Agenda and minutes

To approve the record of the meeting held on 19 March 2014 and the record of the Joint Meeting of all Committees held on 14 May 2014.

The record of the meeting of the Committee held on 19 March 2014 and the record of the Joint Meeting of all Committees held on 14 May 2014 were agreed and signed by the Chairman as correct. 

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Murray.

The Chairman will announce any late items which do not appear on the main agenda but which he has agreed should be considered by reason of special circumstances to be specified in the report.

There were no urgent matters by reason of special circumstances.

(A)              Disclosable pecuniary interests and other interests

A member need only disclose at any meeting the existence of a disclosable pecuniary interest (DPI) in a matter to be considered at that meeting if that DPI has not been entered on the disclosable pecuniary interests register maintained by the Monitoring Officer.

A member disclosing a DPI at a meeting must thereafter notify the Monitoring Officer in writing of that interest within 28 days from the date of disclosure at the meeting.

A member may not participate in a discussion of or vote on any matter in which he or she has a DPI (both those already registered and those disclosed at the meeting) and must withdraw from the room during such discussion/vote.

Members may choose to voluntarily disclose a DPI at a meeting even if it is registered on the council’s register of disclosable pecuniary interests but there is no legal requirement to do so.

Members should also ensure they disclose any other interests which may give rise to a conflict under the council’s code of conduct.

In line with the training provided to members by the Monitoring Officer members will also need to consider bias and pre-determination in certain circumstances and whether they have a conflict of interest or should otherwise leave the room for Code reasons.

(B)            Whipping

The Council’s constitution also requires any Member of the Committee who is subject to a party whip (ie agreeing to vote in line with the majority view of a private party group meeting) to declare the existence of the whip.

Disclosable pecuniary interests

There were none.

Other interests

There were none.

Councillor Irvine has taken the Monitoring Officer’s advice as he had been a respondent to the consultation of Hot Food Takeaways in Medway: A Guidance Note and had been advised that it was not necessary for his to declare an interest. 

The report outlines the process and results of the consultation carried out on the draft proposal for a planning guidance note on Hot Food Takeaways in Medway.  

Discussion:

The Chairman welcomed Therese Finn, Planning Policy Officer to the meeting, thanked her for all her hard work on this project and, on behalf of the Committee, wished her well for the future as this was her penultimate day with the Council.

The Committee was advised that the report presented the results of the consultation on the Hot Food Takeaways in Medway Guidance Note and set out who had been consulted, the stakeholders involved in the Consultation, how the consultation was carried out and how it was publicised. The Young Inspectors had gained a very good response to the consultation and had carried out a great deal of work. It was noted that one in ten children in Medway were obese by their first year in school and this was above the national average. By Year 6, 32% of children were obese which was comparable to South East and national statistics. The Committee was also advised that 36% of respondents to the consultation stated they eat takeaway food once a week and 8% eat from hot food takeaways on a daily basis. Over 50% of the respondents agreed that hot food takeaways should have restricted opening hours at school lunchtimes and 51% were supportive of the Council creating a healthy environment. The Committee was reminded that Cabinet would be considering the results of the consultation process at its meeting on 15 July 2014.

Members then raised a number of points and questions including:

·                    The Committee considered the impressive high response to the consultation as a result of the work of the Young Inspectors and thanked them for their efforts.

·                    With reference to recent press coverage of this initiative Members emphasised that the proposed guidance should not be considered in isolation, as it was part of an integrated package of public health interventions. It was noted that whilst the impact of the guidance would only affect future applications for new takeaways it sent a clear message of Medway’s commitment to promoting improved health. It was also hoped the new guidance would have an impact in reducing the number of take away applications approved on appeal as the Council would now be able to demonstrate a clear policy position on the matter.

·                    The Committee discussed the clustering of takeaways in many high streets across Medway. Members requested a briefing note on “Saved” Policy R18 and the extent to which this has been used previously to minimise the clustering or proliferation and operating hours of takeaways as it appeared to Members this had been a missed opportunity. The view was expressed that application of “Saved” Policy R18 may have more immediate impact in reducing clustering and controlling operating hours than the proposed new guidance note.

