Agenda and minutes

(Assistant to the Chief Executive)  To report the appointment of any substitute members for the meeting.

The Panel noted there were no substitute members.

(Head of Research and Democratic Services). To declare interests in any items on the agenda.

In considering whether to declare a personal or a prejudicial interest under the Code of Conduct, Overview & Scrutiny members are asked pay particular attention to paragraph 11 of the Code in addition to the more familiar requirements.

This requires the declaration of a personal and prejudicial interest in any matter before an OS Committee which relates to a decision of or action by another Committee or Sub Committee of the Council, a Joint Committee or Joint Sub Committee in which the Council is involved and of which the Councillor is also a member.

Paragraph 11 does not refer to Cabinet decisions or attendance at an OS meeting purely for the purpose of answering questions or providing information on such a matter.

No declarations of interest were made.

Recommendation:

1.                  That the Terms of Reference for this Task and Finish Panel be agreed and submitted to the 10^th July 2008 meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee; and

2.                  That the Panel agrees a preferred starting time for the Panel meetings.

(Chairman/Lead Officer) The Overview and Scrutiny Committee at its meeting of 10 April has agreed to the establishment up of this Panel. The Panel is now requested to review its draft terms of reference and to submit it to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 10th July 2008.

In order to help the Panel, a set of ‘Notes for guidance’ for the operating of a Task and Finish Panel is also attached.  This sets out how a Task and Finish Panel should ideally go about scoping its programme of work, gathering information and evidence.  The note also suggests how final reporting back to the main Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the larger Council is undertaken.  A draft layout for a Final Report is also attached as a useful practical example of what the Panel are required to produce.

In order to assist Members, a Draft set of Terms of Reference has been prepared for the Panel’s consideration and agreement.

The Deputy Chief Executive took the Panel through the draft terms of reference. As background information the Panel noted that there was a working party some years back, set up under the then Portfolio Holder, that looked at the potential Customer Transformation Programme. The Working Party had commissioned an external company, Steria Ltd, to review customer service performance and identify areas for improvement. 

The initiative was eventually held in abeyance until such times as the affordability of the project could be assessed, given the pressure on the Council’s revenue budget and uncertainty around the cost of the new Waste Management Contract. Now that the Council’s Medium Term Financial Forecast is clearer, there is value in revisiting the Customer Services agenda to see what improvements could be practically achieved.

The Panel then considered the terms of reference, discussing each point in turn, and agreed them, noting that under item 5 of the terms of reference they would be taking special note of using plain English and doing away with jargon in dealings with the public.

The Panel then went on to discuss what start time would be preferred by the members. They decided on 7.30pm. There was also a plea that the meetings not be held on a Tuesday.

            RESOLVED:

1)                  That the Terms of Reference for this Task and Finish Panel be agreed as set out in the agenda and submitted to the next Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting for their endorsement.

2)                  That the Panel agreed a start time of 7.30pm for future panel meetings.

An initial scoping report for this Panel to consider is to follow. The key issues within the report will be presented to Members at the meeting.

The Panel considered the Scoping report which set out the background to the Council’s Customer Transformation programme. This has long been an aspiration of the council dating back to 2002. In 2005 the council commissioned an external company (Steria Ltd.) to review customer service performance and identify areas for improvement. They concluded that:

1.            Opening hours are not designed around customer needs, in particular with respect to telephone enquiries.

2.            The Authority appeared to suffer from a lack of internal communication and adherence to standards.

3.            Five reception desks in the Civic Offices is too many and confusing.

4.            Telephone answering performance is poor, with a propensity to pass the customer on.

In September 2005 the council endorsed the findings of the report and commissioned an external agency (Foresight Consulting Ltd) to develop a plan for the improvement and for the implementation of a Customer Services Transformation Programme (CTP) to address the issues identified above.

A number of objectives were identified and agreed by the Cabinet for the CTP. They were:

·   To transform the organisation to a position where the customer is seen at the heart of the Council’s operations;

·   To improve the customer experience and ensure the quality of service is consistent whenever, wherever and however customers contact the Council;

·   To achieve an improvement in customer satisfaction and customer service within the first twelve months of the programme;

·   To establish a front/back office organisational model and set up a Corporate Customer Services front office where a high number of enquiries are resolved first time at the first point of contact;

·   To re-organise the Civic Offices to enable customers to access the majority of Council services at a single reception/customer services area on the ground floor and to improve access to Council committees and other public meetings.

·   To improve back office efficiency and productivity by answering a high number of enquiries in the new customer services front office;

·   To deploy and develop Customer Relationship Management software in association with the website and a new intranet to provide accurate and timely information for Members and officers on service issues, customer trends, access channels and service usage and costs.

Provision was made in the Council’s finances, with a budget of over £2.2 million identified. The Capital Bid was agreed and provision still exists within the Council’s current Capital Programme, but due to uncertainty around the costs of Waste Management, no provision was made in the 2007/08 Budget or in subsequent years for additional revenue.  As such the programme has been held in abeyance.

Members of this Task and Finish Panel would have to consider whether they feel the objectives of the CTP are still relevant and whether they would like to focus on any particular aspect previously identified.

The Panel will revisit these reports and conclusions at its next meeting.

The Chairman asked if the money that was set aside, was ring-fenced. The Deputy Chief Executive replied that it was; it was allocated to the Customer Transformation Programme and is still there  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

As an addition to the agenda the Head of Public Relations, Tom Carne and the Council’s website editor, Steve Mitchell, were invited to give the Panel an insight into the workings and the breath of information held on the Council’s website. They also gave a live, real time demonstration of the website.

Tom Carne started by making the point that the Audit Commission was after improved services and improved value for money. People cost money and are only available part of the day, and only five days a week. The Council’s website however, is available 24/7, 365 days a year, and had become one of the Council’s most important channels of service delivery and communication. It runs on an application called Punch, provided by Harlequin. Currently it has 1,734 pages plus over 7,000 pdfs and images attached to it.

Usage is soaring. In 2006/07 it received 664,000 visits. In 2007/08 it received over 787,000 visits.

Public Relations provide much of the content (about 735 pages of news items). The website also provides a framework for lots of service  based applications, such as i-Plan, Home Option, Jobs, Coms and Public-i.

The Council has one editor for its site and that is Steve Mitchell, who is employed more or less full time to manage the web content. Technical support is provided by the Council’s ICT section.

The most important page on the website is the home page (the Council’s shop window), which is based on the BBC website. There is a need to keep putting new things on it to keep people interested, such as news items and press releases.

EFDC are at the forefront of webcasting, not just of meetings, but public information, Civic Events and the Chairman’s and Leader’s messages.

The system also has forms on line, provided by BWS and online consultation software (SNAP). Customers could also access online payments, such as paying car parking fines.

Members should appreciate that there is a massive amount of information on the website and it helps people to access services and cuts down on the need for staff resources. Because the website is so successful it puts serious challenges on the Council, the volume of new information is stretching the system and there is a very streamlined staffing structure, i.e. Steve Mitchell, compared to most other councils.

Under DDA legislation the website makes the Council’s services accessible to many groups of people to whom the Council was previously inaccessible. Currently the Shaw Trust is auditing the website for accessibility. They employ people with different disabilities to test the Council’s site and will then report back to us. This will mean changes to the design of the website, e.g. links, layout, use of colour and graphics. This may mean a cultural change by the people who produce web content around the Council.

A great deal has been done but the Council is now at the margins of it capacity as far as the website is concerned.  There are concerns on having to rely  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

No other business was raised.

To agree a date for the next meeting of this Panel.

The next meeting was agreed for Monday 15 September 2008 at 7.30pm.