Archived decisions
ITEM 2
AT A MEETING of the POLICY AND RESOURCES SCRUTINY AND SELECT COMMITTEE of the COUNTY COUNCIL held at The Castle, Winchester on 6 June 2005.
PRESENT:
Councillors: M.J. Kendal; (Chairman); R.J. Baulk; J.V. Bryant; M.F. Cartwright;
A.P. Collett; B.D. Dash; R.J. Ellis; K. Evans; S. James; Jo Kelly; Mrs. P.G. Peskett; Jackie Porter; A. Weeks.
Also present: Councillor J.K. West, Chairman of the County Council; and Councillor Mrs. A. Buckley, attending under Standing Order 17.5 in respect of Minute 7 - Fair Trade
1 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 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. The following interests were declared:-
Councillor Mrs A Buckley - Member of Friends of the Earth, arising on Minute 7 - Fair Trade.
Councillor A.P. Collett - Pensioner of Unilever, one of the companies referred to in Minute 7 - Fair Trade.
Councillor Jackie Porter - Chairman of a Charity - possible interest under Minute 8 Best Value Review Programme.
2 MINUTES
The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 11 April 2005 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
3 CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS
The Chairman had no communications on this occasion.
4 MEMBERS' QUESTIONS
No questions had been received from Members.
5 DEPUTATIONS
No deputations had been notified under Standing Order 21.
6 WORK PROGRAMME
The Committee considered what items they would wish to include on their work programme for the coming year. They agreed the following list:
The Scrutiny Inquiry into Project Integra which the Committee agreed to set up will look into:
What should the County Council's role in the Project Integra Board be? This would include exploring:
· what should the long term vision of Project Integra be and how should partners work together to achieve it?
· what are the barriers to moving forward with Project Integra and what would the Committee recommend to overcome them?
Other topics mentioned that the Committee would want to review were:
· Accredited Community Safety Officers - a review of the pilot which will look at issues like:
· the extent to which they had helped in reduction of crime
· their impact on the community's fear of crime
· the costs and organisational structure
· Affordable Housing for Key Workers Pilot: a review of the pilot which should include exploration of:
· how the scheme was advertised to staff
· how the scheme has been impacted by new Government thinking on support for first time home owners
· ICT - are we getting adequate value for money? This to include a review of the charging structure for ICT
· The budget - as a regular cyclical item - starting with focus on the out-turn report in September which will inform budget planning
Other topics mentioned that would need further discussion / exploration of the precise nature & timing of the review were:
· Progress with E-Government
· SAP - to pick up issues initially from the officer review already being undertaken
· Ensuring effective links are maintained between Adult and Children's Services in the imminent re-structure (later in process)
· Youth Justice - members being informed of progress from Officer group
In order to make early progress with the first item identified, Project Integra, it was
RESOLVED:
That a Scrutiny Panel comprising 12 Members be established, in the proportions 7 Conservatives, 4 Liberal Democrats and 1 Labour, with names of Members to be notified by the political groups to the Chief Executive in order that a prompt first meeting can be held to set the scope for the review.
7 FAIR TRADE
The Committee considered the report of the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services (Item 7 in the Minute Book) setting out a suggested response to the motion on Fairtrade moved by Councillor Mrs A. Buckley at the meeting of the Council on 23 February 2005, and which had been referred to the Policy and Resources Scrutiny and Select Committee for detailed consideration.
Councillor Mrs Buckley attended the meeting under Standing Order 17.5 and gave background to the Fairtrade movement and the way in which it sought to redress the balance between farm workers/producers in various third world countries and the rigours of prices and subsidies which governed global world trade. She expressed the view that Hampshire County Council could and should exert a local leadership role in promoting Fairtrade products and should actively seek designation as a Fairtrade county. She felt that commitment could be made at a cost which was minimal within the overall scale of the County Council's operations.
Members of the Committee debated the extent to which the County Council could and should offer support and commitment to the Fairtrade movement, and most felt that the County Council should offer support where reasonably practicable and wherever there was no conflict with other County Council policies, for instance, supporting local producers through Hampshire Fare.
RESOLVED:
That it be a RECOMMENDATION to the County Council:
That the following should be substituted for the motion on Fairtrade moved by Councillor Mrs. A. Buckley on 23 February 2005:
That the County Council supports the development of Fairtrade where applicable and agrees that the implementation of their principles be reviewed and monitored over time so that progress can be made consistent with the representations that the County Council can influence.
8 BEST VALUE REVIEW PROGRAMME
The Committee considered the report of the Chief Executive (Item 8 in the Minute Book) on the current position with regard to the programme of best value reviews of services, and to future proposals for the systematic review of services and efficiency.
RESOLVED:
That the draft review programme set out in Appendix 2 to the report be used to inform the Committee's work programme as it develops.
9 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT (CONSULTATION) BEST VALUE REVIEW
The Committee considered the reports of the Chief Executive (Item 9 in the Minute Book) setting out the outcome of the review, and received a presentation on the process.
RESOLVED:
1. That the outcome report and improvement plan be agreed as representing the views of the Policy and Resources Scrutiny and Select Committee.
2. That Cabinet be advised of the outcome of the best value review so that they can implement the improvement plan.
3. That arrangements be made for the Committee to receive a further report when the business case for the central consultation coordinator is available and, if appropriate, annual progress reports until the improvement plan is completed.
4. That a summary of the review be prepared in the standard format for inclusion in the Performance Plan.
5. That Councillors R.J. Baulk, B.D. Dash, R.J. Ellis and Jackie Porter be appointed to take part in the work of overseeing the implementation of the improvement plan.
10 FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000
The Committee received and noted the report of the Chief Executive (Item 10 in the Minute Book). They welcomed the successful implementation of the Act within Hampshire County Council; and they noted that requests for information were diminishing after an initial spate of demand early in the year immediately after the Act had come into effect.
11 EFFICIENCY SAVINGS
The Committee received a presentation from the County Treasurer on efficiency savings and the way in which progress would be reported to them. They were given details of the "forward look" process, elements of which they had considered at their last meeting; together with details and timetables of the "backward look" process which was due to be considered by Cabinet. In this connection a copy of the draft report to Cabinet was circulated to Members. The main constraints posed by the process were the consistently late issue of Government guidance and regulations specifying what information needed to be provided, by when and in what format; and the need to link efficiency with existing arrangements for performance and the way these interacted with the County Council's review and development of services, financial planning, and corporate policies.
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