A MEETING OF THE POLICY AND ORGANISATION BOARD
WAS HELD ON 19 JUNE 2002
Councillors Mrs Angus (P), Chegwyn (P), Friend (P), Hook (P), Langdon (P), Russell, M (P), Searle (P), Taylor (P), Wright (Chairman) (P) and Mrs Wright (P).
Councillor Wright (Vice-Chairman) in the Chair.
ONE MINUTE'S SILENCE
In order to express their sympathy regarding the recent bereavement of The Mayor, Councillor Geoffrey Bartlett, OBE the Members of the Board stood in silent tribute for one minute.
In accordance with Standing Orders the Chief Executive reported that Councillor Mrs Angus had been nominated to attend this meeting in the place of Councillor Cully.
4. MINUTES
RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meetings of the Board held on 18 March and
16 May 2002 be approved and signed by the Chairman as true and correct records.
PART II
5. BUDGET STRATEGY 2003/4
Consideration was given to a report of the Borough Treasurer concerning the timetable for the preparation of the 2003/4 General Fund budget and the additional stages to be included in the process.
It was reported that Members had expressed a desire to have a greater opportunity to understand the various factors leading to the final budget. There was also a requirement to demonstrate more transparency and consultation as part of the process in order to fulfil proposed Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) criteria.
The options for change required firstly, that consultation could be met by either or both of the following:
(a) strategic issues such as a potential range of budget and tax increases could be tested against the citizen's panel during the Autumn; and
(b) specific service proposals and their potential funding/cost could be the subject of a wider consultation, possibly via a questionnaire or a similar mechanism.
Secondly, as eventual spending levels were largely limited by the level of government grant support which would not be known until December, it would not be appropriate to debate budget bids/requirements until January. Boards could then consider their budgets including new bids, the results of the consultation and the government grant settlement with an idea of what might be affordable. Council would consider the Policy and Organisation Board's proposal for the 2003/4 budget at it's meeting scheduled for 5 February 2003.
Finally, should the government grant settlement be substantially lower than expected it would be possible to arrange a special meeting of the Policy and Organisation Board to consider the implications prior to the main January cycle of meetings.
In conclusion it was reported that the budget preparation would commence early in July, initially in accordance with previous policy i.e. 'zero based' where appropriate, with only inescapable inflation provided for; fees and charges increased where possible and new bids minimised (zero growth). The consultation process would probably produce proposals for service changes and these would be costed and considered by the Boards in January. Maintenance proposals would be prioritised according to new asset management planning requirements. In addition the following parameters would be used in the build up of the initial budgets:
(a) Average short-term interest rates 2002/3 4.25%, 2003/4 4.75%
(b) General inflation 2.5%
(c) Pay awards 3%
RESOLVED: That the budget framework for 2003/4 outlined by the Borough Treasurer be approved.
6. APPOINTMENT SUB-BOARD
Consideration was given to a report of the Corporate Services Manager concerning the appointment of an Appointment Sub-Board.
It was reported that the new Constitution provided that the Policy and Organisation Board may appoint an Officer or an Appointment Sub-Board with power to act on its behalf on appointments at Chief Officer level (Part 4, Schedule 14, 1.4 and 5.2 refers). The new post of Regulatory Services Manager, which is a Chief Officer post, was advertised recently and a number of applications had been received.
In order that short listing and selection for this post could proceed it was proposed that a Sub-Board be appointed.
RESOLVED: That an Appointment Sub-Board be appointed with power to act on the Board's behalf on the appointment of Chief Officer posts with 3 Members (i.e. 1:1:1) under the Proportionality Regulations.
7. BEST VALUE REVIEWS 2001-2002
The Board considered a report of the Director of Development and Environment (a copy of which is affixed in the Minute Book as Appendix "A") on the Best Value Reviews for 2001-2002.
