Agenda and minutes

To note that Mr R W Gough replaces Mr L B Ridings as a member of this Committee.

RESOLVED that it be noted that Mr R W Gough has replaced Mr L B Ridings as a Member of this Committee.

RESOLVED  that the minutes of the Meeting held on 28 May 2008 are correctly recorded and that they be signed by the Chairman, subject to it being recorded that Mr Hibberd was a substitute for Mr Burgess, 

To note that the following dates have been reserved for the Committee’s meetings in 2009:-

14 January

26 March

8 July

25 September

13 November

All meetings will commence at 10.00 am 

 RESOLVED that the following dates for meetings in 2009 be noted:-

            14 January

            26 March

            8 July

            25 September

            13 November

All meetings will commence at 10.00 am

(Mrs S Garton, County Performance and Evaluation Manager, Mr R Hardy, Head of Improvement and Engagement, Ms Carolyn McKenzie, Greener Kent Manager, Ms L McMullan, Director of Finance, Ms T Oliver, Director of Strategic Development and Public Access, Mrs Debbie Smith - Policy Officer (Public Health) and Miss Pauline Smith - County Manager - Supporting Independence Programme were present for this item.)

(1)       Mrs Garton presented the report which set out the process for finalising the second Towards 2010 Annual Report prior to approval by County Council on 16 October 2008 and a draft of the report on progress on the 13 targets which came within the remit of this Committee.  Each of the officers responsible for these targets gave a brief overview and invited comments from Members.

(2)       Members questions and comments included the following:-

• In response to a question Ms McMullan stated that the there was not a hard government target for KCC spend with Kent Based Small Medium Sized Enterprises (SME’s), however the current figure for KCC was 65% of total expenditure.  The Government has quoted a figure of 35% which KCC was exceeding.
• Ms McMullan gave Members some feedback from the meeting that Mr Chard and Mr A King had had with representatives of the Federation of Small Business and undertook to supply a resume of this meeting to Members.
• Page 17 – 2^nd bullet point – 20% of Highways contracts outside of the Alliance contracts, in response to a question on whether this was related to the percentage of work for SME’s, Ms McMullan stated that the intention was that this work should not simply be provided by one supplier and that there was an opportunity for work to go to smaller Kent based contractors.
• The Chairman of the Governance and Audit Committee informed Members that a Trading Activities Sub-Group had been established to ensure that KCC contracts were transparent and that there was greater communication with the private sector.
• In response to a question on funding for film, Ms Oliver stated that SEEDA and the SWEDA were the only development agencies which did not invest in film.  This put Kent at a disadvantage when competing against other areas of the UK to attract film companies to use Kent as a location.  Ms Oliver stated that attracting of EU money usually required a project bid which was not necessary appropriate for attracting film production companies.  She was however submitting an Interreg bid.
• In response to a question on whether her team were working with Borough/District Councils and other local agencies that do good work on the ground to make sure that KCC adds value, Ms P Smith explained that part of her role with the Supporting Independence programme was to facilitate conversations at a local level, it was essential that issues were owned locally, and she was also able to take an independent Kent wider view and see how this linked in at the local level.
• Target 18 – 1,000 apprenticeships offered  ...  view the full minutes text for item 102.

(1)       Ms McMullan presented a report which set out the forecast outturn against budget for the Chief Executives Department and the Financing Items Budget for the year 2008/09.  Ms McMullan highlighted the forecast variance and the end of year underspend.  The report set out the main reasons for the forecast underspend.  

(2)       There was discussion around the challenges of LABGI Scheme (Local Authority Business Growth Incentives Scheme).  Ms McMullan informed Members that this was being reviewed and that she and Mr Chard had given evidence to a government Select Committee in relation to this. 

(3)       Regarding the Kent Enterprise find, Ms McMullan explained that the contribution from this to the revenue fund was a one off amount spread over two years. 

(4)       RESOLVED that the projected outturn figures for the directorate as at the first quarter be noted.

(1)       Mr Hardy presented the draft Performance Improvement Plan relating to the comments and conclusions of the Corporate Assessment report which was attached as Appendix 1 to the report.   He reminded Members that the assessment had been extremely positive and the PIP should considered in this context.

(2)       Comments from Members were invited and included the following:-

• Mention was made of the comment relating to Kent’s Strong Brand and self promotion and the impression that this can give partners.
• The issue of a Members right to information and the time that it sometimes takes for a request to be acknowledged and the information received was raised.
• Although it was acknowledged that at lot of good work was being carried out through overview and scrutiny, it was recognised that there was still a lot that could be done across the piece to improve.
• It would be helpful to Members who served on both District/Borough Councils and the County Council if there could be as much consistency as possible between the two in relation to issues that affected both authorities.
• Pages 58/59 – Overview and Scrutiny – a key challenge referred to was backbenchers and opposition Members having access to papers ahead of a decision being made, in order to understand the options that had been considered and rejected.
• In relation to the County Councils relationship with Borough/District Councils it would appear that the CPA inspectors were saying that KCC was making progress, but it still had a long way if measured against its aspirations.
• Page 66 – in relation to KCC being seen to be over keen to claim credit, it was suggested that this perception could come from some press releases which tended not to acknowledge funding received from central government.
• Page 73 – the importance of all plans containing SMART targets with measurable outcomes was emphasised, although it was accepted that not all National Indicators contained SMART targets.

