Agenda item

Summary and Review

The panel will take the opportunity to review its findings and form recommendations.

Minutes:

At the Working Plymouth business meeting on 8 July 2015, the panel raised a number of concerns about the current process and performance of the Living Streets Scheme. Members requested improvements be made in the visibility of costs and timings of works and with Members having ownership and control over the residents requests.

 

A Co-operative Review was requested and agreed.

 

The Review panel were pleased to hear that the previous scrutiny meeting had already started to have an impact on the process, with the following improvements in place;

 

(a)

cultural shift. An acknowledgement that the costing estimates undertaken by Amey’s Commercial team( quantity surveyors) were resulting in higher than necessary figures. These will now be undertaken by Amey’s Operations team, with site visits with supervisors;

 

(b)

all new requests from residents will be discussed with Members first before any response (other than a holding response) is sent;

 

(c)

Ward Packs have been amended to include more detail;

 

Although the panel welcomed the measures taken to date, after considerable scrutiny at the review meeting, Members recommend that a package of further improvements and actions be put forward to the Co-operative Scrutiny Board:

 

Communications with Members:

 

(d)

Officers to send updated Ward Packs to Members and arrange a Ward meeting as soon as possible to go through the historical requests on the spreadsheet;

 

(e)

Officers to ensure more proactive contact with Members and arrange for monthly on site meetings;

 

(f)

Officers to work with Members to explain what is regarded as in scope for Living Streets rather than classified as day to day highways maintenance;

 

Cost of Schemes

 

(g)

Officers to provide some examples of the impact of the costing regime from Commercial team to Operations team, comparing some past and present estimates;

 

(h)

Officers to ensure that the actual end cost of works is notified to them and added to the Ward Pack spreadsheet;

 

(i)

Officers to ensure that at site meetings, options are considered to reduce costs and achieve greater value for money e.g. shrubs instead of bollards to prevent pavement and verge parking;

 

Traffic Regulation Orders

 

(j)

Officers to challenge the media advertising rates to ensure that they are getting the best deal possible as it is difficult to defend the costs of a scheme to residents;

 

(k)

Officers to investigate reasons for delays and implement continuous improvement through lessons learned;

 

Reporting and Accountability

 

(l)

all ward Councillors to receive their updated ward pack and arrange to meet to go through the historical requests at the next meeting;

 

(m)

the Ward pack to be amended to include columns for actual costs, actual approval dates, target completion dates and actual completion dates;

 

(n)

Amey’s Ward Pack to give explanation for approved schemes not being completed by target dates with follow up discussion with PCC Officers around accountability;

 

(o)

if Amey made any mistakes during the Living Streets process they would be rectified by them at no cost to PCC;

 

(p)

a penalty charge would be incurred if Amey did not complete approved schemes by the completion date agreed with Ward Councillors and Officers;

 

(q)

a progress report be reviewed by Working Plymouth at its March 2016 meeting to track progress made against all these recommendations and actions.