Minutes for Corporate Policy and Performance Committee meeting, Sep 10 2009, 2.00PM official page

The Convener welcomed everyone to the first meeting of the Corporate Policy and Performance Committee, noting the importance of the Committee and its remit to oversee Council policies and performance.  She stressed that all reports to Committee should be clear and concise and free from acronyms unless a glossary was supplied.  She noted that she expected report authors to achieve reporting dates set by the Committee and advised that late reports would only be permissible in exceptional circumstances. 

The Convener then introduced Mr. Stewart Carruth, the recently appointed Director of Corporate Governance.  Mr. Carruth thanked the Convener, expressed his delight at being in Aberdeen, and stated that he looked forward to working with the team to ensure that the Corporate Policy and Performance Committee was a high achieving committee.

MATTER OF URGENCY

            The Convener intimated that she had directed in terms of Section 50(B)(4)(b) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and in accordance with Standing Orders, that an additional page submitted by officers in connection with the following item be tabled, to enable members to consider the updated information provided in respect of the catering services review. 

The Committee had before it a statement of committee business prepared by the Head of Democratic Services.  At this juncture, the Convener advised that due to the confidential nature of some of the matters on the business statement, a verbal update would be provided in private session for items 4 (Monitoring Officer Report – PIDA), 9 (Mackie Hall), 12(ii) (Domestic Central Heating Replacements) and 14 (Greenbank Crescent, East Tullos).

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         in relation to item 1 (Neighbourhood Community Action Plans 2008/09 Reporting Arrangements), to note that the three Area Committees had received reports on this matter and as such, to remove the item from the business statement; 

(ii)        in relation to item 5(ii) (Customer Satisfaction Monitoring), to note that a report detailing the results of the tender for the city-wide residents survey would be submitted to the November meeting of the Committee;

(iii)       in relation to item 6 (HMIe Action Plan and Review), to note that the Chief Executive would be working with the new Corporate Management Team to establish the role of peer review, with a report back to Committee in two cycles;

(iv)       in relation to item 7 (Performance Monitoring, Reporting and Target Setting 2009/2010), to note that each service committee had received performance reports and that the Corporate Governance Performance report would be reported to the Finance and Resources Committee and as such, to remove the item from the business statement; 

(v)        in relation to item 10 (Byelaws) to retain this item on the business statement and to ask officers to produce a report advising how byelaws are dealt with, as well as requesting that they contact the Scottish Government to stress the difficulties faced by the Council in progressing new byelaws; 

(vi)       to remove item 11 (Community Councils – Change of Name);  and

(vii)      to note the tabled update to item 13 (Catering Services Review) and to request that officers make every effort to ensure that the report on the review be put before the December meeting of the Committee due to the importance of the review to the budget process.

The Committee had before it a motions list prepared by the Head of Democratic Services. 

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         in relation to motion 2 (Ward Renaming), (a) to note that officers were in contact with the Scottish Government to try to ascertain when a response could be expected in connection with the previously submitted paperwork, and (b) to request that officers proceed with the request from local members to amend the submitted paperwork to reflect the proposed ward name change to “Northfield/Mastrick (North)”; 

(ii)        to remove motion 3 (Forensics Laboratory); 

(iii)       in relation to motion 4 (Increased Funding Allocation to Aberdeen City), to note that officers were awaiting the results of the CoSLA review and that Councillor Kevin Stewart would brief the Chief Executive and the Leadership Board on matters discussed at the recent CoSLA Resources and Capacity Group meeting;  and

(iv)       to remove motion 6 (CCTV Upgrade) as the matter was to be progressed by the Housing and Environment Committee.

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

Councillor Dean declared an interest in the following article by virtue of her role as the Council’s representative on NHS Grampian.  Councillor Kevin Stewart also declared an interest by virtue of his role as the Council’s representative on the NEM (SITA) Board.  Neither considered it necessary to withdraw from the meeting. 

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Corporate Governance which presented the outturn performance and analysis for measures which had been included within the 2008/09 Single Outcome Agreement.

