Agenda and minutes

            The Minutes from the meeting held on 23 February 2010 were taken as read and signed as a correct record.

The Chairman welcomed to the meeting those Members who had been newly appointed to serve on the Board in the forthcoming Municipal Year.

It was reported that no public questions had been received.

The Minutes of the Executive Board and the Executive Board Sub-Committee relating to the work of the Corporate Services Policy and Performance Board since its last meeting were submitted for information.

 

RESOLVED: That the Minutes be noted.

 

The Minutes of the Halton Strategic Partnership Board were submitted to the Board for consideration.

 

            Clarity was sought on Minute No: 91 – Joining Up Transport.  It was agreed that information on this would be circulated to Members of the Board.

 

RESOLVED: That

 

(1)         the Minutes be noted; and

 

(2)    information on Joining Up Transport be circulated to Members of the Board

The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Environment and Economy which advised the Members that they had previously agreed that the Use of Natural Resources topic should form part of their work programme for 2009/10.  It had been decided that the focus of the review initially would be on the Council’s approach to energy management in buildings.  The report presented the interim findings of the Working Group set up to look at the issues and sought endorsement from the Board to the interim recommendations and to forward them onto the Executive Board for consideration.

 

The Board was advised of the key principles of a structured approach to tackling energy reduction as set out in paragraph 7.3 of the report.  In addition, it was highlighted that the actions undertaken by the stadium represented a good example of how to reduce energy consumption. 

 

The Board was further advised that the ability to monitor energy consumption would be greatly improved with the installation of the Automatic Meter Readings across the Borough and a performance management system  developed to report consumption data for individual buildings and monitor trends comparing year on year usage on a monthly basis.  The new Centre of Excellence for Performance Management would be asked to support the development of the performance management system.

 

The Board was further advised that an Officer had been identified to monitor the energy consumption and establish robust targets and develop action plans to reduce energy consumption throughout the Borough. A training programme would be developed based on the approach to energy management at the Stadium which had resulted in a 24% reduction in consumption. The Board would also receive update reports. In addition, it was reported that the Carbon Trust had developed a list of actions that could be taken to reduce energy consumption.

 

The following comments arose from the discussion:-

 

·           The advantages and disadvantages of flexible working arrangements on energy consumption was noted;

 

·           The actions being taken to reduce the energy consumption in schools which accounted for 60% of the carbon emissions from buildings was noted.  The report recommended further work was needed to develop the approach and consider how third party private usage in schools i.e. after school clubs impacted on energy consumption; and

 

·           Members requested update reports on the benefits and extent of the savings achieved.

 

RESOLVED: That

 

(1)         the Board endorse the recommendations contained in the report in respect of Energy Management in Council buildings; and

 

(2)       the report be forwarded to the Executive Board for consideration.

The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Resources which informed the Members of the spending profiles of the Area Forum for Year 2009 to Year 2010.

 

The Board was advised that the projects funded through the Area Forums were wide and varied. However they had been categorised into a number of key areas as follows:-

 

·        Landscapes 19%;

·        Safety 6%;

·        Youth Facilities 19%;

·        Improved Parks 11%;

·        Pedestrian Access 1%;

·        Security 17%; and

·        Other 27%.

 

The positive impact that area forum funding had on the community in making it more safe and secure was noted.  It was suggested that successful projects that had been supported by area forum funding and had resulted in making a real difference in the community should be widely publicised.  It was also suggested that such projects could be put in the annual plan.

 

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

 

The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Resources which reported on corporate accident statistics with associated trends for 1^st April 2009 to 31^st March 2010.

 

The Board was advised that there had been a reduction in reported incidents compared with the last two years, especially those resulting in ‘major’ injuries. The appendix to the report provided a detailed breakdown by type of incident and by Directorate.

 

The Board was further advised that there had been a reduction in total working days lost due to an accident, this year was 328 compared to 746 last year.  Based on the HSE calculations for categories of accidents, the total cost of the accidents to the Authority was £150,000 ompare to £450,000 last year.

 

In addition, it was reported that there had been a significant reduction in the number of trips, slips and falls.  This was due to a considerable amount of work being undertaken in these areas.

 

It was noted that in respect of paragraph 5.2.1 – the majority of slips and trips being inside the premises due to poor housekeeping that this matter had been addressed by the H&S Team via briefings with managers.

 

Clarity was sought on whether the authority used a 60 second checklist for equipment.  In response, it was reported that this was proportionate to the risk and managers were responsible to monitor and undertake risk assessments and employees were responsible for their own safety.

 

RESOLVED: That the report and comments made be noted.

 

The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Resources which reported on the revised Corporate Health and Safety Policy for 2010.

 

The Board was advised that the Corporate Health and Safety Policy was produced in accordance with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. It identified the undertakings and arrangements in the provision of health and safety across the Authority.  It had recently been amended to take account of the role of the Board in monitoring health and safety performance and reporting back to Executive Board members. It also took account of the new HSE Strategy, ‘Being Part of the Solution’ and as a result included aims, objectives and outcomes for the Health and Safety meetings.

 

The Board was further advised that the following consultation with the Union a slight amendment had been made and additional information had been added to the Statement Of Intent:-

 

Proper regard is given to ensuring that welfare arrangements and facilities are adequate.  Welfare arrangements will include the management of stress whilst facilities will include toilets, provision of drinking water, etc and also ergonomics such as lighting, heating, seating ventilation etc.

 

It was noted that there was a room available for a Welfare Officer to meet with an employee in confidence.

