Agenda and minutes

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Andrew Fry.  Councillor Natalie Brooks attended as his substitute.

To invite Councillors to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Other Disclosable Interests they may have in items on the agenda, and to confirm the nature of those interests, and any Party Whip.

There were no declarations of interest nor of any party whip.

RESOLVED that

the minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 1st April 2014 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

To consider the final report of the Joint WRS Scrutiny Task Group and to determine whether to support the group’s recommendations.

(The Committee is asked to note that in line with reporting procedures for Worcestershire Regulatory Services this report will be considered by the Worcestershire Shared Services Joint Committee, the joint decision making body for Regulatory Services, before it is referred to the Executive Committees at partner organisations).

(Report attached, presentation to follow)

The Committee welcomed councillor Rod Laight, Chair of the Joint WRS Scrutiny Task Group, from Bromsgrove District Council, and invited him to deliver a presentation on the subject of the review.

During the delivery of this presentation the following issues were highlighted for Members’ consideration:

·         The review had originally been proposed in July 2012 but, due to delays arising from the consultation process with every Council in Worcestershire, it had not been possible to start the exercise until September 2013.

·         Each of the seven Councils in Worcestershire had agreed to participate in the review.

·         The group had proposed 12 recommendations focusing on particular themes.

·         The group had found that in the past there had been inconsistent monitoring of service performance.  This was partly due to ICT problems, though these had been resolved.

·         Communications had been a significant weakness identified by the group.  Due to poor communications the public and Councillors struggled to contact the service.

·         There were also problems with process for communicating developments with Worcestershire Regulatory Services (WRS) from members of the Worcestershire shared Services Joint Committee to other elected Members at partner authorities.

·         One of the key challenges facing the shared service was the financial support available from partner organisations.  In recent years financial austerity had impacted on many of the partners and a number were requesting significant savings placing the future of the partnership at risk.

·         To address these financial challenges Officers were considering entering into a strategic partnership with a private sector partner.

·         The governance of the shared service had also been a significant issue considered by the group.  Members had concluded that the current governance arrangements were too complex and did not enable the partnership to operate effectively.  In some cases, the group had concluded that elements of the governance structure were in fact undermining the shared service.

·         A number of lessons had been learned during the review, with implications both for future shared services and for any further joint scrutiny exercises.

·         Despite current difficulties with WRS the Task Group had concluded that the benefits of the shared service outweighed these problems and that it was essential to retain an effective partnership into the future.

Following presentation of the group’s report a number of additional issues were raised by Members.

·         Disappointment was expressed regarding the limited number of responses that had been received from other Councillors consulted during the review about WRS.

·         The potential impact of proposed budget reductions on service levels.  In particular, concerns were expressed that if Worcestershire County Council’s budget cuts went ahead as planned the trading standards function in Worcestershire would not necessarily have the resilience to cope with local demand.

·         The benefits of having a Member Liaison Officer for Councillors to contact.

·         Concerns were expressed that residents as well as local public sector bodies did not always appreciate the valuable contribution made by Regulatory Services to public health, safety and fair trading.

·         The benefits of preventing issues from arising and the risk that as a result of budgets being reduced  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

To consider the final report of the Abbey Stadium Task Group and to determine whether to approve the group’s recommendations.

(Report attached, presentation to follow)

Councillor Carol Gandy, as Chair of the Task Group, introduced the presentation and provided background information.  Former Councillor, Derek Taylor was welcomed back as a co-opted member of the Task Group.  It was confirmed that all Members of the Task Group had been in support of the six recommendations put forward in the report.

Members were provided with background information in respect of the scrutiny exercise and the areas which the Task Group had covered, which had included the scoping document being amended following details of a forthcoming business case for the Abbey Stadium being put forward.  It was now understood that this had been delayed and would not be brought before the Executive Committee until the autumn.

It was appreciated that in order to make improvements to the Stadium significant financial investment would be required.  The Task Group had therefore looked at other ways to allow the Council to continue to provide the service as an alternative going forward.  As part of the investigation the Task Group had therefore, following a visit to the Abbey Stadium, visited other leisure facilities throughout the country which were run by various types of leisure trusts. 

Those visits included Evesham Leisure Centre, which was run by Wychavon Leisure on behalf of Wychavon District Council.  The trust was run on a not-for-profit basis and from the information provided in a detailed interview with officers at the site it was understood the contract did not include any form of performance targets.  It was a relatively new centre which had excellent facilities and Members had been very keen to note that the sauna and steam room were well used and looked upon as a good addition to encourage and maintain membership.

The Task Group had also visited Stratford Leisure Centre, which was of a similar age to the Abbey Stadium. This was run by Sports and Leisure Management Limited (SLM) on behalf of Stratford-on-Avon District Council.  Members were provided with details of the contract history (they had held the contract at Stratford for over 20 years) together with how the centre was dual branded and had strict performance management targets to meet.   SLM was much larger and worked with approximately 25 other local authorities, which enabled them to have access to an excellent IT system in order to monitor membership and undertake targeted marketing on a regular basis.

Councillor Gandy was keen to assure Members that under recommendation 1, the Task Group was not recommending a specific model of trust, as it had only looked at two options and Members were aware that there were many other types available.  It was therefore imperative that if this recommendation was accepted then careful consideration was given to all options in order to make an informed decision and to ensure the best outcome for both the Council and its resident.

