Meeting documents

Apologies were received from David Martin.

To disclose any Personal or Disclosable Pecuniary Interests

There were no declarations of interest.

To agree the Minutes of the Meeting held on 14 July 2015

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 14 July 2015 were agreed as a correct record.

Public Questions is an opportunity for people who live, work or study in the county to put a question to a Scrutiny Committee about any issue that has an impact on their local community or the county as a whole.

Members of public, who have given prior notice, will be invited to put their question in person.

The Cabinet Member and responsible officers will then be invited to respond. 

Further information and details on how to register can be found through the following link:-

http://www.buckscc.gov.uk/about-your-council/scrutiny/get-involved/

There were no public questions.

For the Chairman of the Committee to provide an update to the Committee on recent scrutiny related activity.

Members are asked to agree the scoping paper for budget scrutiny

Members agreed the scoping paper for the budget scrutiny inquiry which was due to take place on 19-21 January 2016.

A Special meeting was being held on 13 October 2015 to agree the Rent in Advance Inquiry, which was being submitted to Cabinet on 10 November 2015.

This report is an information item and is intended to provide an update on the rollout of high speed broadband across the county.  It has been provided to highlight progress, outline future activity and demonstrate Council efforts beyond direct investment, with the collective intention of maximising superfast broadband coverage in Buckinghamshire. 

Attendees

John Chilver – Cabinet Member for Resources

Chris Rawson – Broadband Manager, Bucks Business First

John Chilver, Cabinet Member for Resources and Christopher Rawson, Special Projects Manager attended for the meeting. The report was an information item on the rollout of high speed broadband across the County.

During the presentation the following points were noted:-

·         Ubiquitous availability of next generation broadband infrastructure and access to superfast and reliable speeds remain a local and national priority.

·         In partnership with Central Government, Local Authorities are spearheading delivery at a county level through supplier contracts, ‘match’ funding and other supporting activities. In Buckinghamshire the conduit for much of this is the Connected Counties Project, which is a partnership with Local Authorities, Government (through Broadband Delivery UK), Hertfordshire, Local Enterprise Partnerships and BT, with the intention of extending fibre broadband coverage to 90% of homes and businesses by March 2016.

·         The Project was 80% complete and on target to be completed by the end of March. The next steps include extended coverage through an agreed Superfast Extension Programme from BT, in partnership with three District Councils, LEP and Government through a procurement process. One of the local requirements is to ring fence money geographically for each DC to provide a solution for long term issues and challenges.

·         Monthly take-up data has confirmed that this has now increased to 23%, which places this project in a strong position nationally against peers. Work was being undertaken to improve take-up further as this funding would be reinvested in extending superfast broadband even further with a clawback mechanism for any underspent capital monies.

·         Quarter 2 will be the first BT invoice that would require the use of local funds as to date Government funding has been paid to BT. A total of £3.7m of local funds are available, with £2m contributed by the Council and £1.7m from the LEP.

·         The Council are waiting to hear about universal service commitment and the anticipated voucher scheme to help homes and businesses that cannot access download speeds of at least 2 Mbps. There were two trials in West Yorkshire and Suffolk using Fixed Wireless Access technology. AVDC are undertaking a Broadband pilot (Aylesbury Vale broadband) and Gigaclear are building fibre networks on the western edge of the Vale. In relation to the tri county debate officers would look at driving efficiencies through economies of scale.

During questions the following points were noted:-

·         Reference was made to the fact that Connected Counties had upgraded some boxes but not others and how gaps and not spots were addressed in built up areas and the roll out of infrastructure to small villages. The roll out of Openreach was driven by the Chief Engineer Model, which would look at the rationale and conditions for network upgrades. Each individual cabinet has its own business case and the modelling process determines this based on a number of factors. Fairford Leys has been a problem with not spots and adequate infrastructure; some areas would have between 10/20 lines others up to 600 lines.  The business case would look at the amount of revenue  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To provide an update on the strategic review of the Contract Management Framework and Contract Management Application and invite comment on the initial findings, recommendations and next steps.

