Agenda and minutes

[The Chair to welcome everyone to the meeting]

The Cllr Zee Russell, Chair, welcomed everyone to the meeting and advised it was being live streamed to the press and public. A recording of the meeting would be available for viewing on the Council’s website.

[The Chair will explain how the meeting will proceed, how questions are to be asked and any matters of meeting etiquette.]

The Chair explained the protocol to be followed during the meeting for asking questions and reminded everyone that microphones should be muted and cameras off, unless have been invited to speak by the Chair.

Apologies were received from the following:

Cllr Jaspreet Jaspal

Cllr Milkinderpal Jaspal

Cllr Dr Paul John Birch J.P

Cllr Louise Miles

Cllr Udey Singh

Charlotte Johns Director of Strategy

There were no declarations of interest recorded.

[To approve the minutes of the previous meeting as a correct record]

The panel approved the minutes of the meeting held on 13 October 2022 as being a correct record.

[James Amphlett, Head of Data and Analytics and Alison Shannon, Chief Accountant, to present report]

The Chair invited Claire Nye, Director of Finance, to present the report.

The Director of Finance advised the panel that Alison Shannon, Chief Accountant, and James Amphlett, Head of Data and Analytics, would be present the detailed report.

The Director of Finance gave an overview of the report and advised the panel that it gives an update on performance and the financial risks associated with services that fall within the remit of the panel and details of the Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS).

The aim of the presentation to allow the panel to scrutinise the information and to consider the Council’s budget position next year. The Director of Finance advised the panel that comments on the budget report would be included in a report to Scrutiny Board before a final report is presented to Council in March 2023 for approval.

The Director of Finance invited the Head of Data and Analytics, to present the performance and budget monitoring report (2022 – 2023) for Q2 to the panel.

The Head of Data and Analytics gave a summary of the overall Council performance against 56 KPIs in the Our City: Our Plan performance framework.

The Head of Data Analytics advised the panel that 17 of the performance indicators have not yet been updated as awaiting publication of national data sets.

The Head of Data Analytics advised the panel that the following indicators showed a decrease in performance, the percentage of 16- and 17-year-olds in education, employment or training, the percentage of working age adults claiming unemployment benefits, the percentage of young adults aged 18 to 24 claiming unemployment benefits, the percentage change in activity in the City and retail.

The Head of Data Analytics added that overall, about 85 per cent of KPI’s have seen either sustained or improved performance and 15 per cent have seen a decrease compared to the year-to-date position.

The Head of Data Analytics commented on the decreased performance of the employee turnover rate indicator and how it compares to the national figure.

The Head of Data Analytics commented on the work being done within the HR (Human Resources) team to recruit and retain employees and detailed other changes introduced to improve performance; while acknowledging the benefits of staff turnover, for example, the introduction of people with fresh ideas.

The Head of Data Analytics commented on improvements in customer service call waiting times and other changes made to reduce call abandonment rates. A report on the customer services strategy will be presented to the panel in early 2023 after the consultation ends.

The Director of Finance commented on the summary of the Forecast Budget Position that was previously reported to Cabinet.

The Director of Finance commented on the key areas to note from the report in respect of the predicted overspend and underspend areas and the factors that have contributed to it.

The Director of Finance gave an overview of the key areas from the 2023- 2024 Draft Budget and MTFS 2023-2024 to 2025 – 2026 that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

[Alison Shannon, Chief Accountant, and Heather Clark, Head of External Funding and Digital Projects, to present report]

The Chair invited Heather Clark, Head of External Funding, to present the report.

The Head of External Funding advised the panel that the report gives an overview of the external funding opportunities available to the Council and the Council’s approach to the management and delivery of externally funded projects.

The Head of External Funding commented on the importance of securing grant funding to the delivery of key Council priorities set out in the Our City: Our Plan and the five-year financial strategy.