 

RESOLVED: That

 

(1)   the Corporate Services Policy and Performance Board endorse the Corporate Health and Safety Policy; and

 

(2)   the report be recommended to the Executive Board for adoption.

The Board received their Annual Report for the period April 2009 to March 2010.

 

The Chairman also took the opportunity to thank Councillor Gilligan for the work undertaken by him during his time as Chairman of the Board

 

Councillor Gilligan, thanked and congratulated Members and Officers for the excellent work that had been undertaken last year.

 

RESOLVED: That the report be approved.

The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Resources which invited Members to set up Topic Groups in the areas selected for the Work Programme for 2010/11.

 

The Board was advised that at the last meeting of the Board on 23^rd February 2010, the topics of Markets, Procurement and Carbon Reduction were agreed as the Board’s Work Programme for 2010/11.

 

Members were invited to establish Topic Groups for each of these areas. It was envisaged that Topic Briefs would be agreed by the Topic Groups themselves in the near future.  It was also recognised that there was a considerable amount of work to be done in the areas selected by the Board and it may not be particularly easy at this stage to set out timescales for completion of the Topic Group work.

 

The Chairman reported that if any new Members wished to join the Markets Working Group or the Procurement and Carbon Reduction Working Group that they should contact Committee Services. 

 

RESOLVED: That

 

(1)                     The topic groups of Markets, Procurement and Carbon Reduction be approved as the Board’s 2010/11 Work Programme; and

 

(2)          the Topic Groups be established.

The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Resources which provided information on the progress towards meeting Halton’s Sustainable Community Strategy targets at 2009 – 10 financial year-end.

 

The Board was advised that in considering the report, the Members would need to be aware of the following:-

 

·           All of the measures within the National Indicator Set were monitored through Quarterly Departmental Service Plan Monitoring Reports. The purpose of the report was to consolidate information on all measures and targets relevant to this PPB in order to provide a clear picture of progress; and

 

·           In some cases outturn data could not be made available and there were also some Place Survey based indicators for which information would not become available until 2010 i.e. the next date the survey was due to be undertaken.

 

The Board was further advised that it was important that progress was monitored and that Members were satisfied that adequate plans were in place to ensure that the Council and its partners achieved the improvement targets that had been agreed

 

It was suggested that in future reports a column be added with a directional arrow highlighting the direction of travel.

 

It was highlighted that the report represented an overview of performance targets and individual Boards would receive a more detailed report of their respective areas.  It was agreed that the full report be circulated to all Members of the Board.

 

The initiatives being undertaken by Halton & St Helens NHS Trust to address all age mortality rates were noted and the focus on prevention programmes.  This included every person aged between 14 – 74 years of age could receive a health check at their GP over the next 2 years.  It was agreed that a breakdown, ward by ward of these planned health checks be circulated to all Members of the Board. 

 

In respect of the Performance Indicator NI112 relating to the Under 18 conception rate not meeting it’s target, Members requested that further information be circulated to all Members of the Board.

 

RESOLVED: That

 

(1)         the report be noted; and

 

(2)    the actions being taken to achieve Halton’s LAA targets be  noted.

The Board considered a report of the Chief Executive on the performance management reports for 4^th Quarter 2009/10 against the service plan objectives and performance targets, performance trends/comparisons factors affecting the services etc for:

 

-         Policy and Performance

-         ICT Services

-         Legal, Organisational Development and Human Resource Services;

-         Financial Services;

-         Property Services

-         Stadium and Hospitality

 

Policy and Performance

 

·        PP02 – Implement new website content management system by July 2009 and migrate content September 2009 – it was noted that the new software sites had been built and would be going ‘live’ on the test server this month;

 

·        PPL17 - % of invoices paid within 30 days – It was noted that overall the majority of invoices were paid within 10 days.  The target related to a small number of Council activities related to WNF where there was a Service Level Agreement between the Council and the Partner and which had to be checked before processing; and

 

·        Clarity was sought on when the A-Z Services leaflet would be printed.  It was reported that this information would be circulated to all Members of the Board.

 

ICT Services

 

·        It was noted that a report would be presented to the next meeting regarding the authorities’ requirement to be Code of Connection 4.1 compliant by 19 May 2010.

 

Legal, Organisational Development and Human Resources Section

 

·        LODLI 15 – Members of Public attending Council Meetings – the target was difficult to influence - It was noted that this indicator was not within the control of officers and could be viewed as a positive or negative indicator; and

 

·        The Board was advised that the Council had retained its IIP Accreditation and a report would be presented to the next meeting.  The report had been very complimentary in respect of the authority supporting staff.  In addition, an action plan addressing weaknesses identified would be produced.

 

Financial Services

 

·        FSLI 8 – Issue 75% of draft audit reports within 15 working days of completing the audit fieldwork being slightly below its target – It was noted that this drop had been primarily as a result of the impact of the Efficiency Programme.  It was also noted that the overall performance of audit as an annual programme was monitored by the Business Efficiency Board and was excellent.

 

Property Services

 

It was noted that Widnes Market was one of the few markets holding a high occupancy rate.

 

Stadium and Hospitality

 

·        It was requested that if the school meals fund should become affected by financial cuts that a report be presented to the Board;

 

·        The Members wished to place on record their  

           congratulations to Mr Chris Patino and his team for

           the excellent  work they had undertaken at the

           Stobart Stadium; and

 

·       It was noted that proposals were being formulated for event (s) linked to the London Olympics 2012.

 

RESOLVED: That the report and comments raised be noted.e report and comments raised be noted.