01656 643696 Elizabeth Littlejohns
e-mail: scrutiny@bridgend.gov.uk
FB / SU: OSC.CS.A.2 7 December 2006
To: All Members of the Corporate Services Overview & Scrutiny Committee
Bridgend County Borough Council
Dear Councillor
CORPORATE SERVICES OVERVIEW & SCRUTINY COMMITTEE
A meeting of the Corporate Services Overview & Scrutiny Committee will be held in Committee Rooms 2/3, Civic Offices, Angel Street, Bridgend on Wednesday 13 December 2006 at 2.15pm to consider the business set out in the attached agenda.
Yours sincerely
P A Jolley
Director Legal and Democratic Services and Monitoring Officer
Distribution:
Councillors:
D A Anderson |
M Gregory |
D Sage (Chair) |
M M Bertorelli |
M Mathias |
J C Spanswick |
G Davies |
L Phillips |
M Thomas |
L Davies |
J Radford |
M Wilkins |
P A Evans |
CORPORATE SERVICES OVERVIEW & SCRUTINY COMMITTEE
DATE: Wednesday 13 December 2006, 2:15 pm
VENUE: COMMITTEE ROOMS 2/3, CIVIC OFFICES, BRIDGEND
AGENDA
Item No. |
Subject |
Page No.s |
1. |
Apologies for Absence |
- |
2. |
Declarations of Interest (Including Whipping Declarations) |
- |
3. |
Minutes of Meetings: 14 September 2006 (Special Meeting) 1 November 2006 |
3-5 6-10 |
4. |
In attendance for item 6 Cllr B Burns, Cabinet Member for Resources. A Jolley, Director of Legal and Democratic Services A Phillips, Assistant Director – Finance D Sutherland, Head of IS & ICT |
11-36 |
5. |
In attendance for item 5: H Williams, Head of Business Efficiency |
37-43 |
6. |
In attendance for item 6: A Jolley, Director of Legal and Democratic Services |
44-83 |
7. |
In attendance for Item 8: D Sutherland, Head of IS & ICT |
84-143 |
8. |
144-147 | |
|
9. |
To consider any other item(s) of business in respect of which notice has been given in accordance with Rule 4 of the Council Procedure Rules and which the person presiding at the meeting is of the opinion should by reason of special circumstances be transacted at the meeting as a matter of urgency. |
- |
Elizabeth Littlejohns
Assistant Scrutiny Officer
7 December 2006
MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CORPORATE SERVICES OVERVIEW & SCRUTINY COMMITTEE
DATE: 14 September 2006
TIME: 5.30pm
VENUE: Council Chamber, Civic Offices, Angel Street, Bridgend
PRESENT:
Councillors: D T Anderson, M M Bertorelli, L Davies, P A Evans, M Gregory, J Radford, D Sage (Chair), J C Spanswick, M Thomas, M C Wilkins
Officers: F Bowen, Scrutiny Officer
T Buckle, Head of Overview & Scrutiny
E Davies, Principal Solicitor
Observers: Councillor D Brett
J Davies, Bridgend Community Safety Partnership Co-ordinator
J Duddridge, Head of Transportation
PC Kevin Ellis, Bridgend Licensing
E Maher, Community Safety & Welfare Officer, Bridgend County Borough Council
Chief Inspector J Ruddy, South Wales Police
1. Apologies for Absence
Apologies for absence were received from Councillor G Davies.
2. Declarations of Interest
None.
- Task & Finish Group: Night Time Economy Draft Final Report
The Chair introduced the report and thanked Members of the Group for their hard work during the investigation. He also expressed thanks to all those who had contributed and participated in the investigation. Through the Chairs discretion, Observers to the meeting were granted permission to speak during the meeting.
The Chair provided Members with a presentation on the work of the Task & Finish Groups and their findings. Specific reference was given to the site visit undertaken by the Group to Bridgend Town Centre on a busy weekend evening, which involved the group accompanying the police and being provided a practical insight into some of the issues arising from the Night Time Economy.
