Agenda and minutes

A member of the public referred to the U.K. Borders Agency and asked how many beds were being provided in Rotherham?

Councillor Akhtar reported that he would respond to the questioner in writing as he could only provide figures relating to housing provided by the Local Authority and not those provided by the private sector.

In a supplementary question, the member of the public asked what financial benefit was there to receiving asylum seekers into Rotherham and the financial cost this was having to those on low income?

Councillor Hussain reported that costs were not specific to the Council, but related to the need to provide education and health services in the borough.  All housing was directly funded by the Home Office and Rotherham was part of the consortium who agreed to take a percentage number based on the level of population.  Discussions were taking place as to whether to review this figure along with South Yorkshire counterparts who provided services for those who required it.

-        Chief Executive to report.

The Leader introduced a report by the Chief Executive which set out the agreement that the current round of Local Area Agreement Reward Grant would be placed in a joint improvement fund for the Rotherham Partnership to allocate to partners to address priorities.

The high quality of the services provided by the Council and its partners had led to a “Reward” in the form of a grant being made available over two years of £5.965 million.

Cabinet Members welcomed this excellent news and the availability of funds to support the community.

The Local Strategic Partnership and the Theme Boards have worked together to identify strategic priorities that needed to be addressed across the borough, these included the Local Strategic Partnership priorities which were identified as the ‘Town Centre, Jobs and the Economy’.

Over a period of four months, Theme Board Managers, Chairs and Board Members have participated in this work and have managed to significantly scale down both the number of proposals originally submitted and the amount of funding requested.  From a starting point of around fifty proposals, approval of just eight proposals aligned to strategic projects was now being recommended and were set out below:-

·              Physical activity and well being - £80,000

·              Carers’ resource centre - £120,000

·              Town centre project - £727,000

·              Imagination Library - £250,000

·              Safeguarding children and young people - £500,000

The following proposals were also go forward based on them being redesigned in line with appraisal panel comments:-

·              Enforcement and preventative action.    

·              Customer focus and interaction.             

·              Community recognition and involvement.

The panel recommended that the above proposals be reworked into a single, integrated package, with an allocation of £530,000.  It was felt that this would be a more effective approach and could realise savings.  The overall focus should be on tackling perceptions, which was highlighted as the top priority in each of the proposals: “The top priority…was to make a significant difference in changing the perceptions that local people have regarding crime and anti-social behaviour”.

It was recommended that that contracting and programme management be undertaken by the Council’s directorate funding teams, supported by the Policy Team in Chief Executive’s Office and External Funding Team in Financial Services.  The cost of this to be met from the Performance Reward Grant allocation.

The main risks were around being able to effectively complete the next stage of the process, subject to approval involving refining proposals based on comments from the appraisal panel, Cabinet and the Rotherham Partnership Board and contracting with service delivers. This process would be managed by the Rotherham Partnership Team in conjunction with the Chief Executives Office.

Resolved:-  (1)  That £5.965 million Performance Reward Grant available for two years, with a 50/50 revenue/capital split and only 50% of the total available in the first year be noted.

(2)  That the recommendations of the Independent Appraisal Panel as set out below be endorsed:-

·              Physical activity and well being - £80,000

·              Carers’ resource centre - £120,000

·              Town centre project - £727,000

·              Imagination Library - £250,000

·              Safeguarding  ...  view the full minutes text for item 208.

-        Strategic Director of Finance to report.

Councillor Wyatt, Cabinet Member for Resources, introduced a report by the Strategic Director of Finance, which detailed the purpose of the Procurement Strategy to set out how the Council intended to procure its goods, works and services in order to support the Authority’s overall aims and objectives over the life span of the Strategy.  It outlined the Council’s current position and clearly pointed to areas for improvement with a supporting action plan to deliver those areas.  The action would be managed by the Council’s Procurement Panel.

