Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence and details of any Councillor (or co-optee substitute) nominated to attend this meeting in place of a member of this Committee.

To invite Councillors to declare any interest they may have in items on the Agenda and any Party Whip.

To confirm the minutes of the most recent meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee as a correct record.

(Minutes attached)

To receive an update on the Council’s Transformation process.

(Presentation to follow)

The Committee received a presentation on the subject of systems thinking and transformation (Appendix 1).

A couple of Councillors had attended transformation orientation sessions.  These sessions provided participants with an opportunity to check current services as well as to listen to customer demands as they were reported to frontline services.  The feedback received from these Councillors had been generally positive. These Members suggested that transformation should be regarded as an evidence-based, practical approach to improving services. 

The potential impact of service transformation on staff morale was debated.  On the one hand Members noted that the improvements that could be made to service delivery from a customer’s perspective could lead to an increase in customer satisfaction.  Positive feedback received from customers in this context might have a beneficial impact on staff morale. 

On the other hand concerns were expressed that the changes required through transformation could be unsettling for staff, as the process challenged existing assumptions and required employees to adapt working practices.  In many departments transformation was being piloted by a small number of members of a team.  Members suggested that there was a risk that employees who were not engaged in pilot transformation processes might feel particularly uncertain about the intended outcomes.

Officers had recognised the potential impact that service transformation might have on staff.  From the start of the process, therefore, attempts had been made to engage with and to inform staff about systems thinking and transformation.  This had included arranging for staff to participate in a series of orientation sessions as well as the delivery of a number of staff briefings on the subject.

The Committee welcomed the focus on the customer required by systems thinking and the potential to improve service performance whilst making financial savings in service delivery.  However, Members noted that it would not be possible for Councillors to appreciate the full implications of the systems thinking process without observing service transformation in practice.

To address this concern it was suggested that members of the Committee and other elected Councillors should have an opportunity to participate in transformation orientation sessions and to meet with relevant Officers in order to learn more about transformation and systems thinking.  Knowledge of transformation amongst Councillors was considered to be increasingly important as this would enable Members to make informed decisions about any proposed future changes to service delivery.

The Committee commented that whilst the majority of Council services were in the process of going through transformation, there were a number of key services that had been using the systems thinking approach to reviewing service delivery for a significant amount of time.  Members agreed that these services should be the focus of further scrutiny by the Committee in the first instance.

RESOLVED that

1)     Officers consult with members of the Committee regarding their availability to participate in Transformation Orientation Sessions;

2)     a list of services that have been going through transformation for some time be circulated for Members’ consideration to enable Members to identify areas suitable for further scrutiny;  ...  view the full minutes text for item 154.

To consider a report on occupancy levels in the Council’s Business Centres.

(Report attached)

The Committee considered a report on the subject of vacant units in the Council’s  Business Centres.  This report had been requested by Members at a meeting of the Committee on 11th December 2012 following consideration of the Quarter 2 Finance Monitoring Report which had recorded a lower than expected income for this service.

Members were advised that the Council managed three Business Centres: the Greenlands Business Centre; the Rubicon Business Centre; and the Hemming Road Enterprise Centre.  The Council offered attractive license fees and terms which were regularly advertised, though a large proportion of business was generated through personal recommendations. 

The financial costs involved in managing the centres had been influenced by two principal factors.  Firstly, many of the business centres were approximately 20 years old and required continuous repair and maintenance work which was delivered at a financial cost to the Council.  Secondly, Members were advised that the threshold on which vacant commercial properties were exempt from paying business rates had been lowered in April 2011 from £18,000 to £2,600 rateable value. The Council was therefore paying business rates for some vacant units that would have been exempt in previous years.

Members noted that the Rubicon Business Centre was leased from a private landlord.  The centre had been leased as premises which had been converted into separate units.  The Council would be required to convert the property back to the state in which it had originally been leased if this arrangement was not renewed.  Officers had estimated in 2010 that it would cost approximately £100,000 to convert the property.

There were a number of competitor business centres in Redditch and the surrounding area.  A number of these competitors managed modern buildings.  However, whilst the Council run business Centres were not based in modern premises there were a number of customers who remained satisfied and had leased units over a series of years.  The units also provided useful bases in which local entrepreneurs could launch new businesses.

Members welcomed reports that occupancy rates at all of the centres had increased between 2009/10 and 2012/13.  In particular, Members were pleased to learn that occupancy levels at the Greenlands Business Centre had increased from 41.11 per cent to 80.51 per cent during this period. 

RESOLVED that

the report be noted.

To consider the draft contents of the Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report 2012/13 and to determine whether to make any amendments to the content.

(Report attached)

The Committee considered the draft content of the Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report for 2012/13.  Members noted that the Chair of the Committee would be invited to present the report for Members’ consideration at a meeting of Council on 25th March 2013.

Members requested that the following matters should be added to the report:

·        Information about the Promoting Sporting Participation Task Group Review, which was completed in May 2012.

·        A picture of the Increasing Rates of Recycling Task Group.

·        A number of monitoring update reports had been received by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee during the year.  Out of courtesy Members agreed that the membership of the Task Groups which had completed the original reviews should be recorded in this section.

·        Active performance scrutiny should be recorded as an important element for the Committee to address in future years.

·        A targeted approach to scrutiny and focused forward planning should be recorded as objectives for improving scrutiny at the Council.

·        A commitment to Member Development in Overview and Scrutiny should be incorporated into the report.

·        Additional emphasis on senior Officers’ attendance at meetings of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Members concluded that Overview and Scrutiny should continue to be regarded as an important part of the democratic process at Redditch Borough Council.

RESOLVED that

subject to the amendments detailed in the preamble above, the report be noted.

To note the contents of the Overview and Scrutiny Actions List.

(Report attached)

To consider the minutes of the latest meeting(s) of the Executive Committee and also to consider whether any items on the Executive Committee’s Work Programme are suitable for scrutiny.

(Minutes and Work Programme attached).

To consider any scoping documents provided for possible Overview and Scrutiny review.

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)     Arts and Culture Centre – Chair, Councillor Gay Hopkins;

b)     Housing Density Targets – Chair, Councillor David Bush

 (Oral reports)

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

(Verbal report)