| OSC.573 | Councillor Cassidy declared a personal interest in Minute OSC.578 below, Children Centre Charging, as a member of the Advisory Board of St John with St Mark Children’s Centre. |
| OSC.574 |
There were no members of the public present at the meeting to ask questions under this item.
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| OSC.577 | A report was submitted by the Leader of the Council outlining the progress during quarter two of 2012-2013 for the corporate performance indicators and projects within the Bury Council Corporate Plan. The information is extracted from the Performance Information Management System (PIMS) and provided by the responsible services.
In response to a request from Councillor O’Hanlon, the Leader of the Council undertook to ensure that future reports included more numerical information to enable comparisons with performance in previous years or quarters.
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| OSC.578 | The Cabinet Member for Leisure, Tourism and Culture submitted a report which provided progress on the review of library provision in the borough, set out Phase 1 savings to be realised in 2013/14 and a strategy for further savings. The report had been considered by the Cabinet on 28 November and recommendations approved.
Diana Sorrigan, Assistant Director (Arts, Libraries & Adult Learning), reported on the work undertaken to date as part of the review of the Library Service and explained the opportunities in respect of new technology.
During discussion of this item, the Committee acknowledged the savings to be achieved as part of Phase 1, but highlighted the major challenges faced in achieving the further savings required as part of Phase 2. The Chair, Councillor Hankey, commented that the existing Libraries Working Group could be useful in terms of having input into phase 2 of the Library Review in advance of being considered by the full Committee.
In response to a question concerning the use of 2001 Census information, Dionne Brandon, Head of Policy and Improvement, explained that information from the 2011 Census was not currently available. An undertaking was given to provide details from the Office for National Statistics of the planned release of 2011 Census data.
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| OSC.579 | Further to Minute ISC.752, of the meeting of the Internal Scrutiny Committee, held on 27 March 2012, the Executive Director of Children’s Services submitted a report providing a summary of the impact of charging for non core activities within Children’s Centres. The report set out information in respect of income received and provided financial information from individual centres on the impact of charging for complimentary activities. The report concluded that no negative impact from the policy of charging for non core activities had been reported from Children’s Centres and that the charging for complimentary services presented no barrier to access.
During discussion of this item Sue Reynolds, Head of Children’s Centres, acknowledged that attendance levels did differ across the Borough with Phase 3 Centres not being generally as well attended as Phase 1 Centres.
In response to a question concerning the increase of charges, the Head of Children’s Centres reported that currently there were no plans to increase charges.
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| OSC.580 |
Further to Minute OSC.379 (1) of the meeting of this Committee, held on 9 October 2012, Working Groups had been set up for each of the following Plan for Change Reviews:
• Leisure Services
• Adult Learning
• Highways
• Libraries
• CCTV/Environmental Services
• Parks and Countryside
Minutes of the meetings of each of the above Groups were submitted and the respective Chairs provided an update to the Committee.
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| OSC.581 | The Cabinet Member for Communities submitted a report providing an update in respect of the performance of Township Forums, particularly in relation to the implementation of Township Plans and levels of engagement with the public and community representatives. The report included a breakdown of the level of public attendance at meetings and a list of actions undertaken to promote the Forums.
During discussion of this item, the Cabinet Member referred to the positive impact of the Forums and highlighted outcomes achieved in respect of the
re-instatement of bus services in Whitefield and the adoption of the Alcohol Prospectus in Bury East.
Questions and comments were invited from the Committee and the following issues were raised:
• Councillor O’Hanlon commented that attendance numbers were generally low and could be improved if the Forums had some devolved decision making powers and budgets.
• In response to a question from Councillor Wiseman concerning the role of Councillors in promoting and developing the Forums, the Cabinet Member explained that this could be done by local Councillors driving agenda items and identifying local priorities. It was also stated that there was flexibility for Forums to evolve to suit the local area.
• Members of the Committee suggested that a mechanism be developed to share ideas and good practice across all Township Forums, possibly through a Chair’s Group or cross party working group.
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| OSC.582 | The Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources submitted report providing a mid-year report that was been prepared in compliance with CIPFA’s Code of Practice covering the following:
• An economic update for the first six months of 2012/2013;
• A review of the Treasury Management Strategy Statement and Annual Investment Strategy for 2012/2013;
• A review of the Council’s borrowing strategy for 2012/2013;
• A review of any debt rescheduling undertaken during 2012/2013, and
• A review of compliance with Treasury and Prudential Limits for 2012/2013.
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| OSC.583 | The Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources submitted a report informing Cabinet of the Council’s financial position for the period April to September 2012 and projects the likely outturn at the end of 2012/13.
The report included Prudential Indicators in accordance with CIPFA’s Prudential Code.
Councillor Wiseman expressed concern in relation to void rents in the Millgate due to the effect of the Rock Development and requested that an impact report be undertaken into the issue. The Assistant Director of Finance and Efficiency undertook to feed back to Property Services.
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