The Strategy was aligned with the Council’s Corporate Commissioning Framework which examined how the Council could strategically pull together all commissioning activity to ensure maximum gain from any efficiencies that may be generated.

The Strategy Action Plan mapped to the nine themes in the Procurement Strategy:-

·              Supporting the Local Economy.

·              Engaging with the Voluntary and Community Sector.

·              Equality and Diversity.

·              Fair Trade and Trade Justice.

·              Environmentally Friendly Procurement.

·              Legal Procurement.

·              E-Procurement.

·              Achieving Value for Money.

·              Building Capacity.

All costs for implementing the Corporate Procurement Strategy were currently being absorbed within existing budgets though if unbudgeted costs arose then funding sources may need to be identified. 

If the actions in the above plan were not met the refreshed Corporate Procurement Strategy may not be fully implemented and embedded across the Council which could impact on the Council’s ability to evidence value for money and Comprehensive Area Assessment scores.

Resolved:-  (2)  That the current position in respect of the action plan be noted.   

(2)  That Strategic Directors ensure “Fair Trade” products are used wherever possible.

-        Strategic Director of Finance to report.

Councillor Wyatt, Cabinet Member for Resources, introduced a report by the Strategic Director of Finance, which proposed changes to the Council’s Local Code of Corporate Governance to bring it up-to-date with the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy’s “Statement on the Role of the Chief Financial Officer in Public Service Organisations”, which was launched in June, 2009.

The changes were focused on the following areas and were set out in detail as part of the report:-

·              Standard 1- Focusing on the purpose of the authority and on outcomes for the community and creating and implementing a vision for the local area

·              Standard 2 - Members and officers working together to achieve a common purpose with clearly defined functions and roles

·              Standard 3 -  Promoting values for the authority and demonstrating the values of good governance through upholding high standards of conduct and behaviour

·              Standard 4 - Taking informed and transparent decisions which are subject to effective scrutiny and managing risk

·              Standard 5 - Developing the capacity and capability of members and officers to be effective

·              Standard 6 - Engaging with local people and other stakeholders to ensure robust public accountability

There were no direct financial implications resulting from the proposed changes to the Local Code of Corporate Governance.

It was important that the Council continued to update its governance arrangements to ensure it applied best practice and minimised any risks associated with out-of-date arrangements.

Keeping up-to-date with emerging best practice would also help the Council to preserve its current Use of Resources score.

Resolved:-  (1)  That the updated Local Code of Corporate Governance be approved.

(2)  That the Code be used to help test the effectiveness of the Council’s governance arrangements, in order to inform the production of the Annual Governance Statement.

-        Strategic Director of Finance to report.

Councillor Wyatt, Cabinet Member for Resources, introduced a report by the Strategic Director of Finance, which set out how the register showed the risks associated with the Council’s most significant priorities and projects and a summary of the actions being taken to mitigate these risks.

Key risks relating to Children’s Services’ have been restated to refer specifically to the delivery of the Department for Children, Schools and Families improvement plan and to budget pressures relating to the service. Both risks were reduced to amber status following management actions. There were no red residual risks at this time.

The main changes occurring since the previous report were as follows:-

·              The Leisure PFI project and the Community Safety and Equalities priorities have been removed from the corporate risk register because these have now been achieved or substantially completed.

·              The ‘current’ risk rating (i.e. before mitigating actions) for the Single Status and Job Evaluation priority (reference 15) had been reduced from Red to Amber, as a result of the substantial completion of this programme.

·              The ‘current’ risk rating associated with the re-tendering of the repairs and maintenance contract (reference 46), currently provided by the 2010 Rotherham Ltd In-House Service Provider, has been increased from Amber to Red in view of the critical stage this process had reached. The risk remained amber after mitigating actions.

·              Various Children and Young People Services’ (CYPS) risks (implementation of the Children’s Act, school attainment, foster caring and safeguarding Children) have been replaced, where relevant, by two new entries relating to the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) improvement plan implementation and CYPS’ budget and resourcing issues (references 58 and 59).

