THREE RIVERS DISTRICT COUNCIL
At a meeting of the Resources Policy and Scrutiny Committee held in the Penn Chamber, Three Rivers House, Rickmansworth, on Thursday, 12June 2008 from 7.30pm to 8.30pm.
Present:Councillors Richard Laval (Chairman), Sarah Nelmes (Vice Chairman), Geoffrey Dunne, Paul Goggins, Peter Ray and Ralph Sangster.
Officers:-David Gardner-Director of Corporate Resources and Governance
Anne Morgan-Solicitor to the Council
Alison Watson-Acting Head of Personnel and Training
Jane Walker-Benefits Manager
Clay Charles-Mechanical and Electrical Engineer
Billy Hall-CSC Manager
Barry Pitt-Head of Performance and Scrutiny
Elwyn Wilson-Democratic Services Manager
R.PS01/08MINUTES
The Minutes of the meeting of the Resources Policy and Scrutiny Committee held on 24April 2008 were confirmed as a correct record and were signed by the Chairman.
R.PS02/08NOTICE OF OTHER BUSINESS
No items were submitted.
R.PS03/08DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
None.
R.PS04/08SHARED SERVICES TASK AND FINISH GROUP
The Committee was asked to agree a replacement for Councillor Ron Spellen on the Shared Services task and finish group.
ACTION AGREED:-
(1)that Councillor Francis Durham replace Councillor Ron Spellen on the Shared Services Task and Finish Group; and
(2)that the Group reports to this Committee within three months of this meeting (by 12September 2008).
R.PS05/08SERVICE PLAN 2007/10 MONITORING AND REPORTING FRAMEWORK
The purpose of reporting the Service Plan to the Committee is to enable Members to monitor ongoing performance up to the year end against a range of issues and to question the Head of Service on these and other service related matters:
(a)Exchequer Services
(b)Personnel and Training
(c)Legal
(d)PFM
(e)Accountancy
(f)Customer Service Centre
(g)ICT
(h)Corporate Development
(i)Democratic Services
Exchequer Services
The Benefits Manager, in reply to a question from the Chairman, stated that a full–time Benefits Quality Officer had been in post from April this year and therefore their impact would be noticeable on the first quarter of this municipal year.
Personnel
Following comments by the Acting Head of Personnel and Training, the Committee asked that a performance indicator for completion of staff yearly appraisals be introduced.
Legal
The Committee thanked the Solicitor to the Council for her clear report.
PFM
The Mechanical and Electrical Engineer undertook to provide written reply to Members on what was meant by ‘CPlan Tool Kit’. The Committee reiterated its request for a report on letting of Council garages at its next meeting.
Accountancy
In reply to a question from Councillor Ralph Sangster, the Director of Corporate Resources undertook to provide information to the Committee on monitoring the investments made by the Council of funds at its disposal.
It was noted that performance indicators for the Accountancy Section would be reported to the Joint Committee for Shared Services.
ICT
In reply to a question on ICT for Shared Services, the Director of Corporate Resources and Governance stated that all Services will be on the servers here at Three Rivers House. There would be two links, wireless and a cable link between Three Rivers House and WatfordTown Hall.
Corporate Development
The Head of Performance and Scrutiny stated that, in the future, the majority of the indicators in this Service Plan would be considered by the Leisure and Community Safety Policy and Scrutiny Committee.
General
The Head of Performance and Scrutiny undertook to review the symbols used in the reports, and said that the Service Plans would only be reviewed twice a year, not four times as at present. He would also ensure that performance information was published on the Intranet.
ACTION AGREED:-
that the Service Plans be noted.
R.PS06/08WORK PROGRAMME
The Committee was requested to review and make necessary changes to the work programme.
ACTION AGREED:-
that the Committee agrees the work programme subject to the following changes:
Date14 August / Delete; Shared Services
Add: Lettings of Garages
Monitoring Investments made by the Council.
CHAIRMAN
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