Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies.

There were no declarations of interest.

A presentation will be delivered by the Service Manager – Finance and Corporate Services.

The Service Manager – Finance and Corporate Services delivered a presentation on the role and remit of the Corporate Overview Group. The presentation reminded members of the Group about their terms of reference and explained the role of the scrutiny champion and the role of a critical friend. It was noted that the Group would be scrutinising financial and performance management reports on a quarterly basis and delegating any necessary investigations into concerning elements of these reports to the most appropriate scrutiny group via their work programme.

The report of the Executive Manager – Transformation and Operations is attached.

The Safety and Risk Management Advisor presented the report of the Executive Manager – Transformation and Operations which provided a summary of the Council’s health and safety performance during the period 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019. The Safety and Risk Management Advisor delivered a presentation to the Group which covered:

• Progress to achieve goals
• Training
• Number of accident forms completed
• Accident forms by type
• Number of days absent
• Loss of time due to injuries
• Accidents to the public

Following the presentation, the Group asked questions regarding water safety training. It was explained that water safety awareness training was carried out to aid staff in case there was a flooding incident. It was noted that the training included handling sand bags and driving through water. The Group was pleased to note that the number of users at the Council’s leisure centres compared to accidents.

The Safety and Risk Management advisor explained that due to the move from the Civic Centre to Rushcliffe Arena it was not necessary to have more members of staff trained to use the evac chair as there was only one flight of stairs at Rushcliffe Arena. It was noted that the majority of staff who were first aiders, and trained to use the evac chair, were Business Support Unit staff as they were fixed office staff. The Group were also pleased that mental health first aid training had been delivered to the Council’s ‘work place health champions’.

It was noted that the Health and Safety Advisor was working with the Health and Safety Team at Nottingham City Council due to refuse staff moving from the depot site at Abbey Road West Bridgford to the Eastcroft depot in Nottingham.   

It was RESOLVED that:

a)    The report of the Executive Manager – Transformation and Operations be noted.

b)    The detailed information contained in the Annual Health and Safety report be noted.

c)    The significant progress made against the health and safety goals and objectives previously agreed by Corporate Governance Group for the financial year 2018/19.

d)    The proposed health and safety objectives for 2019/20 as set out in the report be endorsed.

A verbal update will be provided by the Service Manager – Finance and Corporate Services.

The Service Manager – Finance and Corporate Services provided a verbal update on the progress of the scrutiny review at the Council. The Service Manager was pleased to note that Rushcliffe and Charnwood borough councils were providing eachother mutual support through the transition of scrutiny in both authorities. The Service Manager informed the Group that East Midlands Councils were delivering a training session to Councillors on the 17 July. The Service Manager also reported upon the Centre for Public  Scrutiny (CfPS) Symposium which she and the Chairman had attended that day. She further recommended that the Group read the Government’s new Statutory Guidance for Overview and Scrutiny and the Good Scrutiny Guide published today by the Centre for Public Scrutiny. 

The report of the Executive Manager – Finance and Corporate Services is attached.

The Chairman raised her suggestions based on the report of the Executive Manager – Finance and Corporate Services which intended to act as a guide to aid the discussion and development of the Council’s scrutiny group work programmes for 2019/20. The Chairman suggested that there were a lot of topics which had to be discussed and, therefore, the Groups should be split into working groups in order for Councillors to be able to focus on individual topics in detail. The Executive Manager – Transformation and Operations responded by stating that implementing additional meetings during the transitional period for scrutiny would be resource intensive and counter to the principles of the new scrutiny arrangements; and instead suggested that the Groups focus on one topic per meeting so that the discussion could be more focused.

The Chairman of the Growth and Development Scrutiny Group suggested that the proposed development on the depot site at Abbey Road, West Bridgford be scrutinised at the first meeting scheduled for September 2019 as it was key to ensure that the Council’s aspirations and conditions for the development of the site were being met.

It was also suggested that the Growth and Development Scrutiny Group scrutinise the Community Infrastructure Levy in September, the economic growth function of the Council in January, and customer service and digital transformation in March. The Chairman of the Governance Scrutiny Group noted that treasury management, investments and commercialism would be topics that would be scrutinised throughout 2019/20. The Executive Manager – Finance and Corporate Services explained that many  of the items on the Governance Scrutiny Group work programmes would be standard items previously scrutinised by the Corporate Governance Group. 

The Chairman of the Communities Scrutiny Group suggested that the Council’s carbon management plan be scrutinised in October following the motion proposed and adopted by Council in March 2019. Other items selected for the Communities Scrutiny Group included a review of community partnerships (Positive Futures and Young),  the provision of community hall facilities and engagement with the LEP.

It was RESOLVED that:

a)    The report of the Executive Manager – Finance and Corporate Services be noted.

b)    The work programmes presented in appendix two of the report be agreed.

The report of the Executive Manager – Finance and Corporate Services is attached.

The Executive Manager – Finance and Corporate Services presented his report which asked the Group to comment on the draft corporate strategy 2019 – 2023. It was noted that due to significant progress made in delivering the current 2016 – 2020 strategy and as a response to the changing landscape within local government, work had taken place to revise the document.

In considering the document, the Chairman noted that the ‘our journey since 2016’ section in the strategy was not accurate and asked for this to be amended. It was also suggested that the relocation of the Rushcliffe Community Contact Centre had an overly optimistic timescale for completion. In a response to this observation the Executive Manager – Transformation and Operations stated that a report would be presented to Cabinet in July 2019, which would recommend a newpremises for the Rushcliffe Community Contact Centre.  

The Group requested that a revised version of the Corporate Strategy be reported back to the Corporate Overview Group at their next meeting before being recommended to be approved by Council in September 2019.

It was RESOLVED that:

a)    The report of the Executive Manager – Finance and Corporate Services be noted

b)    The ‘our journey since 2016’ section of the draft Corporate Strategy be amended

c)    The draft Corporate Strategy 2019 – 2023 be reported back to the Corporate Overview Group before being recommended for approval by both Cabinet and thereafter Council in September 2019.

The report of the Executive Manager – Finance and Corporate Services is attached.

 The Executive Manager – Finance and Corporate Services presented a report which detailed both the year-end financial outturn and performance position for 2018/19. The report also provided the Group with an update on the Corporate Strategy 2016 – 2020 including the performance indicators within the performance scorecard.

The Financial Services Manager informed the Group that there were requests for the use of reserves in 2019/20 (from 2018/19) efficiencies for both expected and new revenue incomes totalling £228,000. It was explained that it was necessary for the Council to retain a stable and substantial amount of reserves as the impact of Fair Funding, business rate reviews and the decommissioning of the power station created financial uncertainly for the future.

The Service Manager – Finance and Corporate Services asked the Group to consider the performance monitoring highlights and the corporate scorecard. It was noted that there was one new exception in quarter four which was the percentage of investment strategy committed which was due to a slow-down in investments over the past six months.

Following a question, it was explained that works had been paused on Lutterell Hall following approval from Cabinet to look at marketing options for the site but that a light programme of redecorating would take place.

It was RESOLVED that the report of the Executive Manager – Finance and Corporate Services be noted.

Action Sheet – Corporate Overview Group – 20 June 2019.