The Head of External Funding commented that the Council has benefited from significant external funding in the past which has contributed to the delivery of these city priorities.

The Head of External Funding gave examples of the different funding opportunities that have been used to deliver the priorities of the City. The average cost of the Council’ submitting a competitive grant funding bid is estimated by researchers to be around £30,000.

The Council is in discussions with the Government about the importance of a developing a new relationship between central and local government to improve the efficiencies in the grant bidding process.

The Head of External Funding gave a summary of the significant external bids submitted and the outcome to date.

The Council's external funding team regularly review external funding opportunities and this work is supported by having access to a database which includes details of future bid opportunities.

The Head of External Funding advised the panel that all external funding bids must be signed off by the Section 151 Officer before submission and to Cabinet Resources for approval.

The Head of External Funding commented on the importance of having a strong project management approach to maximise the benefits and reduce risk to the Council from external funding bids.

The panel were invited to comment on the report and to provide feedback on the Council’s approach to managing and delivering externally funded projects.

The panel queried if there was compensation built into the delivery of the Victoria Street and Civic Hall Public Realm Zone to business affected by the development work. The panel also queried if consideration was given in the plans to the recommendations of the Wolverhampton Pound report.

The Chief Operating Officer advised the panel that Government grants from the Future High Street Scheme do not include an amount for compensation as there is a statutory compensation scheme that businesses can apply to if affected by disruption caused by utilities work.

The Head of External Funding confirmed that the bids for external grant funding are considered in relation to the Wolverhampton Pound findings and recommendations, for example, the Council will ask projects to seek four quotes and two of these must be from local suppliers. This change will have a positive impact on achieving the aims of the Wolverhampton Pound priorities.

The panel requested further details about the projects allocated funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Funds and specifically where the money has been spent among the wards in Wolverhampton

The Head of External Funding advised  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

[Alison Shannon, Chief Accountant, to present draft minutes of meeting held on 8 November 2022].

The Chair invited Claire Nye, Director of Finance, to present the report.

The Director presented the minutes of the Reserves Working Group who met recently and advised the panel that it will be included in the report to Scrutiny Board as part of the budget consultation process.

The minutes of the meeting were presented for information and comment.

The panel welcomed the report. The panel expressed concern about the level of earmarked reserves held and commented that some of the dedicated funds should be used to support residents and businesses in financial difficulty.

The Director of Finance that the concerns raised have been included in the minutes and will be forwarded onto Scrutiny Board as part of budget consultation process for consideration. The Director of Finance added that the funds are part of plan to support the Council’s longer term financial stability by helping it to manage risks and future spending requirements.

The Director of Finance commented on advice given to Cabinet on the importance of the maintaining the adequacy of reserves at the recommended level.

The panel thanked the presenter for the report.

Resolved:

The panel agreed to note the minutes of the Reserves Working Group meeting on 8 November 2022.

[Julia Nock, Deputy Director of Assets, to present report].

The Chair invited Julia Nock, Deputy Director of Assets, to present the report.

The Deputy Director advised the panel that the presentation will outline how the Council manages the disposal of its land and assets to a third party in accordance with the Local Government Act 1972, and particularly the requirement around achieving best value.

The Deputy Director explained that the land or asset can include freehold sale, exchange, or any grant of a lease for a term exceeding seven years as defined by S123 of the Local Government Act.

The Deputy Director outlined the Council’s land and disposal policy and explained that the Strategic Asset Plan 2018 – 2023 is the primary driver in identifying opportunities to dispose of assets which are no longer required for current or future service delivery.

The Deputy Director commented on the importance of the land and disposal policy in supporting the Council priority in the Our City: Our Plan to use land and property to transform communities and to release those assets that no longer serve the public. The Council’s Constitution ensures that land and property is managed in accordance with the regulations.

The Deputy Director outlined the process to be followed when a land or asset is considered surplus to needs.

