SCRUTINY COMMITTEE (ECONOMY AND
ENVIRONMENT)
MINUTES of an extraordinary meeting held on
3rd July, 2007.
Present: Councillor N.P. Hodges
(Chairman); Councillor S.T. Wiliam (Vice-Chairman); Councillors J.
Clifford, Miss J. Cole, G.A. Cox, E. Hacker,
Mrs. M. Kelly Owen, Mrs. S.I. Sharpe and
A.J. Williams.
Also present: Councillor R.F.
Curtis.
188 APOLOGIES FOR
ABSENCE -
These were received from Councillors R.J.
Bertin, Ms. L. Burnett, A.D. Dobbinson, Mrs. A.J.
Moore, Mrs. A.J. Preston and W.C. Vaughan.
189 DECLARATIONS
OF INTEREST -
No declarations were received.
190 BUILDING
MAINTENANCE BUSINESS PLAN (REF. - MINUTE NO. C3076) -
Cabinet had, on 20th June, 2007
considered the above and referred the same to this Committee for
information. Given that the performance of building
maintenance would be an important factor in achieving a viable
Housing Revenue Business Plan with services centred on customers,
the objectives of the Plan focused on the improvement of services
and the efficiency of the repairs and maintenance function. A
four year financial model for the Business Plan had been produced,
details of which were contained within the report. That
report also highlighted a number of challenges which would need to
be met together with specific risks which would need to be
assessed, controlled and mitigated. During the course of the
subsequent discussion, reference was made to the investment in
technology to streamline job processes and the resultant changes to
the roles and duties of managers, supervisors and support
staff. Reference was also made to a 20% reduction in
front-line resource level with an increase in the productivity rate
per employee of approximately 30%. Cabinet had, inter alia,
requested a further report detailing the proposals for the
re-engineered job roles within Building Maintenance and any
resultant change to the current structure and had set up a Project
Board to manage the implementation of the Business Plan.
Following further consideration of the above
and related matters, it was
RECOMMENDED - T H A T recommendations (1) -
(6) of Minute No. C3076 be endorsed and further progress reports
made to this Committee.
Reason for decision
To have regards to the resolutions of the
Cabinet and to be kept informed of progress.
(Note: Councillor R.F. Curtis spoke on the
above matter with the consent of the Committee.)
191 DRAFT SERVICE
PLANS 2007/08 AND 4TH QUARTER PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
-
The Head of Service in each case presented his
draft Service Plan and 4th Quarter Performance
Indicators. The Service Plans had been reformatted,
containing headings such as
· cost cutting
objectives
· service
objectives
· service
self-assessment, including progress in respect of Improvement Plan
Actions and Service Plan Actions
· consultation.
The 4th Quarter PIs were also
presented in a new format known as the “traffic light”
system.
(a) Building and Vehicle
Services:
Mr. Morris commenced by stating that the
service planning process this year had been more robust than in
previous years. Authority was sought to delete various
actions from the Plan for the reasons given together with those PIs
indicated. Subsequent questions included the reasoning behind
the setting of future target figures at a level below that achieved
in 2006/07. Mr. Morris explained that in the two examples
quoted at the meeting, namely L268 and L285b, that it was
considered that 2006/07 outturn had been exceptional and that for
forthcoming years more realistic targets had been set. The
position would, however, be continually monitored and, if
necessary, the targets for future years could be
amended. As regards the 4th Quarter PI
information, Mr. Morris indicated that there had been a downward
trend in performance overall although that was largely attributable
to the lack of accurate statistics for December 2006. He was
confident that there would be a significant improvement in the
asbestos performance statistics next year.
RECOMMENDED -
(1) T H A T
the draft Service Plan in respect of Building and Vehicle Services,
together with the 4th Quarter PI information be
accepted.
(2) T H A T
those actions and PIs as identified in the report be deleted.
(b) Economic
Development and Leisure:
Mr. Fray opened by referring to the various
services which fell within his remit and drew attention to the fact
that Page 26 of the Plan (which showed examples of excellence)
should now be amended to include reference to the fact that the
Glamorgan Heritage Coast and Countryside brochure had recently won
a national award. Authority was sought to delete various
actions from the Plan for the reasons given together with the PIs
indicated.
