Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Sarah Phillips. Councillor Tom Papworth sent apologies for arriving late.

Councillor Judi Ellis declared a personal interest as a governor of The Riverside School.

In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, questions to this Committee must be received in writing 4 working days before the date of the meeting.  Therefore please ensure questions are received by the Democratic Services Team by 5pm on Thursday 29^th March 2012.

No questions had been submitted.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 25^th January 2012 (excluding exempt items) be confirmed as a correct record.

Report RES12056

The Committee considered the following matters arising from minutes of previous meetings.

(88) & (89) Blue Badge Enforcement - The Committee noted the information that had been supplied, but requested a further, more detailed update on issues such as the costs of enforcement and the amounts recovered through fines.  

(119) Total Place Pilots - A briefing note had been circulated by the Finance Director on 30^th January 2012.

(120)  Bus Route Design Contract - Members re-stated that they had asked for a report at this meeting on expenditure under the Bus Route Design Contract since the end of the London Bus Priority Network, and that they expected this to be submitted for the next meeting.

(120) Corporate Contracts Register - The Committee stated that the submission of the Corporate ContractsRegister to every meeting should be re-instated.

(120) Library Cleaning Services/Office Cleaning - The Committee requested a report for the next meeting on their request that officers try to ensure that local companies can participate in these contracts, particularly for library cleaning.

(130) Costs of Council Services - The Committee discussed how the Council could communicate the true cost of Council services to residents in a clear and relevant manner. This needed to be reflected in the summary information presented with the Council tax demand, but also in dealing with issues across all portfolios and in public consultations, and in small matters such as the on-going maintenance and enforcement costs of installing yellow lines. The Chairman agreed to consider this with senior officers.  

RESOLVED that

(1) The Corporate Contracts Register be submitted to each meeting.

(2) Reports be submitted for the next meeting on (i) the Bus Route Design Contract and (ii) Library Cleaning Services/Office Cleaning, as outlined above.

(3) A further update be provided on Blue Badge Enforcement.

The Committee noted the Forward Plan of Key Decisions which had been published on 16^th March 2012, and in particular that the IT contracts listed under the Resources Portfolio were now too be considered in one report to the Executive on 11^th April, and that the report on Sheila Stead House was not ready for consideration.  

In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, questions to this Committee must be received in writing 4 working days before the date of the meeting.  Therefore please ensure questions are received by the Democratic Services Team by 5pm on Thursday 29^th March 2012.

No questions had been submitted.

To note decisions made by the Resources Portfolio Holder following the last meeting of the Committee.

The Committee noted five decisions made by the Resources Portfolio Holder since the last meeting.

The Resources Portfolio Holder to present scheduled reports for pre-decision scrutiny on matters where he is minded to make decisions.

The Committee considered the following reports for pre-decision scrutiny on matters where the Resources Portfolio Holder was minded to make decisions.  

Report RES12054

At its meeting on 1^st February 2012, the Executive had received a report on capital expenditure and receipts and new capital schemes supported by Chief Officers in the annual capital review process. The Executive had agreed changes to the capital programme for the period 2012/13 to 2015/16, including changes which affected the Resources capital programme.   

RESOLVED that the Resources Portfolio Holder be recommended to endorse the changes to the Resources Capital programme approved by the Executive.

Report CEX10

It was proposed that the existing occupational health contract with Preventative Health Care Ltd be extended for a further year to 31^st July 2013. Officers had been investigating a shared service with Bexley and Croydon, but this had not proved to be viable and the other Councils had not wished to proceed.  

Some Members were concerned that the report did not make clear that this contract had already been extended. Although the service would have to be market tested at some point, the judgement was that an extension offered the best option. Negotiations with the contractor had secured a 17% reduction in the contract price, and benchmarking with other local authorities showed that the current provider offered excellent value for money. It was also noted that the service had helped to secure a significant reduction in sickness levels.  

RESOLVED that on grounds of best value and continuity of service, the Resources Portfolio Holder be recommended to approve the extension of the employee occupational health contract with Preventative Health Care Ltd, from 1 August 2012 to 31 July 2013 with the option to extend by a further year being delegated to the Director of Resources after consultation with the Resources Portfolio holder.

Shortlands Ward

Kingswood House had closed on 31^st March 2012. Two potential Council uses for the site were under consideration – a respite centre for children with special educational needs, and as temporary accommodation for homeless families.

Members pointed out that the road names on the plan in the report were illegible.

