The
Portfolio Holder for Resources, Commissioning and Contracts
Management, Councillor Graham Arthur, attended the meeting to
respond to questions from the Committee. Councillor Arthur
gave a brief introduction highlighting the following
issues:
- It had
been a busy year for the Council’s IT Team who had supported
a number of high profile events throughout the last Mayoral year
and had recently been involved in delivering the live stream for
the Annual Council meeting on 19 May 2021 and were now supporting
the transition back to in-person meetings.
- The
current BT Contract was due to expire in 2023 and Officers were
currently reviewing options.
- A
review of Polling Stations was underway following the Boundary
Review and Members’ views were welcomed.
- The
Corporate Procurement Team would be producing updated procurement
guidance to reflect the position post-Brexit.
- The
cleaning contact had been let to the cleaners who were currently
providing the Council’s Covid deep clean. The TUPE process for relevant staff was
underway.
- Disposal of the Y Blocks was a priority and had been
achieved.
- The
Council’s Team of Registrars had performed outstandingly
throughout the last year. They had been
on the Covid front-line supporting bereaved families and it was
important to recognise that the Council owed them much. The Portfolio Holder cited examples of the many
instances where staff within the Team had gone above and beyond the
call of duty to support the residents of the Borough. The Portfolio Holder reported that he had recently
authorised an uplift of 5% for charges and the decision had been
taken to scrap the fee for registering the death of a
child.
- A
draft document setting out the principles of the much-anticipated
return to work had been produced and staff within the HR department
had been working on innovative solutions to address issues of
isolation amongst staff.
- In
respect of the return to the Office, it was likely that a hybrid
approach to agile working would be taken.
- The
Council had a balanced budget for the next 2 years but there was
more uncertainty in year 4. The
Portfolio Holder held monthly meetings with Senior Officers to
discuss the budget and the Cabinet received regular updates of the
financial position and the Council’s Transformation
Agenda.
The
Portfolio Holder then responded to questions, making the following
comments:
- As yet
it was unclear how procurement processes would evolve and what the
benefit to smaller local businesses would be. The Portfolio Holder confirmed that all
opportunities would be reviewed and considered as they
presented.
- It was
anticipated that staff would begin to return to the office from
21st June 2021, in line with the national
roadmap. The Portfolio Holder
highlighted that it would be for managers to agree work patterns
and workload for their staff.
- It was
right that staff were properly rewarded and in Bromley high
performing staff were rewarded in targeted ways.
- During
the last 14 months many Council staff had willingly and voluntarily
gone over and above what could reasonably be expected of them,
undertaking everything expected of them and more. Members stressed their pride in the
Council’s staff. The Chairman
suggested that case studies of some of the fantastic work done by
staff to support the Borough’s residents should be
encapsulated in case studies and made available to the
public.
- Inevitably there had been a degree of ‘firefighting’
last year as the Council tried to quantify the impact of the
pandemic and plan its response. There
would now be a need to review whether there was a need for staff to
continue to be seconded into Covid related positions. The issue of staff flexibility with staff working
across a number of roles in different departments was something for
managers to consider and could be discussed with the Departmental
Representatives (Dep Reps).
- Members noted that there had been very little “vaccine
hesitancy” amongst LBB staff and that the evidence suggested
that most staff, including front line staff, were keen to receive
their jab.
- A
review of the Council’s procurement processes was under way
and it was hoped that this would result in a more simplified and
streamlined process. The Portfolio
Holder highlighted that at its meeting in February 2021, the
Committee had received an update on the implications of the
Government’s Procurement Green Paper. The paper was available on the website and
Members, especially those who were new to the Committee, were
encouraged to re-familiarise themselves with its
contents.
- The
Dep Reps fulfilled a vital role and should be extremely proud of
the work they had delivered including the Mental Health First
Aiders Initiative. Going forward they
would be consulted on plans for the way in which staff across the
Council worked.
- A
review of the Property Portfolio was underway and 80% of condition
surveys had been completed. Properties
to take to the market were identified on a case by case
basis. The Council was required to
deliver improvements to the Old Palace site and these would be
prioritised. In terms of other office
accommodation there would be a review of what could be released
once staff returned to the office.
- Going
forward the Transformation Programme would evolve and would
inevitably be informed by the impact of the Covid-19
pandemic. Largely the Transformation
Workstreams were on track.
The
Committee thanked the Portfolio Holder for his update.