Apologies for absence were received from Councillor P Brightmore.

Members are reminded of their responsibility to declare any disclosable pecuniary or non-pecuniary interest which they have in any item of business on the agenda no later than when the item is reached.

Members are reminded that they should also declare whether they are subject to a party whip in connection with any item(s) to be considered at this meeting and, if so, to declare it and state the nature of the whipping arrangement.

No declarations of interest were received.

To approve the accuracy of the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 15 January 2014 and the Minutes of the Special meetings of the Committee held on 1 April 2014.  (Attached)

RESOLVED:

That the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 1 April 2014 be confirmed as a correct record.

Report of the Chief Executive.

A report by the Chief Executive updated the Committee on progress in respect of the Future Council Project and provided an opportunity for Members to engage with and influence the emerging options which were being developed in order to transform the Council and achieve the savings required.

The Committee noted that the emerging options would be further developed and then published by the Chief Executive, as Officer’s budget options, for full public, staff and service user consultation in September 2014.

Appended to the Chief Executive’s report for Members’ information were details of:

·  Enabling Services (Appendix 1)

·  Community and Neighbourhood Services (Appendix 2)

·  Specialist and Targeted Services (Appendix 3)

The Strategic Director – Transformation and Resources was in attendance at the meeting and made a presentation on the Future Council Project with the assistance of the Marketing and Engagement Manager.  They set the context by reminding Members of the major financial challenges that lay ahead and informing of the systematic, equitable, detailed review of all 81 Council Services, the information gathered to inform restructures and develop options to make savings and the whole Council approach that was linked to outcomes.

In terms of finance Members noted that:

·  Significant savings (£57million) already agreed with phased impact during 2014-2017.

·  A minimum of £45 million of new savings were required over the next two years to 2017.

·  Current projections indicated a further £25 million in savings were required in 2018.

·  Savings so far had been broadly equal across service areas on a pro-rata basis.

The Strategic Director made reference to the Corporate Plan and the three key priorities that the Council’s budget would be set around:

1.  Tackle health inequalities, poverty and disadvantage – narrow the gap between our richest and poorest communities

2.  Protect the vulnerable, making sure people are safe and feel safe – and can remain independent as long as possible

3.  Driving economic growth – investing in Wirral’s future

The Strategic Director set out the budget principles, the future direction of Council Services, the Council’s options and key project milestones. He then invited Members to consider their responses to the following questions:

·  What are Members’ views of the principles for the future direction of services, and the emerging budget options?

·  Is anything missing? Are there key outcomes and areas of need that are not being addressed?

·  Should anything be removed? Are there areas of Council activity that are not delivering valuable outcomes, or being delivered more effectively elsewhere?

·  Members will see full budget options in September. Would the Committee prefer to consider these options via formal meetings or in workshop sessions?

·  Would the committee like to invite other organisations or people to the detailed session to offer additional expertise?

The Chair informed the Committee that she considered the Future Council Project to be an important piece of work that required detailed scrutiny.  It would completely redesign the Council ensuring it was able to achieve the outcomes residents needed with the resources available to it.  The Chair asked Members to consider  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Report of the Director of Transformation and Resources.

A report by the Strategic Director – Transformation and Resources informed of the Briefing Pack for Members of the Committee for the new Municipal Year.  The Pack was intended to ensure continuity as the Committee moved forward into the new year and highlighted some of the key policy drivers.  It was also intended to provide new Committee Members with an understanding of the role of the Committee and the Scrutiny Function. 

Briefing Packs had been produced at the beginning of the last municipal year for each of the four Policy and Performance Committee and had been well received by Members. 

Appended to the Strategic Director’s report was a copy of the Briefing Pack.  It set out the responsibilities of the Committee, outstanding Work Programme items from the previous year and the key policy drivers going forward.  Members noted that it was the intention for policy updates to be provided throughout the year at Committee meetings.

RESOLVED:

That the content of the Briefing Pack be noted.

Report of the Director of Public Health and Head of Policy and Performance.

A report by the Director of Public Health and Head of Policy and Performance served to update the Committee on the current performance of the Council against the delivery of the Corporate Plan (as at 31 March 2014).  The report translated the priorities set out in the Corporate Plan into a coherent and measurable set of performance outcome measures and targets. Members were requested to consider the details of the report and highlight any issues.

The Strategic Director – Transformation and Resources informed the Committee that the Council’s Corporate Plan outlined its business planning processes that ensured its vision, priorities and resource allocation were based on sound evidence and an understanding of the communities’ needs.  The Council’s ‘gold thread’ approach would ensure that all its activities were suitably aligned to the achievement of its stated priorities and outcomes.

