Agenda and minutes

Venue: The Bradbury Room, Appletree Court, Lyndhurst

Contact: 023 8028 5588 - Ask for Jan Debnam  Email:  jan.debnam@nfdc.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

Apologies

 

Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs Beck, Clarke and O’Sullivan.

 

 

38.

Minutes

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 15 January 2019 as a correct record.

 

 

Minutes:

RESOLVED:

 

That the minutes of the meeting held on 15 January 2019 be signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

 

 

39.

Declarations of Interest

To note any declarations of interest made by members in connection with an agenda item.  The nature of the interest must also be specified.

 

Members are asked to discuss any possible interests with Democratic Services prior to the meeting.

 

 

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest made by any member in connection with an agenda item.

 

 

40.

Public Participation

To note any issues raised during the public participation period.

 

 

Minutes:

No issues were raised in the public participation period.

 

 

41.

Portfolio Holders' Reports

An opportunity for the Portfolio Holders to provide an update to the Panel on developments within their portfolios.

 

 

Minutes:

Cllr Mrs D Andrews, Community Affairs Portfolio Holder, advised the Panel that the new Democratic Services Manager would be starting on 1 April.  He had previously worked for Bournemouth Borough Council.

 

The CCTV Control Room and Customer Services team had moved to their new accommodation in the lower ground floor of the south wing on 15 March.  There had been a few problems with the move, which was to be expected; but the accommodation looked very good.

 

Cllr Andrews reminded members that the forthcoming elections created an extremely large amount of work for the elections team and they could assist by submitting their own paperwork as soon as possible after 22 March, when  nominations opened.

 

 

42.

Hampshire Police and Crime Panel

To receive an update from the Cllr Clarke, the Council’s representative on the Hampshire Police and Crime Panel.

 

 

Minutes:

Cllr Clarke, the Council’s representative on the Hampshire Police and Crime Panel, had been unable to attend this meeting but had submitted a summary report about the recent meeting of the Hampshire Police and Crime Panel.

 

Cllr Clarke reported that the Police and Crime Panel had robustly examined the Commissioner’s proposal that the Police Authority precept should be increased to the maximum extent.  The Panel had been satisfied that the additional money raised would be used to recruit over 200 police officers for Hampshire and that PCSO training would also be recommenced.  These new officers would be used for front line policing and increasing neighbourhood policing.  Although the lead-in time for recruitment and training meant that this additional resource would take a little time to become available, this increase was nonetheless very welcome.  On this basis the Police and Crime Panel had unanimously supported the proposed increase.

 

In answer to a question from Cllr Davis, it was agreed that this Panel would be sent any information available about the number of the additional police resource that would be deployed in the New Forest.

 

 

43.

Dibden Golf Centre

To receive an oral update from the Chairman of the Dibden Golf Centre Working Group.

 

 

Minutes:

Cllr W Andrews, Chairman of the Dibden Golf Centre Working Group, advised the Panel that the Working Group had met with representatives of MyTime Active on 1 March.  This had been a productive meeting and there were clear signs of improving collaboration between the Council’s officers and MyTime.  A number of work items had been discussed including the refurbishment of the clubhouse; drainage; tree works; the reconfiguration of the pro-shop; and improved security measures.  The Council was now assisting them with course maintenance equipment at cost.

 

It was evident that the golf market was becoming more challenging nationally, although the Group was pleased to note that MyTime was providing new sales and marketing staff and that user feedback was generally positive.

 

The Working Group had toured the site, including the pro-shop and the driving range and this had confirmed the tremendous potential of the golf course.  MyTime was clearly willing to make progress on the issues identified, working in partnership with the Council to maximise the benefits of the course for all parties.

 

In answer to questions the Panel was advised that the original copper roofing had been stolen, but replaced with a composite.  A further attempt had been made to steal the roofing but the thieves had discovered it had no value and left.  Repairs to the roof were pending.  MyTime was commissioning the installation of improved security, including CCTV coverage. Discussions were underway for the cameras at the golf course to be monitored by the Council’s CCTV control centre, which offered 24 hour monitoring.

 

Members welcomed the improved working arrangements and noted that partnership working was the key to the operation of any contract of this nature.

 

 

44.

Community Strategy

To receive an oral update on the development of the outline strategy.

