Democracy | Corporate Services Cabinet Member – minutes

Corporate Services Cabinet Member – minutes – 6 February 2009

223 (90) COUNCIL TAX WRITE OFFS – The Service Director Finance submitted a report informing the Cabinet Member of debts that had been written off using delegated powers and seeking approval to write off debts over £1,500.

The council had taken on arrears from the old Boothferry, Glanford and Scunthorpe Borough Councils, and had been sending out its own accounts since 1 April 1996. All recovery action had been undertaken to collect debts. Accounts that were irrecoverable or uneconomic to collect had been noted. These were put for write-off in accordance with the council’s policies. The debts would remain on the council’s records and could be paid in the future.

The council’s Financial Regulations gave the Service Director Finance delegated powers to write off any debt up to a limit of £1,500, the report detailed debts over that amount which required approval.

Resolved – (a) That council tax written off under delegated powers be noted, (b) that the write off of council tax over £1,500, as detailed in Appendix A, be approved, and (c) that the debts remain in the councils records and be available for collection in future should this be possible.

224 (91) HOUSING BENEFIT OVERPAYMENT WRITE OFFS – The Service Director Finance submitted a report informing the Cabinet Member of debts that had been written off using delegated powers and seeking approval to write off debts over £1,500.

The council attempted to recover overpaid Housing Benefit debts that occurred as a result of customers receiving benefit to which they were no longer entitled following changes in their circumstances.

All recovery action had been undertaken to collect debts. Accounts that were irrecoverable or uneconomic to collect had been noted. These were put for write-off in accordance with the council’s policies. The debts would remain on the council’s records and could be paid in the future.

Resolved – (a) That debts written off under delegated powers be noted, (b) that the write off of debts over £1,500, as detailed in Appendix A, be approved, and (c) that the debts remain in the councils records and be available for collection in future should this be possible.

225 (92) NATIONAL NON-DOMESTIC RATE (NNDR) WRITE OFFS – The Service Director Finance submitted a report informing the Cabinet Member of debts that had been written off using delegated powers and seeking approval to write off debts over £1,500.

226 (93) SUNDRY DEBTS AND SUPPLIER CREDITS – The Service Director Finance submitted a report informing the Cabinet Member of debts that had been written off using delegated powers and seeking approval to write off debts over £1,500.

The full range of debt recovery processes had been undertaken in the pursuit of outstanding sundry debts and supplier credits in accordance with the council’s policies. The debts would remain in the council’s records and could be paid in the future.

Resolved – (a) That the sundry debts and supplier credits written off under delegated powers be noted, (b) that approval be given to write off sundry debts and sundry credits over £1,500, as detailed in Appendix A, and (c) that the debts remain in the councils records and be available for collection in future should this be possible.

227 (94) CYCLE TO WORK SCHEME – The Service Director Human Resources submitted a report seeking approval for the introduction of the Cycle to Work scheme.

The Cycle to Work scheme was launched by the Department of Transport to help increase access to a more sustainable means of transport to work, as well as improve the congestion problems of the UK. Cycling to work also improved fitness and increased individual well being.

The scheme used the annual tax exemption introduced by the 1999 Finance Act that allowed employers to loan cycles and cyclists’ safety equipment to employees as a tax free benefit. The report gave full details of how the scheme worked.

Resolved – That the Cycle to Work scheme be approved and adopted.

228 (95) QUARTERLY WORKFORCE MONITORING JANUARY TO MARCH 2008 – The Service Director Human Resources submitted a report giving details of the workforce monitoring statistics for July to September 2008.

A number of key workforce indicators were included in the attached quarterly workforce monitoring report. These covered:

workforce profiles
employee turnover
sickness absence
recruitment and selection
learning and development

Detailed workforce information covering the areas was also provided to services on a quarterly basis. The information supported aspects of service area quarterly performance reviews, as well as assisting managers in carrying out workforce planning.

Issues raised within the report would be addressed through actions included in the Human Resources (HR) Service Plan. Service specific issues were considered as part of quarterly performance reviews, with individual services areas taking appropriate action to improve performance in key areas. HR continued to support service areas to do that.

Resolved – That the Quarterly Workforce Monitoring report for July to September 2008 be accepted and key issues noted.

229 (96) REDEPLOYMENT PROCEDURE – The Service Director Human Resources submitted a report seeking approval for revisions to the council’s Redeployment procedure.

The Redeployment procedure formed part of the council’s Human Resources Manual and was last reviewed in July 2006. The procedure described the process to be followed as a means to achieve the retention of employees who could no longer remain in their post under defined circumstances. In addition it set out the scheme of salary protection that would apply should an employee be redeployed into a post that attracted a lower basic salary.