As part of the development of the Corporate Plan, a set of SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time related) outcome measures had been developed.  The Council’s Senior Management Team had determined the outcome indicators contained within the report and signed off the following parameters which underpinned its on-going performance management:

·  2013/14 Plan

·  2013/14 Plan trajectory

·  2013/14 Performance tolerance levels (determine RAG [Red, Amber, Green] status

·  Head of Service responsible for delivery of target

The Committee noted that monthly Corporate Plan Performance Reports were produced and made available to support corporate challenge via:

·  Monthly DMTs

·  Monthly Portfolio Lead briefings

·  Quarterly Audit, Risk, Governance and Performance meetings

·  Quarterly Policy and Performance Committees

Attached to the Director’s report at Appendix 1 was the Corporate Plan Performance Report that set out performance against 29 outcome measures.  Of these there were five measures where the outcome metric was under design or due to report at the end of the year.  A commentary was provided against these.

The Committee also noted that of the 24 measures that were RAG rated, 19 were rated green, one was rated amber and four were rated red.  The four measures rated red had action plans (appended to the report as Appendix 2, 3, 4 and 5) which referred to:

·  Permanent admissions of older people (aged 65 and over) to residential and nursing care homes, per 100,000 population

·  Apprenticeships supported (Wirral Apprentice Programme)

·  % Adult care packages supported by direct debit

·  Smoking quitters (4 weeks)

The Chair informed that in order to obtain a better understanding of the four areas that were under performing, Officers under whose remits they fell had been invited to the meeting to explain the circumstances behind them.  Unfortunately, it was noted that no one was able to attend in respect of permanent admissions of older people to residential and nursing care homes

The Work Related Learning Co-ordinator was in attendance at the meeting to report on the Wirral Apprentice Programme and informed that the authorisation notice from Knowsley MBC, who administered Liverpool City Region grant, required as match funding, had been received late.  The 14 places that had not been filled last year had been rolled  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Report of the Chair of the Co-ordinating Committee.

A report by the Chair of the Committee set out a proposed approach for developing the Scrutiny Work Programme for 2014/15.  It included a summary of the work undertaken during 2013/14 and listed those items outstanding so Members could decide whether they should remain on the Work Programme going forward.  Members were asked to have regard for some flexibility in the Work Programme, particularly in terms of scrutinising the options arising from the Future Council Programme in September.

The Committee noted that in line with the Council’s Constitution, it was responsible for determining the Scrutiny Work Programme across all four Policy and Performance Committees.  The Work Programme should align with the corporate priorities of the Council and should be informed by:

·  Service Performance information

·  Risk management information

·  Service priorities including any planned service changes

·  Public or service user feedback

·  Referrals from the Executive

The Committee also noted that in determining items for the Scrutiny Work Programme, good practice recommended the following criteria should be applied:

·  Public Interest – topics should resonate with the local community

·  Impact – there should be clear objectives and outcomes that make the work worthwhile

·  Council Performance – the focus should be on improving performance

·  Keeping in Context – should ensure best use of time and resources

Appended to the report for Members’ information was:

·  The 2013/14 Work Programme (Appendix 1).

·  The 2013/14 Policy and Performance Families and Wellbeing Committee’s Work Programme (Appendix 2).

·  The 2013/14 Policy and Performance Transformation and Resources Committee’s Work Programme (Appendix 3).

·  The 2013/14 Policy and Performance Regeneration and Environment Committee’s Work Programme (Appendix 4).

In line with feedback from the 2013/14 Municipal Year, it was proposed that each Committee established a Working Group to review items carried forward from last year and consider new items for the Work Programme for 2014/15.  Each Working Group should propose a list of topics with a clear order of priority, in order that capacity could effectively be apportioned and managed across the whole Scrutiny Programme.

Proposals would be reviewed by the Committee at its meeting in September to ensure the overall Scrutiny Programme was appropriately balanced, avoided duplication and fulfilled the criteria set out above.

The Chair also proposed that a meeting of Policy and Performance Committee Chairs, Vice-Chairs and Spokespersons or their nominees be convened to reprioritise the Work Programme.  She asked Members to consider if the Committee was a driver or a reflector.  If it was a driver she considered that the Committee should meet at the beginning of each Committee cycle but if it was a reflector it should meet at the end.

A Member made reference to the extremely heavy work load of the Policy and Performance – Families and Wellbeing Committee and that because some Members were not available during the day time, it fell to those who were available to carry a lot of the burden.  The Chair considered that the possibilities of meeting in the evening should be discussed at the meeting to be convened for Chairs,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.