Agenda item

To consider an update outlining the action that has been taken during the final quarter of the municipal year to implement recommendations made by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

(Report attached)

Officers informed Members that this report contained the latest quarterly update on the action that had been taken to implement scrutiny recommendations. 

The updates had been provided in three appendices:

·         Appendix 1 – which contained further information about recommendations which had been implemented since the last update was received.

·         Appendix 2 – Detailing recommendations that had not yet been implemented. Members noted that wherever possible Officers had been asked to provide an estimate of the date by which these recommendations would be implemented.

·         Appendix 3 – Further information about the recommendation from the Promoting Sport Task Group regarding provision of outdoor games.  This information had been recorded separately due to the amount of detail provided.

The Committee discussed the current poor state of the market area and raised concerns in respect of the lack of progress in response to the proposals that had been made by the Redditch Market Review in March 2013.  Members requested that relevant senior Officers be asked to provide a further more detailed update at a future meeting of the Committee in order to clarify the current situation for the market and future intentions for implementing the group’s proposals. 

In respect of the Sickness Policy Short, Sharp Review it was noted that Officers had been unable to produce an A5 laminated guide to the Council’s Sickness Absence Policy.  Members stressed that this should only contain a small number of bullet points covering the key areas such as reporting absence and the requirement for a return to work interview to take place.  It was suggested that one side could cover the employees responsibility and the other that of the employer.  Following discussion it was agreed that this would be revisited and brought to a future meeting of the Committee for Members’ consideration.

Members discussed the Access for Disabled People Task Group’s recommendations and highlighted the importance of the proposal for a disability awareness session to be provided.  At present it was intended this would be delivered as part of the Member Induction Programme. However, it was suggested that all Members, not just new Members, would benefit from this training. The committee agreed that whilst this should not be part of the mandatory training programme, the importance of this subject needed to be stressed and all Members needed to be encouraged to attend by Group Leaders.

RECOMMENDED that

the Member Development Steering Group be asked to extend participation in the annual disability awareness session to all Members rather than to confine to new Members in the Member Induction process; and

RESOLVED that

1)    a detailed report be delivered, in respect of the implementation of the Market Review’s recommendations, for consideration at a future meeting of the committee; and

2)    a draft bullet point summary of the key points of the Sickness Absence Policy be provided for consideration of Members at a future meeting, as detailed in the preamble above.