Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were submitted from Alison Swaddle.

Pauline Jorgensen attended the meeting as a substitute.

Stuart Munro attended the meeting on Microsoft Teams.

Jim Frewin made the following introductory statement:

I want to start tonight with an update. We asked all members of this Committee, prior to our first meeting of the Municipal Year, to tell us what they wanted from Overview and Scrutiny. On top of this we also had a Scrutiny review which highlighted opportunities to improve our Scrutiny. An advanced sight of the draft report was kindly shared with myself and the Vice-Chair. It will be published shortly once it has been reviewed by the Executive and the Corporate Leadership Team. We were fortunate to have the opportunity to discuss the findings with one of the authors, from the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny, prior to the recent Member budget scrutiny training session.

All of this feedback and your original input has indicated that we have an opportunity to improve Scrutiny in Wokingham. As a first step we are working up a proposal to implement a more structured approach to Scrutiny, so that we get opportunities for earlier engagement, take a more structured strategic approach across all our Scrutiny, do a fewer things better rather than lots of things in a rush and try to improve our “constructive critical friend” relationship with officers. Coming to Scrutiny does not need to be a Spanish Inquisition!

We will be looking to share this proposal before our next Overview and Scrutiny meeting. As always, any ideas or contribution you wish to make to this would be welcomed. A key objective of developing a structure and consistency to Scrutiny is that, irrespective of possible annual Member changes, appropriate and relevant Scrutiny can become seamless. As a start, the Leader and Chief Executive have agreed to meet for regular updates. These will start on a three-weekly basis and we will feedback on progress.

A quick reminder of what we should be aspiring to in these meetings (taken from the Member Scrutiny training sessions earlier in the year. We should strive to:

·           Provide constructive “critical friend” challenge;

·           Amplify the voice and concerns of the public;

·           Be led by independent people who take responsibility for their role;

·           Drive improvement in public services.

I am learning as the Chair of this meeting and from lessons from previous meetings. I will try to apply a little more structure tonight. Andrew and Neil are going to help me to identify who wants to speak and we will try to do so in the order that hands are raised. I would ask that questions and any supplementary questions are kept on topic. If you have more than one supplementary question, please ask these after everyone has been given the opportunity to speak.

To confirm the Minutes of the meetings held on 7 July 2022 and 8 September 2022.

The Minutes of the previous meetings of the Committee held on 7 July 2022 and 8 September 2022 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair, subject to the inclusion of apologies from Gregor Murray for the meeting held on 8 September 2022.

To receive any declarations of interest

A declaration of interest was submitted from Andy Croy in relation to Agenda Item 37 – Barkham Solar Farm – Financial Business Case. Councillor Croy stated that he had been appointed to the Barkham Solar Farm Project Board. Consequently he would take part in the discussion of the item but would not vote on any proposals.

To answer any public questions. A period of 30 minutes will be allowed for members of the public to ask questions submitted under notice.

The Council welcomes questions from members of the public about the work of this committee. Subject to meeting certain timescales, questions can relate to general issues concerned with the work of the Committee or an item which is on the Agenda for this meeting.  For full details of the procedure for submitting questions please contact the Democratic Services Section on the numbers given below or go to www.wokingham.gov.uk/publicquestions

There were no public questions.

To answer any Member questions.

In accordance with the agreed procedure the Chairman invited Members to submit questions.

As the Member question related to the Barkham Solar Farm project, the Chair stated that the question would be linked to that item.

As Councillor Cowan could not attend the meeting, the Chair read out the question and answer.

Gary Cowan asked the Chairman of the Overview & Scrutiny Management Committee the following question:

Question

Barkham Solar Farm – Financial Business Case

In the light of the current financial crisis and interest rate rises, along with its impact on borrowing, coupled to the SSEN grid connection agreement set out in the report and the huge increase in energy prices, does the plan as reported fit in as the best available deal for Wokingham and its residents?

Answer

In light of the current rapidly changing financial situation, we have reviewed the potential solar farm at Barkham in line with revised potential rates of borrowing and increasing energy costs, as well as other financial implications for the project. We feel that the financial performance of the scheme is still very robust, as demonstrated in the papers submitted to this Committee this evening.

At this point in time, we still feel that what has been considered thus far, is the best available deal for Wokingham and its residents.

The business case of the project will be continually kept under review throughout the project, in light of changing costs and values, to ensure that financially the Barkham solar farm measures up and continues to provide anticipated payback. Importantly, we will also continue to ensure that it also achieves much needed carbon reduction for the Council as part of the Borough’s stated net zero carbon reduction ambitions.

