Agenda item

Work Programme

[To consider the Scrutiny Work Programme]

Minutes:

The Chair stated that she saw ownership of the Work Programme as being with the Panel with oversight by Scrutiny Board.  It was a live document and she wanted Panel Members to contribute to the Work Programme moving forward.

 

A Member of the Panel commented that the Civic Hall was currently on the Strategic Risk Register.  One of the risks in relation to the Civic Hall was in relation to finance.  There was nothing currently listed on the risk register about the lack of grants or capital receipts to help fund the project.  He asked how the situation regarding the grants and capital receipts would be monitored in the future, so it did not affect the revenue budget.  The Chair said a new project manager was being appointed for the Civic Hall.  She stated a report could be written on all of the assumptions with regards to the disposal of Council’s assets and how they contributed to the financial position going forward.  The Director of Finance agreed a report could potentially be brought to the Panel in September covering, Council capital receipts, the Disposal Strategy, the assumptions in the Capital Programme and how that linked in with the Civic Hall project.  There was a new governance structure for the Civic Hall Project and she was now a member of the Board.  A new Programme Director was in place and she suggested that they be invited to the meeting in September.  There was also going to be a Councillor group setup to oversee the major projects, which included the management of the capital receipts.  A “lessons learnt” report on the Civic Hall project would be received by the Audit and Risk Committee in the near future, which could also be reflected on at the Panel meeting in September.  She offered to contact the Chair of the Panel after the Audit and Risk Committee meeting had taken place to discuss the contents of the future Scrutiny Panel report. 

 

The Head of Audit stated that the Strategic Risk Register captured briefly an update comment against each of the risks listed and did not capture everything surrounding each risk.  He would speak to the risk owner to see if they felt the assumptions on grants and capital receipts funding for the Civic Hall was of significant importance to include into the register.  As it had been raised in the Panel, the risk owner may consider its inclusion in the future. 

 

A Member of the Panel in reference to the item on the Work Programme regarding the future use of the Mezzanine area and the temporary Councillor accommodation area, asked if the report could be widened to the Piazza.  He saw this as an underdeveloped area but thought on reflection it was potentially an item for the Stronger City Economy Scrutiny Panel.  The Chair suggested the future use of the Mezzanine area and temporary Councillor accommodation item could be a briefing note, rather than a formal scrutiny report.    

 

A Member of the Panel suggested the print and design team as a potential item for the future Work Programme of the Confident, Capable, Council Scrutiny Panel. He considered this a very important service at the Civic Centre.  Since the new machines had been installed he wanted to see how well used the service was being utilised by internal Council departments, arms length organisations and external customers.  A report had been received by Cabinet Resources Panel in the previous year raising some issues and concerns and so effectively the report could be an update on the current state of affairs and to see if the issues had been resolved.  He was aware of new printing machinery having been installed and wanted to understand if they were all working as intended and were value for money. He added that the postal service provided at the Civic Centre for internal and external customers could be included as part of the report.   

 

A Member of the Panel asked if there could be some information available on the subject of election expenses when Local Government Elections were considered by the Panel later in the year.  He felt the support for agents was excellent up until polling day, but it would be useful for more support on the completion of election expenses forms.  Some Members commented that help with completing election expenses forms had always been completed by political parties and the elections office were unlikely to get involved. 

 

There was a discussion about the apprenticeships item on the Work Programme for the Stronger City Economy Scrutiny Panel.  It was considered important to report on the postcodes area people lived in that were undertaking apprenticeships.  A Member added it would be useful to have the data on postcode areas for people attending University.  There was also a huge amount of work to be completed, to ensure a higher amount of students obtained five GCSE’s within the Wolverhampton area.  They added it was important to change perceptions that apprenticeships were for people who didn’t perform well enough academically to attend University or College. 

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