Agenda and minutes

To confirm the minutes from the previous meeting

The minutes of the Finance & Resources OSC meeting held on 8^th November 2016 were confirmed by the Members present and signed by the Chairman.

To receive any apologies for absence

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillor’s Ashbourn and Birnie.

To receive any declarations of interest

A member with a disclosable pecuniary interest or a personal interest in a matter who attends a meeting of the authority at which the matter is considered -

(i)            must disclose the interest at the start of the meeting or when the interest becomes apparent

and, if the interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest, or a personal interest which is also prejudicial

(ii)           may not participate in any discussion or vote on the matter (and must withdraw to the public seating area) unless they have been granted a dispensation.

A member who discloses at a meeting a disclosable pecuniary interest which is not registered in the Members’ Register of Interests, or is not the subject of a pending notification, must notify the Monitoring Officer of the interest within 28 days of the disclosure.

Disclosable pecuniary interests, personal and prejudicial interests are defined in Part 2 of the Code of Conduct For Members

[If a member is in any doubt as to whether they have an interest which should be declared they should seek the advice of the Monitoring Officer before the start of the meeting]

There were no declarations of interest.  

An opportunity for members of the public to make statements or ask questions in accordance with the rules as to public participation

There was no public participation.

None.

The Chairman explained that M Brookes, R Smyth and D Skinner would give presentations on their individual service areas detailing the savings and budgets and questions could be asked after each presentation.

M Brookes gave a presentation on Legal Governance and Democratic Services. He then welcomed questions from the committee.

Councillor Taylor asked if a risk assessment has been done for the Pupillage scheme post. M Brookes said no direct risk assessment had been done but explained they had looked at the post in detail and were satisfied it could be covered. He highlighted that it was a trial for 12 months.

Councillor Douris raised concern with the Pupillage scheme as we would be training someone and adding value to them and then they could leave after the trial. M Brookes advised that it was the risk of the scheme and they could leave if there was no position to offer them once the trial was completed.

The Chairman asked if the team were all DBC staff or if any agency was used. M Brookes advised that they outsourced some litigation work but he hoped they wouldn’t need to once a pupil was in place.

Councillor Adeleke referred to the legal services restructure and asked M Brookes how it had affected him and his team. M Brookes explained that it had been a testing period but the work was manageable and if it wasn’t, they could bring in external help.

The Chairman thanked M Brookes for his presentation.

R Smyth gave a presentation on Performance, People & Innovation. He then welcomed questions from the committee.

Councillor Tindall advised that 11 members’ iPads were currently offline and queried what guarantee of resilience there was going forward. B Trueman felt that was a difficult question to answer but explained that the problem they were experiencing was with a supplier rather than the iPads and they were working to ensure they had all the correct technology. Councillor Tindall asked how much it would cost if the problem were to persist. R Smyth said it would only cost if we were go elsewhere with a new supplier but we were working with our current suppliers to rectify the problem. Councillor Tindall said it was important to ensure this problem doesn’t throw out the budget. B Trueman and R Smyth noted Councillor Tindall’s comments and concerns.

Councillor Tindall noted that only 66% of staff would occupy The Forum and asked if they were looking to introduce Skype or any other systems that would allow face-to-face meetings from home. R Smyth said they were investigating the use of Skype going forward.

Councillor Taylor referred to the shared data links with Bucks CC and Herts CC and queried if there would be traffic. B Trueman explained the route of the data links and advised that they would only be sharing part of the journey not all of it.

Councillor Adeleke said he felt uncomfortable with ICT making savings as he felt this is the time they should be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 66.

The Chairman asked officers to let member support know if there was anything they would like to add to the programme.