Members will be asked to make any declarations of interest in respect of items on this agenda.

There were no declarations of interest made by Councillors in accordance with the code of conduct.

To confirm the minutes of the meetings held on the following dates –

Agreed that the minutes of the meetings held on 8 December 2017, 3 January and 31 January 2018 were confirmed as a correct record.

To receive reports on business, which in the opinion of the chair, should be brought forward for urgent consideration.

There were no items of Chair’s urgent business.

The Committee will receive an update on Shared Services – Trade Union Recognition Agreement.

Andrew Hardingham (Interim Strategic Director for Transformation and Change) and Peter Honeywell (Transformation Architecture Manager) presented a report which highlighted the work undertaken to facilitate the signing of the recognition agreement, subject to the consultation findings, by the Unions (Unite, GMB and Unison) and Delt.

The Chair took this opportunity to thank officers for their hard work.

The committee noted the report.

With the permission of the Chair, the order of business was amended, as set out below in the minutes.

The Committee will monitor the progress of its decisions.

The committee noted the progress of its decisions for 2017/18.

The Committee will be asked to consider and approve the work programme and give consideration to the prioritising tool.

The committee agreed to include on its work programme for 2018-19 the following issues –

This item is for information only. Relevant Cabinet Members and officers have not been asked to attend.  If further information is required members are asked to contact the Chair and Democratic Advisor.

The Chair advised that this item had been included on the agenda for information and as no issues had been identified for consideration prior to the meeting, no Cabinet Members or officers had been invited to attend.

The Committee will receive an update on the Library Service.

Councillor Jordan (Cabinet Member for Culture), Faye Hambleton (Assistant Director for Customer Services), Dave Saunders (Strategic Development Manager) and Amanda McDonald (Services Manager) presented an update on the library service.

Following the agreement of the Plan for Libraries in July 2017, the library service had undertaken a number of initiatives, including -

The key areas of questioning from Members related to –

The committee raised concerns regarding the terminology used to describe activities and services currently available in ‘Tier 1’ libraries and work required to deliver the same activities and services in ‘Tier 2’ libraries.  The committee considered that the libraries termed as ‘Tier 2’ would not be properly funded and ultimately this could lead to further library closures.

The Committee will receive an update on Customer Services (Contact Centre Performance).

Councillor Jordan (Cabinet Member for Culture), Andrew Hardingham (Interim Strategic Director for Transformation and Change), Faye Hambleton (Assistant Director for Customer Services) and Dave Saunders (Strategic Development Manager) presented this item.

The Contact Centre provided call handling for 14 services (including the Council’s enquiry line).  As a whole 95% of all calls were answered within an average speed of 48 seconds.  Staff were trained in a range of services (dependant on experience) which allowed for flexibility in answering calls across these services.

The key areas of questioning from Members related to –

The committee noted the report.

(Councillor Sam Davey was present for the remaining items)

The Committee will receive information on the Staff Survey.

Councillor Riley (Cabinet Member for HR/Democracy and Governance/Licensing), Andrew Hardingham (Strategic Director for Transformation and Change) and Jane Stephenson (Head of HR Business Services) presented the ‘the view from you’ staff survey 2017. Each year since 2010 the Council has run a staff survey to ask employees their views on working for the Council; employees were asked to respond anonymously to an online questionnaire.

The key areas of questioning from Members related to –

The committee noted the report.

The Committee will receive an update on Waste Services (Including Trade Waste).

Councillor Michael Leaves (Cabinet Member for Strategic Streetscene/Environment) and Gareth Harrison-Poole (Head of Service Streetscene and Waste) presented the update which highlighted the 2017/18 baseline statistics for the provision for waste collection and the level of contact with the Council regarding waste services.

The key areas of questioning from Members related to –

The committee noted the report.

The Committee will receive the Homelessness Delivery Plan.

Councillor Ricketts (Cabinet Member for Transformation and Housing Delivery) and Matt Garrett (Head of Community Connections) presented the Plan for Preventing Homelessness 2018-2020 which highlighted the following key points –

The key areas of questioning from Members related to –

The committee agreed to include the Homelessness Action Plan (including timelines/targets) on it work programme for 2018-19.

The committee recommended that an all Member briefing session on the Homelessness Reduction Act 2018 is arranged.