Agenda item

Derbyn Cynghorydd y Fwrdeistref Sirol M. Norris (Aelod o'r Cabinet ar faterion Gwasanaethau Corfforaethol), sy'n rhoi trosolwg i Aelodau'r Pwyllgorau Craffu o'r gwaith a gaiff ei gyflawni'n rhan o bortffolio'r Aelod o'r Cabinet. Mae adroddiad ynghlwm i gyd-fynd â'r eitem yma.

Councillor M. Norris (Cabinet Member for Corporate Services) provided an overview of the portfolio responsibilities.

Accountancy Services and Performance and Resources:-

Under this area, the Cabinet Member set out the key priorities for 2019/20, including the delivery of robust in-year financial management and reporting arrangements; maintaining and refreshing the Council’s Medium Term Financial Plan; provision of robust financial management support to key projects; modernisation of the service through the application of up to date digital technology and agile working; and working with services to improve performance management arrangements.

In respect of agile working, the Chair sought clarification on the timescales for further roll out. The Cabinet Member fed back that positive progress had been made to date and the Council is committed to further roll out across the Council, the timescales for which would be informed by lessons learned from the work undertaken to date.

Discussions ensued in respect of agile working and Councillor J. Williams highlighted that the use of agile working may not be as effective in some areas and could potentially have a detrimental impact on staff in the longer term, for example, through less face to face contact with team members. The Cabinet Member acknowledged this and fed back that each area needs to be assessed on an individual basis to determine the service and staff impacts and is an approach that is being applied within the Council.

Councillor Yeo commented that agile working will help the Council in its aim to become more efficient and supported the work that the Council has undertaken to date in this area.

Pensions, Procurement and Transactional Services

The Cabinet Member advised the Committee in respect of the key priority areas for 2019/20 and updated Members in respect of the main areas of progress. This included the Local Government Pension Fund; the consequences of the implementation of the UK Government’s welfare reform agenda within the Benefits Service; maximising information technology to improve service performance and customer access; and procurement advice and support in the delivery of strategic projects.

Discussions ensued and the Chair raised a query in respect of fossil fuel and ethical investments. The Cabinet Member advised the Committee that the Local Government Pension Scheme is not a function of the Executive and fed back that the Fund is committed to a responsible approach to investment, as set out within its published governance documents, and updates are reported regularly to the Pension Fund Committee.

In respect of Council Tax, Non-Domestic Rates and Benefits Speed of Processing, the Cabinet Member informed the Committee that performance was on or ahead of target for each of these areas. The Chair sought clarification in respect of non-domestic business rates and the Service Director advised that this area has been fully devolved to the Welsh Government whereby local authorities collect business rates, the money collected is paid into a national pool administered by Welsh Government and then redistributed to local authorities each year as part of the local government settlement. The Service Director added that a similar approach is applied in England albeit consideration is being given to enable English local authorities to retain a higher percentage of the business rates they collect.

Councillor W. Lewis queried whether the Council provides procurement advice and support to Fair Trade groups. The Cabinet Member informed the Committee that the Council is supportive of such groups and works with them on events such as the ‘Big Welsh Bite RCT’. Councillor Lewis asked whether fair trade products could be included as sample products in the Mayor’s Chamber and the Cabinet Member advised that he would raise this with the Mayor’s office accordingly.

ICT & Digital Services

The Cabinet Member outlined the Council’s key priorities for 2019/20 in this area, including, the Council’s Digital Strategy; Data & Information Management; and Delivering First Class Infrastructure.

Discussions continued and Councillor Bradwick requested that consideration be given to ensure elected Members are appropriately supported when provided with new digital devices as well as on-going support. The Cabinet Member was supported of this and referenced the changeover from Blackberry devices to Microsoft Outlook, and confirmed that the importance of the continued provision of effective support to elected Members would be fed back to the Service.

A number of Members sought clarity in respect of the level and quality of Wi-Fi access in schools across the County Borough, noting that some schools seem to have better access than others. The Cabinet Member emphasised that all schools in RCT should now be running on the same network and informed Members that the Council has recently been successful in securing funding from the Welsh Government to roll out the use of new tablets and IPad devices across all schools in the County Borough.

One4all & Contact Centres (Customer Care)

The Cabinet Member updated the Committee on the progress made in the priority areas of ‘Deliver One Front Door-Multi Channel’; Customer Systems and insight; and consolidating admin and developing a Corporate Business Support Unit.

Councillors Cullwick and J Williams sought clarity around whether there was a system in place to monitor response times by customer services. The Cabinet Member fed back that key performance indicators for this area are reported as part of the Council’s quarterly performance report to enable the Committee to scrutinise performance during the year. The Service Director- Finance & Improvement Services added that a process is in place for the Customer Care Service to provide feedback to Member enquiries in relation to frontline service areas such as fly tipping and indicated that the performance information included within the Council’s quarterly Performance Reports may be a useful reference point to inform further lines of enquiry that the Committee may have.

Corporate Estates

The Cabinet Member continued by outlining the key priorities for 2019/20 and main progress areas, including the Council’s aim to make the best use of the Council’s land and building portfolio; to support the regeneration of RCT; the continued provision of technical support to Service Groups for the delivery of projects, such as the 21^st Century Schools Band B Programme; maintaining compliance with legislation for the ongoing maintenance and operation of buildings; and energy and utilities management.

Discussions ensued and Councillor Lewis enquired around the current position for the ‘extra care’ programme in Porth. The Service Director- Finance & Improvement Services fed back that development options for the Porth scheme are currently being considered.

Discussions continued and the Chair queried whether Members are getting timely feedback from Corporate Services service areas and Councillor Williams emphasised the importance of being consulted with prior to any planning decisions being made. The Cabinet Member agreed and informed Members that this would be fed back to the Service.

Internal Audit

Members were informed that the Council’s Internal Audit Service joined an existing regional audit service with effect from 1^st April 2019, as approved by Cabinet on the 21^st June 2018. Members were reassured that this has not caused any change or disruption to the delivery of internal services to the Council and that the Council will continue to work closely with representatives of the regional service.

Following discussion, Members RESOLVED to note the content of the update on the progress made in advancing the portfolio responsibilities of the Cabinet Member.