Agenda item

A report is attached. Departmental representatives will be in attendance to inform and assist Members in the development of a balanced work programme for the coming Municipal Year.

Councillor Caserta welcomed Andrew Baldwin, Head of Financial Management, Dave Brown, Director of Operations, Karen Dolton, Executive Director – Children’s Services and Paul Lakin, Director of Economic Regeneration to the meeting. It was explained that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee would be setting their work programme for the Municipal Year and in order to do this had invited the Officers to assist with this.

 

Andrew Baldwin provided a copy of the Corporate Core workshop slides and the Managment Action Plan for the forthcoming year. Andrew explained that the development of the Corporate Core would bring together and integrate support services from across the Council and the CCG, where possible, to one point of contact and in doing so would help the Council to gain more capacity, resilience and harness the knowledge and experience that staff have developed over the years within their own departments. Being part of the Corporate Core, staff will still be empowered to retain the relationships that they have built up and to be responsive to the needs of their customers within their respective functions. Benefits for the committee include one point of reference for each of the corporate core services to provide an easier and more accessible overview for the committee.

 

A Corporate Core workshop has been held which has identified 12 potential work streams. Each works stream will have a lead officer, a Project Board and Project Plan. The lead officer will report back to a Corporate Core Transformation Board each week from mid-June with the  first cut programme plan being produced by end July. The delivery strands for each work stream were explained as: Budget, Service Strategy, Customer, Infrastructure, Information and Systems, Policy and Process and Structure.

 

Andrew ran through the Corporate Core Management Action Plan for the forthcoming year and explained that each of the areas contained in the plan could be scrutinised separately by the Committee as and when requested. Andrew highlighted some of these areas as examples including Corporate Core Progress reports and corporate plan and community strategy development and roll out. He also reported that the Committee would receive the budget and finance reports throughout the year as in previous years.

 

Councillor Caserta referred to the Corporate Core project and asked whether a financial savings target had been set in relation to it.

 

Andrew explained that the baseline information was currently being brought together and once this had been completed a progress report would be produced which could be brought back to Overview and Scrutiny Committee and these would contain the objectives for each of the work streams.

 

Councillor Walker referred to the ongoing review of traded services and asked whether the Committee could receive an update of this work including a breakdown of each of the services concerned. Andrew said this was scheduled for Quarter 3 in the Management Action plan.

 

Councillor Stella Smith explained that for the last Municipal Year the Committee had requested a finance update at each meeting and asked whether this could continue. Andrew confirmed that a brief budget update, including progress against savings targets, would be provided at each meeting in addition to the regular finance reports.

 

The following work areas were agreed following Andrew’s presentation:-

 

• Brief budget update to be provided at each meeting including progress against savings targets; these to be provided as well as the regular reports i.e. budget report in February; quarterly budget monitoring reports; year-end outturn reports; Treasury Management mid-year strategy
• Traded Services review – by late autumn – what is in scope; objectives of the review
• Tangible targets to be set, including any financial / savings targets, for each of the workstreams – for the 16 July meeting if possible
• The Corporate Core Management Action Plan to inform the O&S work plan for the year – therefore, progress reports to be brought to the meeting for each of the areas within the management action plan.

 

 

 

 

Karen Dolton, Executive Director of Children’s Services explained that a 90 day consultation had been carried out with regards to restructuring of the staff across the Directorate.

Work was being carried out to reduce the number of children in care with an early help delivery model. Innovation money had been received from Greater Manchester and the Stockport Family Model was being implemented.

Roll out of Integrated Early Help Model which includes the implementation of the LAC strategy to increase numbers of in house foster carers, enhanced care leavers offer and the best social work model to provide the best quality support.

 

Karen also explained that work was being carried out in relation to school improvement across the borough and inclusion to reduce permanent exclusions. Social and emotional mental health support was being rolled out across schools which included a workshop to which all schools in Bury had been invited to participate.

Barclays had been working with a number of Bury pupils in relation to life changes, this work included business mentoring and CV support.

 

There were two more Ofsted inspections due within the coming months, the first being a focused visit within the next six weeks and a full inspection possibly in September.

 

The following work areas were agreed following Karen’s presentation:-

 

• Performance in schools report – July
• SEND Update - September
• Looked after Children – Early Intervention update - September
• Exclusions update - January
• Adult Learning Service Advisory Group Annual Report - January

 

Dave Brown, Director of Operations reported that a review of the waste in-house service was being carried out looking at redesign of in-house services and the development of an options appraisal.

 

The £10m phase 1 highway capital programme was now in its final year and a new code of practice for highway maintenance and clearance of pothole backlog was being implemented.

 

Further investment in highways would be carried out following phase 1 which will involve preventative maintenance and plot the life cycle of individual roads.

 

The Street Lighting column replacement scheme was continuing to be delivered.

