Archived decisions

p R.J. Baulk

p K.G. Chapman

p A.P. Collett

p Dr R.J. Ellis

a B.T. Gurden

p P.R.C. Hutcheson

a Jo Kelly

p Mrs. C.A. Leversha

a A.R. Ludlow

p R.C. McIntosh

p A. Weeks

Action

24

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were reported on behalf of Councillors Gurden, Kelly and Ludlow.

25

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. No such interests were declared on this occasion.

26

MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 1 February 2007 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

On Minute 17, it was agreed that a report on options for future budget scrutiny would be referred to the next meeting of the Committee; and on Minute 21, insurance, it was agreed that further investigation should not be viewed as a priority at present, but that the Committee would like to return to the subject at a later date.

Chief Exec (EG) for work plan

27

CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS

The Chairman had attended a HIOWLA meeting which featured a presentation by the Head of Local Government Finance, it purported to be on closer links between central and Local Government, but most of the content still appeared to reflect a "top down" attitude. He mentioned that the Government was proposing to review the rules relating to declarations of interest. The Chairman went on to report that the issues arising from recent budgetary problems at outdoor/rural study centres would possibly be the subject of a detailed scrutiny by the Culture and Communities Policy Review Committee.

28

GENDER EQUALITY SCHEME

The Committee considered the draft report of the Chief Executive (Item 5 in the Minute Book) prior to its submission to Cabinet. Gavin Wright, Acting Director of Human Resources, attended and gave an explanation of the County Council's responsibilities pursuant to the Equalities Act. The essential duties were to eliminate unlawful discrimination and to promote equality of opportunity between men and women, both in the context of employment and service provision. To those ends, effective monitoring of actions would be essential to ensure the dissemination of best practice.

Members discussed the report with interest and made several suggestions, notably that:

· Hampshire Action Teams should be enlisted in support of the general gender equality duty


· There should be suitable features in Hampshire Now and other appropriate publications


· Work on equalities issues should be proportionate to the extent of perceived problems - there needed to be a value for money dimension


· Suitable training for staff and members would be essential, especially as equality would be part of any future comprehensive performance assessment


· Need to raise awareness with service users, consultants and contractors


· The Pay and Benefits Project was one step in the process which sought to eliminate artificial distinctions or discrimination between men and women based on pay grades.

The Committee supported the general tenor of the Gender Equality Scheme for submission to Cabinet, in the light of the observations and comments summarised above. They noted that the document, once agreed by Cabinet, would be the subject of extensive consultation and it was expected that a final version would be adopted by the County Council in the Autumn.

RESOLVED:

1. That Cabinet be advised that the Committee endorse and support the content of the Gender Equality Scheme as set out in the Appendix to Item 5 and suggest there should be member involvement in the arrangements for consultation on the scheme.


2. That the Chairmen of Hampshire Action Teams be requested to include communication of the Gender Equalities Scheme on their agendas


3. That progress with the Gender Equalities Scheme be reviewed by the Committee a year after its formal adoption by the County Council.

Chief Executive (DV) for Cabinet Human Resources

HATS Team

Chief Exec (EG) for work plan: Human Resources

29

SIR HAROLD HILLIER GARDENS - DEVELOPMENT PROPOSALS

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services (Item 6 in the Minute Book) on the financial implications for the County Council of supporting the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, prior to a decision thereon being taken by the Leader as corporate trustee. Councillor Thornber gave a brief history and explanation of the County Council's involvement with the Gardens over the past 30 years and pointed out that the County Council contributed £0.5m annually towards the overall running costs of £1.5m; and visitor numbers were up from 80,000 to 120,000 per annum. He outlined the current changes in operational management and development proposals for the future. The Committee, in considering the report, drew attention to:

· Increasing numbers of children on educational visits


· The rapidly developing trade in catering, conferences and corporate training events




· The need to improve accessibility so that people with lesser degrees of mobility could reach a larger proportion of the Gardens


· Possible investigation of more radical ideas such as outdoor events, corporate events, a railway, a tree top walk

Members generally accepted that Sir Harold Hillier Gardens was an asset which brought the County Council national and international recognition; moreover it enhanced the quality of place and the environment as well as contributing to well-being. They therefore

RESOLVED:

That the Leader be advised to give approval to:

1. The priorities for future capital investment detailed in the report at item 6.


2. The use of balances to be directed to development priorities.


3. Transferring £50,000 from the development fund into a "reserves" fund to meet the requirements of the Charity Commission


4. Freezing the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens cash limit and redeploying the savings into projects that will generate new visitor income, particularly from families

DPBRS :

Chief Exec (KW) for Leader's decision day

30

ANNUAL AUDIT AND INSPECTION LETTER

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Executive and County Treasurer (Item 7 in the Minute Book) on the District Auditor's annual audit and inspection letter and on the responses to its findings agreed by the Cabinet. The Committee congratulated the County Council's staff on their achievement and contribution to Hampshire's assessment as 4 star and improving well, with most services the subject of positive comments. They recognised how difficult it was to continue improving when the initial base was already very high, and felt that a few of the Audit Commission's comments were rather grudging. Members generally were critical of the fact that outstanding performance did not lead to commensurate increases in Government grant, but rather to the reverse which seemed illogical and inequitable. Members indicated that they would like to target more resources to areas such as community safety and the youth service, but that this was difficult when taken in the context of Government grants which did not keep pace with inflation or with increased demand and responsibilities. Attention was drawn to the high levels of customer satisfaction, contrasted with the very modest numbers of complaints.