·                    In response to a question about the proposed meeting with the Federation of Small Business (FSB), Councillors were advised that whilst a date for the meeting had been set, unfortunately no members of the Federation of Small Businesses had been available to attend. However the FSB had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 114.

This report reviews the first trading year of Medway Norse and the plans for its second year of trading. 

Discussion:

The Chairman advised that the Head of Category Management, Genette Laws, had recently left the Council and, on behalf of the Committee, also thanked her for her work and success in the category management field.

The Assistant Director Legal and Corporate Services introduced Dean Wetteland – Acting Managing Director of Norse and Nick Anthony – Strategic Property and Energy Manager to the Committee. He introduced the report highlighting in particular the one year anniversary of the launch of the Joint Venture with Norse for Facilities Management, the success of partnership working, the savings achieved and the delivery of continuity with resolution of initial teething problems. He acknowledged that whilst the joint venture had made considerable savings the business growth had been slower than hoped for. In terms of added value it was highlighted that Medway Norse now has 397 employees, 95% of whom are Medway residents and that the number of apprenticeships created by Medway Norse within the first nine months had exceeded the original target and created employment opportunities for care leavers and people with learning difficulties. A customer satisfaction survey would be carried out at the end of the year and all in all it could be considered a successful first year.

Members raised a number of points and questions including:

·                    A suggestion that Medway Norse consider taking over the management of Medway’s care homes, as they had been successful in this venture in Norfolk. It was noted that Norse managed 26 care homes in Norfolk and would be happy to consider bidding for appropriate contracts in Medway.

·                    A question was raised on how long there would be an “Acting” Managing Director of Medway Norse. It was explained that the Operations Director would take on the role of Managing Director once sufficiently experienced in the Medway Norse way of working.

·                    Medway Norse minibuses undertook certain school runs and it was asked what the buses were used for during school hours. The Committee was advised that the minibuses worked under permit so had limited use but a new license was being investigated.

·                    The inclusion of information regarding Medway Norse in Medway Matters was suggested, as was the scope for increasing the visibility of the Medway Norse branding in the Medway area. The high level of visibility of Norse branding in Norfolk was cited as an example.

·                    The expansion of Medway Norse was slower than some Councillors would have liked. However, it was acknowledged that the economic climate was considered be a contributory factor as was the fact that Medway Norse had taken on new work in cleaning, maintenance and catering all of which had previously been delivered by external contractors with considerable savings being achieved as a consequence.

·                    It was suggested that further savings might be achieved if Medway Norse could become the first point of contact for Councillors in relation to expenditure of Ward Improvement Funds on small contracts. The provision of Christmas lighting in high streets was cited as an example where works had historically been  ...  view the full minutes text for item 115.

The purpose of the report is to review the Council’s Procurement Strategy. 

Discussion:

The Chairman welcomed Dean Coulls – Acting Head of Category Management to the meeting.

The Acting Head of Category Management presented the report which provided a six month review of the Council’s Procurement Strategy. The Strategy used procurement to enable the local economy and the Committee’s attention was drawn to the increase in the number of apprenticeships generated with third party Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and in the Council itself. The Strategy has also enabled a reduction in bureaucracy, an increase in the use of e-tendering and 82% of suppliers had responded positively to the changes. There were still some challenges to be met and it was felt that consultation was the key to continuing to meet objectives.

Members raised a number of points and questions including:

·                    Paragraph 3.11 of the report referred to the introduction of an e-procurement system and the Assistant Director Legal and Corporate Services highlighted the success of an e-contract for Chlamydia screening, the costs of which had been reduced by 67%. He thanked the Procurement Team for all their hard work on this contract. The Committee noted that the NHS did not obtain procurement services from Medway but it was intended to try and promote the Council’s procurement service to public sector partners highlighting, as a selling point, the successes in reducing the cost of other health-based contracts and Medway’s superior service.

·                    The Committee’s attention was drawn to paragraph 3.8 of the report which contained an excellent endorsement of Medway’s procurement service from Tudor Price – Business Development Manager of Kent Chambers of Commerce.

·                    Members asked to be involved in future engagement with the Federation of Small Businesses, the Chamber of Commerce and other local business groups.