Member Questions
Enforcement Officers
Members raised concerns regarding the need for Council Enforcement Officers to ensure that Licensee’s were adhering to conditions imposed on their licences in respect of their cleansing responsibilities and closing times. Members referred to the reports findings, which identified that such conditions were not being adhered to due to the need for additional Enforcement Officers to enforce them.
Concerns were further raised that despite the additional cleaning costs arising from the Night Time Economy being cited as approximately £80,000 per annum, the need for efficiency savings and a known lack of funding had prevented the appointment of additional Enforcement Officers. Members highlighted it could be more cost effective to employ additional Enforcement Officers to impose measures that would reduce the need and cost of additional cleansing.
PC Ellis confirmed that although Public Protection were placing conditions on licenses to ensure Licensees were responsible for cleaning the areas within 3 meters of their property, there were currently no enforcement officers in place to ensure that these conditions were being adhered to.
Chief Inspector Ruddy informed Members that much work had been undertaken over the past two and a half years to address issues arising from the Night Time Economy in Bridgend. He highlighted that in order to further eradicate problems, additional income combined with a strategic overview was required to enable the development of infrastructure to support existing initiatives. He explained that successful partnership working to date had lead to a reduction in alcohol related crimes in Bridgend.
Chief Inspector Ruddy referred to the positive outcomes arising from the increased powers granted to the Licensing Committee since the introduction of the Licensing Act 2003. He explained that the conditions imposed on licences in terms of specified closing times had led to a reduction in crime and disorder. He added that in the absence of Council Enforcement Officers the Police currently had to ensure that these conditions were being met. He added that further assurance from the Authority in terms of implementation of its Saturation Policy.
Members highlighted that partnership working was essential in addressing the issues identified in the report and implementing initiatives effectively.
Management of the Night Time Economy
Members referred to comments in the report relating to the wider implications of the Night Time Economy and raised concerns regarding situations whereby positive investments into Bridgend Town Centre had been withdrawn due to the high concentration of Public Houses, late night refreshment houses and the granting of planning permission for ‘drop in’ centres.
The Head of Transportation confirmed that developers had raised concerns regarding the Town’s image following the granting of planning permission to a number of Late Night Refreshment Houses. He added that some investors perceived this as undermining potential developments and subsequently felt unable to invest in the Town. He added that the Authority’s responsibilities outlined under Section 17 of the Crime & Disorder Act 1998 needed to be appended to all planning applications.
Members indicated the importance of raising Member’s awareness of Section 17 and supported the need for further Member training in terms of their responsibilities outlined within it.
Conclusions
The Committee fully and unanimously endorsed the report and its recommendations and agreed that the report be submitted to both Cabinet and Council at the earliest opportunity.
The Meeting closed at 18:40 pm
MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE CORPORATE SERVICES OVERVIEW & SCRUTINY COMMITTEE
DATE: 1 November 2006
TIME: 2.15pm
VENUE: Committee Rooms 2/3, Civic Offices, Angel Street, Bridgend,
PRESENT:
Councillors: D A Anderson, M M Bertorelli, G Davies, L Davies, P A Evans, M Gregory, J Radford, D Sage, J C Spanswick, M Thomas, M Wilkins.
Officers: S Hughes, Solicitor
F Bowen, Scrutiny Officer
R David Knight, Principal Scrutiny Officer
E Littlejohns, Assistant Scrutiny Officer
Invitee: Councillor B Burns, Cabinet Member for Resources
A Philips, Assistant Director – Finance
1. Apologies for Absence
Apologies were received from Councillors L Phillips and M Mathias.
2. Declarations of interest
None
3. Minutes of Last Meeting
The minutes of the meeting held on 18 October were approved as a true and accurate record.
