Agenda and minutes
PDF 260 KBVenue: Council Chamber, Trinity Road, Cirencester
Contact: Democratic Services,
Media
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Apologies Additional documents: Minutes: There were no apologies to note. |
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Substitute Members To note details of any substitution arrangements in place for the meeting. Additional documents: Minutes: There were no substitute members present |
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Declarations of Interest To receive any declarations of interest from Members and Officers, relating to items to be considered at the meeting. Additional documents: Minutes: There were no declarations of interest for the Committee to note |
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Minutes To confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 30 November 2021. Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee agreed to approve the minutes of the meeting of 30 November 2021 subject to the following amendments being made:
At minute reference OS.105 in relation to the training on performance trends, the minutes should be amended to read: ‘In the light of the discussion later on in this meeting on the Performance Reporting Task and Finish Group this training will be scheduled to follow its completion’.
At minute reference OS.115, the following text should be added to the minutes: ‘The report to Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee by the South West Ambulance service was highlighted and the issue of long Ambulance Response times, particularly in rural areas such as the Cotswolds, was discussed. It was agreed that the Chair would write to the CEO of the South West Ambulance service asking for further information and offering assistance from Cotswold District Council in locating new Community Public Access Defibrillators (CPAD’s) and in recruiting Community First Responders (CFR’s).’
At minute reference OS.114 referring to the agreed Task and Finish Group for Performance, the Chair indicated that the terms of reference have been refined with Business Manager Claire Hughes.
RESOLVED: That the Committee considers the minutes a true and accurate reflection of the meeting subject to any amendments.
Voting Record
9 for, 0 against, 1 abstention
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Chair's Announcements Additional documents: Minutes: There were no announcements from the Chair. |
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Public Questions To deal with questions from the public within the open forum question and answer session of fifteen minutes in total. Questions from each member of the public should be no longer than two minutes each and relate issues under the Committee’s remit. Additional documents: Minutes: There were no public questions submitted for the meeting. |
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Member Questions To deal with written questions by Members, relating to issues under the Committee’s remit, with the maximum length of oral supplementary questions at Committee being no longer than one minute. Responses to any supplementary questions will be dealt with in writing if they cannot be dealt with at the meeting. Additional documents: Minutes: There were no Member questions submitted for the meeting. |
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Called-in Decisions Additional documents: Minutes: There were no decisions called-in for consideration by the Committee. |
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Ubico Presentation Purpose The Committee will receive a business plan and performance presentation at the meeting from Ubico.
Recommendation(s) The Committee is asked to note the contents of the presentation and to then take a decision on whether a Task and Finish Group in relation to waste collection should be established. Additional documents: Minutes: The officers started by introducing themselves virtually.
The Ubico Senior Operations Manager introduced the Ubico performance report. His presentation included the introduction of a new in-cab system which was used to improve services, the impact of Coronavirus related absences, fuel shortages in 2021 and the increase in demand for the collection of waste from fly tipping which has increased by 90% since 2020.
It was explained by the officer that a number of improvements have been made possible by the introduction of the in-cab system. In particular, missed collections have fallen by 40% and are on a continued downward trend.
It was noted to the Committee that whilst there is a reduction in the tonnage of household waste and recycling collected, there was an increase in tonnage collected from garden waste and street sweeping operations.
The Committee asked for clarification in relation to the use of agency drivers and temporary staff, and if there is plan to reduce the use of agency staff in the future.
The Managing Director took the question and explained to the Committee that they try to keep a reserve of company staff to ensure that services can be performed. This work was ongoing to increase resilience.
Furthermore, it was outlined that there was an increase in driver’s salaries by way of a market forces supplement to encourage the retention of staff and to recruit new staff. There was also work undertaken to provide additional training to ensure that workers are highly qualified.
The Committee wished to clarify the definition of missed collection and the current policy under Ubico.
The Senior Operations Manager explained to the Committee that a missed collection was one that was not collected by the cut-off time at 5pm in the afternoon on the scheduled collection day. It was noted that multiple missed collections would alert management and they would put improvement measures in place to resolve any issues.
The Committee wished to know what measures are in place to protect against competitors attracting staff to move away from Ubico.
The Senior Operations Manager explained to the Committee that whilst there had been instances of this practice, many staff had subsequently returned to Ubico and there was confidence that this would not present an ongoing issue.
The Committee wished to know more about the DVLA Green Status as mentioned in the presentation and crew inspections.
The Senior Operations Manager explained that this status related to complying with regulatory standards for vehicles and fleet management to ensure roadworthiness and efficiency. Crew inspections were carried out on a regular basis, and included basic vehicle checks, documentation for crews and crew personal protective equipment.
The Committee wished to know more about the increase in fly tipping and what specific items were being collected.
It was noted by the Business Manager (Publica) that builders waste and DIY waste were examples amongst many different types of waste that are illegally dumped and this breakdown hadn’t changed as a result of the pandemic.
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Medium Term Financial Strategy and Budget 2022/23 Purpose The purpose of this report is to provide the Overview and Scrutiny Committee with the opportunity to consider the Medium Term Financial Strategy, the Capital Programme and the proposed revenue budget for 2022/23. The Committee may provide feedback for the Cabinet and Council to consider as part of the budget approval process.
Recommendation(s) That the Committee considers:
a) The Budget proposals for 2022/23; b) The Medium Term Financial Strategy; and c) Any amendments to be proposed to the Cabinet and Council. Additional documents:
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Work Plan 2021/22 and Executive Forward Plan Purpose To receive the Work Plan and the Executive Forward Plan and identify any areas for inclusion in future Scrutiny.
Recommendation(s) To amend the Overview & Scrutiny Work Plan as necessary. Additional documents: Minutes: The Chair noted that the Police and Crime Commissioner had accepted the invitation to present to the Committee, and this item needed to be added to the work plan.
It was further noted that a meeting will be scheduled in March for the Committee to discuss the work plan, including any items of interest, for the new civic year.
RESOLVED: That the Committee noted the current work plan with the amendments provided.
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Quarterly Digest (including County Matters) Purpose To consider any issues arising out of the Quarterly Digest for future debate and/or action by the Committee. Additional documents: Minutes: The Chair noted two items relating to the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
There had been a session on Child and Young People mental health. There was also a discussion on the status of primary care and the difficulty of getting face-to-face meetings.
The Chair also brought to the attention of the Committee the Joint Economic Growth Overview and Scrutiny Committee, and invited Councillor Blomefield to provide an update.
Councillor Blomefield, as the Council’s representative, outlined to the Committee the Gloucestershire Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) of £8.4 million which may be of interest to businesses in the Cotswold’s.
Further topics outlined by Councillor Blomefield included the strategic planning relating to the National Planning Policy Framework across the whole of Gloucestershire, the improvements to road infrastructure and the Golden Valley Project.
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