Meeting documents

COUNCIL EXECUTIVE 15^TH JANUARY 2003 QUESTIONS TO BE ASKED OF

EXECUTIVE COUNCILLORS

RELATING TO ITEMS ON THIS AGENDA

(to be taken when each item is reached)

1. Question from Councillor Pritchard (Agenda item 11)

How are the measures to implement the `Re-shaping Social Services' plan going to be monitored, and what targets have been set to test the success of these measures?

Answer to be given by Councillor Jane Tapper

The whole of this report must be seen in the context of ever increasing spending pressures on Social Services both locally and nationally. Success must be seen as a relative rather than absolute criteria and will, therefore, be the degree to which the growth year-on-year is contained relative to the pressures. Most of the measures identified in Section 11 of the report (that will have the greatest effect) are significant service changes and developments that will require public reporting to the responsible Executive Member and will therefore be available for public monitoring as part of that process. It is important to ensure we use the existing mechanisms available rather than generate still more work and therefore the annual service planning process and quarterly performance reports received by the Executive and the relevant overview and scrutiny panel should provide the opportunity to monitor progress.

Supplementary question from Councillor Pritchard

Assuming that it takes 2 - 4 years to complete the externalisation of a service area, and given the 3 year time-span, which social service is the Executive Member planning to externalise?

Answer from Councillor Tapper

This is a general report and it would be wrong to say at this stage that any service was excluded or included. It will be for the Executive Member, with officers, to keep a close eye on this over the next 3 years.

2. Question from Councillor Haeberling (Agenda item 12)

Can any estimate be made at this stage in respect of what level of efficiency savings the Council could generate as a result of the Paris Project?

Answer to be given by Councillor Rosemary Todd

One of our objectives at the next stage of the process will be to work to agree the programme of projects to work on for the first year as part of a 3-year plan. This work will identify the level of any savings and/or service improvements to be delivered through these projects.

Bidder A has made a commitment to re-investing savings made on core services into the Partnership.

At this stage, they are guaranteeing £500k per annum minimum from other service efficiencies.

Supplementary question from Councillor Haeberling

It is supposed that only around 15% of people in the UK access e-government services; how can the Executive Member buck this trend in the UK and get people to use Council services online?

Answer from Councillor Todd

This will be a gradual process and will engage all of the Council.

3. Question from Alexander Johnston (Agenda items 21 and 22)

I am very concerned that the Liberal Democrat Council Executive are being asked (by the very people responsible for this issue) to consider passing a resolution to exclude the public when considering the Council's response to the District Auditors decision that the £79m consideration from the sale of the council's housing stock to Somer Housing is contrary to law.

If you recall Council Officers repeatedly denied they had done anything wrong with regards the disposal of open space land. They convinced elected members of the need to hire an expensive law firm, at a substantial cost to the taxpayer, to contest my original objection leading to further costs in both time and money to my family and I.

As the objector I believe that have a right to see the Council's response on this issue. At least this would allow me to correct any inaccuracies in Eversheds report. You will recall that on more than one occasion the District Auditor stated that Eversheds legal arguments were fundamentally flawed.

The Council Executive are being asked to make Agenda item 22 Exempt information under Para 1- "Information relating to a particular employee...or a particular office holder under, the authority" and Para 12- "...any advice received...in connection with...the determination of any matter, affecting the authority" of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the 1972 LGA.

Can you confirm:

a) if the employee referred to is either Mr Vernon Hitchman or Mr John Everett

b) under what basis the entire Agenda paper is exempt in terms of the legislation

c) if am I referred to in Eversheds report

d) if you are aware of the provisions of the LGA 2000 Section 92(1) Payment in cases of maladministration etc.,

Answer to be given by Councillor Crossley

The publicly available report specifies the basis on which the Council Executive is being invited to consider whether or not the report should be dealt with press and public excluded. This is because the report contains information relating to individual identifiable Council employees and also contains the advice of the Council's external legal advisers as to the options open to the Council in respect of the Statement of Reasons prepared by the District Auditor. Both these facts justify the Council Executive, if it so wishes, considering the issue privately. However, having considered all factors, we have decided to make this a public open debate.

In respect of your specific queries,

(a) Serious defamatory allegations were made against a number of serving and former Council officers which were investigated by the Auditor and found to be wholly without foundation and unjustified. Mr Johnston both made the defamatory allegations and is aware of the Auditor's view of them; he already knows the answer to this question.

(b) If the report contains exempt information, then the whole report may be dealt with with press and public excluded.

(c) Eversheds' report concerns the advice to the Council in response to the District Auditor. It is not about advice to the Council concerning Mr Johnston.

(d) I am not certain what relevance this particular statutory provision has.

In respect of your e-mail of 12.49, the Executive will consider whether or not to deal with the matter in public. The Council Executive has no reason to doubt the legal advice it is receiving from Eversheds and I would remind Mr Johnston that the Council accepted as long ago as May 2000 that it should have advertised the disposal of certain portions of land and reinstated the protection available to the land at the Council meeting that month. The District Auditor's conclusion is that the requirement to advertise applied to less portions of land than was envisaged by the Council in May 2000.

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