MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE RESOURCES SELECT COMMITTEE HELD AT COUNTY HALL, NEWPORT, ISLE OF WIGHT ON THURSDAY, 21 AUGUST 2003 COMMENCING AT 9.30 AM
Present :
Mrs M J Lloyd, (Chairman), Mr M J Cunningham, Mr J F Howe, Mr P D Joyce, Mrs B Lawson, Mrs M J Miller, Mr V J Morey, Mr A J Mundy (deputising for Mr R A Sutton), Mr K Pearson, Mr I R Stephens, Mr D T Yates
Apologies :
Mr R R Barry, Mr G P Price, Mr R A Sutton
Also Present (Non Voting) :
Mr A C Bartlett, Mr J Effemey, Mr R C Richards
29. MINUTES
RESOLVED :
THAT the Minutes of the meeting held on 24 July 2003 be confirmed.
30. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Mr A J Mundy declared a personal interest in Minute 34 as he was a Trustee of Northwood House, a director of the Isle of Wight Building Preservation Trust and St Thomas’ Trust.
31. PUBLIC QUESTION TIME
Mr G J Banks asked a question in relation to St Mary’s Road Car Park, Cowes. (PQ**/03)
A copy of the question and reply given can be seen in the Public Question Register.
32. BUDGET MONITORING REPORT AS AT THE END OF JULY 2003
The Chief Financial Officer reported on the budget and spending position on both revenue and capital for the services within the remit of the Committee, as at the end of July 2003.
Members questioned the revenue budget in relation to Community Forums and Development. It was noted that Ryde Community Forum had already spent 98% of their budget and had overspent £14,566 on the Ryde Warden budget. The Select Committee were told that the overspend at Ryde was mainly from the Skateboard Park which had SRB funding but this had not, as yet, been received. The warden charges were to funded from the ODPM but that funding also had not yet been received. The Select Committee were concerned that the funding from outside sources did not appear to be coming in very quickly. Members queried as to why some Community Forums were not on the list supplied and were advised that there were two different ways that Forums were dealt with. One type had their own budget whilst others were dealt with on a grant basis and shown under the heading of Community Partnerships. Discussions had been held with the Policy Officer with a view to setting up individual budgets.
The Select Committee asked if the conferences, travelling and expenses budget for members had risen very much this year and asked for a comparison with previous years. The Select Committee believed there was a need to have a detailed breakdown of all the figures on a quarterly basis within the budget they scrutinised. It was felt that a special meeting should be held to initially review these.
Members questioned the figures for the refurbishment of Puckpool Lodge and asked for clarification of the difference between the Disabled Facilities Act and the Disability Discrimination Act 2003/04 and were told that a report would be brought back to the next meeting of the Select Committee.
RESOLVED :
(i) THAT the budget monitoring report be noted.
(ii) THAT a special meeting be held to review a detailed breakdown of the budget for the services within the remit of the Resources Select Committee .
33. BEST VALUE REVIEW OF PERSONNEL SERVICES
The Select Committee were advised that an internal review of Personnel Services had been completed in May 2002. Directors requested that an external challenge be undertaken and GWT Consulting were engaged to do the work. The consultants report had been received in March 2003 and several recommendations had already implemented. The Council was the largest employer on the Island and a People Management Strategy was now in place which would cover the next three years.
Members believed that a modern Human Resources function was needed and questioned whether the Council were using on-line recruitment. The Head of Human Resources advised members that although application forms were now available on-line and could be downloaded they could not as yet be filled in on-line. Members were of the opinion that there should be a move towards a centralised recruitment structure.
The Select Committee questioned the cost implications of £35,000 with regard to the increase of two full time posts within the Human Resources section. It was explained that any cost would be contained within the existing budget for this financial year and a bid would be put in thereafter. The Head of Human Resources would write to all members of the Select Committee advising them of the current situation within his section.
Members noted that Health and Safety was to be brought back in-house and were advised that it would sit under Environmental Health, who had been given the budget of £70,000. The Select Committee discussed aspects of the Healthy Workforce Strategy and asked that figures on manpower be brought back to the Select Committee together with other workforce statistics to include sickness, equality issues and health and safety.
Members were told that there were 30 modern apprentices within the organisation and there was also a need to provide work experience for pupils and students. The Select Committee asked what had happened to starters and leavers that used to be part of the Bulletin and asked that it be included in the future. Members believed that the Head of Human Resources should be attending all management meetings to ensure that the People Management Strategy was consistently implemented across the whole of the Council.
