Agenda and minutes

Councillor Mike Wharton, Executive Board Portfolio Holder for Resources, will attend the meeting to provide Members with an update on current issues within his portfolio, and to answer any questions Members may have arising from this.

            Councillor Mike Wharton, Executive Board Portfolio Holder for Resources, provided Members with an update on current issues within his portfolio.  This focused predominantly on the budget and the efficiency review.  It was commented that whilst some difficult decisions had already been made at the last Executive Board meeting in light of the budget cuts, there were still more ahead. 

            Councillor Wharton invited questions from the Board.  Following a discussion regarding Council owned land, it was agreed to share the property portfolio with members of the Board.  It was noted that any land releases would only go ahead after consultation with members and advice from valuers.

            In response to suggestions from members regarding various potential savings that could be made, the Chair confirmed that all Committees were being asked to consider costs within their areas, for future review.

RESOLVED:  That 

1)     Councillor Wharton be thanked for his update and attendance at the Board meeting; and

2)     the Council’s property portfolio be provided to members at the next PPB meeting.

The Minutes from the meeting held on 25 May 2010 were taken as read and signed as a correct record.           

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.

RESOLVED: That the minutes be noted.

The Board received a report updating them on the progress of the new Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS) 2011-2016 and presented the emerging vision, key objectives and long term priorities that the plan sought to deliver upon.  

The drafting of a new SCS offered the opportunity to revisit the high level objectives under each of the current five key priorities and reflected the current public priorities and needs.  There were a multitude of changes proposed for the public sector and uncertainty over financing mechanisms, but these factors would not change the long term challenges that the Borough faced.  It was important that the overarching priorities for the Borough were scrutinised so that decisions about the allocation of resources could be made when organisational architectures and funding mechanisms became clearer.

Members commended the SCS document but questioned how realistic it would be considering the current financial situation.  In response it was agreed that it would be challenging to deliver, taking into consideration the budget restraints.  This would need to be taken into account when developing the 5 year delivery plan after the implications of the Comprehensive Spending Review are known.  With regards to the public consultation process, it was confirmed that this would encompass a Borough wide section of the community in the form of special interest groups.

RESOLVED:  That

1)     Members noted the five overarching priorities for the emerging SCS 2011-2016; and

2)     Members noted the suggested vision, strategic objectives and challenges contained in Section 6.0 and their alignment with their knowledge of local needs.

            The Board received a report on the outcome of the IiP re-assessment and the associated action plan.  The Investors in People Organisation Improvement Framework Review Report was attached in Appendix 1.

            It was agreed by all that in spite of the current efficiency review the report was positive overall.  It was felt particularly pleasing that the assessors found that morale largely remained good despite the impact of the Efficiency Review.  Any areas for improvement identified within the report would be highlighted so that appropriate action could be taken.  It was commented that the IiP Award was a credit to the Authority and confirmed the successful working relationship between the Trade Union, Members and staff.

RESOLVED:  That

1)     the IiP Re-assessment Report was noted by the Board; and

2)     the IiP post-assessment Action Plan was endorsed by the Board

            The Board considered a report of the Chief Executive on the 1^st quarter Performance Management Reports for 2010/11 (April – June 2010).

 Members were requested to consider and raise any questions or points of clarification in respect of the 1^st quarter performance management reports on progress against service plan objectives and performance targets, performance trends/comparisons, factors affecting the services etc. for;

• Policy and Performance;
• Legal and Democratic Services;
• Financial Services;
• ICT and Support Services;
• Human Resources;
• Property Services; and
• Stadium and Hospitality

RESOLVED:  That the 1^st quarter performance Management Reports be received.

NB. Councillor Nolan declared a personal interest in the following item due to his wife being employed by the Council in HR.

            The Board received a report from the Strategic Director, Resources, on attendance management and interventions introduced to assist managers in effectively managing employee absence.  The report included interventions planned for 2010/11 and gave details on average days lost, due to sickness absence, per employee in 2009/10 and 2008/09.

            Members commented that although the report was good; the figures were still high.  It was noted that with the interventions planned for 2010/11, it was hoped that the figures would improve again. One member requested comparison data with the private sector which would follow.

            RESOLVED: 

1)     That the contents of the report be noted; and

2)     Data from the private sector is made available to the Board so that comparisons could be made.