To consider the Performance Monitoring Report for the first Quarter of 2022/23 (April to June).

The Committee considered a report, set out at Agenda pages 19 to 52, which set out details of corporate performance for Quarter 1 of 2022/23 (April to June 2022).

Sarah Kerr (Executive Member for Climate Emergency and Resident Services), Emily Higson (Head of Insight, Strategy and Inclusion) and Will Roper (Customer Insight Analyst and Performance Manager) attended the meeting to present the report and answer Member questions.

The report stated that Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) demonstrated that good performance had continued in Quarter 1 in the face of significant challenges. The challenges included the cost of living crisis, which was driving increased demand for services, high levels of inflation, the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the impact of the Ukraine crisis.

Despite these challenges, the majority of KPIs (18) were Green, with 11 Amber and 5 Red. Services were continuing to take proactive steps to drive strong performance and to manage demand as effectively as possible. There was also a strong focus on assessing risk and ensuring that that the Council’s stable financial position was maintained.

The five Red KPIs in Quarter 1 were:

·           AS1 – Percentage of safeguarding concerns, leading to an enquiry, completed within two working days;

·           AS2 – Social work assessments allocated to commence within 28 days of the requests (counted at the point of allocation);

·           CEX8 – Early resolution versus Stage 1 customer complaints;

·           CS4 – Percentage of Education, Health and Care Plan (ECHP) Assessments completed within 20 weeks of referral;

·           RA3 – Usage of Wokingham Borough leisure centres.

The report gave details of the relevant background for each of the Red indicators and the steps being taken to bring the KPIs back on track.

In the ensuing discussion, Members raised the following questions and comments:

On Page 19 of the Agenda there is a reference to the Great Resignation (post-Covid) and later in the report re CEX5 there is a voluntary staff turnover figure of 242. What actions are being taken to improve people retention rates? It was confirmed that the retention of engaged employees, who are able to deliver against the Councils’ priorities and corporate objectives are taken seriously by the Corporate Leadership Team (CLT). To ensure that corporate messages are disseminated throughout the business there is a programme of communication which includes weekly Senior Management Team meetings, monthly Extended CLT workshops and Teams briefings to all employees from CEO or Deputy CEO in addition to a monthly newsletter. Furthermore, annual staff engagement surveys along with regular 121’s and formal annual appraisals are undertaken, which provide the opportunity for managers and employees to discuss their achievements, objectives and to address any concerns the individuals may have.

CEX5 – Voluntary staff turnover - supplementary questions – Please provide examples of specific programmes aimed at tackling issues relating to staff turnover and/or sickness. Also – Do the staff turnover figures include volunteers who were taken on to support the Council’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic? Also – can the response to the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33.

To give further consideration to the establishment of a Climate Emergency Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

The Committee considered a report, set out at Agenda pages 53 to 58, which gave details of Member request to establish a Climate Emergency Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

The Committee had given initial consideration to this request at its meeting on 7 July 2022. The decision was deferred until tonight’s meeting in order to provide further information on a number of points raised by Members.

The report stated that the Management Committee’s terms of reference enabled it to propose amendments to the composition and terms of reference of Overview and Scrutiny Committees, subject to approval by full Council. The proposed Climate Emergency Overview and Scrutiny Committee would provide a central focus for scrutiny of the Council’s Climate Emergency Action Plan. Detailed draft terms of reference for the Committee were appended to the report.

If approved, the new Overview and Scrutiny Committee would fit into the existing Scrutiny structure with the Chair sitting on the Management Committee. The report proposed a Committee membership of four Wokingham Borough Partnership Members and three Conservative Members.

RESOLVED That Council be recommended to approve:

1)     the establishment of a Climate Emergency Overview and Scrutiny Committee, as set out in the report;

2)     the proposed terms of reference for the Climate Emergency Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Annex A);

3)     that the composition of the new Overview and Scrutiny Committee be four Wokingham Borough Partnership Members and three Conservative Members, plus substitute Members (four/three) as advised by the Group Leaders;

4)     that the Chair and Vice-Chair of the new Committee be elected at its first meeting.

To scrutinise the financial Business Case for the proposed Barkham Solar Farm.

The Committee considered a report, set out at Agenda pages 93 to 106, which gave details of the financial business case for the proposed Barkham Solar Farm. (The Committee considered Part II financial information in private after excluding the public).

Sarah Kerr (Executive Member for Climate Emergency and Resident Services) attended the meeting, supported by officers, to present the report and answer Member questions.

