Agenda and minutes

An apology for absence was received from Councillor S Dark.

To approve the minutes from the previous meeting held on 3^rd October (to follow).

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The minutes of the meeting held on 3 October 2022 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Please indicate if there are any interests which should be declared.  A declaration of an interest should indicate the nature of the interest (if not already declared on the Register of Interests) and the agenda item to which it relates.  If a disclosable pecuniary interest is declared, the Member should withdraw from the room whilst the matter is discussed.

These declarations apply to all Members present, whether the Member is part of the meeting, attending to speak as a local Member on any item or simply observing the meeting from the public seating area.

There were no declarations of interest.

To consider any business which, by reason of special circumstances, the Chairman proposed to accept as urgent under Section 100(b)(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

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The Chair announced that he had agreed with Councillor Kemp that her request would be considered for the next meeting on 31 October 2022.

Members wishing to speak pursuant to Standing Order 34 should inform the Chairman of their intention to do so and on what items they wish to be heard before a decision on that item is taken.

Councillors M de Whalley and A Kemp for all items.

Councillor Mrs E Nockolds for Agenda Item 10.

There was no Chair’s correspondence.

There were no call-ins.

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The Assistant to the Chief Executive presented the report which outlined the work of the Informal Working Group (IWG) established to consider the Corporate Complaints Policy so that the Panel may consider whether to recommend some or all of the proposed changes to Cabinet.

The Panel’s attention was drawn to the key issues and options considered as set out in the report.

The Chair thanked Councillor Ayres for chairing the IWG.

Councillors Ayres advised that he was happy to recommend the proposed changes.

Councillor Long, Portfolio Holder for Corporate Services agreed with the comments made by Councillor Ayres.

RESOLVED:  The Panel was invited to consider the proposed changes as set out in the report and minutes and recommended the proposed changes to Cabinet.

Please note that the number of compliments received will also be included in the report.

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The Assistant to the Chief Executive explained that the report was for information only and was produced on an annual basis for the period 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 and set out the breakdown of MP Enquiries, Corporate Complaints, complaints made to the Ombudsman and details on compliments received from members of the public.  It was highlighted that for the first time, it also included the number of Freedom of Information requests made in the same period as well as Data Protection Breaches, together with any reports to the Information Commissioners office.

The Assistant to the Chief Executive responded to questions in relation to:

·         Compliments form available on the website.  It was also noted that a number of compliments were also received via handwritten notes/email.

·         Complaint Management - Future reports to provide details of timescales – time taken to resolve a complaint.

·         Freedom of Information requests published on the Council’s web site.  Officers agreed to highlight the link to previous FOI requests on the Council’s page on FOIs.

In response to questions from Councillor Ryves in relation to support available to Parish Councils, the Assistant to the Chief Executive commented that there was no formal arrangement but added if a Parish Council approached the Council the authority would be happy to assist and there was a raft of tools available.  The Monitoring Officer clarified that there were 101 Parish Councils and that the Council did not have the resource to assist but would be able to signpost Parish Councils to the organisations which could provide guidance and advice.

Councillor Long, Portfolio Holder for Corporate Services concurred with the comments made by the Monitoring Officer.

Councillor Humphrey referred to page 27 of the Ombudsman’s report – 0% of complaints investigated were upheld which compared to an average 0f 51% in similar organisations and congratulated the Council.

The Chair thanked the Assistant to the Chief Executive for presenting the report and answering questions and comments from the Panel.

The Chair proposed that future reports include details of timescales – time taken to resolve individual complaints and responses to Freedom of Information Requests.  The proposal was seconded by Councillor Humphrey and agreed by the Panel.

RESOLVED:  1) The Panel noted the annual report.

2)  Link to be added on the Website directing customers to the compliments form.  The Assistant to the Chief Executive to liaise with the ICT Web Team Manager.

3)  Future reports to provide details of timescales – time taken to resolve individual complaints and responses to Freedom of Information Requests.

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The Assistant to the Chief Executive presented the post project evaluation report and drew the Panel’s attention to the following sections of the report:

·         Purpose.

·         Background.

·         Scope and Summary of Approach.

·         Methodology.

·         Project Rationale.

·         Project Timeline.

·         Project Management.

·         Project Objectives.

·         Project Outputs.

·         Project Outcomes.

·         Capital Works.

·         Admissions Forecast.

·         Risk.

·         Outputs Achieved.

·         Outcomes Achieved.

·         Key Findings.

·         Conclusion.

The Assistant to the Chief Executive responded to questions and comments in relation to:

·         Performance of Cinema since Covid restrictions had been lifted.  The Panel was advised that a report would be presented by the Managing Director of Alive West Norfolk to a future Environment and Community Panel meeting. CPP to be included on the circulation list.

·         The scope of this report was to look at the construction element only. 

·         Impact of the Pandemic.

·         Lessons learnt and ensuring they were taken forward to future projects.

·         Costs of works to the roof and refurbishment of toilets.

·         Categories of films shown.

·         Good working relationship with the Majestic Cinema.

·         Risks identified with the project were included in Cabinet reports.

·         Potential increased footfall and revenue.

·         % revenue relating to refreshments.

·         Popularity of live streaming events.

·         Why further due diligence was undertaken.

·         Car parking income.

·         Risk Register not able to be located.