In response to questions relating to static
targets being set for the total number of visitors into the Vale
for tourism and ways in which to encourage an increase in the
number of bed spaces available for those visitors, Mr. Fray
referred to the ongoing developments within the Vale and explained
that not only had there been several enquiries in relation to hotel
development since the award of the Metrix contract but that, as the
various developments progressed, targets would be revised
upwards. Visitor numbers at Dyffryn had, for example, been
particularly encouraging since the opening of the new Visitor
Centre. He also drew attention to the fact that further
information had been received and that the figure quoted in PI L533
should be amended to read 3.7m. - which meant that the 2006/07
target had been exceeded. Other matters touched upon in the
subsequent discussions included the provision of tourist
information - there being an anticipated drop off given the reduced
hours of operation of Tourist Information Centres - together with
footpaths and their ease of use for members of the public, with the
frequency of footpath surveys being undertaken questioned. It
was suggested that this Council was actually quite proactive in its
management of footpaths given its resources. Since this Committee
was scheduled to receive the Council’s draft Rights of Way
Improvement Plan in October 2007, it was further suggested that
users of those footpaths could be invited to attend to participate
in discussion.
RECOMMENDED -
(1) T H A T
the draft Service Plan in respect of Economic Development and
Leisure, together with the 4th Quarter PI information,
be accepted.
(2) T H A T
those actions and PIs as identified in the report be deleted.
(c) Planning and
Transportation:
Mr. Thomas went through the detail of this
Service Plan, stressing the importance of sustainability in all
aspects of the work undertaken by the Department and drawing
attention to the critical issue of staff resources and the
conflicting demands placed upon those resources. Reference
was made to ongoing changes relating in particular to the planning
process and to the challenges of the Local Development Plan
programme. As regards the 4th Quarter performance
as evidenced in the PI information, it was noted whilst it might
appear that the 2006/07 target in respect of appeals (PLA 3(b)(i)
and (ii)) had not been met, this Council’s performance as regards
the former was still within the top 3 Councils in Wales and that,
as regards the latter, 6 cases which had gone against the Council
were the subject of ongoing High Court proceedings - and that the
target figure could therefore be more closely met following the
outcome of those proceedings. Reference was also made to
those failing PIs in respect of planning applications determined
within 8 weeks; restructuring within the Department had now taken
place which it was anticipated would result in an improvement in
performance.
RECOMMENDED -
(1) T H A T
the draft Service plan in respect of Planning and Transportation
together with the 4th Quarter PI information, be
accepted.
(2) T H A T
those actions and PIs as identified in the report be deleted.
(d) Visible Services:
As regard 4th Quarter PIs, Mr.
Punter referred to the fact that of the 44 PIs listed, 25 were on
or had exceeded target, 10 had failed and 9 had not been set.
Particular attention was drawn to LO96 and to L350(a) and (b), -
the percentage of people satisfied with cleanliness standards and
the condition of roads and pavements. In each case the point
was made that, whilst the target figure had not been reached, that
target figure could be said to be “optimistic”, that a response
from a wider cross section of the population would likely have
produced a performance figure closer to that target and that,
compared with other local authorities in Wales, this Council’s
performance was not below target.
A major issue facing Visible Services
currently was the waste agenda and reference was made to the
partnership with Cardiff, Monmouth and Newport - now extended to
include Caerphilly - investigating a regional waste management
solution. Sickness absence and the management thereof was
also identified as another major issue within the Department.
Targets in respect of this as well as other actions, Mr. Punter
stressed, should be realistic; as such, targets in respect of
sickness absence, where feasible, and those where targets had not
been set for the next 3 years were inserted into the Plan.
Reference was also made in the course of subsequent discussions to
the potential impact on services of reductions in budget, the need
to make efficiency savings and, in particular, to the as yet
unknown fines that could well be incurred by failure to meet WAG
targets as regards waste reduction.
Following further consideration of the above,
it was
RECOMMENDED -
(1) T H A T
the draft Service Plan in respect of Visible Services as amended by
the Head of Service at the meeting, together with the
4th Quarter PI information, be accepted.
(2) T H A T
those actions and PIs as identified in the report be deleted.