RESOLVED:

That the County Council's staff be congratulated on their contribution to the achievement of 4 star - improving well status under the comprehensive performance assessment.

All to note

31

QUARTERLY BUDGET MONITORING REPORT

The Committee considered the report of the County Treasurer (Item 8 in the Minute Book) on the final revenue budget monitoring report for the year 2006/07. In response to a question on whether there was scope for creative use of the differential interest rates on credit balances and debts/loans, the County Treasurer outlined the approach used for cash flow management. The Committee noted the report and the financial situation summarised therein.

CT (Bevis Ingram)

32

HANTS DIRECT - CONTACT CENTRE

The Committee received an update on progress with the Contact Centre, which was expected to go live at the end of June, on target and within budget. The Centre would initially be dealing mainly with queries on highways, transport and libraries and would be able to process most routine transactions at the first point of contact. The Committee requested further reports on the contact centre project, one to be received after each of the three phases of implementation. These reports would include specific updates on the following areas:

· Issues with staffing levels


· Issues relating to technology, including how the end-to-end process would be improved


· Particular focus on Adult Services and Children's Services, especially highlighting how non-IT solutions are being developed where IT is considered inappropriate


· Updates on how the public is continuing to shape and influence the project

This item would be added to the Committee's work programme at suitable intervals.

Chief Exec (EG)

33

USE OF CONSULTANTS

The Committee considered a briefing note by the Chief Executive (Item 10 in the Minute Book) on the County Council's current use of and spending on consultants; the extent to which departments use consultants, and the related cost/budget issues. The Committee felt this was an area which they would like to investigate further, but would need more detailed information. They noted that of the £6.1m spent on consultancy, the vast majority was on the design/construction of highway and property projects. There was a need to strike the right balance between employing the County Council's own staff and the flexibility represented by consultants who could be engaged when needed. They felt there might be some elements of duplication where County Council staff and consultants were both involved in the same project or event.

RESOLVED:

That further work be commissioned on the extent of the County Council's use of consultants, in the first instance to take the form of an audit of a sample of transactions recorded against the consultancy code in the County Council's ledgers to gain an insight into department's definitions of consultancy and get an overview of the types of consultancy undertaken at Hampshire County Council; with a suitable item to be added to the work programme and a report to come to the Committee in due course.

34

FURNITURE REPLACEMENT - SCOPING OF SCRUTINY STUDY

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Executive (Item 11 in the Minute Book) setting out the proposed scope for this scrutiny. It was requested that the financial information should also include total spending by departments on furniture for the years 2003/04 and 2004/05 in order to identify trends. It was also agreed that the timetable should be adjusted to eliminate any oral evidence sessions in August.

RESOLVED:

That the proposed scope for the scrutiny of furniture replacement be approved on the basis set out in the Appendix to Item 11, subject to the initial project plan being amended to eliminate oral evidence sessions in August.

Chief Exec (EG)

35

LOCAL GOVERNMENT WHITE PAPER - COMMUNITY CALL FOR ACTION

The Committee considered a presentation by the Chief Executive on this subject (Item 12 in the Minute Book). Members noted that Government guidance was still awaited and was not expected to appear until later in the year. They therefore considered it would be premature to commission any further work on the subject at this stage. It was therefore

RESOLVED:

That further research on the Local Government White Paper - Community Call for Action be deferred and that the item be added to the Work Programme for consideration at a future date.

Chief Exec (EG)

36

FEEDBACK FROM CABINET AND CHAIRMEN'S AWAYDAY

It was noted that following this event, there was likely to be a revision of the terms of reference for the Hampshire Action Teams and Policy Review Committee, with the latter given a more specific scrutiny remit. The Committee indicated that ideally they would like to be involved in the process of finalising these terms of reference.

37

FORWARD LOOKING WORK PLAN

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Executive (Item 14 in the Minute Book) on future issues which might require scrutiny. Queries were raised on the item relating to Section 106 Agreements and the Government's change of rules which might well be to the detriment of the County Council, and it was agreed that this item should be put forward for a future full Council briefing.

With regard to the item on local strategic partnerships and the Hampshire Strategic Partnership Value for Money, the Committee indicated they would like a report on outcomes - what does the County Council get for its money? With regard to the item on HC3S deficit, they asked for a report on the reasons. They also agreed that there was a need for an update of the call-in procedure and its relationship with the policy framework, in order to make these clearer and more user-friendly.

RESOLVED:

That appropriate adjustments be made to the forward work plan to reflect the comments summarised above.

Chief Exec (BR/DH)

Chief Exec (EG)

38

PROPOSALS FOR SCRUTINY

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Executive (Item 15 in the Minute Book) seeking approval for task and finish groups. The second section of paragraph 2.1 was deleted, pursuant to the decision recorded in Minute 35 above to defer this item. In the second section of paragraph 2.3, the words "and links with crime" were deleted.

RESOLVED:

That approval be given to the scrutiny work programmes identified in Item 15, subject to the deletion of "community call for action" from paragraph 2.1 and the adjustment of the second section of paragraph 2.3 to read "school exclusions".

Chief Exec (EG to amend)