Agenda and minutes

Councillor Gary Mulvaney

Prior to the commencement of ordinary business the Chairman advised that  Councillor Donald MacDonald and Councillor Donald Kelly had intimated their resignation from this Group.

There were no declarations of interest

Organisational Development Policy and Performance Group 14 May 2009

The minutes of the meeting of the Organisational Development Policy and Performance Group held on 14^th May 2009 were approved as a correct record.

Arising from this, the Committee were advised that Appendix 1 (Work Programme) highlighted that reports on (a) Councillors Training and Development; and (b) Customer First Arrangements were scheduled for submission to the meeting on 13^th August 2009, but that these should have been scheduled instead for submission to the following ordinary meeting on 9^th September 2009. It was agreed to amend the Work Programme accordingly.

Report by Business Improvement Officer

The PPG considered and noted the list of recognition events for Process for Change programme.

Report by Head of ICT and Financial Services.

Members considered a report by the Head of ICT and Financial Services in regard to the role of the PPG in relation to the Process for Change programme. 

Decision:

The proposals set out in the report were agreed and it was noted, in particular, that:

1. The findings from the interviews with staff and customers, referred to in para 3.4 of the report, will be reported back to a future meeting of the PPG;
2. The Project Initiation Documents (PIDs) for the Customer Management and Workforce Deployment workstreams will be circulated to members of the PPG as soon as they are approved by the respective Project Boards, and will be included on the agenda for the meeting on 13^th August;
3. In terms of the Procurement workstream quarterly reports will be submitted on progress against the agreed implementation plan and the PPG will review performance against the best practice indicators (BPIs) and the targets set for these, and assess the benefits realised by commodity as against those anticipated in the business case; and 
4. A progress report on the Quarter 2 recognition events will be submitted to the next meeting of the PPG on 13^th August.

The PPG also wished to note its concern in regard to the apparent lack of engagement by Unions in the programme, evidenced by non attendance at Project Board / PPG meetings.

Joint Report by Director of Community Services and Director of Development Services.

The PPG considered a progress report in regard to the Growing Our Own initiative.

Decision:

It was agreed to note that (a) the initiative is embedded within the Councils HR Strategy; and (b) work on the HR Strategy is ongoing and, once drafted, will be submitted to a future meeting of the PPG.

Report by Chief Executive

The PPG heard a presentation from Eileen Wilson on the Council’s emerging Community Engagement Strategy.

Decision

It was agreed to note the progress to date.

(Ref: Report by Chief Executive, submitted)

Report by Head of Facility Services

The PPG considered a report by the Strategic Asset Manager summarising the key messages and recommendations contained within the recently published Audit Scotland report on Asset Management in Local Government and, in broad terms, outlining the areas for improvement identified for action by the Council’s Asset Management Board.

Decision:

The PPG noted:

1. The contents of the report and, in particular, the high level action plan that will address the areas for improvement identified by Audit Scotland in respect of Argyll and Bute Council; and

2.      That a further report will be submitted to the meeting on 9^th September setting out the planned actions in greater detail.

(Ref: Report by Strategic Asset Manager dated 27^th May 2009, submitted)

Report by Head of Strategic Finance

The PPG considered a report by the Head of Strategic Finance setting out progress on matters relating to the procurement of large capital projects, in particular (a) training of appropriate staff on the application of Prince2; (b) ensuring the availability of appropriate technical skills, utilising external assistance if required; and (c) the appropriate form of contract to best fit the Council’s desire for improved project management.

Decision:

The PPG agreed to recommend to the Council that, where possible, managers of large scale, significant capital projects should hold Prince2 accreditation.

The PPG also highlighted two remaining areas of concern:

(a)    that the Council is too small an organisation to sustain the required level of specific, detailed expertise to deliver the whole range of large scale capital projects and that, accordingly, consideration should be given to the creation of strategic partnerships to fill any capacity shortfall and provide such expertise as required; and

(b)    that the current form of contract used by the Council has the potential to lead to conflict, and that consideration should be given to a form of contract which is less adversarial, such as NEC3.

(Ref: Report by Head of Strategic Finance, submitted)