All disposals of assets are done in conjunction with the Local Government Act, and particularly in Section 123 which states that the Council must demonstrate it has best consideration and there is a both an ethical and statutory duty to attain best value. The term ‘best value’ includes financial, economic, and social considerations.

The Deputy Director commented on the key benefits of the land and property disposal policy.

The Deputy Director reassured the panel that there is a robust consultation process internally with colleagues in other service areas of the Council to ensure that there is no other potential future use for that asset. In addition, there will also be discussions with colleagues in Wolverhampton Homes and WV Living about using the asset for future housing developments, as part of the consultation.

If there are no objections to the disposal, then a report is presented to Cabinet to consider and approve the recommendations, if they support the proposal.

The asset disposal policy links to the community asset transfer strategy.

The Deputy Director advised the panel that the Strategic Asset Plan is due to be refreshed in 2023 and that new asset mapping system will be launched on the Council website in January 2023. The system can be used to by residents and Councillors to see what assets the Council holds.

The introduction supports the aim of making the process of disposing of Council assets more accessible and transparent.

The Deputy Director reassured the panel that the service is required to produce a report annually for Council on all capital receipts that have been generated from disposals valued over £10,000. The report details how approval for disposal was obtained, the method of sale and compliance with best consideration. The report will be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

[David Pattison, Chief Operating Officer, and Jin Takhar, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, to present report]

The Chair invited David Pattison, Chief Operating Officer and Jin Takhar, Head of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion, to present the report

The Chief Operating Officer introduced the presentation and advised the panel that the name of the panel had been changed to include ‘equality’ to show the importance of the issue to the Council.

The Chief Operating Officer outlined the background to the development of the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Strategy and the aim was to focus on each of the priority areas and present an update on progress to the panel. The presentation would focus on Objective 2 – to be an inclusive employer, building a workforce that is reflective of the communities that we serve.

The Chief Operating Officer commented on the reasons for the Council improving its performance on equalities and the wider benefits of the policy, for example, a diverse workforce will improve how the Council serves residents and the understanding of their needs.

The Chief Operating Officer commented on the good progress made to date but highlighted the importance of continuing to review and improve practice and sharing of performance data and targets with the panel to provide further opportunities to challenge.

The Chief Operating Officer invited the Head of Equality to give the presentation.

The Head of Equalities commented on the actions taken to support the achievement of Objective 2. A further detailed report on progress of diversity within the workplace will be presented to the panel on 2 February 2023. The report will also include key performance indicators, profile data on representation across all grades and recruitment activity.

The Head of Equalities gave a summary of progress of action taken to make the Council more inclusive in terms of recruitment and selection. highlighting examples of improvements made.

The Head of Equalities commented on the topics covered during a series of policy reviews.

The Head of Equality commented on the consultation work with employees, managers, and trade unions on new ways of working, and in response to the feedback changes will be made to Council policies and guides.

The Head of Equality highlighted the changes made to the bereavement support guidance as an example. The new policy will introduce five days of bereavement support to take account of personal nature of grief and cultural differences. The changes were made in response to employee feedback.

The Head of Equality also highlighted the work with staff equalities forum to develop Autism Awareness guide to take account of and support individuals with neuro divergent needs.

The Head of Equality commented on the workplace menopause pledge that was introduced in October 2022 reflecting the Council’s commitment to supporting women in the workplace.

The Head of Equality commented on future work areas for action.

The panel were invited to comment on the report and presentation.

The panel queried the value and impact of unconsciousness bias training in the recruitment process and requested details of the reasons for its continued use. The Head of Equalities commented that the inclusion  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

[Earl Piggott-Smith, Scrutiny Officer, to present report]

The Chair invited Earl Piggott-Smith, Scrutiny Officer, to present the report.

The Scrutiny Panel advised the panel of the agenda for the next meeting of panel and that comments and suggestions were welcomed.

The panel thanked the presenter for the report.

Resolved:

The panel agreed to note the report.