RESOLVED :
(i) THAT figures on manpower be brought back to the Select Committee to include statistics on sickness, equality issues and health and safety.
(ii) THAT the Council move towards a centralised recruitment structure.
(iii) THAT the Action Plan be brought back to a future meeting of the Select Committee.
(iv) THAT the starters and leavers be included on the Bulletin.
(v) THAT the Head of Human Resources attend DMT meetings in the future to ensure that the Human Resources Strategy is consistently implemented across the whole of the Council.
(vi) THAT a summary of the employee survey be brought to the Select Committee.
34. LISTED BUILDINGS
Members were reminded that the Property Asset Management Task Group had asked the Select Committee to consider a report on all Council owned Listed Buildings. Protecting the Island’s natural built and historic environment was one of the key objectives contained within the Corporate Plan.
Although the Council’s revenue budget contained funds for ongoing repairs and maintenance, there was no specific funding for major repair works to listed buildings. The Select Committee believed that it would not be appropriate to leave all repairs until the budget provision was available and that the cost should be built into the budget. Members asked the cost of condition surveys being undertaken on all Council owned listed buildings. The Property Asset Management Task Group would be asked to consider the position regarding Council owned listed buildings and that all relevant properties had been included on this. Members were advised that English Heritage had a list of at risk buildings and it was thought appropriate for that list to be obtained.
RESOLVED :
(i) THAT the implications of undertaking a condition survey on all Council owned listed buildings be investigated and the Property Asset Management Task Group be asked to examine this and report their findings to the Select Committee.
(ii) THAT the Portfolio Holder be recommended that a budget should be established to protect the Council’s natural, built and historic environment.
35. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE AUDIT PANEL 25 JUNE 2003
The Select Committee were reminded that following the Comprehensive Performance Assessment in 2002, the Audit Panel was established. The Audit Panel met on 25 June 2003 and Members discussed various aspects arising from this.
RESOLVED :
(i) THAT the Portfolio Holder for Resources and the Head of ICT be recommended :
(1) To review ICT security arrangements in the light of the Internal Audit report and the recent IT security review undertaken by NCC.
(2) To ensure compliance with Information Technology Code of Practice for Information Security Management (BS ISO/IEC17799) . BS 7799-1:2000 by 31 December 2005, subject to adequate resources.
(ii) THAT the Terms of Reference of the E-Government Task Group be amended to include overview and scrutiny of all ICT elements of the authority and to report back to the Resources Select Committee on a regular basis.
(iii) THAT the Audit Panel’s support for the further development of a performance management culture within the Council and a corporate database of indicators to manage performance be endorsed. (Known as the Quarterly Performance Management Report).
(iv) THAT the Panel’s view that when reports are considered by the Executive, risks already appearing in the Strategic Risk Profile should be cross-referenced to the issue under consideration be endorsed.
36. EXTRACT FROM THE ISLE OF WIGHT COUNCIL FORWARD PLAN - AUGUST TO NOVEMBER 2003 (RESOURCES SELECT COMMITTEE ITEMS ONLY)
Members were made aware of items that appeared in the Executive’s Forward Plan for August to November 2003 for matters relating to Resources Select Committee.
The Head of Legal and Democratic Services circulated to members a full copy of the Forward Plan for September - December 2003. The Select Committee believed there was a lack of information on the Forward Plan. The wording of the description should be carefully considered as it was believed this could alarm certain members of the public. Columns for Select Committee involvement should be added along with the reasons why an item had been removed or not considered.
Members were reminded that a report on this item was due to come before the next meeting of the Select Committee.
RESOLVED :
THAT the Forward Plan be noted.
37. MEMBERS’ QUESTION TIME
Mr A J Mundy asked a question in relation to the use of the new members’ lounge and was advised that the Head of Legal and Democratic Services would write to him with a copy to all members of the Select Committee.
Mr D T Yates asked a question as to why members were not given a chance to question the Property Services Manager on the matter of St Mary’s Road Car Park, Cowes when he had replied to a question by a member of the public earlier in the meeting. The Chairman advised him that it was public question time and therefore not open to debate.
Mr M J Cunningham asked a question in relation to the impact of a variety of "Corporate Initiatives" on the day to day working of hard pressed Highway officers.
CHAIRMAN