Agenda item

(a)       That the reports be noted; and

(b)       That the Committee continues to highlight and monitor poor performance and feedback details of any challenge to the Policy, Performance & Partnerships Team for reporting to Cabinet where appropriate.

The Committee received a report on the 2014/15 Mid Year Service Performance Reports produced at Chief Officer level for their respective portfolios.  The reports covered the period April to September 2014. 

The Chief Officer (People and Resources)  presented the Mid Year Chief Officer Performance Report for People and Resources. 

Councillor Carolyn Thomas commented on the duplication of items on the agenda as some of the items were also being covered as part of the performance reports and asked that consideration be given to how reports were presented in the future.

Councillor  Richard Jones suggested that the font size of the headings in the COT performance reports be made larger for “easy reading” and it was agreed that this would be passed to the performance team.

Councillor Arnold Woolley asked for a list of fee generating services.  The Chief Officer (People and Resources) explained that this was part of the Income Strategy and agreed to make enquiries to establish if this information could be provided to the Committee.

Councillor Arnold Woolley referred to page 25 of the agenda.  He  commented on the need for a clear audit trail when undertaking virements and said he had contacted the Corporate Finance Manager  about this matter and was waiting for information about virements.  The Chief Officer (People and Resources) explained the difficulties around the level of detail required but said she would look into this.  She gave an assurance that the Authority was fully compliant with the regulations regarding virements.

The Chief Officer (Governance)  presented the Mid Year Chief Officer Performance Report for Governance. 

Councillor Arnold Woolley referred to the introduction of individual electoral registration and the positive comments he had received from older people on how this change had been dealt with.  He asked the Chief Officer (Governance) to forward his congratulations to the election team. 

Councillor Ian Dunbar referred to the Public Sector Broadband Aggregation (PSBA) project and raised concerns around connectivity to schools.  The Chief Officer responded to the matters raised and advised that the estimated completion date for the project was March 2015.  He agreed to discuss any specific issues with Councillor Dunbar following the meeting.   In response to the further concerns raised by Councillor Dunbar around procurement, the Chief  Officer advised that schools had been allocated a procurement officer for contact.  He also commented on the work being undertaken to connect schools to the P2P corporate system.  

Councillor Richard Jones commented on the Service Level Agreements between the Authority and schools for IT support and expressed concerns that there could be a long delay before technical support became available.  He also explained that there was a local resources issue with IT in schools and that there was a problem if members wished to use their own IT equipment in schools.  The Chief Officer referred to the appointment of a consultant to liaise with schools to determine their needs and said this information would be shared with the Leader of the Council in the New Year to consider the options for future service provision. 

Councillor Carolyn Thomas suggested that Committee Services staff be trained on how to use ipads, so that they could assist Members during Committee meetings.

Councillor Andy Dunbobbin suggested that a short information video on how to use the ipads be posted onto the Council’s infonet for Members to access should they experience any problems.  The Chief Officer agreed to ask the IT Support Officer to do this.

Councillor Marion Bateman asked that her compliments be passed to Andrew Peers, IT Support Officer, for the assistance and training he had provided to all Members on the use of ipads.

RESOLVED:

 (a)      That the reports be noted; and

(b)       That the Committee continues to highlight and monitor poor performance and feedback details of any challenge to the Policy, Performance & Partnerships Team for reporting to Cabinet where appropriate.