Agenda item

This report sets out activities and progress within the areas covered by the

Portfolio Holder for Resources which fall within the remit of this Committee.

Discussion:

Members received an overview of progress on the areas within the terms of

reference of this Committee covered by Councillor Adrian Gulvin, Portfolio

Holder for Resources, i.e.

·         Transformation

·         Council Plan/Performance and Service Improvement

·         Business and Administration Support Service

·         Complaints Policy and Management

·         HR

·         ICT

·         Legal

·         Property

·         Category Management / Procurement

·         Joint Ventures

Councillor Gulvin responded to Members’ questions and comments as follows:

·         Brook Theatre, Chatham – in response to comments welcoming the recent improvements to the exterior of the building, the Portfolio Holder agreed it was much improved. The Council was now looking to see if the investment needed to improve the interior could be found. 

·         Council Plan – a Member asked that further thought be given to the introduction of sub indicators for some targets. The Portfolio Holder acknowledged this may sometimes be appropriate but noted the need to keep the Plan simple and achievable and concentrate on what the Council could influence.

·         Business and Administration Support Services (BASS) – a Member referred to the likelihood of more jobs being automated and asked for the Portfolio Holder’s views on re-skilling the workforce. The Portfolio Holder hoped that more mundane tasks could be automated to free up the time of the BASS team for more important tasks. He considered that team worked extremely flexibly and were receptive to new ideas

·         Industrial Relations – in response to a question about the shape of industrial relations in the Council, the Portfolio Holder considered that relations between the Council and trade unions and staff were good.

·         Land Disposals – in terms of any lessons learned on the process to date, the Portfolio Holder commented that future disposals would be better done in smaller chunks. Within the next few weeks more details would emerge publicly about the plans for the first disposal, Whiffens Avenue.

·         Riverside One – a Member asked if a new location had been found for the charity temporarily occupying Riverside One. The Portfolio Holder remarked that it had always been clear this would be a temporary arrangement but the Council would do it all could to help find new premises.

·         Transformation Programme – a Member asked how the Council would meet the challenge of having to do more with less and the role of the Transformation Board in achieving this. Councillor Gulvin advised that £6m had been set aside in the capital programme for digital transformation with savings of £600,000 identified so far. The transformation team had the role of enabling change and not making it happen, which was the responsibility of service managers. 

·         Work Life Balance – in response to comments about some members of staff working long hours and whether there should be a policy about staff beneath a certain level not dealing with emails outside normal working hours, Councillor Gulvin commented that technology allowed people to work more productively and there should be more of a focus on outcomes rather than the hours people worked. Senior Managers had a duty of care to employees and should lead by example.

·         Regeneration Plans – in response to a question about plans to involve the public in the regeneration of Chatham, Councillor Gulvin commented that there had been extensive public consultation.

·         Gun Wharf – a Member asked if the working environment in Gun Wharf could be improved. The Portfolio Holder accepted some areas were looking tired but unfortunately there was no funding for non-essential works. Overall he felt the working environment in Gun Wharf was good.

·         Medway Norse – in response to how Medway Norse measured public satisfaction with its services, Councillor Gulvin said this was something Medway Norse took very seriously.

·         HR – a Member asked what more could be done to get the workforce of the future to view local government more positively as a potential employer, what was being done to tackle the national crisis in recruiting and retaining social care staff and also what the likely effect of the decision to leave the EU would have on the workforce. Councillor Gulvin commented that a lot of work was taking place with the Council’s new Leadership Academy, which would help to promote local government as a career choice; no-one knew what the impact of Brexit would be and there was a need to improve the status of social workers and care workers, but it was difficult to pay more.

Decision:

The Committee thanked the Portfolio Holder for Resources for his attendance.