Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors S F Kinch, A G Hagues and Mrs M J Overton MBE.

It was noted that the Chief Executive, having received notice under the Local Government (Committee and Political Groups) Regulations 1990, had appointed Councillor Mrs H N Powell to the Committee in place of Councillor Mrs M J Overton MBE, for this meeting only.

There were no declarations of Members' interests at this point of the proceedings.

RESOLVED

          That the minutes of the meeting of the Value for Money Scrutiny Committee held on 22 November 2016 be agreed and signed for by the Chairman as a correct record.

It was reported that there were no announcements from either the Executive Councillor for Governance and Communications, Commissioning, Finance and Property or senior officers.

(To receive a report from Judith Hetherington Smith (Chief Information and Commissioning Officer) which provides an update of Serco's performance against contractual Key Performance Indicators for October and November 2016.  Performance for December 2016 remained under review at the time the agenda was published)

Consideration was given to a report from the Chief Information and Commissioning Officer which provided an update of Serco's performance against contractual Key Performance Indicators for October and November 2016. 

Judith Hetherington Smith (Chief Information and Commissioning Officer) introduced the report and advised the Committee that the December figures would not be verified until 20 January 2017.  The meeting of the Value for Money Scrutiny Committee was being held earlier than usual which meant that the data for December could not be presented.  It was confirmed, however, that the report to be presented at the meeting arranged for 28 February 2017 would include figures for December 2016 and the January 2017 figures would be provided for the meeting.

It was noted that the KPI performance results for December 2016 would be the first using the new KPI suite, which included 40 individual KPIs, agreed through the KPI Review 2016/17.

Paul Briddock (Partnership Director for Serco) was also in attendance for this item and confirmed that there had been a great effort made throughout December and that Serco looked forward to the verification of the new figures. 

Members were invited to ask questions, during which the following points were noted:-

·       It was reported that, although not yet verified, KPI01 in finance appeared to have performed better in December but it was known whether it would be possible to sustain this in January.  Although performance was thought to be improving and could be better measured against the new indicators, it was noted that Serco envisaged meeting all indicators by April 2017;

·       The Committee again noted that the KPIs would not be met until the contract had been in place for two years and whilst it was acknowledged that improvements had been made in some areas, the overall picture remained a concern;

·       The Customer Services Centre (CSC) remained consistently good and the Adult Social Care area of finance had also helped to improve income collection which had resulted in a strong area of performance.  Problematic areas of finance related to the timing of invoice payments (KPI01) and payroll including the impact on schools and LCC staff including performance contractually.  This was an area which was expected to see real improvement over the next three months;

·       There were ongoing concerns relating to IMT which remained an area of focus for Serco who had commissioned outside help to assist with the issues;

·       Within the contract, Serco were allowed one major system failure before any service credit would be applied.  Should there be a second occurrence, Serco would incur service credits;

·       It was suggested that detailed training, for Councillors, about the award and monitoring of contracts in order to effect change be recommended to the Councillor Development Group;

·       It was clarified that any payroll queries were 'triaged' and prioritised in order of severity;

·       When asked what the consequences would be to the residents of Lincolnshire should there be a serious system failure, it was explained that Agresso, for example, would cause a lot of disruption  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38.

(To receive a report from Claire Machej (Head of Finance (Corporate)) which describes the budget proposals arising from the Provisional Local Government Settlement, announced on 17 December 2016 and the implications for the 'How We Do Our Business' and 'Enablers and Support To Council's Outcomes' Commissioning Strategies)

Consideration was given to a report from the Executive Director of Finance and Community Safety which described the budget proposals arising from the Provision Local Government Settlement announced on 17 December 2016.  The report also included the implications for the Commissioning Strategies within the responsibility of the Value for Money Scrutiny Committee – "How We Do Our Business" and "Enablers and Support to Council's Outcomes".

David Forbes (County Finance Officer) guided the Committee through the report, highlighting the savings within Democratic Services to reflect the Boundary Commission recommendation to reduce the size of the Council from 77 to 70 from May 2017.  Relevant officers were invited to introduce details of their own service areas.

Richard Wills (Executive Director of Environment and Economy) introduced the sections on Information Management and Technology Strategy and Support (paragraph 1.16) and Strategic Communications (paragraph 1.22).

Members were invited to ask questions on this section, during which the following points were noted:-

·       It was acknowledged that the lack of performance by Serco in Information Management and Technology had hampered progress as it had been necessary to extend staffing requirements in order to implement necessary systems.  MOSAIC had taken longer than anticipated to implement but it was noted that this was now working well, however several projects remained outstanding;

·       Vacancies for roles included within the budget plan, within Strategic Communications, would be consolidated and removed from the structure as part of the savings plan.  It was noted that there would be little difference to the current staffing level as the positions referred to had been vacant for some time.  Digital engagement was likely to be developed in the future as this appeared to be the best way to communicate with the public in the current climate;

·       Service credits were used towards the end of the financial year and consideration given whether this was possible from the credit budget;

·       It was explained that £1.9m remained in the capital budget for issues relating to Agresso but that once the system was running as expected, this money would have to be released.

Daryl Pearce (County Officer Public Protection) introduced the section in relation to Business Support (paragraph 1.21) which proposed savings of £1.233m.

Members were invited to ask questions on this section, during which the following points were noted:-

·       Line management had been reduced by 6% which made up some of the savings;

·       £600k of the savings was due to a change in contracts including post, courier, photocopying, etc.  The Committee requested further information on these savings and it was agreed that this would be provided after the meeting;

·       A review was expected to take place in terms of staff allocated to Agresso and requisitioning and also the offer to children's services.  The Committee was asked to note the importance of maintaining the offer to services but to ensure the welfare of staff;

·       Better procurement and more efficient ways of delivering services was the aim of the review and this was partly dependent on interrelations with other service areas;  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.

(To receive a report from Daniel Steel, Scrutiny Officer, which provides the Committee with the opportunity to consider its' work programme for the forthcoming year)

Consideration was given to a report of the Director responsible for Democratic Services which provided the Committee with the opportunity to consider the work programme for the coming year.

It was confirmed that Sophie Reeve (Chief Commercial Officer) would present future reports on the performance of the Corporate Support Services Contract.

RESOLVED

          That the work programme as noted within Appendix A of the report be agreed.