·                    It was noted that the assessment of Measure of Success – The Council will reduce the average timescale of procurements from 140 days to 50 days – had been delayed and officers would ensure that the objective of reporting progress on the first anniversary of the Strategy, would be achieved. The Acting Head of Category Management advised that a planned Governance Review and changes to EU legislation should allow more flexibility which would be incorporated into this review.

·                    Measure of Success - the reduction by 25% of the number of invoices with a transaction value of less than £500 with the introduction of purchasing cards (p-cards) – Concern was expressed about the perceived difficulties in the financial control of the use of purchasing cards and many examples of misuse in the civil and public services had been reported in the media. The Assistant Director Legal and Corporate Services explained that the Council’s Chief Finance Officer had similar concerns and some initial scoping work was being carried out including looking at alternatives. However, the Council’s spend to third parties might be properly controlled if the process of the use of p-cards was correctly introduced and monitored. The Council struggled with small spends which add up to millions of pounds and they were more difficult to keep track  ...  view the full minutes text for item 116.

The report provides an update on discussions with the Gambling Commission and the attempts to start a Medway Responsible Gambling Partnership. 

Discussion:

The Chairman commented on Councillor Maple’s appearance on BBC South East on Monday evening in relation to this subject.

The Assistant Director Legal and Corporate Services introduced the report with particular reference to discussions with the Gambling Commission and the attempts to start a Medway Responsible Gambling Partnership. He drew the Committee’s attention to media coverage on this subject and the fact that the Council was very keen to get all interested parties to the table. To this end a meeting had been arranged to take place with representatives of the local trade on 23 July 2014.

The Chairman advised the Committee that Councillor Hicks, Councillor Juby and Councillor Maple continued to work together on this issue and that he was encouraged by the continued cross-party working.

Members then raised a number of points and questions including:

·                    It was felt that the Association of British Bookmakers had misrepresented the work done by the Council as it had tried to work with the industry. Councillor Maple agreed to supply two examples of work carried out by the Glasgow City Council Scrutiny Task Group and the Liverpool public health team to the Committee.

·                    It was noted during the visits to bookmaker’s premises that most employees heartily disliked the gambling machines. Many of these businesses only employed one member of staff after 5pm so it would be impossible for the lone member of staff to leave the cash till to promote “self exclusion”. The Council’s unannounced visits had such a positive effect that it was understood it was understood William Hill had agreed to close their premises at an earlier hour and Coral was revisiting their lone working policy.

·                    The Assistant Director Legal and Corporate Services advised that it was hoped to capture all elements such as lone working and the statistics the trade are working towards at the meeting on 23 July 2014. 

Decisions:

The Committee:

(a)       noted the report.

(b)            welcomed the meeting to be held on 23 July 2014 and wished those involved the every success.

(c)            thanked Councillor Hicks, Juby and Councillor Maple for all their hard work on this initiative.

The Committee is advised of the petitions within its remit presented at Council meetings, received by the Council or sent via the e-petition facility, including a summary of officer’s response to the petitioners. 

Discussion:

The Committee noted that one petition relevant to the work of the Committee had been received by the Council on 16 May 2014 expressing dismay at the increase in rent payments for 2014/15 at Longford Court, Rainham and requesting an explanation for the increases. A summary of the response from the Council was set out within the report and the Committee noted that the petitioner had not requested that the petition be referred to this Committee.

Decision:

The report be noted.

This item advises Members of the current work programme and allows the Committee to adjust it in the light of latest priorities, issues and circumstances. It gives Members the opportunity to shape and direct the Committee’s activities over the year. 

Discussion:

The Democratic Services Officer introduced the report advising the Committee of the current work programme which allowed them to adjust it in light of the latest priorities, issues and circumstances.

The agenda planning meeting had been held on 12 June 2014 and the following change had been agreed:

Growing Places Fund – Paying Back the Funding (Chatham and Rochester) – this item to be removed from the work programme as a stand-alone item. The information requested would be included in the report on the Capital Budget 2013/14 Monitoring – Report 1.

Decisions:

The Committee:

(a)               noted the report and the items identified for inclusion in the work programme;

(b)               agreed the changes to the work programme as set out in paragraph 3.2.1: and

(c)               noted the work programmes of all overview and scrutiny committees (set out in Appendix 2 of the report).