Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive the apologies of any Member who is unable to attend this meeting.

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no apologies for absence.

To invite Councillors to declare any interests they may have in items on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no declarations of interest.

1.         To give notice of any items for future meetings or for the Forward Plan, including any scheduled for this meeting, but now carried forward or deleted; and

2          any other relevant announcements.

(Oral report)

The following items of business, scheduled on the Forward Plan to be dealt with at this meeting, had been re-scheduled to a later meeting:

·        Revised Constitutional Model;

·        Energy Strategy; and

·        Asset Disposal Programme.

The Chair also advised that she had accepted the following matters as Urgent Business:

Item 7 – Capital Programme – Outturn 2008/09; and

Item 8 – Consolidated Revenue – Outturn 2008/09.

The following items of business, scheduled on the Forward Plan to be dealt with at this meeting, had been re-scheduled to a later meeting:

·        Revised Constitutional Model;

·        Energy Strategy; and

·        Asset Disposal Programme.

The Chair also advised that she had accepted the following matters as Urgent Business:

Item 7 – Capital Programme – Outturn 2008/09; and

Item 8 – Consolidated Revenue – Outturn 2008/09.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Executive Committee held on the 20 May 2009.

(Minutes attached)

Members noted that the minutes included a correction at Paragraph 300 (1) following publication of the Decision Notice as follows: 

“applications be invited from house owners in the Borough aged 60 or over, living in a Council Tax band A to D property and not in full time employment or in receipt of benefits, to have loft and / or cavity wall insulation installed in their homes free of charge;”

RESOLVED that

Subject to the above correction, the minutes of the meeting held on 20 May 2009 be agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Members noted that the minutes included a correction at Paragraph 300 (1) following publication of the Decision Notice as follows: 

“applications be invited from house owners in the Borough aged 60 or over, living in a Council Tax band A to D property and not in full time employment or in receipt of benefits, to have loft and / or cavity wall insulation installed in their homes free of charge;”

RESOLVED that

Subject to the above correction, the minutes of the meeting held on 20 May 2009 be agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

To consider and approve a Policy on the funding of voluntary and community sector organisations.

(Report attached)

RECOMMENDED that

1)                 the policy for funding voluntary and community sector organisations using the Shopping, Investing and Giving framework, attached to the report at Appendix 1, be approved subject to amendments to paragraphs 3.2,and 3.5 as detailed below;

2)                 the policy for the award of grants by Redditch Borough Council to voluntary and community sector organisations, attached to the report at Appendix 2, be approved subject to amendments to paragraphs 3.2, 4.3, 6.4, 9.12 and 10.3 as detailed below; and

3)                 further work be undertaken on the Council’s relationship with the voluntary and community sector, as recommended by the Third Sector Task and Finish Group, in the manner outlined in paragraphs 5.10 to 5.15 of the report.

Appendix 1

3.2       Shopping refers to the procurement and contractual arrangements with external providers to deliver services on behalf of the Council that the Council has a statutory duty to provide or priority areas the Council wishes to invest in.  (The remainder of this paragraph was unaltered.)

3.5       The Executive Committee will consider and make a decision on which services and funding mechanisms the Council will seek to provide under the Shopping element of this framework subject to agreement by full Council. e.g. Advice Services, Waste Management / recycling services.

Appendix 2

3.2       Shopping refers to procurement and contractual arrangements with external providers to deliver services on behalf of the Council and that the Council has a statutory duty to provide or priority areas the Council wishes to invest in.  (The remainder of this paragraph was unaltered.)

4.3       The Council will require that all grant awards willsupport Council objectives.  (The remainder of this paragraph was unaltered.)

6.4             Full cost recovery will not be considered for any grant awarded projects under £5,000 (small grants).

9.12    Unsuccessful applicants will be offered feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of their application.  and will be signposted to appropriate organisations for support with securing funding from alternative sources.

10.3    (The following sentence to be added at the end of the paragraph.)  The length of the bidding process will be proportionate to the type and value of the grant.

Members considered a report which requested approval for two new policies, which had been produced in line with the recommendations of the Third Sector Task and Finish Group that had been approved by Council in January 2009:

a)                 Policy for Funding Voluntary and Community Sector Organisations using the Shopping, Investing and Giving Framework (Appendix 1 of the report); and

b)                 Policy for the Award of Grants by Redditch Borough Council to Voluntary and Community Sector Organisations (Appendix 2 of the report).