RESOLVED that the Resources Portfolio Holder be recommended to agree to the retention of Kingswood House, Kingswood Road, Shortlands, to enable a consideration of alternative Council uses, and to authorise the marketing of the property if the alternative uses are not supported.

The Chief Executive addressed the Committee on the key matters that he was dealing with. The previous few months had been dominated by the budget-setting process and significant changes to staffing. With the budget settled, and many of the savings being taken early freeing up funds for invest-to-save projects, he expected to be able to focus more on staff morale and issues affecting staff such as accommodation changes, car parking charges and the proposal to move away from national terms and conditions.

The Chief Executive would continue to chair meetings of the Assistant Directors in the new Education and Care Services Department until a Director was appointed, and interviews for the Education Assistant Director post were scheduled for the end of April. Public Health staff had now moved to the Civic Centre, with the Director of Public Health reporting to the Chief Executive. The Health and Wellbeing Board was now in place and the local Clinical Commissioning Group had been established.  With the Health and Social Care bill going through Parliament there would be further opportunities to integrate services and cut out duplication.  Other major issues were continuity planning, proposals for shared regulatory services with Bexley and Croydon and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee visit.

Questioned by Members, the Chief Executive accepted that with a number of senior officers having left the Council in recent months it was important to ensure that knowledge and expertise was not lost. Human Resources were looking at improving succession planning and a new Corporate Management Team had been established to broaden out the senior management role. The Future Leaders and Graduate Management Trainee schemes were still in place, but the Chief Executive was wary of starting new cohorts too soon as there was a tension with meeting the expectations of existing staff in these programmes.

Members asked when a Director of Education and Care Services would be in post: the Chief Executive responded that following the failure to appoint during the initial process it was not likely to be before September or October.  He confirmed that the recruitment process had started before Christmas, that Portfolio Holders had been consulted on the original job description and that the cost of employing head-hunters had been in the region of £20,000. He felt that there had been tension between the need to appoint a professional expert and a strategic manager.  Members pressed to be involved in planning the new recruitment process – the Chief Executive promised to discuss this with the Leader. 

A Member questioned whether the Council had carried out an equality impact assessment on the effect of budget cuts, which he considered were having a particular impact on the less affluent parts of the borough. The Chief Executive responded that he was aware that some Councils had faced legal challenges, but the Council was careful to ensure that all proper processes were followed.  The issue of party political material being distributed alongside the Council’s environmental newsletter was also raised; it was confirmed that this had been  ...  view the full minutes text for item 148.

Members of the Committee are requested to bring their copy of the agenda for the Executive meeting on 11^th April 2012.

Report RES12057

The Committee scrutinised reports on the agenda for the Executive’s meeting on 11^th April 2012.

(5) Update on the Implementation of the Flooding and Water Act 2010

Report ES12031

The Executive was being asked to approve proposals for Sustainable Urban Drainage and a Sustainable Urban Drainage (SUDS) Approving Body (SAB), as required under the Flooding and Water Act 2010, to approve a draft response to DEFRA and to release funding of £220k from Central Contingency to implement the proposals. The report had already been scrutinised by the Environment PDS Committee - the Chairman of that Committee commented that he would have liked a shared service approach to be considered. 

The Committee supported the proposals.

(6) Budget Monitoring 2011/12

Report RES12053

The Committee considered the Budget Monitoring report which covered activity levels up to the end of January 2012. The report showed that expenditure was being contained within budget. A Member questioned whether, in view of the potential for receiving NNDR rebates for unoccupied property, it would be more beneficial to leave surplus Council buildings empty to secure a rebate rather than employ property guardians. It was confirmed that this was taken into account; in some circumstances it was necessary to secure the protection afforded by property guardians.        

The Committee supported the proposals.

(7) Council Tax Support: Technical Reforms of Council Tax

Report RES12064

The Department for Communities and Local Government had issued two consultation papers on (i) localising support for council tax in England and (ii) technical reforms of council tax. Council tax support would replace council tax benefit from April 2013; the new system would result in a loss of approximately £2.3m in grant for Bromley based on 2011/12 expenditure, and it would be difficult for the Council to collect the benefit. Older people would be protected under the new arrangements, meaning that there would be a greater impact on people of working age.   

The Resources Portfolio holder reported that he had been in discussion with Bexley about the new system, and modelling of the implications was being carried out, but final guidance was awaited. He considered that the Council should pass on the costs of the new system to claimants and those who were in a position to pay. Members suggested that the proposals might make potential landlords more reluctant to let properties and would therefore increase homelessness and that the exemption classes needed to be used to encourage landlords to bring empty properties back into use. The Finance Director commented that more properties might become available for rent and the Council was proactively taking measures on empty properties.

