Agenda item

To receive and consider the attached report of the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development.

The Head of Scrutiny and Member Development submitted a report to assist the Board to develop its work programme for the 2009/10 municipal year.  This included an executive summary of, and the improvement priorities identified in, the Council’s Business Plan 2008-2011, a list of work undertaken by this Board and the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in the past five years and a copy of the Board’s Terms of Reference, together with a relevant extract from the Council’s Forward Plan of Key  Decisions for the period 1^st May to 31^st August 2009 and a copy of the minutes of the Executive Board meeting held on 13^th May 2009.

In attendance at the meeting and responding to Members’ queries and comments were:

Councillor Richard Brett, Leader of the Council and Executive Member (Central and Corporate Functions)

Alan Gay, Director of Resources

Nicole Jackson, Assistant Chief Executive (Corporate Governance)

James Rogers, Assistant Chief Executive (Planning, Policy and Improvement)

In brief summary, the main points of discussion were:-

·  The challenging budget set by the Council for 2009/10, the need to achieve the efficiency savings identified if the budget was going to be met, and how the Board’s work might assist in this respect.

Reference was made to the Board’s Inquiry last year into managing staff attendance, and how following through on its recommendations would assist to achieve the envisaged cost savings in this area.

Reference was also made to the Council trying to establish an ‘efficiency framework’, in order that it could better compare its costs against other organisations;

·  Support Services – The Council was striving to achieve efficiency savings of 2% per year over 5 years, and was now in the second year of this initiative.  It was suggested that this was an area the Board might like to look at.  Commercial Services was also suggested as a possible source for scrutiny.  Reference was also made to a proposal for the Board to look at the Council’s Customer Services, in particular the Call Centre operation.

Whilst some of these might be areas the Board wished to look at, subject to a clearer brief, it was emphasised that the Board would also wish to look at more strategic issues as set out in Paragraph (f) of its terms of reference – ‘to review outcomes, targets and priorities within the Leeds Strategic Plan, and to make such reports and recommendations as it considers appropriate’. Amongst these might be progress in promoting Leeds as the heart of a City Region, notwithstanding the need to avoid cross-over with the City and Regional Partnership Board.

·  Other possible areas for Board involvement discussed were the Council’s involvement in carbon trading, assisting in the proposed review of services to the disabled, how volunteering might be harnessed to assist the Council, public consultation and engagement concerns and links to the Council’s Business Plan, zero-based budgeting as part of an efficiency framework, information governance, the current performance management framework review forming part of the Council’s Business Transformation plans and knowledge sharing – both internally and with the Council’s partners and voluntary organisations. Also referred to was trying to connect the Board’s work to that of the Corporate Governance and Audit Committee, and managing conflict with the need for the Council to effect efficiencies, balanced against the knock-on effects for staff and the Council’s suppliers.

In conclusion the Chair thanked Councillor Brett and the officers for their attendance and the manner in which they had responded to Members’ queries and comments.

RESOLVED – That the report, and the contributions made during the discussion, be taken into account when the Board is finalising its work programme and deciding its priorities.

(NB: Councillor Hamilton left the meeting at 10.54 am and Councillor Kendall at 10.55 am during discussion of this item)