Officers reported that a number of amendments had been made to each of the policies as follows:

Appendix 1

3.2       Shopping refers to the procurement and contractual arrangements with external providers to deliver services on behalf of the Council that the Council has a statutory duty to provide or priority areas the Council wishes to invest in.  (The remainder of this paragraph was unaltered.)

3.5       The Executive Committee will consider and make a decision on which services and funding mechanisms the Council will seek to provide under the Shopping element of this framework subject to agreement by full Council. e.g. Advice Services, Waste Management / recycling services.

Appendix 2

3.2       Shopping refers to procurement and contractual arrangements with external providers to deliver services on behalf of the Council and that the Council has a statutory duty to provide or priority areas the Council wishes to invest in.  (The remainder of this paragraph was unaltered.)

4.3       The Council will require that all grant awards willsupport Council objectives.  (The remainder of this paragraph was unaltered.)

6.4             Full cost recovery will not be considered for any grant awarded projects under £5,000 (small grants).

9.12    Unsuccessful applicants will be offered feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of their application.  and will be signposted to appropriate organisations for support with securing funding from alternative sources.

10.3    (The following sentence to be added at the end of the paragraph.)The length of the bidding process will be proportionate to the type and value of the grant.

RECOMMENDED that

1)                 the policy for funding Voluntary and Community Sector organisations using the Shopping, Investing and Giving framework, attached to the report at Appendix 1, be approved subject to amendments to paragraphs 3.2,and 3.5 as detailed above;

2)                 the policy for the award of grants by Redditch Borough Council to Voluntary and Community Sector organisations, attached to the report at Appendix 2, be approved subject to amendments to paragraphs 3.2, 4.3, 6.4, 9.12 and 10.3 as detailed above; and

3)                 further work be undertaken on the Council’s relationship with the Voluntary and Community Sector, as recommended by the Third Sector Task and Finish Group, in the manner outlined in paragraphs 5.10 to 5.15 of the report.

To review and make recommendations to improve the Financial Management Processes and arrangements within the Council.

(Report attached)

RECOMMENDED that

1)                 the Action Plan, as detailed in Appendix 2 to the report, be approved;

2)                 the business planning timetable, as detailed in Appendix 3 to the report , be approved;

3)                 the proposed format for revenue budget monitoring, as detailed in Appendix 4 to the report, be approved;

4)                 any consequential changes to the Constitution arising from the above decisions be made; and

5)                 reports to Executive Committee to be included in the performance management cycle.

Members considered a report which detailed a review of the Financial Management processes and arrangements within the Council following the 2009/10 – 2011/12 budget process.

RECOMMENDED that

1)                 the Action Plan, as detailed in Appendix 2 to the report, be approved;

2)                 the business planning timetable, as detailed in Appendix 3 to the report , be approved;

3)                 the proposed format for revenue budget monitoring, as detailed in Appendix 4 to the report, be approved;

4)                 any consequential changes to the Constitution arising from the above decisions be made; and

5)                 reports to Executive Committee be included in the performance management cycle.

To consider the actual expenditure on the Capital Programme compared to the final revised estimate for 2008/09.

(Report attached)

RESOLVED that

1)                 the report be noted; and

RECOMMENDED that

2)                 the reported overspend of £53,000 on Disabled Equipment and Adaptations be met from the Housing Revenue Account.

The Committee received a report on the actual expenditure and funding of the Capital Programme for 2008/09.  Officers reported that the approved Capital Programme for 2008/09 totalled £14.2 million and that the Programme included a number of schemes that spanned more than one financial year.  Members were informed that Appendix 1 of the report showed actual expenditure of £11.9 million of which £1.4 million had been included for work in progress.  Appendix 1 also showed the variances between the budget and actual spend. 

Officers advised that there had been an overspend on Disabled Equipment and Adaptations (C1222) because two jobs, both subject to internal audit investigations, had cost significantly more than originally anticipated.  It was also reported that a further report on the Redevelopment of Church Hill (C1120) would be prepared for a future meeting of the Committee.

RESOLVED that

1)                 the report be noted; and

RECOMMENDED that

2)                 the reported overspend of £53,000 on Disabled Equipment and Adaptations be met from the Housing Revenue Account.