Towards the end of 2008, the Aberdeen City Alliance and the Scottish Government had signed Aberdeen City’s first Single Outcome Agreement.  The Agreement set out a number of performance measures and targets for 2008/09 and beyond, and the report advised that the Council was now required to report on the 2008/09 performance against each of these measures prior to the end of September, 2009. 

It was advised that the performance information would be made available on both the Council and Community Planning Websites once the report was agreed, and that officers from across the Community Planning Partnership were working to prepare a summarised, graphically designed publication for distribution to the public. 

The report recommended:-

(a)       that the Committee note the outturn performance and analysis submitted by Community Planning Partners on the 2008/09 Single Outcome Agreement measures;

(b)       that the Committee agree that the report be submitted to the Scottish Government in line with the national guidance; 

(c)        that the Committee agree that officers conclude public reporting of the performance both on the Council and Community Planning websites and through preparation of a summarised publication;  and

(d)       that the Committee note that, as part of the Council’s performance management system, each service would be reporting to the relevant Committees of the Council showing performance against measures included in the Single Outcome Agreement, including recommendations for actions for further improvement.  

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to thank officers for including page numbers on the agenda frontsheet, but to request that the placement of page numbers on reports be amended so that they did not overlap the report text;

(ii)        in relation to LO4B (Pregnancies Among 13-15 Year Olds, Per 1,000 Population) to request that officers contact NHS Grampian to ask for an explanatory note to go with the figures and to provide this information to all Committee members;

(iii)       in relation to LO5A (The Percentage of Pre School Education Centres and Nurseries that receive a positive inspection report – Care Commission), to request that officers investigate how the 95.7% target had been achieved and circulate the information to all Committee members;

(iv)       to request that officers include an executive summary detailing where the Council was either not achieving targets or was exceeding targets in future versions of the report;

(v)        in relation to LO6A (The number of emergency inpatient bed days per 100,000 population – aged 65+) to request that officers provide more clarity on these statistics in future reports;

(vi)       in relation to LO6A (Proportion of people aged 65+ who are admitted as emergency inpatients two or more times in a single year per 100,000), to request that officers clarify the agreed trajectory for an emergency;

(vii)      in relation to LO6A (number of suicides), (a) to request that officers provide committee members with further information on the Choose Life funding available to target a reduction in suicides;  and  (b) to request that officers prepare a briefing note to be circulated to all elected members on the Choose Life Campaign;

(viii)     in relation to LO6B (number of screenings using the setting appropriate screening tool and appropriate alcohol brief intervention), to request that officers investigate in conjunction with NHS Grampian how the target had been identified with no baseline data available; 

(ix)       in relation to LO9A (recorded wilful fire raising incidents) to request that officers write to Grampian Fire and Rescue Service to congratulate them on receiving a CoSLA Excellence Bronze Award for sustained reduction in wilful fires occurring in Aberdeen City; 

(x)        in relation to LO9B (the number of persons killed or injured in road accidents serious/slight) to request that officers contact Grampian Police to ask if there was any possibility of using different wording, rather than “serious” or “slight” for this indicator;  and

(xi)       in relation to LO14A (percentage of household waste recycled), (a) to note that a report on the draft waste strategy, including an implementation plan, would go before the Housing and Environment Committee in November prior to being reported to the Corporate Policy and Performance Committee;  (b) to request that officers incorporate detailed information on the recycling facilities available in each area into the report;  (c) to request that officers review the locations of bulkier communal recycling bins;  (d) to note that a session would be organised at which members could advise officers of areas in their wards which required recycling facilities;  and (e) to request that officers arrange to have the communal recycling bins at Airyhall emptied more frequently.

GENERAL BUSINESS

REVIEW OF SUB-COMMITTEES AND WORKING GROUPS

With reference to article 7 of the minute of the Council Meeting of 24^th June, 2009, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Corporate Governance which asked members to review the list of working groups and sub-committees which fell within the remit of the Corporate Policy and Performance Committee, with a view to determining which groups could be wound up and which should continue.  The report advised that following the decision taken at the Council meeting on 24^th June, 2009, to revise the Committee structure, a review had commenced of working groups and sub-committees within the former structure with the aim of streamlining the new structure and achieving consistency in the names of these groups. 

