Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence. 

None

To adopt and sign as a correct record the public minutes of the meeting of the Executive held on 17 October 2008, (previously circulated). 

The minutes of the Executive meeting held on 17 October 2008 were adopted and signed as a correct record. 

To receive any declarations of Personal or Personal and Prejudicial Interests in respect of items on the agenda for this meeting. 

Any Member with a personal interest or a personal and prejudicial interest in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Conduct, in any matter to be considered at a meeting, must declare the existence and nature of that interest as soon as the interest becomes apparent in accordance with the provisions of the Code.

When a Member declares a personal and prejudicial interest he shall also state if he has a dispensation from the Standards Committee entitling him/her to speak, or speak and vote on the matter concerned.

Where any Member has declared a personal and prejudicial interest he shall withdraw from the room while the matter is under consideration unless

(a)                his/her disability to speak, or speak and vote on the matter has been removed by a dispensation granted by the Standards Committee, or

(b)                members of the public are allowed to make representations, give evidence or answer questions about the matter by statutory right or otherwise.  If that is the case, the Member can also attend the meeting for that purpose.  However, the Member must immediately leave the room once he/she has finished; or when the meeting decides he/she has finished whichever is the earlier and in any event the Member must leave the room for the duration of the debate on the item in which he/she has a personal and prejudicial interest. 

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To receive notification of any matters which the Chair determines should be considered as urgent business and the special circumstances which have made the matters urgent, and to receive any announcements from the Chair.

The Chair announced that due to the report on the procurement of the joint waste contract had not being finalised and therefore consideration of item 13 was deferred. 

Any statements and/or petitions from the public under Standing Order 32 will be made or presented at the meeting. 

None

Any questions from members of the public under Standing Order 32 will be asked at the meeting.

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Members are requested to consider and approve requests for virements or permanent budget adjustments.

(Time: 2.31pm to 2.32pm)

The Executive received and considered ten requests for virements to be approved under the virement policy. 

RESOLVED

that the virement requests set out in the agenda report be approved. 

To receive and consider report 123/08 of the Deputy Director (Organisational Development) and the Equalities Officer. 

Introduction and Report Summary

The Council is committed to the principle of equal opportunities and aims to deliver accessible services and employment opportunities which meet the needs of all residents and employees.

To help it achieve this, it needs to ensure that its service information is accessible to everybody. The Council needs to pay particular attention to the needs of disabled people, older people and people who have English as a second or other language.

The Accessible Information Policy sets out what the Council will do to meet the information needs of these groups, in terms of providing alternative formats, translations and interpreters (including sign language interpreters). It also highlights the need for all Council service information to be in Plain English, in an accessible font style and size and following a clear layout. These aspects should improve overall readability of Council information for the wider community.

This approach aims to be proportionate, practical and clear. It will also help the Council to meet its legal duties in terms of promoting disability and race equality.

This report summarises the purpose and need for the AIP and outlines what it covers. It explains what shaped the Policy and how it would be rolled out if approved by Council. This report also asks for the Executive Committee to recommend that Council adopts the Accessible Information Policy, with an implementation date of April 2009.

The contact officers for this report are Helen Bishop, Deputy Director (Organisational Development and Support), telephone 01235 520202, email helen.bishop@whitehorsedc.gov.uk and Katharine Doherty, Equalities Officer, 01235 520202, email katharine.doherty@whitehorsedc.gov.uk

Recommendation

that the Executive recommends that Council adopts the Accessible Information Policy, with an implementation date of April 2009. 

(Time: 2.32pm to 2.40pm)

The Executive received and considered report 123/08 of the Deputy Director (Organisational Development) and the Equalities Officer.  The report recommended the adoption of an accessible information policy. 

The Portfolio Holder, Councillor Richard Farrell, reminded the Executive that the Council had committed to the principle of equal opportunities and aimed to deliver accessible services and employment opportunities which met the needs of all residents and employees.  To achieve this, service information needed to be accessible to everybody.  Particular attention would be paid to the needs of disabled people, older people and people who had English as a second or other language. 

The draft policy set out how the Council would meet these needs by offering information in alternative formats such as translations and interpreters, including sign language, and providing information in these alternative formats on request.  Officers were urged to be proactive and provide alternative formats where it was known that the target audience would require or welcome it.  The policy also highlighted the need for all information to be in plain English and in an accessible font style and size.  Information should also follow a clear layout and avoid repetition.  The Executive considered that the draft policy would improve overall readability of Council information for the wider community. 

R E C O M M E N D E D

that the accessible information policy, as appended to these minutes, be adopted with an implementation date of April 2009. 

To receive and consider report 124/08 of the Senior Management Team. 

Introduction and Report Summary

The Corporate Governance Report looks at the key areas of:

Corporate Priorities

National Indicators

Progress against Service Prioritisation Plans

Key staffing data (sickness levels and turnover)

Progress with Business Process Improvement Reviews

A Financial commentary

At its meeting on 20^th October 2008 the Senior Management Team (SMT) considered a second quarter corporate governance exception report. SMT agreed the exceptions, comments and actions to be included in this report where performance / actions were not on target. The full versions of the individual reports are available on the Council’s website. They can be accessed through the ‘about your Council / performance’ section of the website.

The contact officer for this report is Robert Woodside, Principal Performance Management Officer, telephone (01235 520202 ext 499).  Email address:  robert.woodside@whitehorsedc.gov.uk

Recommendation

that the Senior Management Team’s Corporate Governance exception report be considered and that any further action be taken which needs to be taken to improve performance.

