Agenda and minutes

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Contact: Emily Wilcox  Democratic Services Officer

Media

Items
No. Item

121.

Apologies for Absence/Replacement Members

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received by Councillor Mrs W Bowkett, Councillor C E H Marfleet and Reverend Phillip Johnson (Church Representative).

 

It was reported that, under Regulation 13 of the Local Government (Committee and Political Groups) Regulation 1990, Councillor C R Oxby had been appointed as a representative for Councillor Mrs W Bowkett, for this meeting only.

 

 

122.

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

 

123.

Minutes of the meeting held on 30 April 2020 pdf icon PDF 258 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED:

 

          That minutes of the meeting held on 30 April 2020 be approved as a             correct record and signed by the Chairman. 

 

124.

Announcements by the Chairman, Executive Councillor for Resources and Communications and Chief Officers

Minutes:

The Vice Chairman, Councillor Ray Wootten had attended the meeting of the Executive on the 5 May 2020 and presented the comments from the Board on the Draft Corporate Plan Success Framework 2020-2023 and the Post 16 Transport Policy Statement 2020-2021. The Chairman thanked The Vice-Chairman for stepping in and chairing the last meeting of the Board and attending the Executive on his behalf.

 

The Chairman announced that the former Parent Governor Representative, Mrs Patricia Barnett's term of office had ended on 4 March 2020. The Chairman was pleased to confirm that Mrs Megan Machin, Parent Governor at Potterhanworth Church of England Primary School had been elected as the Board's new Parent Governor Representative.

 

The Leader of the Council advised Members that although there continued to be challenges linked to the coronavirus pandemic, fortunately Lincolnshire had one of the lowest infection rates across the country. The latest Government announcement had been the introduction of the track and trace system, of which there would be local political involvement in making decisions regarding local lockdowns.

 

The Leader of the Council thanked Lincolnshire County Council staff for their efforts during challenging times to ensure that all vital services had continued to operate as normal. There had been lessons learned from the coronavirus pandemic which would inform new ways of working for the Council in future.

 

The Executive Councillor for Community Safety and People Management echoed the comments made by the Leader of the Council and thanked the council staff for their hard work during the pandemic.

 

The Chief Executive announced that the Council had received £10m of funding to support the care home sector in managing the control and prevention of the virus.  The Council would also receive part of the £300m funding that had been set aside nationally to help support the track and trace system. It was not yet known what proportion of this funding Lincolnshire would receive.

 

With regards the introduction of the track and trace system, the Council would have responsibilities to manage local outbreaks through a politically led local outbreak board. The board would analyse the local infection rate and ensure that further action was taken to contain the spread of the virus if it was necessary. It was expected that further guidance would be provided on this in due course.

 

 

125.

Consideration of Call-Ins

Minutes:

None had been received.

 

 

 

126.

Consideration of Councillor Calls for Action

Minutes:

None had been received.

 

127.

2019 Employee Survey pdf icon PDF 477 KB

(To receive a report from Lucy Shevill, Strategic HR Business Partner, which invites the Board to consider the results of the 2019 Employee Survey)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report by the Strategic HR Business Partner, which provided an update on the results of the 2019 employee survey.

 

Members were informed that 48% of the workforce had completed the survey. The Strategic HR Business Partner provided a summary of the responses received to the survey, which were set out at Appendix A to the report. 

 

Members considered the report and during the discussion the following points were noted:

 

·       Members raised concerns that some employees did not feel that their contributions were recognised and valued by their senior managers. The Chief Executive explained that the vast majority of employees were happy and felt supported by their colleagues and manager, but felt it was the role of managers to set the conditions for their staff to thrive and staff felt supported with their work and their wellbeing.

·       It was noted that all members of staff had a yearly appraisal with their line manager in which they discussed their career development, objectives and highlighted any additional support that they may need. Most staff also took part in monthly supervisions, but these were not consistently implemented. There was a need for regular supervisions/ work sessions  to be implemented across the  Council to ensure staff were supported and provided with clear guidance . 

·       A leadership programme for managers was being refreshed and implemented to enhance the programme and enable senior managers to support other managers to develop.

