Agenda and minutes

Mr Tim Brown thanked the Committee for giving him the opportunity to provide an update to this meeting.

He explained that the last meeting he had attended was 7^th July, and since that time a couple of things had happened.  He stated that his appeal was unsuccessful seeking metadata however Doncaster Council had to release the Salisbury report, that exonerates the former Mayor, and which in his opinion, Members had been wanting for several months.

At the last meeting he attended, the Healthy Needs Assessment was raised, which was over 12 years old and out of date.  He stated he had asked if he could be contacted to along with other BME representatives, to consult with.  He said it saddened him to report that no contact had been made by Doncaster Council and was now having to take time out of his scheduled to find out what was happening.

He continued by outlining that he was a citizen or Doncaster, father, son and service user and had contributed to the NHS over the years.  He stressed he was not being engaged with and there was hardly anyone as active on BME issues as he was.  With regard to the Healthy Needs Assessment he stressed 3 more months had past, on top of the years that had already past.

Mr Brown stated that he wished to be provided with hate crime figures which he had asked for in polite e.mails and stated that he was here again with people in this council who were wanting to undermine people’s democratic rights and if this committee was important, then where is the hate crime information so we can make sense of it.“  He explained that he had contacted South Yorkshire police and it was more than 4 years since they had contacted him.

He further explained that a Councillor in attendance at this meeting had attended the last BME meeting, about 6 years ago, when cutting of funding was raised and nothing seems to have happened since that time.  This was an important issue and did not feel that he should keep coming here to keep asking the same questions time and time again.

Members noted Mr Brown’s comments and the Chair outlined that he would raise his concerns with officers.

Prior to consideration by Full Council, the Committee considered a report outlining an improved core annual define and deliver cycle which links key annual Council processes, including: 

·                 State of the Borough Assessment;

·                 Policy and Budget Setting and updating the Strategic Risk Register;

·                 Service Planning and Staff Performance and Development Reviews (PDRs);  and

·                 Corporate Performance Monitoring.

The objective of the proposed process was to ensure that the efforts of the Council were focused on delivery and supporting improvement that matters most to residents and to the long term success of Doncaster.

It was proposed that this would provide a continuation of the Council’s strong modernisation programme over the next four years with an annual report on the State of the Borough being presented to Full Council by the end of August each year.  In undertaking this, the Council would look at how it could improve service planning and management of strategic risks and how they fit with key priorities and budget setting.  It would ensure that outcomes were being achieved and transparent.  Members expressed concern that due to no meetings being held in August, then suggest the target month for the Assessment be submitted to Full Council by July.

It was also noted that during development of this process it would take account of and capture information and strategic plans from Government, partners and the Sheffield City Region again ensuring the Council moves forward, links actions and knowledge that impact on people’s lives.

Members welcomed the proposals, particularly opportunities for Overview and Scrutiny including being able to undertake reviews into thematic areas where there were gaps in the Council’s knowledge and providing a chance to probe into areas that were not fully understood.

PDR’s (Performance Development Reviews) were raised during discussion and concern was expressed with regard to all managers achieving the more challenging timeline in the first year, in line with the Annual Define and Deliver process.  Members were provided with details of how the PDR process was undertaken and the impact they had on a person’s ability to undertake their role.  With regard to the scoring mechanism from Excellent to Unsatisfactory, the Committee considered manager’s perceptions of how a person was performing could differ greatly and sought assurances of how this could be resolved if it created a problem.  Members noted that both the Manager and who was being reviewed had to provide a rating of performance and generally the same score was agreed on.

A Member stated that the Council needed to provide good news stories to Communities and wondered if a weekly column in the Free Press or a monthly bulletin on the internet, something like what the Chief Executive currently provides to staff, could be undertaken.  It was noted that the Council has a social media presence and actively encouraged staff and Members to use Facebook and Twitter to engage with communities.

The Committee concluded by fully supporting the proposals.

RESOLVED that: 

1.               The recommendations to Full Council set out in the report be supported;  and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

The Committee considered the work plan and suggested that an informal meeting would be held on 29^th September at 10.30am to consider the 4 year efficiency settlement, that was detailed on the Council’s Forward Plan of Key Decisions.

Resolved that:  the Work Plan be noted and an informal meeting be held on 29^th September at 10.30am to consider the 4 Year Efficiency Settlement.