Agenda item

Visitors to the Civic Centre - briefing paper

[Chris East,Head Of Facilities,and Lisa Taylor,Head of Service Improvement, to present breifing paper]

Minutes:

Lisa Taylor advised the panel that a following a review she had taken on the management of the customer services and would be happy to attend a future meeting to brief the panel on the service.

 

Chris East, Head of Facilities, presented a briefing paper on behalf of Andy Moran which gave an update on the management of visitors to the Civic Centre and a response to concerns previously highlighted by the panel about the arrangements.

 

The Head of Facilities briefed the panel about the changes made to the  access arrangements to the building and measures introduced to improve security. The Head of Facilities outlined the signing in process when visitors enter the building and the arrangements for managing public meetings held in either the committee rooms or the Council Chamber.

 

The Head of Facilities stressed the importance of all employees and visitors wearing their ID badges at all times and he had personally challenged employees wanting to access the building without displaying their ID.  The Head of Facilities advised the panel that different colour lanyard is issued to visitors to the building – red – business, contractors – yellow and gold for VIP visitors.

 

The Head of Facilities advised the panel then when public meetings are held out of hours then badges can be pre-printed. The building keepers are responsible for monitoring the use of lanyards when people are in the building.

 

The panel commented on that committee room 5 was not considered to be suitable for public meetings as it was too small. The Head of Facilities agreed to review the arrangements and report back to a future meeting of the panel.

 

The panel commented that difficulties caused by the security arrangements when arranging planning committee meetings - when it possible that 20-30 people may attend depending on the topic. In the past members of the public would not have been required to sign-in. However, following the need to sign in Cllrs are receiving a number of notification emails when people sign in and when they leave the building.  There is also a concern that members of the public may attend a meeting without giving notice.

 

The panel commented that committee room 5 is not suitable for people with a wheelchair and these concerns had been highlighted 18 months ago, when plans for the new working arrangements were first proposed, and it was disappointing that concerns raised at the time had not been heeded.

 

The Head of Facilities advised the panel that keepers can open the side door at the business entrance to allow easier access for people with a wheelchair for evening meetings in Committee Room 5.

 

 

 

The panel commented on separate issue of an incident where members of the people attending citizenship event in Mayors Parlour who were not wearing lanyards could not exit the building because they did not have a security card. As a result, it was necessary to help them to exit the building without be able to check their identity.

 

The panel commented on the concerns about the issue of lanyards to Cllrs and wanted them issued. The Head of Facilities agreed to discuss this issue with Member Support and arrange for lanyards and extra passes to be issued to all Cllrs to allow visitors to access toilet facilities. The Head of Facilities also agreed to clarify how long photos taken for ID badge were kept on file to ensure that the Council is complying with its legal responsibilities.

 

The panel expressed concern that the issue of employees not wearing ID badges has not been resolved and queried whether disciplinary action is taken to enforce the policy. The Head of Facilities advised the panel that employees are regularly reminded that they should always wear ID and there is the option of taking disciplinary action. The panel commented that they consider the process for signing was too complicated and does not give a good impression of Council when large numbers of visitors attend an event and have to go through the process. The panel commented on the idea promoted that Wolverhampton is open for business and would like a review about the balance between providing security and giving a professional gloss to visitors to the building.

 

The panel commented on the extra work placed on keeper’s service and their concern about how they will manage their other responsibilities – the panel queried if the Council had enough staff for the task. Lisa Taylor agreed to present a joint report with the Head of Facilities to a future meeting of the panel about plans for responding to concerns from Councillors about issued related to the signing in process.

 

The panel requested details of the location of meeting rooms and suggested that as part of the induction a tour of the building should be arranged. Martyn Sargeant commented that this issue is part of the induction for new Councillors.

 

The panel discussed the need for clearer signage on the third floor to show the location of committee rooms.

 

Resolved:

1.    Lisa Taylor, Head of Customer Services, and Chris East, Head of Facilities, to jointly present a report to a future meeting about plans for responding to concerns from Councillors about the signing in process and overall customer service experience.

2.    The Head of Facilities agreed to review the use of Committee Room 5 as concerns about suitability for large public meetings and limited wheelchair access to a future meeting of the panel.

3.    The Head of Facilities agreed to discuss the issuing of lanyards and extra passes with Member Support.

4.    The Head of Facilities also agreed to clarify how long photos taken for ID badge is kept on file to ensure that the Council is complying with its legal responsibilities.

 

 

Supporting documents: