Archived decisions
AT A MEETING of the POLICY AND RESOURCES POLICY REVIEW COMMITTEE of the COUNTY COUNCIL held at The Castle, Winchester on 27 March, 2003
PRESENT:
Councillors: S.A. Hayes (Chairman); I.F.E. Beagley; J.V. Bryant; M.F. Cartwright; P.J. Chegwyn; A.P. Collett; A.G. Dowden; R.J. Ellis; W.J. Filer; J.K. Glen; K. House; M.J. Kendal; Mrs. C.A. Laversha; P.A. Pierce; A.W. Rice; M.J. Roberts; M.L. Sheehan; Mrs. M. Snaith; J.K. West.
102 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Members were mindful that, where they believed they had a personal or personal prejudicial interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting, they should, normally at the time of the debate, declare their interest and, having regard to the circumstances described in paragraphs 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the County Council's Code of Conduct, consider whether to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed.
Councillors J.K. Glen, M.J. Kendal and J.K. West declared non-pecuniary interests in Item 8 on the agenda (Local Government Pension Scheme).
103 MINUTES
The Minutes of the meeting held on 16 January, 2003 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
104 CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS
There were no Chairman's communications.
105 MEMBERS' QUESTIONS
There were no Members' questions.
106 DEPUTATIONS
There were no deputations notified.
107 PROGRESS WITH BEST VALUE REVIEWS
The Committee considered the report of the Chief Executive (Item 6(i) in the Minute Book) on progress in implementing year one and year two Best Value Improvement Plans for those reviews it had previously undertaken.
Members congratulated those officers involved in this work and it was
RESOLVED:
That the summary of progress on the year one and year two reviews form part of the development of the annual Best Value Performance Plan to be published as part of a web based document on 30 June, 2003.
108 BEST VALUE REVIEW PROGRAMME - YEAR 4
The Committee considered the report of the Chief Executive (Item 6(ii) in the Minute Book) about the Best Value Review programme for the forthcoming financial year.
RESOLVED:
(a) That the deletion of the reviews of "Managing Change" and "Human Resources in a Changing Environment" be noted and that consequently Councillors C. Davidovitz; B.D. Dash; R.J. Ellis; K. House; M.J. Kendal; P. Luffman and M.J. Roberts be no longer required to participate in review meetings on these topics.
(b) That the following members be involved in the Year 4 Best Value review on "Community Engagement"; Councillors C. Davidovitz; R.J. Ellis; M.J. Roberts; together with a Liberal Democrat Member to be notified to the Chief Executive.
(c) That the Committee endorse the principle of Member "championship" of the improvement plans for cross-cutting reviews.
109 OUTCOME REPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS BEST VALUE REVIEW
The Committee considered the report of the Chief Executive and Director of Environment (Item 6(iii) in the Minute Book) on the outcomes and improvement plan resulting from the Best Value review of International Relations.
Members supported the outcomes and way forward identified in the report and highlighted the importance of future monitoring of the improvement plan.
Accordingly, it was
RESOLVED:
(a) That the outcome report and improvement plan be agreed as representing the views of this Committee.
(b) That the Cabinet be advised of the outcome of this Best Value review and be requested to implement the improvement plan.
(c) That arrangements be made for the Committee to receive annual progress reports until the improvement plan is completed and that Councillors M.F. Cartwright; A.P. Collett and M.J. Roberts be appointed to be involved in the monitoring of this plan and in ensuring that option 3 is implemented in due course.
(d) That a summary of the review be prepared in the standard format for inclusion in the Best Value Performance Plan.
110 OUTCOME REPORT OF THE BEST VALUE REVIEW OF REGULATORY SERVICES
The Committee considered the report of the Chief Executive and Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services (Item 6(iv) in the Minute Book) on the outcomes and improvement plan resulting from the Best Value Review of Regulatory Services.
RESOLVED:
(a) That the outcome report and improvement plan be agreed as representing the views of this Committee.
(b) That the Executive Member for Policy and Resources be advised of the outcome of this Best Value review and be requested to implement the improvement plan.
(c) That arrangements be made for the Committee to receive annual progress reports until the improvement plan is completed.
(d) That a summary of the review be prepared in the standard format for inclusion in the Best Value Performance Plan.
