Agenda and minutes

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

Contact: Chris Gaffey, Democratic & Scrutiny Officer  0161 912 2019

Items
No. Item

18.

MINUTES pdf icon PDF 60 KB

To receive and, if so determined, to agree as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 29 October 2014.

 

Minutes:

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meeting held on 29 October 2014 be agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

19.

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.

20.

PART I: RESHAPING TRAFFORD: ECONOMIC GROWTH, ENVIRONMENT AND INFRASTRUCTURE pdf icon PDF 84 KB

To consider a report of the Director of Growth and Regulatory Services.

Minutes:

Following the Scrutiny Committee presentation on the Joint Venture contracts at the meeting on 29 October 2014 (minutes 15 and 17), the Committee received a further report and presentation of the Director of Growth and Regulatory Services. This was to provide an update on the work undertaken to engage private sector partners for the delivery of a range of environmental, highways, professional, technical and infrastructure services.

 

The Director of Growth and Regulatory Services answered several questions from Members regarding the contract’s length, flexibility and robustness. Other Joint Venture examples were discussed and how the Council could learn from these, as well as what impact the contracts could have on local businesses.

 

RESOLVED: That the Committee thank the Director of Growth and Regulatory Services for the presentation and noted that it is intended to give further consideration to this matter (minute 22 refers) following a proposal to exclude the press and public.

21.

EXCLUSION RESOLUTION (REMAINING ITEMS)

Motion   (Which may be amended as Members think fit):

 

That the public be excluded from this meeting during consideration of the remaining items on the agenda, because of the likelihood of disclosure of “exempt information” which falls within one or more descriptive category or categories of the Local Government Act 1972, Schedule 12A, as amended by The Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006, and specified on the agenda item or report relating to each such item respectively.

Minutes:

RESOLVED: That the public be excluded from this meeting during consideration of the remaining item of business because of the likelihood of disclosure of “exempt information” which falls within Paragraph 3 of schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended.

22.

PART II: RESHAPING TRAFFORD: ECONOMIC GROWTH, ENVIRONMENT AND INFRASTRUCTURE

To consider a report of the Director of Growth and Regulatory Services.

Minutes:

Further to the earlier presentation (minute 20 refers), the Committee received a report and presentation of the Director of Growth and Regulatory Services, containing information relating to the terms of the Joint Venture contracts.

 

The Director of Growth and Regulatory Services responded to a number of questions from the Committee concerning the commissioning and evaluation process, the arrangements for monitoring contract performance, the incentives for contractors to engage with local communities, and whether the initial objectives of awarding the contracts could be met.

 

The Committee discussed the comments that they would like to make to the Executive prior to their decision on the 16th March.  These included concerns about the lack of incentives for contractors to engage with local communities.  The Committee acknowledged that, whilst the need to engage with local communities was recognised, there needed to be clearer incentives to encourage contractors to engage with residents to develop innovative ways to improve services.

 

The Committee were also unclear as to whether the proposed savings were achievable. The Committee were concerned that the proposed savings target in year 1 would not be met which raised concerns that this would impact on current and future budgets.

 

The Committee also stated that it would welcome greater clarity about what would happen in the event of contractor failure. The Committee also asked for details of what would happen if a contractor ceased to exist.

 

The Chairman thanked the Director of Growth and Regulatory Services for a valuable presentation.

 

RESOLVED:

 

(1)  That the report on progress to date be noted.

 

(2)  That the Democratic and Performance Services Manager in consultation with the Chairman and Vice Chairman finalise the Committee’s response to the Executive meeting on 16 March 2015.