Approved Minutes of Meeting
West Dunbartonshire Council · 24 May 2023
Back to Corporate Services Committee — 24 May 2023 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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CORPORATE SERVICES COMMITTEE At a Hybrid Meeting of the Corporate Services Committee held in the Civic Space, 16 Church Street, Dumbarton on Wednesday, 24 May 2023 at 2.00 p.m. Present: Councillors Ian Dickson, Daniel Lennie, David McBride, Jonathan McColl, James McElhill, Michelle McGinty, June McKay, Martin Rooney, Gordon Scanlan and Clare Steel. Attending: Peter Hessett, Chief Executive; Angela Wilson, Chief Officer – Supply, Distribution and Property; Alan Douglas, Chief Officer – Regulatory and Regeneration; Laurence Slavin, Chief Officer – Resources; Arun Menon, Business Support Manager; James Gallacher, Service Manager – ICT; Alison McBride, Strategic People and Change Manager; Annabel Travers, Procurement Manager; Stephen Daly, Citizen and Digital Manager; Ryan Chalmers, Section Head (Revenues & Benefits); Michelle Lynn, Asset Co-ordinator; Adrian Gray, Finance Business Partner; Lisa MacGregor, People and Change Partner and Ashley MacIntyre and Nicola Moorcroft, Committee Officers. Apologies: Apologies for absence were intimated on behalf of Councillors Karen Conaghan and Lawrence O’Neill; Amanda Graham, Chief Officer – Citizen, Culture and Facilities and Victoria Rogers, Chief Officer – People and Technology. Councillor Daniel Lennie in the Chair STATEMENT BY CHAIR – AUDIO STREAMING Councillor Lennie, Chair, advised that the meeting was being audio streamed and broadcast live to the internet and would be available for playback. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST It was noted that there were no declarations of interest in any of the items of business on the agenda. RECORDING OF VOTES The Committee agreed that all votes taken during the meeting would be carried out by roll call vote to ensure an accurate record.
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MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING The Minutes of Meeting of the Corporate Services Committee held on 1 February 2023 were submitted and approved as a correct record. MINUTES OF JOINT CONSULTATIVE FORUM The Minutes of Meeting of the Joint Consultative Forum held on 16 March 2023 were submitted and all decisions contained therein were approved. OPEN FORUM The Committee noted that no open forum questions had been submitted by members of the public. CITIZEN, CULTURE AND FACILITIES DELIVERY PLAN 2022/23 – YEAR END PROGRESS AND CITIZEN, CULTURE AND FACILITIES DELIVERY PLAN 2023/24 A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Citizen, Culture and Facilities setting out the year-end progress of the 2022/23 Delivery Plan and presenting the new Delivery Plan for 2023/24. After discussion and having heard the Citizen and Digital Manager in further explanation of the report, the Committee agreed to note the progress achieved at year-end and the new plan for 2023/24. PEOPLE AND TECHNOLOGY DELIVERY PLAN 2022/23 – YEAR END PROGRESS AND PEOPLE AND TECHNOLOGY DELIVERY PLAN 2023/24 A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – People and Technology setting out the year-end progress of the 2022/23 Delivery Plan and presenting the new Delivery Plan for 2023/24. After discussion and having heard the Strategic People and Change Manager in further explanation of the report and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed to note the progress achieved at year-end and the new plan for 2023/24.
