MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE SCRUTINY COMMITTEE HELD AT COUNTY HALL, NEWPORT, ISLE OF WIGHT ON THURSDAY 14 SEPTEMBER 2006 COMMENCING AT 6.00 PM

 

Present :

 

Cllrs Geoff Lumley (Chairman), Anne Bishop, William Burt, Deborah Gardiner, Heather Humby, Brian Mosdell

 

Co-opted Voting Member :

 

Mr Anthony Marvin, Mrs Sue Poston

 

Co-opted Non-Voting Member :

 

Mr Bob Blezzard

 

 

 


26.             MINUTES

 

RESOLVED:

 

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 22 August 2006 be confirmed.

 

27.             DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

 

Mr Bob Blezzard submitted a written declaration of personal interest in item 8 as he was employed by Sandham Middle School.  

 

28.             PUBLIC QUESTION TIME

 

There were no public questions.

 

29.             VALUE FOR MONEY (VFM)TOURISM – BLUE PAPER

 

The Chairman announced that this was not a formal enquiry and invited the Cabinet Member for the Economy, the Customer, Communications, Leisure and Tourism to advise the Committee of the latest position on the Value for Money (VFM) Tourism Blue Paper from the Policy Commission for Economy, Tourism, Regeneration and Transport.

 

The Blue Paper had been discussed at the Aim High Strategy Group in May 2006 where it was decided that further work on evidence gathering was required to assist the Cabinet in their decision. The Blue Paper was discussed again at the Aim High Strategy Group in July 2006 after further work had been carried out. Three options were discussed, all of which involved retaining the strategic tourism function in house but supporting it with either a franchise, a private partnership, or with a more cost effective in house function. An options appraisal was currently being undertaken and a report would go back to the Aim High Strategy Group in October 2006 followed by Cabinet in November 2006. Changes would be implemented from 1 April 2007.

 

The Cabinet Member confirmed that he had spoken to the hotel association, self catering providers and visitor attractions. Town and Parish Councils had not been consulted.

 

RESOLVED:

 

THAT the update be noted.

 

30.             ENQUIRY INTO THE USE OF OUTSIDE CONSULTANTS BY THE ISLE OF WIGHT COUNCIL (SC10/06)

 

The Committee formally agreed the scoping document for the enquiry into the Council’s use of outside consultants.

 

The Committee questioned the Cabinet Member for Resources and Town/Parish Council Empowerment regarding the criteria by which consultants were engaged, the standard terms of engagement, and allocated budget for consultants.

 

The Cabinet Member responded stating that Contract Standing Orders were in place and had been reviewed in the last 12 months, consultants were performance managed by feasibility studies and there was an intelligent client in house. There was no base budget for consultants as this money was taken out of budgets for individual projects.

 

RESOLVED:

 

THAT the scoping document be agreed and the update be noted.

 

31.             ENQUIRY INTO SUPPORTING PEOPLE PROGRAMME ON THE ISLE OF WIGHT (SC09/06)

 

The Committee formally agreed the scoping document for the enquiry into the Supporting People Programme on the Isle of Wight.

 

The Committee questioned the Cabinet Member for Island Health, Housing and Community Well-Being regarding the work carried out on the Supporting People Programme since the recommendations had been received by the consultant and presented at the Cabinet meeting on 25 July 2006.

 

The Cabinet Member responded stating that the template as detailed by the Audit Commission was used and an action plan had been drawn up. The Cabinet Member agreed to provide the task and finish group with a copy of the action plan. Several areas of concern had been looked into and addressed including the way in which the service dealt with eligibility and referrals, how the core strategy group was operating, procurement, and the monitoring framework. Terms of Reference for the core strategy group had been drawn up and a commissioning body had been set up which would be chaired by the Deputy Chief Executive. The Cabinet Member reported that no complaints had been made since the handling of policies, procedures, and protocols by the service had been addressed. A complete contract monitoring plan would be in place by 1 November 2006. The Cabinet Member praised the supporting people team who had responded well to the recommendations. Staff training had been looked into and money had been put in to support the team. The Cabinet Member informed the Committee that there was an under spend projected for the programme.

 

The Cabinet Member notified the Committee that the Supporting People Programme was due to be inspected by the Audit Commission in October 2007 and Member training on Supporting People was due to be held on 10 October 2006.

 

RESOLVED:

 

THAT the scoping document be agreed and the update be noted.

 

32.             ENQUIRY INTO LOSS OF HOUSING INVESTMENT GRANT FOR 2006/07 (SC16/06)

 

The Committee formally agreed the scoping document for the enquiry into the Loss of Housing Investment Grant for 2006/07.

 

The Committee questioned the Cabinet Member for Island Health, Housing and Community Well-Being regarding the reason why the Isle of Wight Council failed to respond to a letter regarding the Housing Investment Grant and consequently did not secure the grant.

 

The Cabinet Member informed the Committee that an investigation had taken place and no one person was found to be at fault. The Cabinet Member assured the Committee that this would not happen again and that action had been taken to log post in the future. The Cabinet would discuss the shortfall on 3 October 2006.

 

The Cabinet Member was pleased to report that the number of people in bed and breakfast accommodation had significantly reduced and confirmed that GOSE had agreed to attend the Strategic Housing Partnership as a member.

 

The Scrutiny Committee agreed and recommended the following to the Cabinet Member for Island Health, Housing and Community Well-Being:

 

i.              New approaches to budget and service planning currently being developed must ensure that, where targets are being set, and delivery plans being prepared:

 

·       Where delivery is contingent on funding yet to be confirmed, this is clearly identified, and

·       The risk of funding not being confirmed is mitigated by the development of alternative funding arrangements, the adoption of lower targets, and/or adoption of alternative delivery plans

 

ii.                       That approaches to Government Office of the South East which have already been made, are followed up in order to ascertain that databases of names and addresses are accurate and communication arrangements make better use of email.

 

RESOLVED:

 

i.              THAT the scoping document be agreed.

 

ii.              THAT the following recommendations be agreed and forwarded to the Cabinet Member for Island Health, Housing and Community Well-Being:

 

New approaches to budget and service planning currently being developed must ensure that, where targets are being set, and delivery plans being prepared:

 

·       Where delivery is contingent on funding yet to be confirmed, this is clearly identified, and

·       The risk of funding not being confirmed is mitigated by the development of alternative funding arrangements, the adoption of lower targets, and/or adoption of alternative delivery plans

 

That approaches to Government Office of the South East which have already been made, are followed up in order to ascertain that databases of names and addresses are accurate and communication arrangements make better use of email.

 

33.             FORWARD PLAN

 

The Committee noted the latest edition of the Forward Plan.

 

RESOLVED:

 

THAT the Forward Plan be noted.

 

 

 

CHAIRMAN