The report requested that the Committee determine which of the sub-committees and working groups which would report to the Corporate Policy and Performance Committee should be retained and of those remaining, which required to be renamed.  The Committee was also asked to consider the membership and composition of these working groups and sub-committees and to make adjustments to memberships as required.  It was noted that Standing Orders did not stipulate that members of sub-committees and working groups had to be taken from the membership of the parent committee. 

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to note that officers would, in conjunction with the Disability Advisory Group (DAG), review the remit, membership and constitution of DAG and report back to the Committee at its meeting on 8^th December, 2009; 

(ii)        to note that a meeting would be organised between the Council, the new Chief Executive of the Aberdeen City Council of Voluntary Organisations, and the Joint Chairs of the Voluntary Sector Liaison Group to discuss the remit of the Group and this would also be reported back to the Committee at its meeting on 8^th December, 2009;  and

(iii)       to retain both the Aberdeen City and Shire Modernisation and Shared Services Board and the Older People’s Working Group.

REVIEW OF ACCESS TO THE INTERNET FOR STAFF AND MEMBERS

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Corporate Governance which addressed a request made to revise elected member and staff access to the internet within working hours, with the aim of making access less restricted. 

It was noted that at present, there were certain controls in place for the use of the internet by Aberdeen City Council employees and elected members during working hours, namely, the blockage of particular internet sites such as gambling sites and adult/explicit sites at all times;  and denied access to all unblocked sites except between the hours of 12 noon to 2pm and 4pm to 6.30pm.  The report advised that other than the blockage of particular sites, members had no further restrictions placed on their internet use at the current time.  Appended to the report was a list of the sites currently blocked under the Council’s internet use policy. 

The report advised that a request to remove all internet restrictions, with particular emphasis on allowing access to social networking sites, had been put forward by members.  It was suggested that as part of the relaxation of restrictions, staff would be expected to use technology only for work purposes, and that any non-work matters should be undertaken in non-core hours or their own time.  The report then detailed the implications of opening up internet access to include social networking sites, noting that there would be a severe reduction in internet bandwidth for major systems from any increase in internet browsing.  It was also stressed that by opening up access to the infrastructure, the Council was at much greater risk of virus and spyware infections. 

Incorporated in the report were four options available to members, namely (1) the provision of open access during non-core hours;  (2) the provision of open access controlled by line management;  (3) the provision of access controlled by technological methods;  and (4) the option of granting no access except for work requirements. 

The report recommended:-

that the third option, used at present by the Council, be approved. 

During discussion of the report, it became apparent that the request from members for access to social networking sites had been made so that the Council, particularly officials in Corporate Communications, could utilise these sites as an alternative way of ensuring that information from Aberdeen City Council was disseminated to those members of the public to whom the Council might not normally have access.  The suggestion was that the Council could have a Facebook page, maintained by Corporate Communications, and it was felt that this would be a low cost way of getting information out to the public. 

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve option 3 detailed in the report, namely the continuation of the existing access and control mechanisms used in relation to access to the internet for staff and members while at work, subject to a review in 6 months which incorporated more detail in terms of any risk to the Council; 

(ii)        to note that officers would submit a report to a future meeting of the Committee to update members on the ongoing discussions about the possibility of Corporate Communications utilising social networking sites as a means of communicating with those sections of the public with whom the Council might not regularly have contact.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Housing and Environment which detailed the progress made to date on the redesign of neighbourhood planning. 

Following feedback from stakeholders, it had been noted that there was a need for a less bureaucratic neighbourhood planning process, with improved partnership working and community engagement.  While the Best Value Audit had recognised the Council’s commitment to engaging with communities to deliver more responsive local services and had noted the tangible results the process had produced, it was felt that the process needed to be simplified with a redesign of neighbourhood planning.