·       Other areas of development included enhancing apprenticeship opportunities for staff as well as investing in the mental health and resilience of staff. 

·       Officers had addressed all issues of concern with the relevant Executive Directors who would consider these within their management teams.

·       The completion figures for Fire and Rescue employees could be misleading as there were some people with two contracts with the Council due to being employed by the Council on a full time basis as well as being employed as an on-call Fire Fighter as a separate role. 

·       In response to concerns raised regarding the percentage of employees that were skipping breaks or not taking regular breaks, the Chief Executive confirmed that the Corporate Leadership Team had discussed this issue and whilst they recognised the importance of taking breaks at work, they had concluded that staff should be empowered to take breaks when they need it rather than a central dictate being delivered  It was important to treat staff as adults and empower staff to feel in control of their work demands. The Corporate Leadership Team would also encourage flexible working to improve health and wellbeing and a positive work-life balance as well as being good role models . 

·       Officers had not considered a prize draw system to encourage employees to fill in the survey, but they would consider this in future if felt this wold be helpful . Members were advised that there was a competition element between management directorates which often acted as an incentive to complete the survey.

·       Members were encouraged by the fact that over 80%  ...  view the full minutes text for item 127.

128.

Overview and Scrutiny Management Board Work Programme pdf icon PDF 390 KB

(To receive a report which enables the Board to note the content of its work programme for the coming year. This item is for information only)

 

Minutes:

Members were advised that this item was for information only.

 

129.

Corporate Support Services Extension pdf icon PDF 301 KB

(To receive a report from Sophie Reeve, Assistant Director – Commercial, which invites the Board to consider a report on the review that has been undertaken to consider possible alternative commissioning approaches to the existing Serco contract, which is due to be considered by the Executive on the 2 June 2020.

 

Please note: Appendix One to Appendix A has not been circulated to the press and public on the grounds that it is considered to contain exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended.  The press and public may be excluded from the meeting if the Board wish to discuss any of the information included within this appendix)

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report by the Assistant Director – Commercial, which invited the Board to consider a report on the review that had been undertaken to consider possible alternative commissioning approaches to the existing Serco contract, which was due to be considered by the Executive on the 2 June 2020.

 

Members were informed that there was a further option to extend the Council's corporate support services contract with Serco for a further two years up until the 31 March 2024, which must be exercised by June 2020.

 

A review had been undertaken to consider possible alternative commissioning approaches to the existing Serco contract, as well as an extension of the Serco contract proposal along with a consideration of the market, Serco's performance, value for money and the Council's future commissioning intentions.

 

Having reviewed the options available, it was recommended that the Council extend their Corporate Support Services contract with Serco until 31 March 2024 for the reasons set out within the report.

 

Members considered the report and during the discussion the following points were noted:

 

·         The improved performance of Serco over the past 18 months had provided reassurance that the contract with Serco could be extended for a further two years to 31 March 2024. In addition, Serco had provided a lot of support and worked in partnership with the Council during the COVID-19 pandemic.

·         It had been planned to remove all obsolete IMT equipment from the estate by 1 April 2020, but this had not been achieved within the agreed timeline. Under the extended contract, Serco would release the Council from its obligation to remove obsolete equipment which would have resulted in an increase in costs to the Council to reflect the additional work caused by obsolescence. Obsolete equipment would need to be addressed over the next 12 months as the current situation had gone on for too long, and the Council could not go out to the market with obsolete equipment as it would lead to increased costs for the Council.

·         The current Lagan Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system which supported the Customer Service Centre (CSC) was outdated and needed upgrading or replacing. Serco had offered to upgrade to a later version of Lagan at its own cost which would give an updated CRM system to improve delivery for customers. An analysis would be undertaken over the next couple of months to ensure it was the right technical solution and that there would be no unintended technology implications for the Council arising from the proposal.

·         The extension of the contract would enable some savings and cost avoidance amounting to approximately £5M over the next four years. The budgets for the additional two years to the contract in 2022/23 and 2023/24 had not yet been approved by the Council but would be set in the future based on the savings identified and current contract volumes. Complete assurance could not be provided as to the sufficiency of the budget, as the budget would be based on predicted volumes  ...  view the full minutes text for item 129.

 

 
 
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