- Quarterly Performance Monitoring
The Principal Scrutiny Officer presented the report to Members and outlined the role of Members in determining whether any areas required further investigation as part to the Committee’s financial performance monitoring role. The Principal Scrutiny Officer outlined the committee’s dual role in considering the Quarterly Performance Monitoring Report in the context of the Resources Directorate and the Council as a whole.
Members enquired as to why a target date was yet to be set regarding the integration of budget monitoring reports with performance management information, as previously specified by the Committee at its meeting of 20 March 2006. Members were informed that a timetable was in place and information from directorates was expected within 2 weeks and that the matter would be referred to DMT and the Chief Executive.
Members expressed concern with regard to the figures relating to School Meals. Members enquired as to actions taken to rectify this. The Cabinet Member for Resources advised Members that this question would be better answered by the Service Area as it was a specific Service issue. Members agreed to pass on their concerns of to the Education, Leisure & Community Overview and Scrutiny Committee. The Assistant Director Finance explained to Members that there was a national trend for a decline in take up of School Meals and that the Policies on School Meals adopted in England to improve the quality had not been adopted in Wales. Members were also informed that there was a difficulty in converting financial figures in light of the School terms and as such the figures only reflected a few weeks of School Term.
Members questioned whether the introduction of the half hourly charges for Car Parking had resulted in a revenue gain. The Cabinet Member for Resources advised Members that the introduction of the half hourly charges was designed to offer benefits to service users rather than generate revenue gain. Members were advised that the figures were inconclusive with regard to the revenue produced from the introduction of half hour charges and would suggest little change if any . Members agreed that this question was a service specific question and as such should be passed to the Environmental and Planning Services Overview & Scrutiny Committee for consideration.
In relation to the commentary on the Financial Position and the analysis of significant variances – Personal Services (table three), Members questioned why the final box did not contain any additional information. The Assistant Director Finance advised Members that this figure related to a summary of small figure variables relating to a number of small amounts and commented that these should have been made available to Members via an Appendix.
Members asked for clarification of the measures taken to reduce the overspend in Education through an embargo placed on Special Educational Needs ancillary support, which appeared to be drastic action when compared to the councils limited response to the problems concerning Leisure Services. The Cabinet Member for Resources acknowledged that Leisure Services was a problem area and needed to be addressed. Members agreed that this was a service specific question and would be passed to the Education Committee for Consideration.
Members enquired as to the Cabinet view of the responsibility for respite care outside the County Borough. Members were informed that there was at present no clear Cabinet view, however a report was in the process of being written on the issue which would be presented to Cabinet and appear in the budget process. Members were advised that the processes to enable this to be fulfilled were in the process of being arranged.
In relation to Car Parking, Members questioned the £80K shortfall in expected income generated. The Cabinet Member for Resources advised Members that a misunderstanding of a Cabinet decision meant that there was a period of time before the decision was agreed and implemented leading to a delay in implementation. The Cabinet Member for Resources advised Members that concerns over unrealistic estimated for Car Parking income had been raised in Cabinet and that there were important policy issues surrounding this. Members asked what the required changes to the service would be in order for the expected income to be achieved. The Cabinet Member for Resources advised Members that this question was a Service Area issue and as such Members agreed to refer these issues to the Environmental and Planning Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee for consideration.
Concerning the slippage of the Disability Discrimination Act works programme Members raised concerns and requested that an action plan identifying dates, figures, actions and responsible Officers be provided to the Committee in anticipation of its next meeting.
Members questioned how many staff vacancies there was at present in the Finance Departments and enquired as to the effect these vacancies would have on performance. Members were informed that at present there were 6 staff vacancies and that the department was deliberately holding posts vacant to control the overall spending. Members were advised that some areas were struggling with these vacant post in particular housing benefit and payroll.