The report noted that the 37 neighbourhoods would remain, with partnership working occurring within a variety of existing partnership structures, such as the Aberdeen City Alliance (TACA), challenge forums and existing networks of local operational managers.  There would be clear community engagement arrangements for ongoing dialogue between partners and the communities in each neighbourhood, as well as an annual planning cycle which would be synchronised with budget setting and corporate/service priority setting processes.  It was also planned to focus neighbourhood community plans on the resources of partners to action agreed and evidenced priority issues and local weaknesses in service standards.  Work would also be undertaken to build the support capacity across the community planning partnership and would combine accountability to TACA and its member agencies with the management of relevant staff to ensure consistency across the city. 

The report advised that the next consultation phase on the redesign would be held between 7^th September, 2009 and 20^th November, 2009, which would enable stakeholders to comment on and develop the initial proposals.  The final proposal based on consultation responses, would be presented to each partner with a report back to the Corporate Policy and Performance Committee at its meeting on 8^th December, 2009.  Following consideration by the Committee the final proposals would go before the Aberdeen City Alliance on 10^th December, 2009, with the implementation of the redesign process in place in April, 2010. 

The report recommended:-

(a)       that the Committee comment on the redesign of neighbourhood planning from the perspective of the elected members;

(b)       that the Committee note the progress in the redesign of the neighbourhood planning process;

(c)        that the Committee agree to receive final proposals for approval at the Corporate Policy and Performance Committee meeting on 8^th December, 2009;  and

(d)       that the Committee remit the report to other service committees to seek their comments and input to the draft proposals.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to remove recommendation (iv) (remit the report to other service committees to seek their comments), as all elected members had already been consulted on the draft proposals;

(ii)        to request that officers ensure that elected members were consulted at an early stage and that any meetings were arranged at a time when members were available to attend;  and

(iii)       to otherwise approve the recommendations contained in the report.

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

            Councillor Dean declared an interest in the following article by virtue of her role as the Council’s representative on NHS Grampian and withdrew from the meeting during the Committee’s consideration thereof. 

ABOLITION OF NHS PRESCRIPTION CHARGES

With reference to Article 5 of the minute of the meeting of the Policy and Strategy Committee of 28^th April, 2009, the Committee had before it a report which provided further background information in relation to Councillor Boulton’s motion that:-

            “This Council writes to Nicola Sturgeon MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, asking her to reconsider her decision on free NHS prescriptions to all and the scrapping of car park charges at NHS hospitals.”

The report provided a breakdown of expenditure incurred by the Welsh Assembly over the period of the phased introduction of NHS prescription charges.  A gradually increasing subsidy had been provided to NHS boards to meet the loss of income from prescription charges.  The report then detailed the breakdown of the estimated costs associated with the phased introduction of free prescriptions by the Scottish Government in April, 2008.

The Convener advised that she planned to move the recommendation contained in the report, namely that the Committee note the further information provided regarding the cost of the implementation of free prescriptions in Wales, as proposed in Scotland.

Councillor Boulton moved an amendment to the recommendation:-

“That the Council write to Nicola Sturgeon MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, and ask her to reconsider her decision on free NHS prescriptions to all.”

            At this juncture, the Clerk to the Committee was asked, in terms of Standing Order 22, whether the six month rule would apply in this matter due to the decision taken by the Policy and Strategy Committee at its meeting on 28^th April, 2009, to take no further action.  The Clerk advised that the Committee would be required to suspend Standing Order 22 in order to consider the item further.

Councillor Boulton then moved as a procedural motion, seconded by Councillor Farquharson:-

            That the Council agree to suspend Standing Order 22 to allow for the reconsideration of the decision of the Policy and Strategy Committee on 28^th April, 2009, in relation to the abolition of NHS prescription charges recorded in Article 5 of that minute.

It being a procedural motion, the terms were put straight to the vote.

On a division, there voted:- 

For the procedural motion (2) – Councillors Boulton and Farquharson.

Against the procedural motion (12) – the Convener, the Vice Convener; and  Councillors Adam, Collie, Cormack, Graham, Ironside, Leslie, McCaig, May, Kevin Stewart and Wisely.

Absent from the division (1) – Councillor Dean.

The Committee resolved:-

to note the content of the report.