(3)       RESOLVED That the comments made by Members be noted and the draft Performance Improvement Plan attached as Appendix 1 to the report be agreed.

(1)       The Committee received a report presented by Mr Hardy which outlined the proposals contained in the joint consultation paper on the new assessment framework for the Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) which was published on 29 July 2008 by the Audit Commission, the Commission for Social Care Inspection, the Healthcare Commission, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary, HM Inspectorate of Prisons, HM Inspectorate of Probation and Ofsted.  The consultation period was due to close on 20 October 2008.  The report highlighted four issues that could form the basis of KCC’s response to the document. 

(2)       Mr Hardy emphasised the importance of the new assessment clearly identifying the responsible organisation so that the County Council was not held to account for outcomes that were not within its control.

(3)       Members comments and suggestions were invited to assist with formulating the response.  The following comments and suggestions were made by Members:-

• The proposal to shift the burden from service-based assessment to a corporate focus should be welcomed.
• There in no indication of a change in timescale or a light touch approach to demonstrate that it is different from the Comprehensive Performance Assessment.
• In order for the CAA to work there have to be true partnership arrangements. 

(4)       RESOLVED that:-  (a)  the comments on the proposals and contributions to the response be noted.

            (b)  That the Chairman and Spokesmen for this Committee be authorised to sign off the final response on behalf of the Committee alongside the responsible Cabinet Member.

            (c)  That the Audit Commission be invited to brief elected Members on how the CAA process is expected to work.   

(1)       Mr Hardy introduced a report which provided Members with information about the operation of the Chief Executives Department complaints and representations procedure between 1 April 2007 and 31 March 2008.   Every Policy Overview Committee would be receiving a similar report relating to their Directorate.  It was intended to submit a report to the next meeting of this Policy Overview Committee on the complaints process across the authority.  Mr Hardy informed the Committee that he chaired an internal review group which was drafting a protocol which would set out the way in which complaints were to be dealt with across the authority.  This document would be submitted to this Committee. 

(2)       Members made a number of comments on the report which included emphasising the importance of standardising response times across Directorates and definition of what constituted a complaint so that the Council  had a consistent approach.  Also it was requested that in future this information should is broken down to business unit level.

(3)       RESOLVED that the report be noted.

(1)       Mr Bowles introduced the report on behalf of the Leader of the Council which set out details of the ongoing discussions with Councils in Kent on the preferred models of engagement with the Local Community.  He explained that there had been further meetings since the report had been published, between County Council and District Council colleagues.  It was anticipated that 3 or 4 pilots would be rolled out earl next year. 

(2)       The importance of  having regular feedback to Members on this and progress with the recommendations of the IMG on Going Local was emphasised.  Also raised was the issue of devolving Health Scrutiny powers to District Councils   Mr Bowles undertook to ensure that there was regular feedback to Members on Localism issues.  

(3)       RESOLVED that the report be noted.

(1)       Mr Oxlade presented the third International Activities Report which covered the diverse range of international work in which the County Council was involved.  It was intended to formally publish the report following, incorporating the views of Members and other comments and observations.

(2)       A Member requested that in future information on the programme, objectives and feedback of visits made by officers to other countries be made available to Members, and a process should be put in place to make Members aware of these visits so that they can seek further information if they wish.  Mr Oxlade assured Members that there was a robust monitoring process in place for foreign visits. 

(3)       The International Affairs Group was congratulated on their efforts with Ashford Eurostar Campaign. 

(4)       A Member noted that the keynote speaker at the European Business Network had been a shadow minister and mentioned that shadow speakers had been the keynote speaker at all three events mentioned in the report.   Mr Marsh stated that event organisers attempted to get the best available speaker from Central Government but on occasions there was no on available and a shadow Minister was invited.

(5)       The issue of KCC seeking permanent representation on Interreg Committees was discussed by Members

(6)       RESOLVED that the 2007-8 Annual Report, the comments made by Members and the future challenges it has identified be noted.

(1)          Miss Cambray reminded Members that the Select Committee on Climate Change had published its recommendations in October 2006.  Kent County Council produced its first response in January 2007 and committed to a series of actions since drawn together in a Climate Change Action Plan, overseen by the Cabinet Working Group on Climate Change.  She presented a report which summarises progress and outlined further opportunities for CED to contribute to the next phase of the programme. 

(2)       Members referred to the Group Source Heat Pump’s being used at a new Village Hall.  Also mentioned was ICT and reducing KCC’s carbon footprint.

(3)               RESOLVED that:-  (a)  progress made to date be noted,

            (b) the proposed next steps for CED be endorsed;

            (c)  officers from the CED report back on progress to the POC at six-monthly intervals.

          (d)  an item be placed early on the agenda for the next meeting to enable Members to discuss the issues further.

(1)       The Committee received a report which updated them on the Select Committee Topic Review programme which included the Select Committee on Accessing Democracy and outcomes from the meeting of the POCC on 10 September 2008.

(2)       The Chairman reminded Members that in accordance with the Constitution meetings of the Policy Overview Committee could last up to 4.00pm and therefore they should book the whole day in their diary for these meetings

(3)       RESOLVED that the updated be noted.