111 THE COMMUNITY STRATEGY FOR GOSPORT 2003-2006
The Committee considered the report of the Chief Executive (Item 7(i) in the Minute Book) seeking comments on the Community Strategy for Gosport 2003 to 2006. It was clarified by Councillor Mrs. M. Snaith that her name had inadvertently been omitted from the membership of the Local Strategic Partnership for Gosport as shown in the report.
During a full discussion it was generally felt that the strategy document was too long and detailed making it difficult for Members to read and comment upon. They asked that consideration should be given to whether each of the remaining District Council Community Strategies should come before this Committee and, if so, the form they should take.
Accordingly, it was
RESOLVED:
(a) That the Committee advises the Executive Member for Policy and Resources to approve the Community Strategy for Gosport 2003-2006.
(b) That the Chief Executive inform the Community Strategy Officer and the Executive Member for Community Development of the comments made by the Committee at this meeting.
(c) That the Chief Executive agree, after consultation with the Chairman, the method by which the remaining District Council Community Strategies shall be reported to this Committee.
112 CONSULTATION PAPERS ON THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT PENSION SCHEME
The Committee considered the report of the County Treasurer (Item 8 in the Minute Book) on two consultation papers issued by the Government on the Local Government Pension Scheme. They had before them the proposed responses to pensions consultations as previously discussed by the Cabinet on 24 March, 2003.
The Committee agreed the draft letters, due to be sent on 28 March, 2003. Also, they agreed with the Cabinet's view on what to tick in appendix 6 of the report with one requested qualification and one difference of view:
· Extension of scheme to cover partners: supported in principle, but the Committee was keen to see the exact definition of "partner" before agreeing in full. It was noted that this could be dealt with at the consultation stage on the exact regulations.
· Increasing the earliest age at which benefits can be taken (other than for ill health) from 50 to 55 years of age. The Committee was in favour of this proposal which Cabinet had not supported. It was the view of the Committee that any efficiency savings arising from early retirement should not be used to make good the costs to the Pension Fund, but should be used purely to reduce running costs. It was felt that this approach would be encouraged by raising the age limit to 55 years of age.
The Committee also gave consideration to the broader issue of whether Local Government should continue to offer a final salary scheme to new employees. It was not felt that this should form part of the response to these specific consultation papers, but it was felt that there should be a full member debate on this at a late date in the context of the overall recruitment and retention package available to Local Government.
RESOLVED:
That the County Treasurer advise the Leader of the County Council of the comments and points made by this Committee in relation to the consultation papers on the Local Government Pension Scheme.
113 "SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES - BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE" - STATEMENT BY THE DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
The Committee considered the report of the Chief Executive (Item 9 in the Minute Book) giving details of the key proposals put forward in the statement by the Deputy Prime Minister on 5 February, 2003 in publishing "Sustainable Communities : Building for the Future" also known as the Communities Plan.
In discussion the Committee was critical of the government's intention to create a number of new quango organisations to deliver its plans. Also, Members raised various individual comments on the housing strategy sections of the report. The points made were noted by the Chief Executive for inclusion in a future Cabinet report.
RESOLVED:
That the advice of this Committee in relation to "Sustainable Communities - Building for the Future" be included in a report to be prepared for Cabinet in May, 2003.
114 AUDIT PROCEDURE FOR MONITORING OF POLICY AND RESOURCES BUDGET, SEEDA ECONOMIC STRATEGY FOR THE SOUTH-EAST AND REGIONAL ECONOMIC CONSULTATION DOCUMENT
The Committee considered requests by Councillor M.J. Roberts that reports be prepared on monitoring the Policy and Resources budget, on the SEEDA Economic Strategy for the South-East, particularly in relation to Hampshire and on the Regional Economic Consultation Document recently issued by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
RESOLVED:
(a) That the County Treasurer prepare a future report on the monitoring of the Policy and Resources budget.
(b) That the Head of Economic Development prepare reports on both the SEEDA Economic Strategy for the South-East and on the Regional Economic Consultation Document; the timing of these reports to be agreed, after consultation with the Chairman.
115 COMMITTEE'S TIMETABLE FOR FUTURE DECISIONS
The Committee received and noted the report of the Chief Executive (Item 11 in the Minute Book) on the forthcoming key-decisions which may be made by the Leader and the Committee's timetable of future activity which had been updated since the last meeting.
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