The number of claimants was rising at about 3% per annum, and it was a reasonable assumption that this would continue. There had also been a significant increase in single person households. Members stated that they need to see more detailed statistics about the actual numbers of claimants and the trends. Officers reported that there were about 21,000 claimants, and about 13,000 households were facing a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 149.

Report DRR12/041

The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 imposed a statutory duty on public bodies such as local authorities to have business continuity arrangements in place, and the Committee received a report updating them on business continuity and disaster recovery plans for the Council. Plans were owned by individual departments and services, but were based on a standard template and were tested by Internal Audit and an external consultant. A number of different scenarios were used – the major exercise in 2008, “Exercise Coldplay,” had been based on a national flu pandemic, while other issues included heavy snow and utility failures. It was important to identify single points of failure – for example home working was dependent upon the Council’s IT system working, so a new generator had been purchased.

Members commented that it was important to include suppliers, contractors and partners in business continuity planning, and it was confirmed that this would be pursued in the next few months.    

RESOLVED that the business continuity and disaster recovery systems in place be noted.

Report RES12059

This report would now be considered at the Committee’s meeting in June.

PDS Committee Chairmen reported on the work of their Committees as follows –

Children and Young People PDS Committee: Councillor Stephen Wells reported that the inspection of the Youth Offending Team (YOT) by the Youth Justice Board had been very positive, and showed that it had made remarkable progress in recent years to become one of the best YOTs in the country. Interviews for the post of Assistant Director, Education, were due to be held on 27^th April. There was still considerable uncertainty around the impact of the Academies programme and grants from the DfE. The Committee was keen to see progress on the SEN invest to save scheme and on moves away from paper-based applications for school admissions and school meals.     

Environment PDS Committee: Councillor William Huntington-Thresher reported that his Committee had considered proposed changes to parking fees across the borough. It was suggested that the impact of the new charges on usage and revenues should be examined after three months; Councillor Huntington-Thresher confirmed that a six month review was planned.   

Public Protection and Safety PDS Committee: Councillor Douglas Auld reported that although overall, crime was down, there were concerns about burglary. His Committee had received assurances from the new Borough Commander that the levels of PCSOs in the borough would return to normal by August/September. Discussions with Bexley and Croydon on shared regulatory services were progressing well, and a new stray dog kennelling service was being set up which other boroughs could buy in to. Following the escape of four adolescents from a unit at the Bethlem Royal Hospital, the Chief Executive of the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust had attended the Committee. All the escapees had now been returned to custody.  

Report RES12058

The Committee considered its work programme, including working groups and the programme of scheduled meetings. The Chairman proposed that a working group be set up in the new Council year to take a broad overview of the changes to local government finance in the next few years, and requested that officers begin to draw up terms of reference.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.  

The Chairman to move that the Press and public be excluded during consideration of the items of business listed below as it is likely in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings that if members of the Press and public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information.

RESOLVED that the Press and public be excluded during consideration of the items of business referred to below as it is likely in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings that if members of the Press and public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information.

The following summaries

refer to matters

involving exempt information

Consideration of the exempt minutes of the meeting held on 25^th January 2012 was deferred to the next meeting.

The Committee noted two exempt decisions made by the Resources Portfolio Holder on 6^th February 2012.

The Committee scrutinised proposed decisions of the Resources Portfolio Holder relating to the following matters -

Crystal Palace Ward 

Report DR12/0738

The Committee supported the proposal to accept the best offer for sale of the property.

Cray Valley West Ward

Report DDR12/036

The Committee considered a revised offer for the site.

Chislehurst Ward   (To follow)

This report was withdrawn.

The Committee scrutinised part 2 reports on the Executive’s meeting on 11^th April 2012 as follows.

(13) Award of Contracts for Care/Support Services in Two New Extra Care Housing Schemes

Report AXS12022

The Committee supported the recommendations.

(14) Capita Secure Information Systems Contract Variation

Report RES12065

The Committee supported the recommendations.

(15) Internal Audit Investigation Report

Report CEO1195

The Committee noted the report.

(16) Former Blue Circle Site: Joint Use Education Payment 106 Contribution

Report DRR12/039

The Committee recommended that the revised payment should not be accepted.

Councillor Nicholas Bennett requested that an updated organisation structure for the Council be provided.

As this was the final meeting of 2011/12, the Chairman thanked both Members and Officers for their work throughout the year.