 

A review of the car parking enforcement contract was due to be carried out with a view to retendering, this would be looking at more intelligence based operation which would produce more efficient enforcement.

 

Bradley Fold depot had recently been affected by a fire and a refurbishment programme was being carried out to repair the damage.

Bids had been submitted to the Mayor’s Challenge Fund to provide 15 crossing points across the borough and a replacement bridge for which business cases had been approved by TfGM.

 

It was also explained that future schemes were in the process of being prepared so that when opportunities for bidding were open the plans would already be in place to be submitted.

 

Councillor Stella Smith referred to the review of the in house waste services and asked whether this would incorporate the issues around the use of agency staff. Dave confirmed that use of agency staff would be part of the review.

 

Councillor Harris referred to bidding opportunities and asked whether enough work was being done to make sure that the Council submitted as many bids as possible. Councillor Harris suggested that an officer could be employed to carry out this work.

 

The following work areas were agreed following Dave’s presentation:-

 

• Corporate Core build –  include if possible a post or ½ post for someone to search and bid for grants and external funding for the Council
• Highway Capital Programme update.
• Next Highway Capital Programme report
• Waste Collection Strategy update

 

Paul Lakin representing the Business Growth & Infrastructure Directorate reported that there were a number of current and new big projects that the Committee may want to receive reports and updates on. There were:-

• Chamberhall
• Radcliffe Regeneration
• Bradley Fold Trading Estate
• Prestwich Town Centre
• Bury Interchange redevelopment
• Development of a Bolton University Campus in Bury Town Centre
• Possible development of brownfield sites across the town centres.

Councillor Stella Smith referred to the old Police and Fire Station sites in Bury Town Centre and asked that ward Councillors be consulted with regards to future development of the sites. Paul confirmed that this would be the case.

Councillor Walker referred to redevelopment of the interchange and asked that consideration be given to the market when drawing up a scheme.

Councillor Nick Jones referred to the work that was being carried out in relation to housing needs across the borough and the work that was being carried out in relation to this. Councillor Jones asked that Christine Fallon Director of Housing, Growth and Infrastructure and Paul Patterson, Executive Director, Business, Growth and Infrastructure attend a future meeting  to update the Committee on the work being carried out in relation to housing development.

 

The following work areas were agreed following Paul’s presentation:-

 

• Update on economic development projects – September 2019
• Update on housing development projects – November 2019

 

Members of the Committee were asked for comments and issues in relation to anything that had not been covered within the presentations and the following points were raised:-

 

Councillor Susan Southworth referred to the Safeguarding Overview Project Group and explained that the members of the group needed to commit to attend all four of the meetings as the work was of such importance. Councillor Southworth explained that the group met four times throughout the year and could be flexible with start times and locations to accommodate the members.

 

Councillor Southworth explained that there was 1 Labour vacancy on the group for this Municipal Year and asked that this was filled as soon as possible.

 

Councillor Harris asked for the Clean Air Plan to be included on the forward plan for the year.

 

Councillor Lucy Smith referred to the work of the voluntary sector and asked that a report be received in relation to this.

 

It was suggested that Corporate Performance Reports and reports relating to the work of the Combined Authority should continue to be included on the forward plan.

 

The Committee was scheduled to meet on the following dates:

 

16 July 2019

12 September 2019

21 November 2019

23 January 2020

11 February 2020

31 March 2020

 

It was also explained that the committee could Call-in decisions if they felt it necessary and establish working/sub groups to carry out detailed pieces of work.

 

It was agreed:

 

That the work programme of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee would include:-

 

• Brief budget update to be provided at each meeting including progress against savings targets; these to be provided as well as the regular reports i.e. budget report in February; quarterly budget monitoring reports; year-end outturn reports; Treasury Management mid-year strategy
• Traded Services review – by late autumn – what is in scope; objectives of the review
• Tangible targets to be set, including any financial / savings targets, for each of the workstreams – for the 16 July meeting if possible
• The Corporate Core Management Action Plan to inform the O&S work plan for the year – therefore, progress reports to be brought to the meeting for each of the areas within the management action plan

• Performance in schools report – July
• SEND Update - July
• Looked after Children – Early Intervention update - September
• School Exclusions update - January
• Adult Learning Service Advisory Group Annual Report - January
• Corporate core build – include if possible a post or ½ post for someone to search and bid for grants and external funding for the Council
• Highway Capital Programme update.
• Next Highway Capital Programme report
• Waste Collection Strategy update
• Update on Economic Development projects – September 2019
• Update on housing development projects – November 2019
• Clean Air Strategy
• 3rd Sector Volunteering/Community Safety
• Corporate Performance updates

 

A forward plan will be produced in consultation with the Members which will set out the work of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for the 2019/2020 Municipal Year.