Councillor Mason provided a summary of the thinking behind recommendations 3, 4, and 5 and in doing so highlighted the following:

·         The inclusion of therapeutic services in order to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

To consider the outcomes of the Overview and Scrutiny training held on 10th June and to determine what further action, if any, is required following this training session.

(Report to follow).

The Chair reminded Members that the training session on 10th June had been cut short due to some needing to attend another meeting.  The second part of the training had consisted of two separate exercises that were designed to assist work planning for the coming municipal year.  It was suggested that these could take place prior to the next meeting of the Committee.  However, as a number of Members had other commitments that evening it was agreed that Officers would look at alternative dates.

RESOLVED that

Officers canvas alternative dates in order for the training exercises to be completed.

For the benefit of new Members to the Committee, Officers explained the Executive Committee minutes and Work Programme were standing items on the agenda and provided them with the opportunity to select any reports which could be pre-scrutinised in order for the Committee’s views to contribute to the Executive’s decision making process.  Officers highlighted that due to the timing of the Executive meetings, which were the week following the Scrutiny Committee’s meetings, Members should ensure that sufficient time was available for such pre-scrutiny to take place.

The minutes also enabled the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to track whether any recommendations it had made had been agreed by the Executive Committee.  Officers highlighted that in the attached minutes a number of recommendations made by the Landscaping Task Group and the Football Task Group had been accepted together with a recommendation made by the Committee on the subject of Member Development.  However, two recommendations pertaining to the sale of Threadneedle House had been rejected on the basis that the Executive Committee had already agreed an alternative decision on the subject.

In respect of the Executive Committee Work Programme, Members discussed the impact of the Local Development Scheme 2014 and Community Infrastructure Levy item and although the timescale did not permit the opportunity for pre-scrutiny it was felt information on this subject would be useful for the Committee to receive.

RESOLVED that

1)    Officers be asked to provide a summary report in respect of the Local Development Scheme 2014 and Community Infrastructure Levy; and

2)    that minutes of the Executive Committee held on 8th April and the latest edition of the Executive Committee Work Programme be noted.

Officers invited Members to consider the Committee’s own Work Programme.  Whilst there were a number of standing items on this, it was explained that there was flexibility for Members to both add and remove items from it if they so wished.

Councillor David Bush explained, that in his role as the previous Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee he had recently received a letter from a local resident which referenced a charitable donation made to the Council for the purpose of providing a number of defibrillator units.  Questions had been raised as to whether all of these defibrillators had been installed.  As this was a charitable donation Councillor Bush asked that this matter be investigated and a response provided for Members’ consideration.

RESOLVED that

the relevant Officers be asked to provide an update on the provision of defibrillators purchased through this charitable donation.

To consider progress to date on the current reviews against the terms set by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

The current reviews in progress are:

a)        Football Task Group – Chair, Councillor Bush; and

(Members are due to consider the appropriate deadline for the Football Task Group during this meeting).

b)        Voluntary Sector Task Group – Chair, Councillor Witherspoon.

 (Oral reports)

Officers explained that at each meeting the Chair of each Task Group was asked to provide a verbal update to inform Members of the progress of the investigation.  This provided the Committee with an opportunity to ensure that the terms of reference were being adhered to and that the deadline for the review remained realistic.  It also provided the Chair of the Task Group with an opportunity to highlight any particular areas or to ask for an extension if deemed necessary.

a)    Football Task Group – Chair, Councillor David Bush

Councillor Bush reminded Members that an interim report had been brought to the April meeting and unfortunately since that date, due to the elections and other commitments, the Task Group had not held any further meetings.  It was anticipated that a meeting would be arranged following the by election on 17^th July and the second part of the report would be brought to the October meeting.

b)    Voluntary Sector Task Group – Chair, Councillor Pat Witherspoon

Councillor Witherspoon explained that the Task Group’s investigations were completed, with only one further meeting planned.  The final report would therefore be presented as expected at the next meeting of the Committee.

RESOLVED that

1)    the Football Task Group complete their review by October 2014; and

2)    the update reports be noted.

To receive a verbal update on the recent work of the Worcestershire Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

(The Council’s representative on the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee remained to be confirmed at the time of publication).

(Verbal report)

For the benefit of new Members, Officers explained that in a two tier local government system health scrutiny powers rested with the county council.  In Worcestershire the county’s Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (HOSC) included a representative from each District and the Redditch representative was Councillor Pat Witherspoon.  Councillor Witherspoon provided a verbal update on the work of the HOSC at each meeting of the Committee and this also provided an opportunity for the Members of the Committee to discuss any particular issues which they wanted to see raised at HOSC on their behalf.

Councillor Witherspoon informed Members that the latest meeting of HOSC had been held on 17^th June and the bulk of the meeting had been taken up with a presentation on the development of the Integrated Community Team Hubs around the county.  The aim of these was to encourage people to go to the clinics, which were closer to home, rather than the acute hospitals.  There would eventually be five Community Treatment Centres across the county providing a variety of services.  A further update on these new facilities would be provided in the autumn.

The HOSC had also been informed that the Acute Hospitals Trust Review would be holding a further formal public consultation from the beginning of September and the HOSC would receive a presentation on the process at its next meeting.

Concerns had also been raised at the meeting in respect of charges being made for the provision of incontinence pads. Councillor Witherspoon had been particularly concerned about what appeared o be a very large variation in the amount charged by different GPs for the provision of a written assessment for those with a disability.  It was understood that HOSC or the Health and Wellbeing Board would investigate the inconsistency of these charges, which ranged from £18.50 to £125.00.