Councillor Long, Portfolio Holder for Corporate Services commented that the Assistant to the Chief Executive had undertaken a thorough review and added that blockbuster films were shown at both the Majestic Cinema and the Corn Exchange and gave an example of the recent film Top Gun.

In response to questions from Councillors Kemp and de Whalley on the revenue and outcomes not being included in the post evaluation review, the Chair advised that this was not requested to be detailed in the report.

Councillor Nockolds in her Borough Councillor role and not as a Board Member of Alive West Norfolk informed the Panel that it was a good project and that details were set out in Cabinet reports.  Due to the Pandemic the cinema could not open as scheduled and that staff had been seconded to assist with the Council’s response to the Pandemic and outlined the difficult situation regarding the Project Manager of the project but highlighted that Councillors looked at the project on a regular basis with officers.  Councillor Nockolds provided an overview of the reasons why the roof and refurbishment of the toilets had been undertaken.

Following questions from Councillor de Whalley on electronic screens being on display outside the Corn Exchange and  improvements to the website to inform residents/visitors of what films were being shown on the present day and future dates, the Assistant to the Chief Executive advised that the questions should be directed to the Managing Director of Alive West Norfolk.

Councillor Long, Portfolio Holder for Corporate Services advised that a verbal update was received by the Alive West Norfolk Board on the promotion of the Corn Exchange on the website and at the venue.  It was highlighted that  ...  view the full minutes text for item CP49

To consider the report and make any appropriate recommendations to Cabinet.

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This item was taken after item 7 on the Agenda.

The ICT Manager presented the report and explained that the three-year Enterprise Agreement covering all Microsoft licencing for the authority was due for renewal by 1 April 2022.

The Panel’s attention was drawn to the following sections of the report:

•           Background.

•           Options considered.

•           Financial Implications.

•           Risk Management Implications.

The Chair thanked the ICT Manager for the report and invited questions from the Panel.

Under Standing Order 34, Councillor de Whalley thanked the ICT Manager for forwarding details of the security arrangements and commented that Open Source was considered better value for money than Microsoft and asked if the Council had investigated Open Source.  In response, the ICT Manager explained that the Council had previously looked at Open Source and Open Office and Microsoft and advised that way that the Borough Council and most local authorities operated, the system needed to be compatible with templates, etc and Microsoft had been identified as the best match for the Council.  It was noted that Open Source was a good system and offered a good solution but did not fit the needs of the Council.  The importance of an integrated solution across the authority was highlighted.

Under Standing Order 34, Councillor Kemp asked if the Council would be looking at any other providers, innovative investment or developing homegrown solutions in order to save money.  In response, the ICT Manager explained that the Council did undertake small developments but did not have the resource to undertake the magnitude of work to develop a homegrown solution.  In conclusion, the Panel was advised that the Council was always looking at innovate ways and would continue to do so.

The ICT Manager responded to questions from Councillor Morley on the Agreement with Bytes Software Services and CCS Aggregation.

Following questions from Councillor Ryves on there being no suitable alternative to Microsoft, the ICT Manager explained that it would have cost the Borough Council more for the software to remain on premise than to move to Microsoft Cloud.  The Panel was advised that the Local Government Association had expressed concern regarding the increase in price and had held negotiations with Microsoft.

The ICT Manager responded to questions from Councillor Humphrey on the winning supplier – CCS aggregation.

In response to questions from Councillor Ryves regarding sharing knowledge with other local authorities with regard to procurement, the ICT Manager explained that wherever practicable the Borough Council would talk to other councils.

The Chair, Councillor Moriarty asked with regard to hardware, would there be any impact on Councillors.  In response the ICT Manager explained that there would be no impact on Councillors.

Councillor Long, Portfolio Holder for Corporate Services explained that he had also asked the ICT Manager it there was an alternative to Microsoft but had received a response that only Microsoft was compatible with the Borough Council’s systems.

Councillor Morley referred to the  ...  view the full minutes text for item CP50

Questions should be submitted in advance of the meeting.

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There were no questions.

The Chair advised that there was an outstanding question regarding coastal issues to the Deputy Leader which would be on the Agenda for the next meeting on 31 October 2022.

The Chair invited the Panel to submit any questions in advance of the next meeting.

To note the Panel’s work programme.

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The Chair invited Councillor Kemp to provide an outline of the issues she wished to be considered for the Panel’s Work Programme.  Councillor Kemp explained the item was in relation to the Funding of Brownfield sites.  The Chair asked Councillor Kemp to complete the e-form which would be shared with officers.

The Chair outlined the reasons why the Town Deal Governance item had been slipped to 31 October 2022.

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Democratic Services Officer to check with colleagues which items were to be considered by the Environment and Community and Regeneration and Development Panels and forward details to the Chair to identify which items should be presented to the Corporate Performance Panel prior to Cabinet.

To note that the date of the next meeting of the Corporate Performance Panel will take place on 31 October 2022 at 4.30 pm in the Council Chamber, Town Hall, King’s Lynn.

The next meeting of the Corporate Performance Panel will be held on 31 October 2022 at 4.30 pm in the Council Chamber, Town Hall, King’s Lynn.

To consider passing the following resolution:

“That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act”.

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RESOLVED:  That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act.

The Assistant to the Chief Executive responded to questions and comments from the Panel and those present under Standing Order 34.