Agenda and minutes

(1)       In relation to minute no 30 (3) (4) concerning the policy for the management of obstructions and temporary items on the Highway, Mr Christie asked for an update on progress with seeking the views of District Councils via the Joint Transportation Boards.  He was aware that the Gravesham Joint Transportation Board had yet to consider this matter.   Mr Hibberd offered to assist Mr Christie with further information outside of the meeting.  

(2)       It was noted that Mr Kit Smith had not accepted the invitation set out in minute number 31 to submit a report to this meeting of the Board.

(3)       RESOLVED that the minutes of the meetings held on 9 September and 11 October 2010 are correctly recorded, subject to minute number 33, paragraph (19) bullet point 4 being amended to read “Concern that the organisation would move from a functional to an administrative style of management.”, and they be signed as a correct record.

(1)       Ms Kerswell updated the Board on the progress of Change to Keep Succeeding since the last meeting on 11 October 2010.   She explained that an alternative structure had been suggested which had been presented to the Cabinet Scrutiny Committee on 15 October 2010.  A copy of the alternative structure was included with the papers for the meeting.  The alternative structure saved the most money and had the least number of Directors.  She confirmed that both of these structures were part of the consultation.

(2)       Ms Kerswell stated that in discussions with those whose individuals whose posts were impacted, certain issues had been raised such as whether the Kent Drug and Alcohol Action Team should come under the Education Learning and Skills Directorate or the Customer and Communities Directorate and also where Public Rights of Way should sit.  Lots of comments had been received about how the County Council engages and liaises with the people of Kent.  In relation to the proposal to gather together Communication, Consultation and Community Engagement, there was a division between having an embedded service within Directorates or a centralised service.  It was not necessarily the case that all of these services should be treated the same.  She gave the example of the Highways Liaison officers who could stay embedded within the Highways team but have a relationship with Community Engagement colleagues.  It was important to grasp the opportunities of localism and a Locality Board and build a strong engagement culture.  Regarding Public Health the white paper was still awaited, this could be a huge operation working with the Health Service and having a relationship with General Practitioners. She explained that work was being carried out on the Business Support model.  The Structure should drive changes in behaviour and a move to an increased use of self service and available technology.  There was a strong message from Managers that they welcomed the opportunity for the devolvement of functions and accountability.

(5)       Mr Hawkins explained that a facility had been set up to enable all those in impacted posts to see data on all the proposals for the new posts, this was also open to group managers to keep them informed.  There was a lot of functional planning going on to ensure that the necessary models were in place on 1 April 2011.  Teams had been set up to resolve specific issues for example there was a team on safeguarding.

 (6)      Officers answered a number of questions from Member and the responses included the following:-

·        Ms Kerswell confirmed that intelligence within the organisation was good in relation to likely changes in legislation and policy, the new structure would be nimble and flexible in order to respond as changes were required.

·        In relation to the proposal to place the new post of Director of Children’s Services in the Families, Health and Social Services Directorate with a reporting line to the Director of Education, Learning and Skills, Ms Kerswell stated that she would ensure that there was proper  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.

(1)       Mr Wickenden introduced a report, which had been submitted at the request of Mrs Dean, relating to the process for notification to the Scrutiny Board of interim officer appointments at a cost of £20,000 or more and how this differed from the process for appointing Consultants.  Mr Wickenden read out a suggested wording that could be recommended for inclusion in the Constitution to address this anomaly.

(2)       The Chairman emphasised that the appointment which had drawn attention to the anomaly had been made in accordance with the current Constitution.

(3)       RESOLVED that the Selection and Member Services Committee be requested to consider recommending to the County Council that the Constitution be amended to include the following wording at the end of paragraph 11 (c) on page 124 – “Similarly, the appointment of an interim officer for £20,000 or more (whether undertaken as a non-competitive procurement or not) must also be reported to the Head of Democratic Services within 14 days of the appointment being made so that s/he may notify Members of the Scrutiny Board.”

(1)       Mr Wickenden presented an update report on the Select Committee work programme.  The Select Committees on Extended Services and Renewable Energy were due to submit their reports to Cabinet on 29 November 2010 and, if time allowed, would also be received at County Council on 16 December 2010.  Select Committees on Dementia and Educational Attainment had been established and were due to commence their work shortly.

(2)       Mr Wickenden reported the receipt of a suggestion for a Select Committee topic review on “The Student Journey” which had been submitted by Mr Dance and Mr Kit Smith.

(3)       The Proposers of the review gave further information in support of their proposal.  Officers from the Children, Families & Education (CFE) and Communities Directorates and the Regeneration and Economic Development Unit were invited to put forward their views on the proposed Select Committee topic review.   Ms Dunn, on behalf of CFE, explained the importance of ensuring that the timescale of the review was appropriate, that there was no duplication of existing work being carried out in the Directorate and that pending legislation was available.  She stated that the most appropriate time to start this review would be in February/ March 2011.  Mr Gough, on behalf of the Communities Directorate and the Cabinet Member, supported the views of Ms Dunn.  He also emphasised the importance of the review including a focus on employability. Mr Gabriel, on behalf of Regeneration and Economic Development spoke in support of the proposed review, and the importance of its focus including support for business growth and the key element of  Information, Advice and Guidance.

(4)       There was general agreement that this important review should start as soon as was practical, and that as part of the normal process to establish the Select Committee work would be carried out to focus and scope the review to ensure that it was outcome focused and added value to the work of the County Council.

(5)       RECOMMENDED that (a) the Scrutiny Board strongly believes that all Select Committee topic review reports should be considered at County Council and requests the Chairman of the County Council to include the Select Committee topic reviews on Extended Services and Renewable Energy on the agenda for the December meeting of the County Council.

(b)       a Select Committee on “The Student Journey” be established which will start its work in the Spring of 2011. 

(1)       Mr Wickenden informed the Board that there would be an update report to the December meeting on developing a relationship between the Overview and Scrutiny function and the Media, following an informal meeting next week with media representatives.  The Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee were keen to pilot the Rapporteur framework.  Also it was anticipated that Mr King would be able to report back to the December meeting on the results from the Overview and Scrutiny Survey.  He also referred to the proposed Locality Boards and suggested that it would be helpful to have information on their formation.

(2)       The Board discussed the various ways in which the POSC’s had exercised their Scrutiny role, these included the Regeneration and Economic Development POSC’s visits to Districts to assess what they thought of the Regeneration work of the County Council and Scrutiny sessions run by the Learning and Development POSC on specific subjects.  It was also emphasised that there was overlap between policy development work and scrutiny.

(3)       The importance of having a Forward Plan of Key Decisions which included officer as well as Cabinet/Cabinet Member Decisions was highlighted.  The Communities POSC were requesting the Cabinet Member include in his update information on any key decisions that he was due to take .

(4)       RESOLVED that the comments be noted.