Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive any Declarations and advise Members accordingly.

Councillors Derek Butler and Dave Mackie declared a personalinterest in the following item:  Item 6 - Theatr  Clwyd  Trust Model Transition Staged Update Report

Councillor Tudor Jones declared a personalinterest in the following item:  Item 7 - AURA – Renewal of Service Contract 

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 9 December, 2019.

RESOLVED:

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

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 9 December, 2019.

Approval was moved by Councillor Geoff Collett and seconded by Councillor Paul Johnson.

RESOLVED:

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

RESOLVED:

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

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

(c)        That an item on Cambrian Aquatics be included on the Forward Work Programme for consideration at a future meeting of the Committee; and

(d)       That the progress made in completing the outstanding action be noted.

The Overview & Scrutiny Facilitator presented the report which outlined the Committee’s current draft Forward Work Programme.  She drew attention to the items which were scheduled on the Programme for consideration at the next meeting of the Committee to be held on 16 March. 

Following a suggestion by Councillor Tudor Jones it was agreed that an item on Cambrian Aquatics would be included on the Forward Work Programme for consideration at a future meeting of the Committee.

The Facilitator provided an update on action tracking and referred to the action arising from the meeting held on 1 July regarding the Council’s Closed Circuit Television Service and a Shared Service with Wrexham which was ongoing.  She advised that all other actions had been completed. 

RESOLVED:

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

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

(c)        That an item on Cambrian Aquatics be included on the Forward Work Programme for consideration at a future meeting of the Committee; and

(d)       That the progress made in completing the outstanding action be noted.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Committee notes the progress made to date in delivering social value in Flintshire and endorsed the proposed next steps; and

(b)       That the draft Social Value Procurement Policy be endorsed.

The Chief Officer (Social Services) introduced the report and advised that the Council adopted its Social Value Strategy earlier this year to set out how greater community benefit could be achieved from existing Council services and expenditure.  The report provided an update on the work undertaken since this date, on the emerging approaches to delivering social value being adopted, and on future areas of work.  Members were also asked to consider a draft Social Value Procurement Policy which created an enabling framework to strengthen the approach to generating social value through the Council’s procured expenditure. 

The Enterprise and Regeneration Manager presented the report.  He provided background information and reported on the main considerations, as detailed in the report, and referred to the areas of social value delivery in the next 12 months, delivering social value through procurement, progress to date, and future activity. 

Councillor Andy Dunbobbin asked for clarification of the term ‘local’ used in the report.  He also asked how the Social Value Policy linked into the Sell2Wales Welsh Government (WG) Procurement initiative.  Councillor Dunbobbin queried whether the software package, required to enable effective management of social value across the Council, had been purchased from a local provider. 

In response to the comments and queries raised by Councillor Dunbobbin, the  Enterprise and Regeneration Manager advised that there were three tiers which were predominantly Flintshire, sub-regional, and Mersey-Dee Alliance.  Referring to the Sell2Wales WG Procurement initiative he confirmed that it could accommodate the social value policy requirements.  On the matter of supply of software the Enterprise and Regeneration Manager explained that it had been put to open procurement but could not be sourced locally.  Responding to a further question raised by Councillor Dunbobbin around sub-contracting the Enterprise and Regeneration Manager said that sub-contracting presented an opportunity for local contractors to become involved in larger projects.

It was agreed that a further report be provided to the Committee in relation to the data captured via the new social value ICT system.

Councillor Tudor Jones referred to the opportunities to deliver significant social value, as detailed in section 1.05 of the report, and expressed reservations around the opportunity for future investment by Aura.

Councillor Paul Johnson welcomed the report and commented on the Preston model where social value was at the core of the Council’s economic strategy.  He asked how the Social Value Procurement Policy could be turned into community wealth building.  The Chief Officer (Housing and Assets) acknowledged the points raised and agreed some similarity with the Preston model had been considered during the development of the Strategy.  Councillor Johnson commented on the need to raise the profile of the Social Value Policy.  The Chief Officer concurred that there was a need to raise the profile of Social Value within Flintshire and commented that on a visit to Preston they had a clearly defined brand and the message was consistent across all service areas.

The recommendations were proposed by Councillor Tudor Jones and seconded by Councillor Paul Johnson.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38.

RESOLVED:

That the press and public be excluded for the remainder of the meeting for the following items by virtue of exempt information under paragraph(s) 15 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended). 

RESOLVED: 

(a)       That the Committee notes the progress to secure transition to an independent trust model for Theatr Clwyd, in the form of a company limited by guarantee with charitable status, for 1 April 2021; and

(b)       That a final decision on a transfer being made in 2020, based on a full and final due diligence report, be supported.

The Chief Officer (Housing and Assets) introduced a staged report on progress to date on transferring Theatr Clwyd to a new governance model under the Council’s Alternative Delivery Model (ADM) by April 2021 which had been agreed by Cabinet in principle.  He advised that the objective was to secure the future of Theatr Clwyd and an independent trust model was the preferred model to achieve this. A final decision on making a transfer would need to be made by mid-2020 to allow sufficient time for transitional planning. 

The Chief Officer reported on the main considerations, as detailed in the report.

The recommendations were proposed by Councillor Paul Johnson and seconded by Councillor Martin White.

RESOLVED: 

(a)       That the Committee notes the progress to secure transition to an independent trust model for Theatr Clwyd, in the form of a company limited by guarantee with charitable status, for 1 April 2021; and

(b)       That a final decision on a transfer being made in 2020, based on a full and final due diligence report, be supported.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Committee notes and supports the intention to extend the service contract with Aura for a further two year period (1 September 2020 to 31 August 2022); and

(b)       That Aura be invited to present the next iteration of their business plan to Overview & Scrutiny at the start of the 2020/21 financial year, and include a specific statement of social value objectives in keeping with the Council’s newly adopted Social Value Strategy.

The Chief Officer (Housing and Assets) introduced the report to consider the proposed extension of the service contract with Aura.  He advised that the initial service contract with Aura was for a three-year period ending 31 August 2020.  The agreement between the Council and Aura included an option to extend the contract for a further two years by mutual agreement.  The report recommends exercising such an agreement and covers the principal terms of that agreement.

The Chief Officer provided background information and reported on the main considerations, as detailed in the report.

During discussion the Leader of the Council and the Chief Officer responded to the questions and concerns raised by Councillor Tudor Jones

The recommendations in the report were moved by Councillor Martin White and seconded by Councillor Andy Dunbobbin.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Committee notes and supports the intention to extend the service contract with Aura for a further two year period (1 September 2020 to 31 August 2022); and

(b)       That Aura be invited to present the next iteration of their business plan to Overview & Scrutiny at the start of the 2020/21 financial year, and include a specific statement of social value objectives in keeping with the Council’s newly adopted Social Value Strategy.

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