Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Town Hall, Saturday Market Place, King's Lynn PE30 5DQ. View directions

Contact: Wendy Vincent, Democratic Services Officer, 01553 616377, email:  wendy.vincent@west-norfolk.gov.uk 

Items
No. Item

CP43

Apologies

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors B Ayres, J Collop and H Humphrey.

 

CP44

Minutes pdf icon PDF 1 MB

To approve the minutes from the Corporate Performance Panel held on 9 September 2019.

 

Minutes:

The Minutes of the meeting held on 9 September 2019 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

 

CP45

Declarations of Interest

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.

Minutes:

Councillor S Nash was present under Standing Order 34 for Item 8 and declared an interest as he was currently taking legal action against the Council.

 

CP46

Urgent Business Under Standing Order 7

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.

Minutes:

There was no urgent business.

 

 

CP47

Members Present Pursuant to Standing Order 34

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 the meeting commences.  Any Member attending the meeting under Standing Order 34 will only be permitted to speak on those items which have been previously notified to the Chairman.

Minutes:

Councillor S Nash for Item 8.

 

CP48

Chair's Correspondence

Minutes:

There was no Chair’s correspondence.

 

CP49

Corporate Complaints Policy pdf icon PDF 34 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Assistant Director presented the report and explained that the borough council strived to provide excellent services to its customers, visitors and businesses, and to deliver those services right first time.  It was explained that occasionally, customers may be dissatisfied with council services and would make a complaint about the service they had received.  It was highlighted that the council’s current process focussed on the administration of complaints so a thorough review of the process had been conducted to drive greater consistency, reflect best practice, improve customer experience, and to ensure all complaints were dealt with appropriately.

 

The key issues were outlined as set out in the report.

 

Members’ attention was drawn to the following sections of the report:

 

·        Section 7 – Complaints that cannot be considered under this policy.

·        Section 9 – Timescales for making a complaint.

 

The Panel was informed that the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman offered training to Councils to assist the administration of their complaints processes.  The council had booked the training for spring 2020 and all members of staff involved in the administration of complaints would be attending.

 

The Panel was invited to consider the draft corporate complaints policy and recommend approval to Cabinet.

 

The Assistant Director responded to questions in relation to the various stages of the complaints process and timescale to respond to complainants as set out in section 3 of the report.

 

Councillor Joyce asked what the level was of experienced officers dealing with complaints.  In response, the Assistant Director explained that the complaint was initially considered by a Service Manager at Stage 1.  However, if the complaint required specialist advice, for example, business rates, the complaint would be dealt with by a Service Manager with the relevant expertise.  Members were advised that there were currently 15 staff processing complaints and would receive training in spring 2020.

 

Councillor Moriarty suggested that the Chair of the Standards Committee attend the training in spring 2020.  In response, the Assistant Director advised that there was space on the training course.

 

In response to questions from Councillor Joyce on section 6 – Accessibility, the Assistant Director explained that written consent was required from any other third party to act on behalf of an individual.

 

Following questions from Councillor Morley on complaints where it was not possible to response in the required timescale, the Assistant Director explained that the relevant department would be informed of the number of days the response had exceeded the timescale.  Democratic Services sent out reminders to officers when a response was due and this would escalated to service managers if necessary.

 

The Assistant Director provided clarification on MP enquiries received and explained that they were not processed as a corporate complaint.

 

In response to questions from the Chair regarding performance and how the data was analysed to identified trends, etc, the Assistant Director explained that the Council received an annual report from the Ombudsman and that this was reported to the Corporate Performance Panel.  However, the Assistant Director undertook  ...  view the full minutes text for item CP49

CP50

Managing Unreasonable Complainant Behaviour pdf icon PDF 28 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

In presenting the report, the Assistant Director explained that a recent review of corporate complaints and the Unreasonably Persistent Complaints Policy had highlighted a review of the policies was required to reflect best practice and to provide clarification on key points.  It was explained that the report related to the policy on persistent complainants and had been renamed the Unreasonable Complainants Policy.

 

The Panel was advised that a tracked changes version of the policy was attached to the report.  Members were invited to review the proposed changes and approve the revised policy.

 

Councillor Joyce referred to 4 – Implementation of the policy on page 42 and the proposal for the Executive Director in consultation with the Chief Executive or Monitoring Officer to authorise staff to terminate contact with the complainant on the subject of the complaint(s) and discontinue any further investigation.  Councillor Joyce outlined the benefits and disadvantages of the proposal and suggested that Members be involved in the internal appeal process.  The Chief Executive agreed to look at the wording on page 42 section 4.

 

Under Standing Order 34, Councillor Nash addressed the Panel and commented on the draft policy:

 

·        Reference was made to the complaints section of the council’s website and Councillor Nash commented that the information published penalised the Councillor.

·        Reference to the Local Government Ombudsman and the “scattergun approach” when raising a complaint.  The Assistant Director explained that this was a standard part of the Ombudsman advice and undertook to provide a more detailed definition on the policy.

·        Page 43 – there was no mention where the complainant could raise a new complaint and this was unacceptable.  The Assistant Director to revise the wording to include that the introduction of new evidence would be considered.

·        Potential conflict of interest.

·        Decision to go to Standards Committee for determination to invoke the policy.

