Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Rooms 2 & 3, Trafford Town Hall, Talbot Road, Stretford M32 0TH

Contact: Chris Gaffey, Democratic & Scrutiny Officer 

Items
No. Item

36.

MINUTES pdf icon PDF 57 KB

To receive and, if so determined, to agree as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 27 January, 2016.

 

Minutes:

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meeting held on 27 January 2016 be agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

37.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members to give notice of any interest and the nature of that interest relating to any item on the agenda in accordance with the adopted Code of Conduct.

Minutes:

No declarations of interests were made by Members.

38.

EXECUTIVE'S RESPONSE TO SCRUTINY COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE BUDGET PROPOSALS pdf icon PDF 85 KB

To receive a report of the Executive Member for Finance and the Director of Finance considered by the Executive on 17 February 2016.

Minutes:

The Committee received a report of the Executive Member for Finance and the Director of Finance providing a formal response to the Scrutiny Committee’s recommendations on the budget proposals for 2016/17.

 

The Executive agreed with all recommendations made as part of the budget scrutiny report, and welcomed the opportunity to work with Scrutiny during the course of the coming year.

 

It was noted that the Equality Impact Assessments could be found on the Council website; however Members suggested that these should be dated and linked to the appropriate Executive decision to ensure clarity.

 

RESOLVED:

 

(i)            That the Executive’s response be noted.

 

(ii)          That the appropriate items be added to the Scrutiny Committee work programme for 2016/17.

39.

PROVISION OF LEISURE WITHIN TRAFFORD pdf icon PDF 82 KB

To receive a report of the Programme Assurance Lead.

Minutes:

The Committee received a report of the Executive Member for Communities and Partnerships, setting out the Council’s approach to managing and developing the provision of leisure services in the borough following the creation of the Council’s Community Interest Company (CIC) which commenced trading on 1st October 2015.

 

The Executive Member for Communities and Partnerships answered questions surrounding the CIC’s sustainability, and discussions took place on how the capital required to sustain and improve Leisure provision within the borough would be raised. Discussions also took place around how prices would be set, and Members were advised that a robust market analysis would be undertaken as part of the leisure strategy.

 

Members felt that the report did not include the level of detail that they had hoped for, and requested that a further update be provided to the Committee once the Leisure Strategy had been agreed. It was noted that this update would be added to the Scrutiny Committee work programme for the 2016/17 municipal year.

 

Members were reminded that the CIC was setup to enable the Council to take a considered approach to how leisure would be provided to Trafford residents, enabling decisions about facilities, services and the workforce to be more fully considered over a period of time. The CIC’s ambition would be to provide Trafford residents with a world class provision, and the leisure strategy would be agreed by the end of April 2016. The Executive Member for Communities and Partnerships also highlighted that the CIC was set to break even this financial year with no reductions in staff or services.

 

A question was asked about Walton Park Leisure Centre. The Executive Member for Communities and Partnerships advised that the Leisure Centre was not part of the CIC, and should therefore be discussed separate to the report.

 

RESOLVED:

 

(i)            That the report be noted.

 

(ii)          That a further update on the Provision of Leisure in Trafford be provided during the 2016/17 Scrutiny Committee work programme.

40.

SCHOOL CROSSING PATROL SERVICE - UPDATE pdf icon PDF 94 KB

To receive a report of the Corporate Director Economic Growth, Environment & Infrastructure.

Minutes:

The Committee received a report of the Corporate Director Economic Growth, Environment & Infrastructure providing an update on the School Crossing Patrol service, requested as part of the 2015/16 Budget Scrutiny process.

 

The report was presented by the Executive Member for Environment and Operations and highlighted the current position of the service. The Council had received no official complaints relating to the 26 patrols where funding had ceased, but the major challenge continued to be the recruitment of staff to fill vacant posts. Irregular work patterns and the type of work involved made this a difficult process. Members discussed ways of improving the recruitment process, including offering different work patterns and alternative ways of advertising the posts.

 

One Committee Member suggested that even though no official complaints had been received regarding the ceased patrols, it should not be assumed that residents were content with these changes and that community concerns would be evident in some areas.

 

            RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

41.

ANNUAL DELIVERY PLAN 2015/16 - THIRD QUARTER PERFORMANCE REPORT pdf icon PDF 102 KB

To receive a report of the Executive Member for Transformation and Resources considered by the Executive on 22 February 2016.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received a report of the Executive Member for Transformation and Resources providing a summary of performance against the Council’s Annual Delivery Plan, 2015/16, covering the period 1 April 2015 to 31 December 2015.

 

The Executive Member for Transformation and Resources highlighted that the majority of indicators in the plan were on target for the year. Of the 41 indicators, 35 were on course to achieve their set target. Members discussed the targets relating to delayed transfers in care, the number of housing units started and completed, and community confidence in partnership working within town centres.

 

The Committee thanked the Executive Member for Transformation and Resources for a comprehensive and detailed report.

 

            RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

42.

CLOSING THE GAP TASK AND FINISH GROUP - REPORT TO THE EXECUTIVE

To consider a report of the Closing the Gap Task and Finish Group.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received a report of the Scrutiny Committee’s Closing the Gap Task and Finish Group, set up to investigate educational inequalities within the borough. The report detailed the group’s findings and recommendations to the Executive, and a formal response could be expected at the next Scrutiny Committee meeting. The Chairman thanked everyone involved with the group’s work for their contributions.

 

RESOLVED: That the recommendations set out in the report be endorsed for referral to the Executive.

43.

SCRUTINY COMMITTEE WORK PROGRAMME 2015/16 - UPDATE pdf icon PDF 56 KB

To receive a report of the Democratic and Performance Services Manager.

Minutes:

The Committee received a report of the Democratic and Performance Services Manager on the Scrutiny Committee’s work programme for the 2015/16 municipal year. The Committee had successfully completed the work set out at the beginning of the year, and work would now begin on setting the 2016/17 work programme.

 

The Chairman thanked Councillor Mrs Lloyd for her input on the Scrutiny Committee and wished her good luck in her role as the Mayor of Trafford for 2016/17.

 

            RESOLVED: That the report be noted.