Contact: Michelle Smith, ext 6666; e-mail [email protected]

1. Introduction

1.1 The purpose of this report is to update Members on the work that has been taking place in relation to resolving the issue of clashes of meeting dates.

1.2 Following concern expressed by Members arising from a number of instances where they have been double booked Councillors Baulk, Beagley and Ellis have, together with officers, been looking at systems which would help in overcoming this problem. This has involved both looking at what systems are available in-house and also visiting another local authority (Hart District Council) to see their IT diary system in operation.

1.3 It is important that the problem is viewed in the context of the pressure on Members' time generally owing to the number of meetings that are now held. For instance in 2002/03 it was estimated that there were some 550 formal meetings which with a total number of working days of 232 (excluding August and Bank Holidays) means that on average there are 2 meetings every working day. This does not include briefing meetings but it does include Hampshire Police Authority (132) and Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority (25) meetings.

1.4 This development is linked to Aim 6 of the Corporate Strategy in that it seeks to ensure that Members have the appropriate resources to deliver services to the people of Hampshire.

2 Proposed Way Forward

2.1 For any system to work it will be important for it to have information about the availability of individual members. The most efficient way in which this can be achieved is by using the electronic diary facility that is available as part of the Outlook package to which all Members currently have access (although not all use). The approach therefore proposed is as follows:

· An e-diary of all meetings has been developed using outlook which is accessible by both staff and Members. This is maintained by Democratic Services and has become a valuable internal resource in combating double booking.

· The Calendar of Meetings published each September will be sent electronically as meeting notices which Members will need to respond to in order to add them to their outlook e-diaries

· Electronic distribution lists have been set up for each of the committees so that when additional meetings have to be arranged the meeting request facility can be used to access individual members electronic diaries to check whether there will be any clashes. If there are clashes the system can then be used to identify when the next available slot when all members of the committee are available or draw the conflict to the Chairman's attention if expediency is paramount. An electronic meeting notice will then be sent which can then be added to individual diaries.

· The next stage will be to add in the booking of meeting rooms electronically

2.2 For this to be successful it will be necessary for members to add any other

commitments to their diary which they would want to be taken into account when meetings are being scheduled especially in relation to meetings arranged by other organisations. In doing so this will make a significant contribution to the information available and assist in preventing double bookings. It does need to be recognised however that due to the pressure on members' diaries generally it will not always be possible for a slot to be found when all potential attendees are available especially if there is a time constraint on when the meeting needs to be held.

2 Conclusions

3.1 It is recognised that this system will depend on the contribution of everyone for it to work well. However it is a low cost and yet efficient means of resolving the problem.

4 Recommendation

4.1 That the Committee endorse the proposals set out in the report for minimising the problem of double booking of meetings and Members be encouraged to make use of the electronic diary facility to improve information on their availability.