(Time: 2.40pm to 3.00pm)

The Executive received and considered report 124/08 of the Senior Management Team, reporting on corporate governance during the second quarter of 2008/09: being July to September 2008.  The report looked at corporate priorities, national indicators, progress against service prioritisation plans, key staffing data on sickness levels and turnover, and progress with business process improvement reviews.  The report also included a financial commentary. 

Members expressed disappointment that the Council was unable to meet the savings target placed on it by the Government.  The Chair reported that he would be discussing this with the Chief Finance Officer. 

Looking at the financial situation in more detail, it was noted that the sewerage charges would be reviewed in 2009.  A consultant had been appointed to help the council reduce its reimbursement to the bus companies for the concessionary fares scheme.  Members asked if a letter could be sent to the Government regarding insufficient funding for the bus pass scheme.  The Chief Executive agreed to write a letter but suggested that this should wait until the Government’s consultation paper had been published on transferring the function to county councils.  The Executive agreed with this suggestion. 

The portfolio holder for Housing explained the increased costs of helping the homeless.  The number of homeless people had reduced but the costs had increased due to longer stays in temporary accommodation.  There were no vacant properties to move the homeless onto to reduce the temporary accommodation costs.  The Government’s allowance to assist with this scheme was not enough.  The council had to concentrate on homelessness prevention to stop homelessness happening in the first place.  The Executive asked the portfolio holder to clarify the extent of the cost to the council. 

In Legal Services, there had been an over spend on agency staff but this was being addressed.  Some work was being outsourced, such as the Tugwell Fields agreement at Wantage.  New office management systems had been introduced to help the service run smoother.  The council had no control over the reduction in land charges income because of the downturn in the housing market.  This had also impacted on income from planning application fees.  There was a loss of car parking income due to more elderly people using the bus pass scheme rather than driving to the council’s car parks to shop in the Vale’s towns. 

The Executive noted that the Chief Executive and the Strategic Director/Chief Finance Officer would ensure that the budget was put back into balance by the end of the financial year. 

Looking at the performance indicators, Members noted that the collection of residual household waste had exceeded the target.  Members asked that the target was clarified (national indicator 191 refers). 

Finally, Members noted that the corporate priorities would be reviewed in the near future. 

RESOLVED

(a)       that the corporate governance report for the second quarter of 2008/09 be received;

(b)       that the Chief Executive be invited to respond to the Government’s consultation paper on transferring the bus pass scheme  ...  view the full minutes text for item 96.

Copies of Service Area Half Year Reports, covering the period 1 April 2008 to 30 September 2008, have already been circulated to members of the Executive and all members of Scrutiny Committee. Members of the Executive are asked to report back to this meeting (a template has been provided) on any significant issues for the service areas for which they are responsible.

All Members of the Executive are asked to bring their copies of the reports to the meeting. 

(Time: 3.00pm to 3.30pm)

The Executive received and considered service area half year reports for the period 1 April to 30 September 2008.  Also circulated at the meeting were copies of the Executive portfolio holders’ commentaries on the half year reports.  These highlighted their observations on any significant issues from the first six months of the financial year.  In addition to these commentaries, the portfolio holders added the following:

Waste Procurement and Reprographics

The portfolio holder, Councillor Jenny Hannaby, reported that work on the joint waste contract had taken much of the Deputy Director’s time.  However, waste collection performance had continued to be excellent.  She expressed concern at the targets for cleaning detritus from streets and was discussing this with the County Council.  She thanked all officers involved in the waste service for their hard work. 

She had found nothing negative about the proposals to reorganise the Reprographics unit but thanked its staff for their work. 

Leisure

Councillor Jerry Patterson, portfolio holder, reported that the council had been successful in its applications for two lottery grants.  The performance indicator results were respectable and the bar services at the civic halls had been taken back in-house.  However, he was concerned that there was a shortfall of income in too many cost centres. 

Environmental Health

Councillor Richard Webber reported that the council was leading the way with the development of the Air Quality Action Project for the centre of the town and performance across the service area was good.  He thanked the staff for their work.  The service had high employee costs but savings had been made where possible. 

Planning

The major concern was the reduction in planning fee income and car parking income.  However, Councillor Mary de Vere, the portfolio holder, looked forward to the rural economic development funding. 

Organisational Development

Councillor Richard Farrell reported on the successes of this service area and the progress against priorities.  He considered that the budget variances were minor. 

Communications

Councillor Tony de Vere, the portfolio holder, reported that there was a need to understand the reasons for a drop in the council’s overall and positive coverage in the media.  Comparisons with other councils were needed.  However, it was noted that in the first week of December all five articles/news stories about the council had been positive.  This showed the benefit of introducing media briefings. 

Democratic Services

Councillor Angela Lawrence reported that all seemed to be going well in Democratic Services.  All staff in that service area were congratulated for their work and the high number of compliments. 

Legal Services

Councillor Jenny Hannaby congratulated the staff for their work in recovering £250,000 of debts owed to the council.  Noisy neighbour actions, environmental crimes and the bank contract were all further examples of successes as well as the work to improve the smooth running of the office by Carol Moody.  However, the portfolio holder warned that Freedom of Information Act requests were taking up much officer time; this was unavoidable but consideration would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 97.

To receive and consider report 125/08 of the Deputy Director (Contracts and Procurement).  REPORT WILL FOLLOW

The Executive was due to receive and consider report 125/08 of the Deputy Director (Contracts and Procurement) regarding the procurement of a joint waste contract with South Oxfordshire District Council.  However, the Executive noted that the report had not been finalised and therefore Members agreed to defer consideration of this matter to a later date. 

RESOLVED

that the meeting be adjourned until Thursday 11 December 2008 at 4.30pm at South Oxfordshire District Council’s offices in Crowmarsh Gifford, near Wallingford. 

None