Agenda and minutes

The Chair reminded Members of the need to declare any known interests in any matters to be considered at the meeting. No declarations of interest were made.

To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 10^th December 2018.

Resolved – That the minutes of the meeting held on 10^th December 2018 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

See explanatory note below. Please contact the Committee Officer whose details appear at the top of this agenda if you need further guidance.

Mr Roy Worman sought clarification regarding discussions between Swindon Borough Council and Parish Council in respect of the installation of charging points for electric vehicles throughout the Borough.  The Leader of the Council responded at the meeting.

Mr Roy Worman asked a supplementary question regarding the role of petrol stations in the installation of charging points for electric vehicles throughout the Borough.  The Leader of the Council responded at the meeting.

The Chair sought clarification as to the Council’s development plan for the installation of electric vehicle charging points across the Borough.  The Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Economic Proserity responded at the meeting.

Mr Roy Worman asked a public question regarding the management of the volumes of telephone calls to the Council’s call centre during peak demand times. The Cabinet Member for Corporate and Customer Services responded at the meeting.

Mr Roy Worman asked a supplementary question regarding the public’s continued use of the call centre despite online communication options being available. The Cabinet Member for Corporate and Customer Services responded at the meeting.

The Committee received a report of the Interim Director of Law about the Budget setting process for 2019/20. 

Members were reminded of their specific responsibility under the Committee’s terms of reference, and under the Budget and Policy Framework Procedure Rules, to fulfil the Council’s Budget Scrutiny Function.  The report provided members with the opportunity to better understand the strategic context and framing for the direction of travel of the organisation to deliver the Council’s priorities and specific objectives over the next two years. This was within the expected financial context, and the particular processes the Council had adopted to ensure a balanced budget for 2019/20 and achieving a sustainable financial position moving forward.

The Chair welcomed Councillor Russell Holland, Deputy Leader of the Council, Vice-Chair of Cabinet and Cabinet Member for Finance to the meeting. 

Councillor Holland introduced the report, advising that thefinal Local Government Finance Settlement for 2019/20 had yet to be published and so the current funding assumptions contained levels of uncertainty.  He commented that an annual increase in basic council tax of 2.99% had been assumed for the financial period to 2019/20, and that the adult social care precept would be an assumed 1% in 2019/20. It was also assumed that fees chargeable by the Council would be increased by 5%.

The Cabinet Member responded to observations and questions from the Chair and Councillors Brian Mattock, Jane Milner-Barry and Chris Watts on the following matters:

·       The process for determining the 5% rise in charges levied by the Council and how this would impact both service delivery, service demand and service users.

·       The role of service departments in setting service charges and feedback received from service departments in the setting of the proposed increases in charges.

·       The need to consider increased charges should they be likely to lead to additional work or cost to the Council and in particular in respect of a potential increase in fly-tipping and funeral costs.

·       How the Council’s estimated share of the surplus on the Council Tax element of the Collection Fund was constituted and the information on which the figure of £1.393m was based.

·       The regulations for sharing any surplus or deficit on the Council Tax element of the Collection Fund between the main precept bodies (Swindon Borough Council, Wiltshire Police and Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Authority) and which did not include Parish Councils.

·       Future funding provision for the Dial-A-Ride Service and the forth-coming contract negotiations and the tender process.

·       The effectiveness in bringing empty properties back into use through the current 150% Council Tax Charge on Empty Properties within the Borough.

·       The funding of electoral registration services which whilst tapered over a two year period had been fully funded.

·       The Council’s anticipated share of the £84 million extra Government funding for Children’s Social Care.

·       The formula for budgeting for the Council’s costs associated with homelessness within the Borough.

·       The £500 million additional money allocated by the Government to the Housing Infrastructure Fund announced in the budget which Councils could bid for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 57.

Councillor Keith Williams (Cabinet Member for Corporate and Customer Services), was in attendance and presented to the Committee a report summarising progress and performance in respect of each of the following service areas within his portfolio of responsibility:

·       Performance and Risk

·       Human Resources and Organisational Development

·       Communications

·       Health and Safety

·       Customer Services

·       Information Technology

·       Digitalisation

·       Lydiard House and Park

Councillor Williams responded to the observations and questions put by the Chair and Councillors Emma Bushell, Emma Faramarzi, Jim Robbins, Tim Swinyard and Chris Watts on the following matters:

·       The language and terminology within the report which might make it difficult for members of the public to understand.

·       The successful use of social media by the Council to engage the public and the benefits arising to both the Council and the public.

·       The benefits of adding a subject line to the My Account Portal to make it more user friendly for Councillors.

·       Potential upgrades to Mod.Gov  and the need to ensure Councillors are trained in the use of the My Portal System to make it more efficient.

·       Planned maintenance, refurbishment work and structural work scheduled for Lydiard House and works carried out to the house and grounds over the previous year.

·       Work to Lydiard to make it more widely accessible to all members of the public including conference facilities in the old swimming pool area rather than the previous plan to install a lift which would have proven difficult in a Grade 1 listed property which included the historical building as well as the 1960’s extension to the rear of the building.

·       Continued public disquiet at the online reporting of housing repairs and the waiting times for reporting repairs through the Council’s call centre.

·       The current call centre capacity, volume of calls received and number of abandoned calls and how this compare to last year.

·       A breakdown of telephone calls to the Council’s call centre and the mitigating measures that had been put into place to reduce this volume, especially those related to abandoned calls.

·       The current staffing structure in the Council’s call centre together with staff responsibilities, training and measures in place to retain customer service staff.

·       Current statistics for staff sickness and how these could be adversely affected by long-term sickness and the nature of occupation.

·       How reporting of staff sickness figures could be enhanced to provide a more robust picture to understand the Council’s staffing situation.

·       The monitoring and reporting of accidents and near misses, the Council’s strategy to reduce these and how these informed Health and Safety practices.

·       Measures to support staff in returning to work following illness.

·       The success in improving the finances, including car parking revenue, of Lydiard House since the Council took over its management and continuing work to improve its management including best practice of other providers.

·       Work to improve the range of services offered at Lydiard House including weddings, conference facilities, improved catering, increasing car parking capacity and accommodation and the reinvestment of profits back into the facility.

·       The loss on income  ...  view the full minutes text for item 58.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Law and Democratic Services setting out the topics for inclusion in the 2018/2019 Scrutiny Work Programme, as agreed by the Committee at its meeting on 18^th June 2018, and updated during the course of the Municipal Year.

The Committee received an updated report advising on the status of outstanding issues and member requests for information.

Resolved – That the report on the status of outstanding issues and member requests for information be noted.