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REGULATORY AND REGENERATION DELIVERY PLAN 2022/23 – YEAR END PROGRESS AND REGULATORY AND REGENERATION DELIVERY PLAN 2023/24 A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Regulatory and Regeneration setting out the year-end progress of the 2022/23 Delivery Plan and presenting the new Delivery Plan for 2023/24. After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer – Regulatory and Regeneration in further explanation of the report and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed to note the progress achieved at year-end and the new plan for 2023/24. RESOURCES DELIVERY PLAN 2022/23 – YEAR END PROGRESS AND RESOURCES DELIVERY PLAN 2023/24 A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Resources setting out the year-end progress of the 2022/23 Delivery Plan and presenting the new Delivery Plan for 2023/24. After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer – Resources in further explanation of the report, the Committee agreed to note the progress achieved at year-end and the new plan for 2023/24. SUPPLY, DISTRIBUTION AND PROPERTY DELIVERY PLAN 2022/23 CORPORATE PROCUREMENT UNIT– YEAR END PROGRESS AND SUPPLY, DISTRIBUTION AND PROPERTY DELIVERY PLAN 2023/24 CORPORATE PROCUREMENT UNIT A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Supply, Distribution and Property setting out the Corporate Procurement Unit (CPU) priorities of the Supply Distribution and Property (SD&P) year-end progress 2022/23 and presenting the new Delivery Plan for 2023/24. After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer – Supply, Distribution and Property in further explanation of the report, the Committee agreed to note the progress achieved at year-end and the new plan for 2023/24. DEBT MANAGEMENT PARTNERS A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Resources seeking approval to commence a tendering exercise during 2023 for Debt Management Partners to assist with the Council’s overall debt recovery processes. Having heard the Chief Officer – Resources in clarification of the tendering process, the Committee noted that paragraph 4.4 of the report included an error and that, in
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accordance with the Council’s governance arrangements, it would not be necessary for the Tendering Committee to consider the award of the contract. After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer – Resources, the Chief Officer – Supply, Property and Distribution and the Section Head (Revenues & Benefits) in further explanation of the report and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed:- (1) that a tender exercise in line with the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 and Council Standing Orders would be undertaken to procure Debt Management Partners for the provision of Debt Management services and Sheriff Officer services ; and (2) that subject to the successful tender being in line with budget and otherwise in line with the tender requirements, the Chief Officer – Regulatory and Regeneration may, after consultation with the Chief Officer – Resources, award the contract on the basis of the most economically advantageous tender for an initial 3 year period with further two potential 12-month periods at the sole discretion of the Council. TENDER FOR OFF-SITE PRINT AND POSTING SERVICE FOR ANNUAL COUNCIL TAX BILLING A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Resources seeking approval to procure the provision of an off-site print and posting service for annual Council Tax billing, including the merging of relevant benefit letters. After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer – Resources in further explanation of the report, the Committee agreed:- (1) that a tender exercise in line with the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 and Council Standing Orders would be undertaken to procure off-site print and posting service for annual Council Tax billing; and (2) that subject to the successful tender being in line with budget and otherwise in line with the tender requirements, the Chief Officer – Regulatory and Regeneration may, after consultation with the Chief Officer – Resources, award the contract on the basis of the most economically advantageous tender for an initial 3 year period with further two potential 12-month periods at the sole discretion of the Council. COUNCIL WORKFORCE PLAN 2022–2027 UPDATE AND ANNUAL ACTION PLANS 2022/23 A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – People and Technology providing an update on the Council’s workforce planning activity for 2022/23.
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After discussion and having heard the People and Change Partner in further explanation of the report and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed:- (1) to note progress during 2022/23 in delivering against the Council Workforce Plan within the People First Strategy and 5 year plan; (2) to note the workforce profile as at 31 March 2023 and the key changes; and (3) to note progress within the Workforce Plans for each service. EQUALITY OUTCOMES AND MAINSTREAMING 2021-25 PROGRESS REPORT 2021-2023 A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Citizen, Culture and Facilities providing an update on progress towards delivery of the Equality Outcomes for the organisation. After discussion and having heard the Citizen and Digital Manager in further explanation of the report, the Committee agreed to note progress to date in delivery of the Equality Outcomes. GRANT APPLICATION TO DUMBARTON COMMON GOOD A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Resources providing details of one grant application to Dumbarton Common Good for consideration. After discussion and having heard the Finance Business Partner in further explanation of the report and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed:- (1) to approve an £18,403 per annum grant for the three financial years 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26 with the award to be subject to review in 2026 to consider if the grant should be continued further; and (2) to note that the grant to West Dunbartonshire Community Food Share would be predominantly to cover rental costs and a small sum of running costs for their premises which is located in Dumbarton. The meeting closed at 3.00 p.m.