Agenda and minutes

Overview and Scrutiny Committee – Resources - Tuesday, 14th January, 2025 7.00 pm

Venue: Council Chamber, Millmead House, Millmead, Guildford, Surrey GU2 4BB. View directions

Contact: James Dearling, Tel no: 01483 444141 Email:  james.dearling@guildford.gov.uk 

Media

Items
No. Item

OSR31

Apologies for Absence and Notification of Substitute Members

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee was advised of an apology from Councillor Dawn Bennett.

 

OSR32

Local Code of Conduct and Declaration of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests

In accordance with the local Code of Conduct, a councillor is required to disclose at the meeting any Disclosable Pecuniary Interest (DPI) that they may have in respect of any matter for consideration on this agenda. Any councillor with a DPI must not participate in any discussion or vote regarding that matter and they must withdraw from the meeting immediately before consideration of the matter.

 

If that DPI has not been registered, the councillor must notify the Monitoring Officer of the details of the DPI within 28 days of the date of the meeting.

 

Councillors are further invited to disclose any non-pecuniary interest which may be relevant to any matter on this agenda, in the interests of transparency, and to confirm that it will not affect their objectivity in relation to that matter.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no disclosures of interest.

 

OSR33

Minutes of Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 99 KB

To confirm the minutes of the 2 December 2024 meeting.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 2 December 2024 were approved.

 

OSR34

Improvement Plan - 6 month update pdf icon PDF 138 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Leader of the Council and Lead Councillor for Housing and the Chief Executive both declined the Chair’s invitation to comment, and the item began with questions from Committee members. 

 

During the ensuing discussion a number of points were responded to, and clarifications offered:

 

·       With reference to the development of an improved approach to complaints, a member of the Committee asked for a breakdown of Council complaints and requested information on complaints about anti-social behaviour (ASB), particularly those relating to housing.  In response, the Head of Business Improvement advised the meeting that in the previous 12 months the Council had received approximately 15 complaints about ASB.  She informed the Committee of the timeframes for responding to corporate complaints and advised that within housing services a draft ASB policy was shortly to be consulted on and guidance for officers was being developed.  The Head of Business Improvement indicated that details of other ASB services were available on the Council’s website.  She advised that any further available performance data could be provided to the Committee member.

 

·       In reply to a question on the commencement of the Council’s new procurement strategy, the Head of Business Improvement confirmed that fresh procurement regulations would be introduced in February and the Council’s Strategy would be considered by the Executive and by overview and scrutiny prior to its introduction in the spring.

 

·       In response to a query about the introduction of a process to monitor the exercise of officers’ delegations, the Head of Business Improvement indicated that the proposed action was dependent on full Council approving the new officer decision making protocol.  She outlined the proposed approach and informed the meeting that training on the new procedures would follow the adoption of the protocol.

 

·       In reply to a question on the delay to recruit permanent procurement staff, the Assistant Director of Finance advised the Committee of a delay to recruiting to a shared procurement team (with Waverley Borough Council) and a recent decision to recruit procurement officers for the Council.

 

·       In response to questions on the progress and timescale of implementing the Council’s Improvement Plan, the Head of Business Improvement referred to the progress achieved within the first six months of the three-year plan and acknowledged that significant issues and risks remained.  She stated that the main driver for the plan was to address the risk of the Council failing its Best Value Duty.  The Chief Executive indicated that the purpose of the three year improvement plan was broader than avoiding a risk of failing the Best Value Duty; he indicated that the plan aimed to improve services for residents and businesses and ensure that services provided excellent value for money.

 

·       In reply to a question on the need for councillors to prioritise their own training, the Chief Executive outlined the benefits to the organisation of having engaged and trained councillors and officers. 

 

·       A member of the Committee praised the work undertaken by officers on delivery of the Improvement Plan before questioning whether delivering the recommendations within  ...  view the full minutes text for item OSR34

OSR35

Performance Monitoring Report 2024/25 Quarter 2 pdf icon PDF 66 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair reminded the meeting that the Committee was concerned primarily with the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) within two of the Council’s priorities: decent and affordable homes and a resilient and well-managed council.  He confirmed that all Committee members had had time to consider the supplementary information published earlier that day on the Decent Homes Standard, Council housing voids, and Affordable Housing.

 

The Corporate Strategy and Performance Manager introduced the report submitted to the Committee.  He advised the Committee that of the thirty KPIs reported on for quarter 2 of 2024-25, three were red rated and six were to be confirmed due to performance data not provided and service targets not agreed. 

 

A Committee member praised the Council’s call wait times and the improvement in staff retention achieved.  She asked if the departments or services requiring increased staff resource or management restructuring to deliver improvements had been identified.  The Chief Executive advised that some results from a recent staff survey were expected to be received by the end of the month, including breakdowns by department.  He identified housing, planning, and corporate services as three areas under stress at that time.

 

With reference to the percentage of Freedom of Information (FOI) and Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) responses provided within the statutory timeframe, a member of the Committee asked if the downward trend was due to process or resource issues across departments.  In reply, the Corporate Strategy and Performance Manager suggested that a written response would be provided to Committee members to explain the variances between service areas.  The Leader of the Council and Lead Councillor for Housing suggested that an assessment of the FOI requests received and a corresponding increase in information provided on the Council’s website might reduce the number of FOI requests submitted to the Council.  The Chief Executive suggested the importance of tackling failure demand within the Council. 

 

In response to a suggestion from a Councillor, the Corporate Strategy and Performance Manager agreed to provide the number of FOI and EIR requests for previous quarters within the information provided for the COUNC 10 KPI.

 

A member of the Committee questioned why the background information provided for the HOMES 1, Decent Homes Standard KPI, in quarter 1 had not been included for quarter 2 and requested that the missing information be provided.  In reply, the Strategic Director for Housing, Communities, and Environment indicated that he could provide further written information to the Committee. 

 

With reference to the HOMES 2, Housing repairs completed on time KPI, a member of the Committee questioned if new contractors had been secured and a programme of works agreed.  The Strategic Director for Housing, Communities, and Environment indicated that emergency one-year contracts were in place and the procurement of longer-term contracts was being planned.  He advised that the capacity of the Council’s own direct labour organisation would be reviewed.

 

A member of the Committee noted that the reported number of void housing properties held within the Housing Revenue Account had increased from 145 in quarter  ...  view the full minutes text for item OSR35

OSR36

Next Meeting

The Committee’s next meeting is on 21 January 2025, at 7pm.  The scheduled business includes the Council’s Budget proposals and financial monitoring for the period April – November 2024.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair advised the meeting that the Committee’s next meeting would consider the Council Budget proposals on Tuesday 21 January at 7pm.