It was reported that five areas of Council service had been subject to Best Value Reviews during 2001-2002, viz:
(i) Grounds Maintenance
(ii) Holbrook Recreation Centre
(iii) Information and Communication Technology
(iv) Parks and Open Spaces
(v) Payroll
In addition to the above a thematic review on Community Safety was being carried out and when finalised would be presented to the Board for approval. Council Management Team had already examined the reviews and associated action and improvement plans for the areas listed above in order to ensure that a corporate and consistent approach had been taken.
The Director reminded Board Members that their role was to ensure that all reviews had been carried out in a robust and rigorous manner. A summary of each review was contained in an Appendix to the Director's report. These reports briefly showed the findings for each review under the challenge, compare, consult and compete elements of best value. Associated local performance indicators and the action and improvement plans, which had arisen from the reviews, were also included.
RESOLVED: That the Best Value Reviews carried out in 2001-2002 be approved.
8. E-GOVERNMENT
Consideration was given to a report of the Corporate Services Manager (a copy of which is affixed in the Minute Book as Appendix "B") concerning the Council's E-Government Strategy.
It was reported that the Council's E-Government Strategy had been approved by the DTLR and as a consequence a capital grant of £200,000 towards e-government projects had been awarded to the Council for 2002-3. There was also potential for a further grant of £200,000 in 2003-4 if satisfactory progress towards e-Government was achieved in the current year. A number of e-Government initiatives had already been started.
The Manager concluded that the DTLR had recommended that the Council nominate a Councillor as an e-Government "champion" to oversee the implementation of e-Government. In this connection he proposed flexibility in the procurement of hardware and software for e-government purposes by waiving Contract Standing Order 7.6 in consultation with the e-government "champion".
RESOLVED: That -
(i) Councillor Redrup be nominated as the Council's e-Government "champion",
(ii) Contract Standing Order 7.6 be waived for the procurement of e-Government services and products, to enable suppliers/partners to be selected by the Corporate Services Manager in consultation with Councillor Redrup and the three Group Leaders.
9. THE FUTURE OF EXPLOSION! MUSEUM OF NAVAL FIREPOWER
Consideration was given to a report of Councillor Langdon (a copy of which is affixed in the Minute Book as Appendix "C") concerning the future of Explosion! Museum of Naval Firepower. Councillor Langdon also put before the Board the Museum's Strategic Plan for 2002-06.
In response to Councillor Langdon's report the Chairman of the Priddy's Hard Heritage Area Sub-Board reported that negotiations were continuing with the Trustees of Explosion! and a proposal would be put to them on Monday, 24 June which would contain alternative options on how the Museum could be run in a more economic way. To achieve this and to allow the various options and proposals to kick in another source of funding had been identified which would be needed to complete the exercise. The Trustees would be required to guarantee to work with the revised proposals and continue negotiations and dialogue with Gosport Borough Council on reducing the overall costs of running the Museum at the yearly level of not more than £100,000 per annum by February 2003; until such times as visitor numbers had improved and revenue funding from the surrounding area was made available. On agreement of the above, the Trustees would be offered a further £100,000 in this financial year to allow them to function whilst implementing the change.
In the light of this statement it was proposed that consideration of Councillor Langdon's report be deferred and a report on the negotiations with the Museum's Trustees on Monday, 24 June be brought back to a special meeting of the Board.
RESOLVED: That consideration of Councillor Langdon's report be deferred and a report on the negotiations with the Museum's Trustees on Monday, 24 June be brought back to a special meeting of the Board.
10. HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL'S STRATEGIC PLANNING JOINT ADVISORY PANEL
(NOTE: This item was not included on the Agenda for the meeting; however, in view of the need to resolve the issue of the Council's nomination, the Chairman agreed to consider the matter as an urgent item.)
The Chairman reported that upon advice from the County Council the Hampshire County Structure Plan Chairmen's Group no longer existed and the Borough Council was therefore requested to nominate one member as opposed to the previous three members on its replacement, the Strategic Planning Joint Advisory Panel.
RESOLVED: That Councillor Mrs Binfield be nominated as the Borough Council's representative on the Hampshire County Council's Strategic Planning Joint Advisory Panel.
CHAIRMAN