MATTER OF URGENCY

            The Convener intimated that she had directed in terms of Section 50(B)(4)(b) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and in accordance with Standing Orders, that a replacement page submitted by officers in connection with the following item be tabled, as the information contained within had been omitted from the report currently before members for consideration.

With reference to the motion put forward by Councillor Kiddie at the Council Meeting of 11^th February, 2009, namely, “That Aberdeen City Council agrees to produce an Anti Poverty Strategy”, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Housing and Environment which set out the strategy, “Achieving Our Potential:  Tackling Poverty and Income Inequality in Aberdeen City” for consideration and approval.

The report advised that the Scottish Government had published a national framework, “Achieving Our Potential:  A Framework to Tackle Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland” in November, 2008, with the objective of narrowing the gap between the rich and poor in Scotland while building stronger communities.  The framework targeted an increase in overall income and proportion earned by the lowest 30% of people as a group by the year 2017, and recognised the benefits a good education, good health and enough money could have on making society more equal.

While Aberdeen was generally perceived as an affluent city, the report advised that growing poverty and disadvantage existed in Aberdeen’s communities.  The recent development of the Single Outcome Agreement between Aberdeen City Council and the Scottish Government had provided a basis for setting poverty and inequality as a strategic priority, and it was stressed that the development of an anti-poverty strategy which cut across all policy areas was key to driving forward this commitment. 

Appended to the report was the draft anti-poverty strategy, and it was noted that following consideration of the strategy by the Corporate Policy and Performance Committee, the report would be remitted to the other service committees for detailed consideration by Committee members with an overview setting out proposals to address poverty by the Director responsible for each committee.

The report recommended:-

(a)       that the Committee consider and approve the draft “Achieving Our Potential:  Tackling Poverty and Inequality in Aberdeen City” for wider consultation;

(b)       that the Committee consider an appropriate member to provide the foreword to the strategy and agree the foreword should contain a public statement outlining the commitment of the Council to the eradication of poverty in the city;

(c)        that the Committee agree that an executive summary be included in the final document; 

(d)       that the Committee agree to receive a further report setting out the proposed governance arrangements to co-ordinate and monitor anti-poverty activity across Council services and outcomes in communities; 

(e)       that the Committee agree that an audit of mainstream council funding should be carried out to identify current cross service expenditure on anti-poverty activity to inform where efficiencies could be identified to invest in improved joint service and commissioning decisions;

(f)         that the Committee agree to remit the draft strategy to the other committees of the Council for consideration and comment, accompanied by the service Director’s advice on action from the service to address poverty; 

(g)       that the Committee agree to receive a report on the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2009, due to be published in October, for consideration at a future meeting;

(h)        that the Committee note that a future report would be required to the Finance and Resources Committee on the implications of the un-ringfencing of the Fairer Scotland Fund in 2010-11 which currently funded significant anti-poverty initiatives.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to request that officers circulate the report to the Disability Advisory Group and all other relevant groups for information;

(ii)        to request that officers amend the wording in the appendix 5.3.3 (early years and early intervention) in connection with the provision of free school meals in line with national policy and local need; 

(iii)       that due to his interest in the matter, to recommend that Councillor Kiddie provide the foreword to the strategy;  and

(iv)       to otherwise approve the recommendations contained in the report.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Social Care and Wellbeing which provided information on the progress made by the Directorates of Social Care and Wellbeing, and Education, Culture and Sport in becoming effective Corporate Parents.  The report also contained recommendations to update the Corporate Parenting Policy (2007) in light of new guidance received from the Scottish Government to further develop a Council-wide approach to corporate parenting. 

The report noted that there were three key elements to the role of “corporate parent” namely, (1) the statutory duty for all parts of the local authority to co-operate with other agencies in promoting the welfare of children and young people looked after by the local authority;  (2) the co-ordination of activities of the many different professionals and carers involved in a child or young person’s life, and the need to take a strategic child centred approach to service delivery;  and (3) the shift in emphasis from “corporate” to “parenting” defined as “the performance of all actions necessary to promote and support the physical, emotional, social and cognitive development of a child from infancy to adulthood”.

