Agenda and draft minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

The Chair will draw attention to the emergency evacuation procedure as set out under Note 6.

The Democratic Services Officer drew attention to the emergency evacuation procedure.

Apologies were received from Councillors Chris Cray and Rob Appleyard (substitute – Councillor Adrian Inker).

Members who have an interest to declare are asked to:

a)  State the Item Number in which they have the interest

b)  The nature of the interest

c)  Whether the interest is personal, or personal and prejudicial

Any Member who is unsure about the above should seek advice from the Monitoring Officer prior to the meeting in order to expedite matters at the meeting itself.

There were none.

There was none.

At the time of publication no notifications had been received.

The Chairman welcomed John Coward – Emtone Print who made a statement to the Panel on a partnership approach between the public services and private industry.

The Panel agreed that the statement would be forwarded to Tom McBain for consideration and that John Coward be contacted by a member of the procurement team.

To confirm the minutes of the above meeting as a correct record.

It was RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on Monday 8^th November 2010 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

The Service Action Plans to support the Resources & Support Services Medium Term Service & Resource Plan are attached for consideration by the Panel.

Panel members asked questions on the details of some of the service plans presented in the report.

Finance

Tim Richens – Divisional Director Finance introduced his service plan explaining the two phases of restructuring. He also explained that the service had experienced increased demands for finance support.

The Panel asked the following questions and made the following points:

Councillor Barrett warned against constant restructuring as he explained that stability promotes more productivity. Councillor Macrae stated that he hoped the service would not get caught up with the ‘centralise, standardise and simplify’ as one size does not fit all, he hoped the staff would be part of delivery teams.

The Divisional Director explained that some areas of finance lend themselves to being centralised such as processing invoices. He acknowledged the point about staff working with front line teams. He explained that some restructuring was taking place in phase one but that some services were being left as they are until the shape of the new Council is known.

The Strategic Director explained that there was some re-organisation in the finance department and that this was in line with other restructuring within the Council. He reassured members that there was a constancy of direction.

Legal and Democratic

Vernon Hitchman – Divisional Director Legal and Democratic Services introduced the report and explained some of the savings he proposed. He explained that overall 2011/12 he would be trying to keep the service much as it is but after elections in May 2011 there would be discussions with the new Council about support requirements. He explained that his major concern was the elections and getting the new Council running.

The Panel asked the following questions and made the following points:

Councillor Macrae warned against the cost of giving all members IPADS. The Strategic Director explained that no conclusions had been formed from the IPAD trial yet. The objective had been to give members something more portable. He explained that if members did have IPADS, they would not also be provided with a laptop and printing facilities. He stated that there is a question over whether it would work for all Councillors and a good business case would have to be made in any case.

Councillor Barrett thanked the Division Director for the clear structure chart in the report.

Councillor Dixon noted the potential savings around members allowances and agreed that member must make savings too.

Policy and Partnerships

David Trethewey – Divisional Director Policy and Partnerships introduced an update report on his service (a copy of this presentation can be viewed on the Councils minute book for this panel held with Democratic Services, Guildhall, Bath)

The Panel asked the following questions and made the following points:

Councillor Barrett asked about the terms ‘total place’ and ‘think family’. The Divisional Director explained that this was when a locality or number of families are targeted for extra support. In response to a question from Councillor Barrett on how the changes in the NHS would affect  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53.

There is no report attached. There will be a verbal update.

Councillor Malcolm Hanney – Cabinet Member for Resources updated the Panel on the following:

• The Council was reasonably well set for 2011/12 but that there needed to be pressure maintained on all areas to create headroom for issues in the following years.
• A lead advisor on the commercial estate had been appointed.
• An announcement on the Recreation Ground was imminent.
• The Business Improvement District for Bath had been successful, this would bring benefits for the area.
• There was a good reason for optimism for the area and it was important that staff feel positive.

This sets out the Panels future workplan for Panel members to discuss.

The Panel noted their future workplan.