Items
No. |
Item |
1. |
Apologies for Absence
Additional documents:
Minutes:
1.1
|
Apologies for absence were received from
Councillor Colin Ross and Councillor Tim Huggan attended as the
appointed substitute.
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2. |
Exclusion of Public and Press
To identify items where
resolutions may be moved to exclude the press and public
Additional documents:
Minutes:
2.1
|
No items were identified where resolutions may
be moved to exclude the public and press.
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3. |
Declarations of Interest PDF 129 KB
Members to declare any
interests they have in the business to be considered at the
meeting
Additional documents:
Minutes:
3.1
|
There were no declarations of interest.
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4. |
Minutes of Previous Meeting PDF 9 KB
To approve the minutes of the
meeting of the Committee held on 7th July
2021.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
4.1
|
Minutes of previous meeting held on 7 July
2021 were agreed to be a true record.
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|
5. |
Introduction to Transitional Committees PDF 134 KB
Report of the Policy and Improvement
Officer.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
5.1
|
The Committee received a report of the Policy
& Improvement Officer about an introduction to Transitional
Committees.
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5.2
|
Present for this item was Alice Nicholson
(Policy and Improvement Officer)
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5.3
|
The report provided an update of a briefing to
the Governance Committee which set out the role of Transitional
Committees this year. It was clarified that they were advisory and
temporary with a core focus to improve cross-party engagement
working and decision making whilst transitioning to a committee
system. It was also explained that whilst the Transitional
Committees were temporary, the business being discussed was not and
that they were an important way of testing how decision making
might work in a committee system from May 2022. . The topics to be
covered by Transitional Committees were very important and a high
priority for the Co-Operative Executive. It was clarified that
Scrutiny would continue this year and that the Co-Operative
Executive was still the decision-making body in this municipal
year.
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5.4
|
It was suggested by the Chair to have an opportunity to de-brief
after the Transitional Committee meetings and suggestions were
invited on how this would best work. It was suggested to use email
following committee to allow uptake time following the meeting for
thoughts to occur and that a prompt be given by the Chair or Policy
and Improvement Officer.
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5.5
|
RESOLVED: That the Committee:-
(a)
notes the contents of the report now
submitted; and
(b)
requests the Policy & Improvement Officer to make arrangements
for a debrief following committee meetings.
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6. |
Our Approach to Priority Budgeting
Additional documents:
Minutes:
6.1
|
The Chair announced the
proposal that an urgent item of business be considered at this
point in the proceedings. Council Procedure Rule 26 states that
“An item of business may be considered at a meeting of the
Council as a matter of urgency, where it has not been possible to
give five clear working days’ notice, on the recommendation
of the Chair, but the reason for such urgency must be recorded in
the minutes. The Chair agreed to the inclusion so as to be in line
with all Transitional Committee agendas in this cycle of meetings,
giving all members of transitional committees equal opportunity to
consider this overarching matter. It was not possible in time
available to give appropriate notice and publish with agenda, and
it was considered members would be at a disadvantage if not
included for consideration.
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6.2
|
Present for this item was Councillor Cate
McDonald, (Executive Member for Finance and Resources), Eugene
Walker (Executive Director of Resources and Laurie Brennan (Policy
and Improvement Officer)
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6.3
|
An introduction was
given explaining that a conversation was to be started about
priorities and how they were reflected in budget decisions for the
future. The financial context was explained in terms of the
September budget report to the Co-operative Executive, which set
out the potential £40m plus overspend, resulting from
the impact of covid pressures on income, planning, leisure but in
particular social care and humanitarian issues. It was explained
that the recent Government announcement on social care was mainly
about the future capping of care fees and has not provided a
solution to help with the current pressures and as a result it
provides a difficult context for this year’s budget into
next. It was stated that these difficulties make it important to
have a clear sense of priorities to guide the allocation of budgets
and that whilst Transitional Committees were not formally involved
in the process, they had an advisory role. Looking forward to next
year the budget would be done in a different way and built up
through committees.
