Issue - meetings

That the Forward Work Programme be noted.

The Facilitator introduced the current Forward Work Programme which had been populated following consultation with the Chairman and Chief Officer and included Regeneration items as reflected in the Committee’s Terms of Reference.

Following comments from Councillor Mike Reece on the need to extend solid brick insulation work to other areas of the county, the Chief Officer explained that the criteria for energy efficiency funding applied only to certain areas.  If no further funding was available, this would need to be addressed separately under the Welsh Housing Quality Standard programme.

Councillor Marion Bateman raised concerns about the new automated arrangements for incoming calls to the Council and asked about the level of priority given to option 4 in the call queue.  The Chief Officer explained that various options were being piloted but that overall, calls were being answered faster than previously.  In response to similar concerns raised by the Chairman, the Chief Officer agreed to provide an update to the Committee including information on training for the Member Services’ team in dealing with calls previously dealt with by the switchboard.

Concerns were also shared by Councillor Ray Hughes on the loss of the switchboard, availability of officers and directing of calls to the correct department.  Councillor Bateman spoke in support of these comments.  The Chief Officer commented that this topic was under the remit of the Corporate Resources Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

RESOLVED:

That the Forward Work Programme be noted.