There were two changes of membership for this meeting; Councillor Bell replaced Councillor Turmaine and Councillor Jeffree replaced Councillor Stiff.

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillor Ahmed and Councillor Feldman.

In the absence of the Chair, it had been agreed that Councillor Osborn would chair the meeting.

There were no disclosures of interest.

The minutes of the meeting held on 20 July 2022 to be submitted and signed.

The minutes of the meeting held on 20 July 2022 were submitted and signed.  

The following scrutiny committees and task groups have met since the last meeting of Overview and Scrutiny Committee

·        Finance Scrutiny Committee (14 September 2022)

It was noted that Finance Scrutiny Committee had met on 14 September 2022.  Minutes of the meeting would be available on the council’s website.

A question was raised from the agenda for that meeting around the assumptions made in the budget and the current level of inflation. The committee asked whether specific modelling had been done in relation to salaries and whether this was discussed at the meeting.

The pay award in the Medium Term Financial Strategy was set at 2% which was in line with other authorities. There was a pay offer of 4-5% under negotiation with the unions. Scenarios were being considered around where savings might be required and modelling was being undertaken for the capital programmes.

The Portfolio Holder confirmed that a significant review was underway and that the budget was updated quarterly and would go back to Finance Scrutiny Committee. It was critical to protect services and the economic impact reserve might be used. No updates from government were expected before the budget in November.

RESOLVED –

that the update be noted. 

Report of the Associate Director of Customer and Corporate Service, Executive Head of Human Resources and Business Intelligence Manager

The scrutiny committee received the report of the Associate Director of Customer and Corporate Service, the Executive Head of Human Resources and the Business Intelligence Manager.

The Business Intelligence Manager introduced the aspect of the report relating to the key performance indicators (KPIs). Following discussions at the last meeting she reported that the process to review KPIs with senior officers was underway.

The Business Intelligence Manager discussed the highlights identified in her report. 

During discussions on the report, members raised the following points requesting additional information where relevant:

·                    Response time to freedom of information requests remained below target. Many of these were from the commercial and media sectors, rather than residents, and some required cross-departmental input which could be time-consuming. Senior officers could now see performance levels for their services on the performance management system. Members requested more information around themes, benchmarking, and the impact of missing the response targets.

·                    The levels of Penalty Charge Notices remained consistent at around 2500 per month. Officers would confirm whether those relating to the bus gates were included in the graphs. 

·                    The revised waste and recycling targets had been met; there was some concern that they were not sufficiently challenging. Members asked for information about when the target would be reviewed.

·                    The committee wanted to know which areas of the town were surveyed for Q1 for detritus and graffiti and whether these areas came under the remit of Hertfordshire County Council’s highways service.

·                    Throughput at Watford Woodside Leisure Centre had decreased on Q1 21/22; a number of large events did not take place this year and there was a reduction in attendance at group exercise classes. It was noted that there were now financial penalties for failing to attend a booked class and this might be discouraging participation. Officers undertook to report back.

·                    The climbing wall at Watford Central Leisure Centre remained closed; more information was requested about the long-term plans.

·                    While staff sickness remained low; it had increased on Q1 21/22. While levels of stress and anxiety had increased, WBC was a small organisation and so the data was easily impacted.

The Portfolio Holder commented that there could be opportunities to look at Qlik, the data and analytics tool, to consider how to use the KPIs to maintain delivery. He posed the question of whether a smaller number of more focused indicators would be better.  It was noted that some councils had a tolerance of up to 10% which WBC captured in the commentary. Committee members were asked to send any ideas they had.

The Executive Head of Strategy and Initiatives introduced the aspect of the report relating to the Council Plan, Delivery Plan and Organisational Development Strategy. 

She set out the highlights of the report to the committee.

Members discussed the following areas, with actions recorded as requested:

·                    Work was ongoing on the Watford to Croxley Link (previously known as the MLX corridor), officers would report back on the timeline of the procurement exercise.

·                    An ambitious bid had been made  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.

Report of the Senior Democratic Services Officer

The scrutiny committee received a report of the Senior Democratic Services Officer asking the committee to appoint a new Chair for the task group.

The Senior Democratic Services Officer introduced the report. Councillor Stiff had previously been appointed as the Chair by Overview and Scrutiny Committee but she was no longer able to participate. The committee was asked to appoint a new chair and was invited to make a further nomination to the task group, should an additional councillor wish to participate.

RESOLVED –

that the decision be deferred to the next meeting of Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 19 October to allow further discussions to take place.

The Scrutiny Committee is asked to review the latest edition of the Executive Decision Progress Report and consider whether any further information is required.

The scrutiny committee was invited to review the current Executive Decision Progress Report for 2022/23 and consider whether any further information was required.

RESOLVED –

that the current 2022/23 Executive Decision Progress report be noted.

The committee to note that the Health Scrutiny Committee has not met since the last meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

The scrutiny committee noted that the Health Scrutiny Committee had not met since the previous meeting.  The next meeting was scheduled for 12 October.

RESOLVED –

that the update be noted.

The scrutiny committee is asked to review the current version of the work programme and consider any additional areas councillors wish to scrutinise.

The committee reviewed the latest version of the work programme,

The committee asked for an update on changes to the Report-it function be brought to the meeting in December.

RESOLVED –

that the work programme be updated.

·               Wednesday 19 October 7pm

The next meeting would take place on Wednesday 19 October.