To consider the Council’s overall revenue outturn for the 2008/09 financial year.

(Report attached)

RESOLVED that

the report be noted.

Members considered a report which detailed the Council’s overall outturn for the 2008/09 financial year.  The report showed the actual income and expenditure for the 2008/09 financial year and compared it to the budget for General Fund Services and the Housing Revenue Account.

Officers reported that savings of £363,000 above estimate had been made.  The majority of the additional outturn savings were accounted for as follows:

Members noted that two different formats for figures had been used in the preparation of the report and suggested that there was a need for consistency to ensure clarity.

RESOLVED that

the report be noted.

To seek Member’s approval of the Benefits Service Improvement Plan.

(Report attached)

RESOLVED that

the Benefits Services Improvement Plan be approved.

(Officers were asked amend the Action Plan to include contact with Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) in Redditch with a view to negotiating a similar agreement to that concluded with Redditch Co-operative Homes.)

Members received a report which sought approval of an Improvement Plan for the Benefits Service in line with the recommendations made by the Audit Commission following their inspection of the service in February 2009.

Officers were asked amend the Action Plan to include contact with Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) in Redditch with a view to negotiating a similar agreement to that concluded with Redditch Co-operative Homes.

Members congratulated Officers on the work undertaken in the preparation of the Action Plan.

RESOLVED that

the Benefits Services Improvement Plan be approved.

To request adoption of a Partnership Governance Framework.

(Report attached)

RECOMMENDED that

the draft Partnership Governance Framework and Toolkit set out at Appendix 1 of the report be adopted.

The Committee considered a report which sought agreement to adopt a Partnership Governance Framework and Toolkit together with a definition of the partnerships to which the Framework and Toolkit would apply.  Members were informed that the report had been amended following consideration by the Audit and Governance Committee on 26 May 2009.

Officers reported that the Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) would place more emphasis on partnership working.  

RECOMMENDED that

the draft Partnership Governance Framework and Toolkit set out at Appendix 1 of the report be adopted.

To consider a review of the use of Interactive CCTV.

(Report attached)

RESOLVED that

1)                 the outcome of the review of the Interactive CCTV and the evidence of its effectiveness be noted; and

2)                 the scheme continue with a further review in 12 months time.

The Committee received a 12 month review of the 6 Audio Points and 1 Help Point linked to the Council’s CCTV since its introduction in the Town Centre area in May 2008. 

RESOLVED that

1)                 the outcome of the review of the Interactive CCTV and the evidence of its effectiveness be noted; and

2)                 the scheme continue with a further review in 12 months time.

To consider the minutes of the meeting of the Shared Services Board held on 28 May 2009.

(Minutes attached)

RESOLVED that

the minutes of the meeting of the Shared Services Board held on 28 May 2009 be noted.

(No decisions were taken.)

The Committee received the Minutes of the Shared Services Board held on 28 May 2009.  There were no matters for the Executive Committee’s decision.

RESOLVED that

the minutes of the meeting of the Shared Services Board held on 28 May 2009 be noted.

To receive the minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on the 30 April 2009.

The recommendations were considered at the Executive Committee meeting on 20 May 2009.

RESOLVED that

the minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 30 April 2009 be received and noted.

(No decisions were taken.)

Members received the minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 30 April 2009.  There were no matters for the Executive Committee’s decision.

RESOLVED that

the minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 30 April 2009 be received and noted.

To receive and consider any outstanding minutes or referrals from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Executive Panels, Neighbourhood Groups, etc. since the last meeting of the Executive Committee, other than as detailed in the items above.

There were no minutes of referrals to this meeting.

There were no minutes of referrals to this meeting.

To consider, for monitoring / management purposes, an update on the work of the Executive Committee’s Advisory Panels and similar bodies, which report via the Executive Committee.

RESOLVED that

the report be noted.

Members considered an update report on the work of the Executive Committee’s Advisory Panels and similar bodies.

RESOLVED that

the report be noted.

To consider an update on the actions arising from previous meetings of the Committee.

Members note the Action Monitoring Sheet.

(Officers were requested to provide Councillor Hartnett information on employment of agency staff.)

Members noted the Action Monitoring Sheet.  Officers were requested to provide Councillor Hartnett information on employment of agency staff.