The report stated that energy generation was one of the key priorities in the Council’s Climate Emergency Action Plan (CEAP). The Barkham Solar Farm was a specific project within the CEAP.

The financial business case for the Barkham Solar Farm was approved initially by the Executive and Council in 2021. The forecast costs and revenues were based on the best estimates available at that time. The latest report included an update on the Capital costs of the project together with the General Fund Income and Expenditure forecast (Part II).

The latest forecasts indicated a net income (after Capital financing costs) over the 25 year life of the project of 67.16m (£2.69m per annum on average). This compared to the initial expenditure of £26.85m. The forecast return compared extremely variably against the forecast return of £480k per annum in the 2021 business case.

On 30 June 2022, a Special Council Executive Committee meeting approved the procurement strategy for the contractor required for the construction of the solar farm. The report stated that procurement of the contractor was progressing via a framework with the appointment expected in November 2022. The current delivery programme indicated that the solar farm would commence operation in the summer of 2024.

In the ensuing discussion, Members raised the following points:

In relation to the technical business case for the Barkham Solar Farm – had the business case been reviewed by technical experts? It was confirmed that officers had held discussions with other Councils which had developed solar farms and were using technical consultants in order to ensure that the project was a success.

In relation to discussions with SSEN, had a deal been agreed for grid connection for the solar farm? It was confirmed that a price for the grid connection had been agreed and formally accepted. It was suggested that the Council should lobby the Government and the energy companies to ensure that the price of grid connections was reasonable.

What was the impact of recent events on the financial business case for the solar farm? It was confirmed that the calculations in the business case were prudent and that the current state of the energy market indicated higher returns than those stated in the report. Interest incurred in funding the project would be repaid over its lifetime.

What was the break-even rate for electricity prices? It was confirmed that a written response would be provided for this question.

What was the current availability of solar panels to supply the project? It was confirmed that there were some delays in delivery. However, a combination of pre-ordering and work with the contractor would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.

That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act (as amended) as appropriate.

RESOLVED: That under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12 A of the Act (as amended) as appropriate.

The Committee scrutinised Part II papers relating to the Barkham Solar Farm Financial Business Case.

To consider the establishment of a Corporate Performance Task & Finish Group.

The Committee considered a report, set out at Agenda pages 59 to 63, which gave details of a proposed Corporate Performance Task and Finish Group.

The report stated that, at its meeting on 7 July 2022, the Committee had agreed in principle to establish the Task and Finish Group subject to further detail on the group’s terms of reference and composition. The task and finish group would seek to develop recommendations for measures which could be added to the KPIs currently reported to Members with a view to understanding more about outcomes and the service experience of residents.

The report noted that research and activity was already under way in this area via the Council’s Customer Excellence Programme. The proposed task and finish group would seek to work closely with this the relevant officer team to ensure a joined up approach.

Appended to the report were draft terms of reference and proposed membership for the task and finish group. It was suggested that the task and finish group report back to the Management Committee at its meeting in January 2023.

RESOLVED That:

1)     a Corporate Performance Task and Finish Group be established, to review the current performance management reporting process and its impact on service improvement and the resident experience;

2)     the proposed Terms of Reference for the Task and Finish Group (Annex A to the report) be approved;

3)     the task and finish group submit a report to the meeting of the Committee held on 18 January 2023.

To consider the latest published versions of the Executive Forward Programme and the Individual Executive Member Decision Forward Programme.

The Committee considered the latest Executive and Individual Executive Member Decision forward programmes, set on Agenda pages 65 to 76.

RESOLVED: That the forward programmes be noted.

To consider the work programmes for the Overview and Scrutiny Committees for 2022/23.

The Committee considered its work programme and the work programmes for the three Overview and Scrutiny Committees, as set out on Agenda pages 77 to 88.

Adrian Mather suggested that the Committee scrutinise the performance of Thames Water and SSE. This would include inviting senior managers from each organisation to attend a Scrutiny meeting, potentially an extraordinary meeting.

RESOLVED That:

1)     the Overview and Scrutiny Committee work programmes be noted;

2)     an extraordinary meeting of the Management Committee be organised in order to scrutinise the operations and effectiveness of utility companies – Thames Water and SSE;

3)     senior representatives from each utility company be invited to attend the Scrutiny meeting;

4)     the Committee agree, in principle to an additional meeting in December 2022, as necessary.

To consider the regular Action Tracker report.

The Committee considered the latest Action Tracker report, set out at Agenda pages 89 to 92.

RESOLVED That the Action Tracker report be noted.