 

 

Minutes:

The Panel was advised that progress was being made on drafting a Community Strategy.  There were 4 main themes:

 

·      Safer Communities

·      Healthy Communities

·      Engaged Communities

·      Thriving Communities

 

In each case the focus was on outcomes, what the Council wanted to achieve from the Strategy.  The themes could only be delivered effectively in partnership with other bodies, such as the Safer New Forest Partnership and the New Forest Health and Wellbeing Partnership, so it was important that the outcomes were also consonant with their priorities.

 

The draft was in the process of being finalised for consultation and it was hoped that a progress report, perhaps with the draft document, would be brought to the Panel’s meeting in June.

 

In answer to questions the Panel was advised that the desired outcomes would be underpinned by key performance indicators to allow proper measurement of the degree to which they were being delivered.

 

 

45.

Customer Services Task and Finish Group

To receive an oral update on the latest position with respect to the work of this task and finish group.

 

 

Minutes:

The Panel was advised that the Customer Services Task and Finish Group had been reactivated and had met several times.  The membership was Cllrs O’Sullivan (Chairman), D Andrews, W Andrews, Alvey, Beck and Carpenter. Their key priority had been to establish customer demand and how that was changing.  This would inform the Customer Strategy and, in particular, the procurement of the new website.  One key criterion was that the customer experience should be similar regardless of the route through which a customer engaged with the Council, or with which part of the organisation.  It was important that the customer interface met the needs of the customers, not the institutional or organisational needs of the Council.  To this end there had been a lot of work on what customers wanted from the website and this was informing the specification.  The procurement for the website was on target and it was hoped that this would be in place late 2019 or early 2020.

 

Members debated the degree to which an understanding of the current problems with the web based payments system could inform the current website development.  It was understood that the current difficulties, which incidentally did not affect the health and leisure centre payments system, was multifactorial in cause.  Problems arose from the website design, the ICT infrastructure and the payments system itself.  This multi-factorial cause made the resolution challenging. As soon as further information was available the Portfolio Holder would be informed and information disseminated to all members of the Council.

 

In answer to questions the Panel was advised that the research for the new website had included visits to other authorities and other case studies to establish best practice.  Some customer surveys had been carried out through the information offices, although this data was now slightly out of date.

 

It was agreed that a progress report would be submitted to the June meeting of the Panel.

 

 

46.

Health and Leisure Review

To receive an oral update on the progress being made by the Health and Leisure Task and Finish Group.

 

 

Minutes:

The Panel was advised that work in preparation for going out to tender to seek a partner to operate the Council’s 5 health and leisure centres was progressing well.  In particular:

 

·      Meetings had been arranged with each of the affected schools/academies in early April;

·      A consultant had been engaged to advise and guide the process

·      Both internal and external legal advice had been commissioned for the preparation of the essential documentation;

·      A meeting would be held with Hampshire County Council in the next few weeks;

·      A series of customer forum meetings was being arranged for June, with one daytime and one evening session at each centre;

·      The Staff Forum had been set up and had held its first meeting.  The Membership of the Forum included representatives from each of the health and leisure centres.  Forum meetings would be held monthly in the future. The first meeting had been constructive and had brought forward a request for an information pack to be developed for staff so they were better equipped to answer customer enquiries; and the suggestion that information should be placed in each centre to keep the public informed and counteract some of the rumours that were circulating.  The Forum representatives also wanted posters in staff areas that would allow employees to submit comments and questions to the Forum meetings.

·      The unions were meeting separately with the employees.  Management would be meeting with the trade unions monthly throughout the process.

 

It was agreed that a progress report would be submitted to the June meeting of the Panel.

 

It was suggested that the customers that engaged positively and constructively within this process may provide a useful pool of people to canvass opinions on the Council’s customer interface and website more generally.

 

 

47.

Work Programme pdf icon PDF 198 KB

To consider the Panel’s future work programme and to make changes where necessary.

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED:

 

That the work programme attached as Appendix 1 to these minutes be approved to guide the Panel’s activities over the coming months.

 

 

48.

Chairman's Thanks

Minutes:

The Chairman thanked his fellow Councillors and the officers for their hard work and support for the Panel.

 

The Chairman wished all members of the Panel all the best for the future, whether or not they were standing for re-election.