Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED:

In the absence of the Chairman and Vice Chairman it was moved, seconded and confirmed that Cllr S. Rawlins be elected Chairman for this meeting of the ESPO Management Committee.

Cllr S. Rawlins – In the Chair

The minutes of the meeting held on 12 September 2018 were taken as read, confirmed, and signed.

There were no urgent items for consideration.

The Chairman invited members who wished to do so to declare any interest in respect of items on the agenda for the meeting.

No declarations were made.

The Chairman sought and obtained the consent of the Management Committee to vary the order of business from that set out in the agenda.

The Management Committee gave consideration to a report of the Director which provided an update of the actions and progress made since the previous ESPO Management Committee held on 12 September 2018. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 4’, is filed with these minutes.

Arising from discussion the following points were noted:

i)     The call abandonment was still concerning with the peak abandonment rate of 20% against a target of 3%. ESPO were to visit Leicestershire County Council’s Call Centre to see what lessons could be learnt. The review would look at both technological solutions and call handling methods.

ii)    ESPO were working with companies in the south-east to see if they would be able to store exercise books in order to avoid the issues of supply experienced over summer.

iii)  There had been a 15% decrease in absence compared to the same time the previous year. This was in part due to management of long term sickness and in the shorter term, weekly reporting of absence to the Senior Leadership Team meetings.

iv)  Half the vacancies held were in the warehouse, this was a deliberate policy to use agency staff.

RESOLVED:

The Director’s Progress update report and information now provided be noted.

The public are likely to be excluded during

consideration of the following items in

accordance with Section 100(A)(4) of the

Local Government Act 1972 (Exempt

Information).

RESOLVED

That under Section 100 (A) (iv) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that it will involve the disclosure of exempt information as defined in the Act and that in all of the circumstances the public interest in maintaining the exception outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

The Committee received an exempt report from the Director which set out further supplementary information regarding the Director’s Progress Update. A copy of the exempt report, marked ‘Agenda Item 7’, is filed with these minutes.

The exempt report was not for publication as it contained information relating to the financial business affairs of a particular person (including the authority holding that information).

The Director advised the Committee of work that had been undertaken to improve the position regarding MSTAR² to move towards full compliance. The performance of suppliers was being closely monitored and would inform the tendering process of MSTAR³.

RESOLVED:

That the report and supplementary information now provided be noted.

The Committee considered an exempt report of the Director on Market Conditions. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 8’, is filed with these minutes.

The exempt report was not for publication as it contained information relating to the financial business affairs of a particular person (including the authority holding that information).

RESOLVED

That the report be noted.

The Chairman advised that this item was being withdrawn to allow for further work to be done and an updated report would be submitted to a future meeting of the Management Committee.

The Committee moved back into public session.

The Committee considered an report of the Head of Democratic Services at Leicestershire County Council on the use of Skype for meetings. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 5’, is filed with these minutes.

Arising from the discussion members were advised as follows:

i)             The suggestion for moving meetings between the constituent authorities or meeting in a centrally located venue (previously agreed as Rutland) had been tried but had caused problems and did not address the need for members to travel.

ii)            There had been no further information regarding any new regulations from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government since the ‘Connecting Town Halls’ consultation ended in January 2017.

iii)           A physical meeting of either the Management Committee or Finance and Audit Subcommittee would be convened in February to consider the MTFS. A decision as to which of these would be convened would be taken nearer the time taking into consideration weather conditions.

RESOLVED

a)    That the Chairman of the Committee be requested to write to the Rt Hon James Brokenshire, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government requesting that the Department look to amend legislation to allow Joint Committees  to hold meetings via video conference.

b)    That the proposals outlined in the report regarding attended and Skype meetings of the Management Committee and Finance and Audit Subcommittee be approved.

c)    That the proposed change to the constitution allowing the consortium secretary to implement a decision taken at a Skype meeting in the event of no objection being received be approved.

RESOLVED

That under Section 100 (A) (iv) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that it will involve the disclosure of exempt information as defined in the Act and that in all of the circumstances the public interest in maintaining the exception outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

The Committee considered an exempt joint report of the Director and Consortium Treasurer monitoring the Medium Term Financial Strategy against the first six months of trading in the 2018/19 financial year. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 10’, is filed with these minutes.

The exempt report was not for publication as it contained information relating to the financial or business affairs of a particular person (including the authority holding that information).

RESOLVED

That the report and financial position at the end of the first six months of trading be noted.

It was noted that the next meeting of the Committee would be held on 27^th February 2019 at 10.30am.