Attendees

John Chilver Cabinet Member for Resources

Michelle Granat Head of Innovation and Commercial Services

Tony Fisher PA Consulting Group

Michelle Granat, Head of Innovation and Commercial Services and Tony Fish attended the meeting to provide an update on the strategic review of the Contract Management Framework and Contract Management Application.

In their presentation they reported that the Council had introduced the concept of Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) to improve the skills and capability of the Council to effectively manage contracts and supplier relationships, which support commissioning and commercial activities. The Council has been unable to recruit a SRM Lead primarily due to the niche nature of the role. The Council have historically employed interims and for this CMF and CMA refresh, Tony Fish has been contracted until the end of December. It was important that managers and business units have a consistent approach to contract management and supplier relationships. A Contracts Management Application was developed to support the new Contract Management Framework. However, some Business Units are benefitting more than others, which may support the development of a more adaptable and customised solution.

One area that was key was the need to ensure visibility and to allow more opportunity to collaborate across the Council to join up knowledge and build on good practice. The key core components are in place and there needs to be good access to key documentation. It was important to track performance, evidence the benefits and make savings on contracts. In terms of internal governance there was an Advisory Group and contract leads in each Business Unit. Reporting protocols were being developed including a handbook and toolkit. There was also a training programme in place. Actions had been taken as a result of the CMA Internal Audit Risk Management Report. A Project Plan was attached as part of the report on key milestones.

During discussion the following points were noted:-

·         At the last Regulatory and Audit Committee a question was asked about Member involvement in contract and supplier relationships to enable effective knowledge share, support and challenge. Members asked for more information on this area. Members would be engaged in the review. There had been limited involvement so far just involving the Cabinet Member and his Deputy, but all Member’s would be involved shortly. Members suggested that it a session should be set up as soon as possible so that Members can help influence the design and implementation of the process.  The Head of Innovation and Commercial Services reported that work was also being undertaken on the Commissioning Cycle, which Members had been recently involved in which linked into this area of work.

·         A Member emphasised the need for engagement with Members at the pre-commissioning stage. It was not only important for Members to have early warning of contracts but to have information on what level of contract was being discussed e.g platinum and whether it would have significant impact on local communities. In addition to be kept informed at different stages of the commissioning cycle. This may be managed through the CMA system.

·         In relation to this, Members would also find it useful to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

For the Committee to note the report and decide whether they wish to put forward a recommendation to Cabinet

Attendees

Cabinet Member for Resources John Chilver

Richard Ambrose Head of Assurance

Martin Tett, Leader and Richard Ambrose, Head of Assurance attended for this item. A report was circulated relating to the value for money argument for prudential borrowing in relation to highway infrastructure. The Chairman reported that the two recommendations outlined in the report were an either/or option.

Members were having this discussion as interest rates were currently low. The Chairman had asked the Director of Assurance to provide options which were detailed at paragraph 42 to 52 of the report in order to minimise impact on revenue. This item provided an opportunity to discuss the pros and cons of prudential borrowing, particularly for highway infrastructure in public and to decide whether to put forward a recommendation to Cabinet to consider this option further.

During discussion the following points were noted:-

·         The report provided information on other Authorities who had undertaken prudential borrowing for highway infrastructure such as Milton Keynes Council, Blackpool Council and Surrey County Council. The County Council had undertaken prudential borrowing where a good business case has been put forward such as the energy for waste facility. However the Leader had expressed concern about borrowing money for roads because of the long term commitment it imposed on the revenue budget and the lack of return on investment.

·         Members looked at Milton Keynes Council who had used prudential borrowing for highway infrastructure and had invested money on a scheme by scheme basis with a sense check against the current market in terms of benchmarking and value for money for schemes. Members commented that if further funding was obtained through prudential borrowing that this should be put out to competitive tender as recent experience had shown that this process had saved money and more roads could be resurfaced. Reference was made to the example of Surrey County Council who had used bulk buying in order to save money.

