Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 22 September 2014

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting on 22 September be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman

To provide an opportunity for Members and Officers to declare any disclosable pecuniary and non-pecuniary interests in any item on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest

To provide an opportunity for Members to declare the existence of a party whip in relation to any item on the Agenda

There were no declarations of party whip

A total period of 15 minutes is allocated for members of the public to make a statement(s) on any matter that falls within the remit of the Committee.

Individual members of the public may speak for up to 5 minutes, but the Chairman will decide how the period of time allocated for public speaking will be apportioned, where there are a number of speakers.

Note: in order for officers to undertake any background, it would be helpful if members of the public notified the Scrutiny Officer listed at the foot of the Agenda t least one working day before the meeting with brief details of the matter to be covered.

There were no members of the public present who wished to speak

Further to the last meeting of the Committee to examine and provide comment on the draft Strategic Asset Management Plan.

Julian Cobley, Business Manager for Economic Growth and Prosperity, presented the draft Asset Management Strategy and Delivery Plan. The draft document identified future drivers for each category of asset to provide potential direction to the new strategy.

The Committee was invited to contribute to the development of the strategic direction of asset management and desired outcomes. It was suggested that the Committee set up a task and finish group to consider one of the following areas:

·         Use of current operational assets (Corporate Estate) – how do we get best use out of buildings.

·         Income Portfolio – how could the Council generate receipts from assets and assist with tow centre regeneration.

·         Asset Disposal – how should the Council dispose of surplus assets.

The Committee discussed conducting a review of the Council’s Corporate Estate. The Council had inherited a lot of assets from the legacy authorities however the Council now had a net smaller establishment and had adopted new practices such as flexible working so required less space. Operational cost of buildings was currently around £15million per year. The Council was developing closer relationships with partners such as the police and health services, and working closer with local communities which provided opportunities to change the way buildings were used. Members agreed that it would be useful to review the use of buildings to ensure it enable the Council to operate more effectively and to reduce building costs.

RESOLVED – That the Committee consider the Terms of Reference for a task and finish review of the Council’s Corporate Estate at the next meeting

To receive a briefing on the use of the Atrium system to access data relating to the Council’s assets

Paul Mickleburgh, Property Information Officer, provided a practical demonstration of WebGIS, an online mapping system used to view information relating to planning applications and permissions, assets and infrastructure. The system was used by the Assets Team to answer enquiries from the public and developers about particular assets or sites. WebGIS was currently available on the internal CEntranet to all Council employees and Councillors however new transparency laws introduced by Government meant that the Assets Team was considering making the system accessible to the public.

Paul demonstrated to the Committee how to use the system and what it could be used for. By understanding the system Councillors would be able to answer their own enquiries about assets and planning applications in their wards as well as assist their residents with enquiries.

Paul had also produced a guide on how to use the system. It was suggested that some form of training should be provided to all councillors. However prior to any training taking place the Committee agreed to trial the use of the guide and provide feedback to ensure it was user friendly.

RESOLVED – That the Members of the Committee explore WebGIS to test the user guide and provide feedback at the next meeting.

To note the forward plan, identify any new items, and to determine whether any further examination of new issues is appropriate.

The Committee examined the Forward Plan

RESOLVED – That the Forward Plan be noted

To review the current Work Programme

The Committee considered its work programme. The Committee discussed the ways of working and the frequency of formal meetings. All Overview and Scrutiny Committees were considering what the most effective way of working would be in future with a variety of options open to the Committees besides formal committee meetings. It was suggested that the Committee review the frequency of meetings and explore alternative ways of working at its December meeting. The following items were suggested for the November meeting:

·         Consider terms of reference for a task and finish group to review the Council’s Corporate Estate

·         Members to provide feedback on their experiences using Atrium following the demonstration received at this meeting

RESOLVED – That the Work Programme be updated.