Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Giles.

Members to declare any interests in matters to be discussed at the meeting.

 There were no declarations of interest made.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 29 March as a correct record.

Resolved that the minutes of the meeting held on 29 March be approved as a correct record.

To determine whether there are any additional items of business to be considered as a  matter of urgency.

There were no additional items of business.

To consider and comment upon the progress of the Improvement Plan up to 11 May 2023.

The Board received an update on the progress of the Improvement Plan up to 11 May 2023. On 22 September 2022, Budget and Corporate Scrutiny Management Board received the Improvement Plan and requested regular updates on progress.  This report was the fourth quarterly progress report to Budget and Corporate Scrutiny Management Board.

Specific feedback and comments made by external reviewers were relayed to the Board. Feedback had largely been positive with no further recommendations highlighted from return visits.  Continuous development of member development programme was underway and Chairs and Vice-chairs of Committees and Boards were receiving training.  The Cabinet Forward Plan was also being shared with Scrutiny Boards and the Audit Committee.

A summary of progress as of April 2023 consisted of significant milestones including positive progress in relation to the expert determination process for Lion Farm, approval of the commercial strategy, a response to the CIPFA follow-up review had been embedded into the improvement which, in turn, had been embedded into the refresh of the Corporate Plan.

An annual report had been prepared that reflected the significant progress over the year with examples of how the changes had an impact on the organisation.  Within the annual report was the next steps of the improvement journey.

Areas of concern were broken down by each theme contained within the improvement plan and highlighted to the Board.

Organisation Culture

Issues had been encountered in the member-officer relationship survey work-stream.  A lower response rate than expected was received and therefore, consideration would be given to timescales for a repeat survey.  Slippage was witnessed in the approval of the next phase of the member development programme due to revisions needed to the member induction as a result of the large quantity of new members.  A Member Development Plan was now in place and member handbooks and inductions packs had been issued.

Corporate Oversight:

Slippage had been experienced in establishing the infrastructure for Corporate Transformation.  Resources from across the Council had been collated to consolidate resources.  Local Partnerships were now supporting a review of Corporate Transformation and PMO arrangements in the Council.  Delays to actions related to the improvement framework and lessons learned framework had occurred due to a lack of resources.  Directorate level restructuring and reviews of spans of control were initially put on hold but was now being considered after the appointment of an Assistant Chief Executive.  The planned due date of March 2023 for the implementation of the workforce development plan had not been met however, it was due to be finalised by July 2023.

Strategic Direction:

The planned due date for the procurement of a strategic delivery partner for the regeneration pipeline had not been met however, a decision was going forward to Cabinet in July.  A small response rate had been received in relation to the Customer Journey Strategy member survey.  Additional meetings with members were being arranged. Issues in the procuring stock conditions had been experienced as only one tender had been received. An award was not made and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 138/23

To consider items on the Cabinet Forward Plan.

Members considered the possibility of receiving an urgent briefing on the Parking Charges Policy item.

The Monitoring Officer highlighted that a 12-month forward plan was being planned with directorates to enable Scrutiny to add value to the decision-making process well in advance. The suggestion of including further information on each item would be considered by Cabinet Members. Members were reminded that working groups could be created across Boards for certain cross-cutting items if required.

To receive and comment on the progress on recommendations referred since the Board’s last meeting.

Members noted the updates to the Scrutiny Tracker.