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:
1. Council Flat Communal Cleaning Task and Finish Group – Chair – Councillor P Mould.
2. Role of the Mayor Task and Finish Group - Chair – Councillor M Chalk.
3. Third Sector Funding Task and Finish Group – Chair – Councillor D Thomas.
(Oral reports)
Minutes:
The Committee received update reports in relation to current reviews.
a) Council Flat Communal Cleaning – Chair, Councillor P Mould
The Chair explained that at the Group’s previous meeting, they had interviewed an Asset Maintenance Officer regarding the Council’s cleaning contract during a recent tour of Council flat properties. The Group were due to meet on the following Friday to interview a Community Safety Officer and to consider their approach to consultation with representatives of Council tenants, the Borough Tenant’s Panel and the Leaseholders Group.
The Chair informed the Committee that it had been evident which communal areas were cleaned under the contract. Members questioned the Group’s approach to consultation and queried how the Group would proceed with any recommendation to introduce or raise service charges if not all tenants agreed with the arrangement. The Chair agreed that the Group needed to think about how they would address this problem.
b) The Role of the Mayor – Chair, Councillor M Chalk
Councillor Chalk explained that he had meet with the Overview and Scrutiny Support Officer to decide what elements of the recommendations needed to be costed. These costings were in the process of being determined by relevant Officers. He reported that it was highly likely the Group would reconvene to finalise this information. With regards to the recommendation of redecorating the Mayor’s Parlour and installing an entry to the balcony, Councillor Chalk explained that if the costings for this were higher than £15,000 then the Group would be minded to withdraw this recommendation.
c) Third Sector – Chair, Councillor D Thomas
Councillor Thomas informed the Committee that the Group had decided on a model they wished to recommend for funding third sector groups from 2010. This model was the Shopping, Investing and Giving (SIG) funding framework, currently used by Worcestershire County Council. A Consultation Event had been held where views had been sought on this model from representatives of the third sector. Councillor Thomas acknowledged that the consultation event had been extremely well organised and she thanked all Officers, particularly Peter Rose and Jess Bayley for their hard work.
Councillor Thomas sought clarification from the Committee on the issue of costing recommendations for Task and Finish Group reports. She explained that the Group were likely to recommend that a dedicated officer be put in post to administer the grants process. However, she was uncertain whether the Group should specify where the resources should be found to fund the post. The Committee agreed that the Group did not have to be specific about the source of the funding but did need to be clear about the costs involved in establishing the post.
The Committee were informed that the final report would be a two page executive summary written by the members of the Group. Officers would be providing a lengthier, more detailed document, containing details about the evidence collected by the Group during the course of their review. This would be used for reference purposes only.
RESOLVED that
the Task and Finish Group update reports be noted.