Agenda item

(a)       That having considered the 2013/14 Mid Year Service Performance Reports, the comments of the Committee are fed back to the Policy, Performance & Partnerships Team, which is responsible for the overview and monitoring of improvement targets, for inclusion in the report to Cabinet; and

(b)       That future performance reports from Heads of Service include detail on sickness absence trends.

The Committee was requested to note and consider the 2013/14 Mid Year Service Performance Report covering April to September 2013 and to comment on the new approach to performance reporting.

The relevant officers each gave a short presentation on performance in their respective areas, outlining work which had been undertaken to improve performance and areas where improvement was needed, as outlined within the report.

Finance

Councillor Clive Carver referred to the downturn in the percentage of undisputed invoices paid within 30 days and asked if a single point of contact was available for suppliers to pursue these queries with the Council.  The Corporate Finance Manager explained that the relevant authorising officer was the first point of contact for such enquiries and that the AP/AR Control Team was responsible for co-ordinating responses across the Council.  The Head of ICT & Customer Services said that the introduction of the P2P procurement system would help to improve performance, to be further aided by plans to centralise invoice processing with a central point of contact.  He added that due to the current inconsistent use of dispute codes on invoices, the figure shown in the report may not reflect the true position.

Members stressed the importance of timely payment of invoices, particularly to smaller businesses.

Councillor Peter Curtis commented on the level of long-term sickness absence in Finance and said it would be helpful to show changes in sickness absence levels.  On employee turnover, he asked whether the temporary appointments made to address the backlog of work in the Clwyd Pension Fund would become permanent to ensure that there was no repeat.  The Corporate Finance Manager agreed to provide a separate response on this.  Members agreed with the suggestion made by the Head of ICT & Customer Services that future reports by Heads of Service include detail on sickness absence trends.

Human Resources & Organisational Design

In referring to the forthcoming changes in the organisation and reduced budgets, Councillor Alex Aldridge said that individuals who opted for redundancy should not be re-employed in a different role.  He also sought assurances that individuals in detriment as a result of Single Status would be given opportunities to be redeployed in other roles.

The Head of Human Resources & Organisational Change acknowledged the need to balance significant projects with cost implications and said that improved terms and conditions for the workforce under Single Status would benefit those delivering services. There was planned investment to support individuals at the stage when outcomes were made available and results were due to be circulated during the first week of December 2013 followed by Trade Union ballots.  Under the workforce programme, work was being carried out to identify areas of potential reduction and entitlements for Early Voluntary Retirement (EVR) to ensure that this was affordable and to provide incentive for individuals.

In response to a comment from the Chairman, it was noted that the Local Government Pension rules did not prohibit a former employee from returning to work, however there was a need to set out clear expectations against this within the policy in order to achieve real savings.

The Cabinet Member for Corporate Management referred to the overwhelming support for the Single Status Agreement from Members at the recent County Council meeting, together with support from Trade Unions.  He was confident that the approach taken was the right one and added that the Hay Group was supporting the Council in the process.

Councillor Arnold Woolley asked if there were any concerns over the long-term planning and viability of the Pension scheme resulting from the forthcoming structural changes.  It was reported by the Corporate Finance Manager that a three year valuation was to be undertaken of the Pension arrangements taking account of the impact of Single Status and a reduced workforce.  In the interim, an assumption of £900K of additional Pension contributions had been incorporated in the Medium Term Financial Plan with a reduced long-term deficit.

Councillor Peter Curtis commented that a former employee may be entitled to return to work under Equal Opportunities rules and that this could create discontent amongst the workforce.  The Head of Human Resources & Organisational Development explained that careful consideration would be taken on retaining or releasing necessary skills/experience prior to any decision on approval of redundancy requests.

Councillor Robin Guest said it was important not to lose the required levels of expertise in the workforce in favour of recruiting untrained replacements.  The Head of Human Resources & Organisational Development gave assurance that appropriate transitional arrangements were being considered to avoid any undue risk.  In response to comments on appraisals, she said that the next performance report would include how the whole of the Council was progressing with appraisals mid year.

Following a query from the Chair, the Head of Human Resources & Organisational Design said that requests for voluntary redundancy would need to be properly assessed prior to exploring alternative measures needed to achieve the required level of savings.

In response to a query from Councillor Woolley, the Head of Human Resources & Organisational Design confirmed that a balanced view was being taken of reduced workforce and efficiencies and that a significant piece of work related to the operating model for the Council including senior management structure which would inform decisions on EVR and voluntary redundancy applications and approvals.  Following concerns raised by Councillor Woolley on a long-standing issue with appraisals, she stated that progress had been made and the inclusion of this issue within performance reports reinforced accountability of Heads of Service.

The Cabinet Member for Waste Strategy, Public Protection & Leisure, who was seated in the public gallery, acknowledged the future reductions in the Council.  He said that flexibility was needed to ensure that levels of expertise were protected, particularly in smaller teams, and that options such as a phased approach or sharing expertise in a joint arrangement could be beneficial.

ICT & Customer Services

Councillor Peter Curtis welcomed the introduction of electronic devices for Members which it was reported would be rolled out to Cabinet Members, Committee Chairs and Group Leaders before all Council Members.

Councillor Clive Carver requested that his appreciation be passed on to the ICT officer on the Service Desk who had helped to resolve a problem with Citrix.  The Head of ICT& Customer Services explained that a jointly-procured system had been implemented by the Service Desk and whilst the rate of responses to faults was on target, there was further progress to be made on answering the large volume of calls.  In response to a query on reporting faults, he advised that a self-service facility had been introduced on the Council’s Infonet which included responses to frequently asked questions.

Following queries raised by Councillor Andy Dunbobbin, the Head of ICT & Customer Services explained that the main aim of Learning in Digital Wales was to ensure consistent standards of bandwidth and infrastructure in every school in Flintshire and that the rollout programme focussed on where services were needed rather than areas of deprivation.  He explained that although open source ICT offerings had been previously explored, Microsoft Office was required to integrate to back office systems.

Councillor Richard Lloyd asked if agendas could be made available in Members’ pigeonholes for collection where possible to avoid the need for posting.  The Member Engagement Manager agreed that this frustration was shared by officers in collating the reports.

Legal & Democratic Services

The Member Engagement Manager drew Members’ attention to the salient features of the Legal & Democratic Services report.  Acknowledging concerns expressed by Members earlier in the meeting with regard to the holding of appraisals, he commented that in Legal & Democratic Services, all employees had received an appraisal in the current year.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That having considered the 2013/14 Mid Year Service Performance Reports, the comments of the Committee are fed back to the Policy, Performance & Partnerships Team, which is responsible for the overview and monitoring of improvement targets, for inclusion in the report to Cabinet; and

(b)       That future performance reports from Heads of Service include detail on sickness absence trends.