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6.4
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It was
explained that the One Year Plan sets out the Co-Operative
Executive’s ambition to have a 3–5-year corporate plan
with priority led budgeting. It was stated that the meeting was an
important opportunity to start a conversation about this. It was
also suggested that a summary of key priorities could be produced
by the Committee and Policy and Improvement Officer and then fed
back.
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6.5
|
Members of the Committee raised questions, and the following
responses were provided:
·
It would be very helpful to get feedback over the next coming
months.
·
Diminishing resources were being looked at to support key policies
and looking how the committee system will work in the future. Also
looking at how choices that are made on how money will be spent
will work in the future.
·
It will be considered how money might also be saved and this will
be built into the approach.
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6.6
|
It was stated
that it is appreciated ...
view the full minutes text for item 6.
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7. |
Customer Experience: Improving our Customer Services PDF 1 MB
Presentation by Director of Human Resources
and Customer Services.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
7.1
|
Present for this item was Councillor Cate
McDonald, Mark Bennett (Director of HR & Customer Services) and
Rob Markham (Lead Project Manager).
|
7.2
|
It was
explained that there was an opportunity with the committee to focus
on improving customer service. Mark Bennett gave a presentation on
‘Improving our Customer Services’ referring to the
range of services delivered, what people in Sheffield have told us,
previous efforts, online engagement statistics, what could be done,
suggested approaches to improvement, what customer experience could
be like, what staff experience could be like, what difference it
will make and how it could be measured.
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7.3
|
Members of the Committee raised questions, and the following
responses were provided:
·
It was acknowledged there are some significant issues around call
wait times and performance and that customer expectations have
shifted again. It was also acknowledged that there are issues staff
turnover, retention and training and induction is taking longer. It
was explained that the best way to make a difference to call wait
times would be a holistic approach to how the organisation works so
that services are designed around the needs of customers and not
individual services. It is estimated that 30% of telephone queries
are customers calling back to get a progress update on their
initial query. If was explained that if volume could be reduced,
then it would make a significant positive difference. It was also
explained that improvement is needed where customer queries span
multiple service areas, and this then would reduce call volumes and
wait times. It was clarified that customers will not be forced to
use online services if they are not able or confident to do so, but
that they should be given the choice as we know many customers want
this and as some services are not available, they make
a telephone call. It was suggested that clarity and improvement in
communication via letters would also be beneficial to reducing call
volumes.
·
A response was given around data. It was stated that more detail on
call volumes across various strands was being provided to the audit
and standards committee the following week. This data highlights
that performance was currently not where it needs to be, and the
challenge is around trying to avoid creating situations where
people need to call; making some ‘quick fix’
improvements whilst at the same time focusing on longer term
strategic change. Thoughts from the committee would be welcomed.
The upskilling of staff is part of the solution, and the hope is to
broaden the range of queries with which staff can deal with.
However, it was not feasible to expect staff to be an expert in
every field. It was stated that the systems that are already in
place are helping in making more information available to call
handlers in an intuitive way. It was also stated that it was
important to design the way in which systems were used to improve
the service.
·
If improvements can be made to web and phone ...
view the full minutes text for item 7.
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8. |
Work Plan and Ways of Working PDF 229 KB
Report of Policy and Improvement Officer.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
8.1
|
The Committee
received a report of the Policy and Improvement Officer (Alice
Nicholson) on proposed ways of working for the Committee and
containing a draft Work Plan for the Committee for
2021/22. It was clarified
that ways of working might include smaller groups, a single email
which explains options and working virtually.
It was noted that as a committee, meeting in
public regulations stated that meetings should be face to face as
we were no longer in the period of Covid emergency regulations.
However, smaller group meetings might be held virtually and the
committee would determine the ways of working.
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8.2
|
RESOLVED: That the
Committee notes the contents of the report now submitted, together
with the comments made.
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9. |
Public Questions and Petitions
To receive any questions or
petitions from members of the public
Additional documents:
Minutes:
9.1
|
There were no public questions or
petitions.
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