·        Councillor Nash stated that he had been on the unreasonably persistent complainants register for 3 years and 9 months.

 

Following further questions and comments from the Panel, the Assistant Director emphasised that the policy would only be invoked if the complainant had exhausted the council’s corporate complaints policy and the Local Government Ombudsman.  Councillor Moriarty referred to the last paragraph on page 42 and asked if the wording could be looked at to include – if the complainant had exhausted the council’s corporate complaints policy and the Local Government Ombudsman, the complainant should as a last resort contact their MP or a Councillor.

 

Councillor Moriarty made further comments on page 42 of the policy and suggested that the Monitoring Officer together with the Chair or the entire Standards Committee may authorise staff to terminate contact with the complainant.  The Assistant Director informed that Panel that Councillors, such as the Ward Councillor could be involved in the decision to invoke the policy rather than the entire Standards Committee, but his suggestion was not supported.

 

Following a discussion on the effect on staff dealing with complex complaints, the Panel was reminded of the Council’s duty of care  ...  view the full minutes text for item CP50

CP51

Formal Complaints against the Borough Council 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019 and Compliments received pdf icon PDF 67 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chief Executive presented the formal complaints annual report circulated with the Agenda.

 

RESOLVED:  The Panel noted the formal complaints annual report from 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019.

 

CP52

Q1 2019/2020 Corporate Performance Monitoring Report pdf icon PDF 182 KB

Minutes:

The Policy, Performance and Personnel Manager presented the report that contained information on the corporate Performance monitoring undertaken for Q1 2019/2020.

 

The Panel was reminded that performance indicators for 2019/20 had been agreed by portfolio holders and executive directors as the key performance measures for the year; they covered all directorates.  The monitoring report highlighted specific performance issues; where indicators had not met agreed targets they were drawn out into an action report, which provided additional detail on what actions were being taken to correct performance that had a variance to target.

 

Members were informed that the Q1 2019/20 monitoring report showed that 44% of targets had been met, and performance had improved against target for 19 indicators.  All calculations and analysis in the report was based on 52 indicators not the agreed 54, this was due to unavailable data for performance indicators EV3 and EV4.

 

In response to questions from Councillor Pope as to why the date was not available for performance indicators EV3 and EV4, the Policy, Performance and Personnel Manager explained that there was a delay due to additional commitments of the new refuse contract, update figures would be available in Q2.

 

Councillor Pope referred to HS7, asked for an explanation as to why the number of rough sleepers had increased.  In response the Policy, Performance and Personnel Manager undertook to obtain an explanation from the Housing Manager.

 

Councillor Mrs Dickinson commented that some areas for comparison were not meaningful and gave HS8 as an example.  In response, the Policy, Performance and Personnel Manager explained that some indicators were for monitoring purposes only and referred to the guidance circulated to the Panel for information.  The Policy, Performance and Personnel Manager undertook to cross reference future reports to the Performance Indicators guidance document.  Councillor Sampson stated that the figures had been comprehensively explained at a recent Environment and Community Panel by the Housing Services Manager.  The Chief Executive advised that the presentation was available to view on Mod Gov.

 

Councillor Manning referred to HS8 and the cost of temporary accommodation.  The Leader, Councillor Long explained that the Council had invested in converting a building into temporary accommodation to reduce the amount spent in B and B accommodation.  Councillor Morley added that the cost of the temporary accommodation should be costed for the year and taken into account.  The Policy, Performance and Personnel Manager undertook to email a direct response to the Panel.

 

The Policy, Performance and Personnel Manager informed Members that the Panel could request the Housing Services Manager to attend a future meeting and give a presentation.  The Leader, Councillor Long advised that any items with specific housing enquiries should be directed to the Environment and Community Panel but any financial enquiries should go to the Corporate Performance Panel.

 

In response to a question from Councillor Joyce on HS11 and what was defined as the first contact, the Policy, Performance and Personnel Manager undertook to clarify the request.

 

Following a further question from Councillor CS! – Freedom  ...  view the full minutes text for item CP52

CP53

Panel Work Programme 2019/2020 pdf icon PDF 71 KB

To note the Panel’s Work Programme for 2019/2020.

Minutes:

The following item to be added to the Panel’s work programme:

 

·        Review of the Planning Sifting Process – The chair undertook to invite the Environment and Community Panel to attend for this item at a future meeting on 7 April 2020.

 

 

 

 

CP54

Cabinet Forward Decisions List pdf icon PDF 57 KB

Minutes:

The Panel noted the Cabinet Forward Decisions List.

 

CP55

Date of Next Meeting

To note that the date of the next meeting of the Corporate Performance Panel will take place on 26 November 2019 at 6 pm in the Council Chamber, Town Hall, Saturday Market Place, King’s Lynn.

 

Minutes:

The next meeting of the Corporate Performance Panel would take place on 26 November 2019 at 6 pm in the Council Chamber, Town Hall, Saturday Market Place, King’s Lynn.

 

 

CP56

FOR INFORMATION ONLY: Employment Monitoring Figures - Annual Report pdf icon PDF 68 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Panel received the Employment Monitoring Figures – Annual Report for information only.

 

CP57

FOR INFORMATION ONLY: Annual Sickness Monitoring Report pdf icon PDF 111 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Panel received the Annual Sickness Monitoring Report for information only.