Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive any Declarations and advise Members accordingly.

There were no declarations of interest.

            There were no declarations of interest.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 28 January  2019.

That the minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The minutes of the meeting held on 28 January 2019 were submitted.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

(a)       That the draft Social Value Strategy be approved;

(b)       That the release of reserves funding to deliver the Social Value Strategy including the recruitment of a lead officer be approved; and

(c)        That the risks of legal challenge and securing value for money when considering the balance of quality and cost in the tender evaluations be added to the risk register.

The Enterprise and Regeneration Manager introduced the report to set out the future approach to generating increased social value from Council expenditure.    He explained that Social Value looked beyond the financial cost of a service and considered what wider additional benefits could be generated to the community.  Implementing the Social Value Strategy would be a key element in delivering the Well-being of the Future Generations Act and enable the Council and partners to create new resources for priority work streams.

The Enterprise and Regeneration Manager reported on the main considerations, as detailed in the report, and referred to the long-term goals in implementing the Strategy.  He continued that the Strategy sets out priority areas for social value generation, based on those highlighted in the Flintshire Well-being Plan and the Council Plan, helping to create additional resources for critical work streams.  He advised that a review had been undertaken to understand the baseline position in delivering social value through procurement which was an important catalyst for wider development.  Current practice was well developed where procurement frameworks were being used especially within construction.  The Strategy did not propose any new mandatory thresholds in the procurement process below the £1m threshold already in the Contract Procedure Rules but challenges service managers and procurement officers to think broadly about the services and goods being procured and consider how wider social value could be generated.  

The Enterprise and Regeneration Manager advised that a new Lead Officer position was proposed to deliver the Social Value Strategy, provide intensive support to officers, suppliers and partners, and ensure that the benefits were realised and recorded.  A dedicated software portal would also be created to enable the effective management of social value across the Council and its partners and demonstrate achievement of the principles set out in the Well-being of Future Generations Act.   It was proposed that this be allocated from reserves for a period of three years to enable the systems to establish and the returns on investment to be realised.

The proposals were positively supported by the Committee.

Following a question from Councillor Geoff Collett, it was agreed that how the weight of tender evaluations, where a social value clause was included, would be explored.

The Chair commented on the need to ensure that local businesses/trades were given the opportunity to submit bids and were not disadvantaged by all Wales or regional contracts.  He also expressed concerns that there could be a risk of legal challenges.  During further discussion the Committee agreed with the suggestion from the Chair that the risks of legal challenge and securing value for money when considering the balance of quality and cost in the tender evaluations be added to the risk register.

Following the further comments and questions raised by Members the Chief Executive suggested that the possibility of Glyndwr University acting as an academic partner for strategy impact evaluation purposes be pursued.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the draft Social Value Strategy be approved;

(b)       That the release of reserves funding  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41.

(a)       That the key points arising from January’s briefing for Elected Members on the development of online functionality for customer be noted; and

(b)       That the design principles and programme for the delivery of the Digital Strategy be approved.

                        The Chief Executive introduced a report to provide an update on progress to define and deliver the Digital Strategy and a summary of discussion in the recent Digital Strategy workshop with Members.  He referred to the main considerations, as detailed in the report, and explained that to ensure standards were consistent in the way projects were designed and services modernised, a number of design principles had been agreed.  All projects would be evaluated at the design stage to ensure they would help the Authority to move consistently forwards against the core principles detailed in the report.

                        The Chief Executive advised that in working with portfolios, the Digital Customer Programme Manager also created a combined digital programme plan as the baseline for delivery; consolidating a number of previously standalone plans.  This digital programme contained the essential works which needed to be resourced before the Authority could consider making further choices around priorities.  A governance framework had also been developed which would be used to manage requests submitted for changes to the programme.  As discussed in the briefing with Members on 16 January, the programme and framework would translate into a range of specific capabilities which would allow customers to access a growing range of services and information online.

Councillor Tudor Jones asked that consideration be given to elderly and vulnerable customers who either did not have access to online services or did not have the confidence or skills to self-serve online.   He expressed concerns that due to the increasing trend towards providing online services people may become excluded or their lives become difficult if they experience problems using online services in the future.  The Chief Executive gave an assurance that telephone and face-to-face customer access would continue and agreed to explore the options for home visits to be undertaken in exceptional personal circumstances.

The Chief Executive offered an interactive Member workshop on the Member ward-based information portal, when available, which was welcomed by the Committee.

The Chair suggested that consideration be given to providing a range of general e-mail contact addresses for the Authority’s services on the web so that customers did not have to search for individual officer e-mail addresses to make contact.

During discussion the Chief Executive responded to the further questions from Members on the proposal to capture electronic signatures using mobile devices to allow services to be completed at the first point of contact, and the introduction of data mastering principles to provide better flexibility to design business processes across portfolios and partners.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the key points arising from January’s briefing for Elected Members on the development of online functionality for customer be noted; and

(b)       That the design principles and programme for the delivery of the Digital Strategy be approved.

That the Quarter 3 Council Plan 2018/19 Monitoring Report be noted.

The Chief Executive introduced a report to present a summary of performance for the Quarter 3 (October to December 2018) position of 2018/19 for the Council Plan priority ‘Connected Council’ relevant to the Committee. 

Members were advised that the Quarter 3 monitoring report was a positive report and showed that 92% of activities were making good progress with 85% likely to achieve their desired outcomes.  In addition 67% of the performance indicators had met or exceeded their targets.  Risks were being managed with the majority being assessed as moderate (61%) and minor/insignificant 22%.  The report was an exception based report and therefore focussed on the areas of under-performance.

RESOLVED:

That the Quarter 3 Council Plan 2018/19 Monitoring Report be noted.

(a)       That the Forward Work Programme as submitted be approved; and

(b)       That the Overview & Scrutiny Facilitator, in consultation with the Chair of the Committee, be authorised to vary the Forward Work Programme between meetings as the need arises.

The Overview and Scrutiny Facilitator presented the current Forward Work Programme for consideration.  She drew attention to the items scheduled for the next meeting of the Committee to be held on 13 May 2019, and reminded Members that following a suggestion at the previous meeting it had been agreed that the meeting would be held at Deeside Leisure Centre.

Councillor Tudor Jones suggested that the venue for the following meeting of the Committee to be held on 1 July, be changed to Holywell Leisure Centre and said he would enquire if a suitable room was available.

 The Facilitator referred to the item to be scheduled on Connah’s Quay Swimming Pool – Cambrian Aquatics Mid-Year Progress Report 2018/19 and explained that officers were waiting for available dates from Cambrian Aquatics so that a meeting with the Committee could be arranged.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Forward Work Programme as submitted be approved; and

(b)       That the Overview & Scrutiny Facilitator, in consultation with the Chair of the Committee, be authorised to vary the Forward Work Programme between meetings as the need arises.

There were no members of the press or the public in attendance.