·              As expected, implementation of the DCSF improvement plan (reference 58) was regarded as a ‘red’ current risk in view of the critical implications of any failure to deliver the plan. The post-management risk rating was regarded as amber, indicating that the risk was being effectively mitigated.

·              The ‘current’ risk assessment relating to the CYPS’ budget and resources pressures (reference 59) was also regarded as red. This risk was also reduced to amber by management actions including additional budget provision for 2010/11 and actions to improve the effective use of available resources.

The risks contained in the register required ongoing management action. In some cases additional resources may be necessary to implement the relevant actions or mitigate risks. Any additional costs associated with the risks should be reported to the Strategic Leadership Team and Members for consideration on a case by case basis. 

It was important to review the effectiveness of the approach to capturing, managing and reporting corporate risks on an ongoing basis, to ensure risks relating to the Council’s key projects and priorities were effectively monitored and managed by the Strategic Leadership Team and Members.

Resolved:-  That the updated corporate risk register summary be noted.

-        Chief Executive to report.

Councillor Austen, Chairman of the Democratic Renewal Scrutiny Panel introduced a report by the Chief Executive, which advised of progress made to date by the working group of the Democratic Renewal Scrutiny Panel (designated the ‘Crime and Disorder Committee’) to develop and introduce a detailed Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership Scrutiny protocol agreeing mutual roles, and practical arrangements for scrutiny.

Cabinet were being asked to note the contents before it was circulated to members of the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership for consideration and endorsement.

There were no financial implications directly arising from this report. Actions arising from Councillor Call for Action or from scrutiny recommendations in relation to scrutiny of Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships, however, may have financial implications should they be enacted.

There were a number of risks and uncertainties which included:-

·              Failure to secure agreement on protocols from partner agencies.

·              Possible impact of scrutiny on partnership arrangements.

·              Whether current resources would be sufficient to resolve issues particularly if there was a demand for Councillor Call for Action.

Resolved:-  That the contents of the protocol and the progress to date be endorsed.

The following items are likely to be considered in the absence of the press and public as being exempt under Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended March 2006) (information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular individual (including the Council)):-

Resolved, that under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act (information relates to finance and business matters).

-        Strategic Director of Finance to report.

Councillor Wyatt, Cabinet Member for Resources, introduced a report by the Strategic Director of Finance, which outlined a proposal to enter into a shared service agreement with Doncaster Council, which would involve Rotherham’s Director of Audit and Governance directing Doncaster Council’s Internal Audit Service.

The legal and financial information and risks and uncertainties associated with this arrangement were set out in detail as part of the report.

Resolved:-  (1)  That the proposal to provide internal audit management for Doncaster Council be supported.

(2)  That the proposal be approved, subject to the satisfactory conclusion of negotiations over the scope of the service to be delivered, the fee for the service and associated HR matters. 

-        Chief Executive to report.

The Leader introduced a report which outlined the progress of Rotherham News. In particular, it put forward a number of developments in line with recent readership research and a new funding model based on partnership contributions to be used in procuring a new contract from September, 2010 onwards.

The legal and financial information and risks and uncertainties associated with this arrangement were set out in detail as part of the report.

Cabinet Members welcomed the use of this Partnership project to inform members of the public of the high quality of public services in Rotherham.

Support was given to revising the publication to reflect the views of readers.

Resolved:-  (1)  That the position be noted.

(2)  That the outcomes of the recent readership research be used to inform the future format, frequency, style and content of the publication through a formal procurement process to begin in April/May, 2010.

(3) That the proposed new funding model with agreed contributions from Local Strategic Partnership agencies in return for specific editorial/advertising packages be supported.

(4)  That the issues be considered by the Local Strategic Partnership Board on 25th March, 2010.

(5)  That the use of a community partnership publication as a means of informing and engaging with local communities be supported.