With regard to Monitoring efficiencies in section 2 of the report, Members asked for clarification of the figures outline as the calculation relating to the savings of £180k in Children Services and £263k for Environmental and Planning Services appeared to be inaccurate. The Assistant Director – Finance informed Members that there was no information available on this and that he would find out the details of these figures and relay the figures to the Committee at a later date.
Members asked for clarification of what constituted a non cashable efficiency saving. Members were informed that this usually related to saving of time rather than money and savings that enabled an employee’s time to be better utilized.
Members made reference to the £171K under spend in grants and asked for clarification as to why these grants were not being utilized. Members questioned whether the reduction in the number of people taking up the grants was related to the vacant position within the finance section. The Assistant Director – Finance advised Members that this was not related to the vacant positions in Finance and was related to the delays in implementation of schemes. Members agreed to refer this issue to the Cross Cutting Issues Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
The Chair thanked the invitees for their attendance and their contribution to the consideration of the Quarterly Performance Monitoring information.
Conclusion
Members raised the following areas of concern:-
- Members believe there needs to be a review of how the Authority's income from car parking is estimated.
- Members of the Committee wish for a target date to be set regarding the integration of budget monitoring reports with performance management information as previously specified by the Committee at its meeting of 20 March 2006.
- With regards to the information provided in the quarterly report more generally, Members considered it to be lacking in necessary detail for the Committee to effectively undertake its financial monitoring role. Concern was raised over the lack of a corresponding explanation of the £250k under spend in Personal Services and the accuracy of figures relating to the underachievement of Efficiency savings.
- Concerning the slippage of the Disability Discrimination Act work programme Members requested that an action plan replete with identified dates, figures, actions and responsible Officers be provided to the Committee in anticipation of its next meeting (13 December 2006).
- With regards to the Committee's consideration of progress to date relating to the Asset Management Plan and completion of the Asset Management Database, Members requested that their original request of the Property Manager for an update report be reiterated in the most strongly of terms.
- That the Committee believes that the proposed freezing or review of posts should commence and that Cabinet enforces the recommendations of the quarterly budget monitoring report.
Members decided to refer the following issues to the relevant Overview & Scrutiny Committees:
Cross-Cutting Issues
- Variances in the Council's Capital Programme relating to the Office of the Chief Executive with a request for further explanation to be provided relating to the £432k under spend in Access to Services and the development of the Council's Customer Care Strategy.
Education & Leisure
- Variances in the Council's revenue budget and Capital Programme relating to the Education, Leisure and Community Services Directorate with emphasis on the embargo on SEN ancillary support.
Environmental & Planning
- Variances in car parking income.
Social Services & Housing
- Variances in the Council's revenue budget especially with respect to Children's Services and also with reference to an explanation of the £250k under spend.
- Forward Work Programme
The Principal Scrutiny Officer presented the report to Members and updated the report in light of the Draft Budget timetabling information that had become available since this report had been drafted. Members were advised that the budgetary information would be available for the Committees next meeting on 13 December 2006. It was agreed that this would be added to the agenda for this meeting. The Principal Scrutiny Officer outlined the proposed Budget Task and Finish Group to consider the budget proposals, the Membership of which would consist of Members of the Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee and would have as invitees the Chairs of the other Overview and Scrutiny Committee. The Committee agreed that this group should meet with the Corporate Management Board, Cabinet and representatives from the finance department. The Membership of this Task and Finish Group would be agreed at the next meeting.
The Principal Scrutiny Officer outlined the suggested timetable for the consideration of the budget and suggested to Members that the Meeting on 22 January 2007 could be postponed until 26 January 2007 to allow the committee to consider the other Overview and Scrutiny Committees comments of the Draft Budget. Members agreed this postponement.
- To consider any other item(s) of business in respect of which notice has been given in accordance with rule 4 of the Council Procedure Rules and which the person presiding at the meeting is of the opinion should by reason of special circumstances be transacted at the meeting as a matter of urgency.
None.
The Meeting closed at 16:45PM
- Last Updated: 08/12/2006
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