It was stressed that corporate parenting was not only a responsibility of the Council, but an opportunity to improve the future of looked after children and young people.  While it was acknowledged that the nature of organisations was constantly evolving with staff leaving, and procedures and structures changing, the challenge was to ensure that these changes were managed while giving each individual child and young person a sense of stability.  It was hoped that the embedding of the responsibilities of corporate parenting in the community planning and integrated children’s services planning structures would encourage a shared responsibility across all strategic partners.  Elements of the corporate parenting strategy were to be included in the service plan for each directorate, ensuring that corporate parenting would remain high on the agenda.

The Committee was advised that a DVD had been produced during the development of the Corporate Parenting Charter and that members would receive training on both prior to the end of the year.

The Committee acknowledged the importance of the corporate parenting role and expressed disappointment that there were no representatives from the media in attendance to hear such an important item.  The Committee asked that officers from Corporate Communications prepare some information on the subject and disseminate it to members of the press.

The report recommended:-

(a)       that the Committee agree that an overarching corporate parenting strategy be developed to reflect the Scottish Government guidance, “These Are Our Bairns”, and to include the recently published HMIe self evaluation model “How Good is Our Corporate Parenting”; 

(b)       that the Committee agree that elected members and Directors contribute to the development and implementation of the Corporate Parenting Strategy and a Corporate Parenting Charter;

(c)        that the relevant elements of the Corporate Parenting Strategy be included in each Directorate’s service plan;

(d)       that outcome indicators be developed to measure progress;

(e)       that Directors report on progress in implementing initiatives to improve the discharging of corporate parenting responsibilities in Aberdeen City Council to the Corporate Policy and Performance Committee on an annual basis;

(f)         that the duties and responsibilities of corporate parenting be reflected in the community planning partnerships and strategies;  and

(g)       that the responsibilities of the Child Protection and Corporate Parenting Governance Forum be remitted to the Social Care and Wellbeing Committee.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to amend recommendation (e) to request that the report on implementing initiatives to improve the discharging of corporate parenting responsibilities in Aberdeen City Council be submitted to a future meeting of the Council; 

(ii)        to remove recommendation (g), as this had been approved at the Social Care and Wellbeing Committee on 3^rd September, 2009;

(iii)       to note that elected member training would be organised to look at the development of the Corporate Parenting Charter, as well as introducing the newly produced DVD on the subject, however the development of the corporate parenting policy would take more time to complete; 

(iv)       to request that the information contained in the report be drawn to the attention of the press;  and

(v)        to otherwise approve the recommendations contained in the report.

EXEMPT INFORMATION

The Committee resolved in terms of Section 50(A)(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 to exclude the press and public from the meeting during consideration of the following item of business so as to avoid disclosure of exempt information of the class described in paragraph 1 of Schedule 7(A) to the Act.

The Committee heard from Ms. Karen Donnelly, Legal Manager (Policy and Advice), who was in attendance at the meeting to represent the Monitoring Officer and to provide an update on items 4 (Monitoring Officer Report – PIDA), 9 (Mackie Hall), 12(ii) (Domestic Central Heating Replacement) and 14 (Greenbank Crescent, East Tullos) on the Committee Business Statement.  Due to a lack of resource afforded to the Monitoring Officer, the investigations had not progressed as quickly as expected and Ms. Donnelly advised that the Monitoring Officer would provide a further update on these items in due course.

The Committee noted that two officers from the Investigations Unit were to assist the Monitoring Officer in future which should allow investigations undertaken to progress at a faster rate.  It was also noted that the Monitoring Officer had been assigned a large number of investigations, which had caused serious workload pressures, and it was suggested that members and officers could perhaps look into other methods of investigating matters.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to note the information provided by the Monitoring Officer; 

(ii)        to note the difficulties in progressing the investigations due to a lack of resource afforded to the Monitoring Officer, but to note that two officers from the Investigations Unit would be available to assist in future;  and

(iii)       to ask the Monitoring Officer to contact the Convener directly to advise when an update on these matters would be available.

- JENNIFER STEWART, Convener.