allow Members the opportunity to comment on proposals contained in sections 3.1 and 3.2 of the submitted report.

(Report attached)

The Chief Officer, Corporate Procurement and Public Private Partnership Unit submitted a report seeking the views of Scrutiny Board (Resources and Council Services) on the proposed process flow chart for the management of Community Right to Challenge ‘expressions of interests’.

The following officers were in attendance;

David Outram - Chief Officer, Corporate Procurement and Public Private Partnership Unit

Philippa Toner – Senior Executive Manager, Project and Technical Management –PPPU

RESOLVED –

(i)  to endorse the process flow chart subject to the Executive Board being the decision making body at the pre – procurement stage rather than the Director of Resources.

(ii)  that the views of the Scrutiny Board be incorporated into the report to be submitted to Executive Board on this matter

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)

The Head of Scrutiny and Member Development submitted a copy of the Board’s work schedule. Copies of the minutes of the Executive Board meeting held on 20^th June 2012 were attached for consideration along with a copy of the Forward Plan.

A discussion on potential work items was held.

RESOLVED –

(i)  To request information in relation to Member consultation on PFI projects

(ii)  To request that the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development hold further discussions with Cllr R Grahame on   the appropriateness of his request for Scrutiny in relation to HR matters

(iii)  To invite the Executive Member for Environment to the October Board meeting

(iv)  To receive an update in October on Commercial Services

(v)  To note the contents of the Forward Plan and Executive Board minutes

To note that the next meeting will take place on Monday 3^rd September 2012

at 10.00am in the Civic Hall, Leeds (Pre – Meeting for Board Members at 9.30am)

RESOLVED – To note the date of the next meeting as Monday 3^rd September 2012 at 10am

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

(The meeting concluded at 12.30 pm)