·         A Member commented that use of prudential borrowing at low interest rates could provide a boost to the budget. There would also be a reduction in insurance claims and also pothole repairs, some of which had to be repaired again following recent work, which was not an efficient use of funding.

·         Reference was made to paragraph 10 and paragraph 18 of the report which referred to the continuing decline in the highway network and targeted investment would significantly extend the life of the current highway assets and would produce savings.

·         It costs £10million per annum to keep the roads in a steady state without addressing the backlog in maintenance.

·         The Leader responded that he had responsibility across all Services in the Council and the impact of prudential borrowing for highway infrastructure would affect services which were a high priority such as vulnerable children, older people etc. There were already severe pressures on the budget due to increasing demand and the maintenance budget for roads needed to be protected to ensure there was enough funding to repair roads during a bad winter. The Council were looking at an improved asset management approach whilst  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

To update Members of the committee on workforce development activity around Leadership and Project Management activity and put this in the context of our wider learning and development plans.

Attendees

John Chilver Cabinet Member for Resources

Frances Mills Head of People Strategy and Organisational Development

Frances Mills, Head of People Strategy and Organisational Development updated Members on workforce development activity around Leadership and Project Management. Under the Council’s Operating Framework there is a One Council Skills Programme that supports the Council’s ambition to be a commercially minded, customer focussed, digital and agile organisation.

The Council looked at effective commissioning of learning and development in terms of generic skills and Business Unit specific skills which are referred to in their own Learning and Development Plans. Every individual should have a discussion about their skills and learning as part of their Delivering Successful Performance reviews. At the last Leadership Development meeting it was agreed that the scope of the leadership programme should include all Managers.

Prince 2 has been the preferred project management tool but for the past year the Council has been piloting agile project management techniques which enable greater flexibility in terms of changes being made more easily during the life of the project. The Head of Innovation and Commercial Services is undertaking a review of project management with the objective of producing a framework tool. The Council will continue offering Prince 2 and agile management training.

During questions the following points were made:-

·         A Member commented that there were a number of different courses relating to stress and suggested that these courses could be rationalised to reduce costs. Cabinet statistics show that this Council is below the national benchmark in terms of stress.

·         The Head of Innovation referred previously to the difficulties in recruiting a Lead for Supplier Relationship Manager and Members commented that it would be helpful to upskill its own staff as much as possible to allow flexibility in their roles. In addition to look at the market place more closely in terms of offering the right package and support to do this role.

·         Good practice would be encouraged across the organisation such as the Transport, Economy and Environment Business Unit Learning and Development Strategy.

·         With austerity the first thing area that is usually impacted is training. The Head of People Strategy and Organisational Development reported that this had not been impacted as Members and Senior Managers had set aside funding for the Future Shape Programme to include training. This contract would continue until 2017. They were also looking at more e learning and other creative ways for learning and development.

·         Other companies use e-learning packages for learning and development which includes an examination at the end. There are some social care packages where mock assessments are undertaken which may be broadened out to a requirement before they join the organisation.

Frances Mills was thanked for her informative report.

To consider and agree the Finance, Performance and Resources Select Committee Work Programme 2015/16.

Members noted the Work Programme.

Members asked that there be a Broadband Update next year at the March meeting particularly looking at the delivery of the Project and providing value for money and identifying areas of investment.  

The Committee Adviser reported that the report title relating to the voluntary sector infrastructure would be amended slightly.

10 November 2015

13 October (special meeting) and 10 November 2015.

Clare Gray, Committee Adviser was thanked by Members as this was her last meeting of the Select Committee before taking up a new post.

Post-meeting note: These minutes were agreed as a revised correct record by the Chairman on 1 December 2015. These minutes replace the previous version of the minutes agreed as a correct record by the FPR Committee at its meeting on 13 October 2015.