The revised procedure offered clarity around the redeployment of those employees nearing the end of fixed term contracts. It also made clear that employees would only be redeployed into fixed term and temporary posts where there were no other options available. The updated procedure also increased the level of support to employees.

Resolved – That the revised Redeployment procedure be approved and adopted.

230 (97) CODE OF PRACTICE FOR EMPLOYEES RELATING TO INTERESTS AND GIFTS AND HOSPITALITY – The Service Director Legal and Democratic submitted a report seeking to consider a revised code of practice for employees in relation to interests and gifts and hospitality.

The government was currently consulting on a proposed national code of conduct for employees, alongside changes to the member code. At the time of the 2000 Act the government envisaged that the employee code would form part of the same New Ethical Framework as the member code and Standards Committees.

The national code for employees, when and if introduced, would change the requirements for registration of interests. However, in the interim the provisions of the 1972 Local Government Act continued to apply. There were no statutory requirements in relation to gifts and hospitality. However, there were provisions for local codes of practice contained in various national conditions of employment, as well as in other professional codes. In 1994 a voluntary Code of Conduct for Local Government Employees was produced by the Local Government Management Board and the Local Authorities Association, which included requirements in relation to interests and gifts and hospitality. The council’s constitution provided that all officers should have regard to that code.

The provisions of the 1994 code were incorporated into a North Lincolnshire code relating to interests and gifts and hospitality which was last reviewed in 2004. The proposed amended version, which was appended to the report, reflected organisational changes and current best practice. The code had been incorporated into the terms and conditions of employment for all employees other than those in schools. The code made it clear that any breach of it would also be a breach of the Code of Conduct and could lead to disciplinary action.

Resolved – (a) That the amended code be approved and adopted, (b) that the code be publicised widely within the council, and (c) that governing bodies of schools within North Lincolnshire be recommended to adopt the code.

231 (98) SUPPLIER SATISFACTION SURVEY 2007-2008 – The Service Director Finance submitted a report setting out the findings of a supplier satisfaction survey of suppliers who tendered for the council contracts during the financial year 2007-2008.

In 2007-2008 a total of 38 tender exercises were conducted resulting in 85 contracts being awarded to 79 suppliers. These findings were reported to the Cabinet Member in October 2008. In total, 199 suppliers tendered for council contracts, satisfaction questionnaires were issued to all tenderers.

The detailed findings from the survey were set out in appendix 1 to the report. They included responses from suppliers who tendered directly to the council as well as via other purchasing consortia who invited tenders on the council’s behalf, notably:

North East Lincolnshire Council
East Riding of Yorkshire Council
Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation
East Shires Purchasing Organisation
Office of Government Commerce

Findings from the survey were fed back to relevant contract managers to assist them in improving their procurement arrangements. The survey also helped the council to measure progress against the commitments that had been given in the National Small and Medium Sized Business Friendly Concordat, which the council signed in December 2005.

Resolved – (a) That the findings set out in the report and accompanying appendices be noted, and (b) that the survey be undertaken on an annual basis with the findings of the next survey submitted to the Cabinet Member in January 2010.

The following items contain exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

232 (99) PROPERTY TRANSACTION SCHEDULE – The Service Director Asset Management and Culture submitted a report for consideration, and where necessary approval, of a schedule containing the terms of all recently negotiated property transactions.

Resolved – That the schedule appended to the report be approved.

233 (100) REVIEW OF LOCAL LINK BENEFIT OFFICER POSTS – The Service Director Community Planning and Resources submitted a report seeking approval for changes to the role of Local Link Benefit Officer within the Customer Services division.

Local Links provided the face-to-face service for Local Taxation and Benefits (LT&B) and dealt with any enquiries that customers bring in relating to the full range of LT&B functions. In response to this role, two posts of Local Link Benefit Officer were created in 2004. The posts were established within the Local Link team but had a close working relationship with LT&B, in particular the Assessments team.

Given the complexities of LT&B work ongoing training for Local Link staff was very important. The service had no specific training team; training was delivered to meet short-term needs rather than planned over a long period. A review had shown that although the Local Link Benefit Officer posts had proved effective a major drawback was that the role did not include a specific training remit.

Resolved – That the proposal to restructure the posts of Local Link Benefit Officer, as set out in the report, be approved.

Note: Reports are in Portable Document Format (PDF) and therefore require a suitable reader to view them. A reader can be downloaded free from the Adobe website (full instructions for downloading the reader are provided on the site).

Where there is no report this is because it is exempt, as it contains information which is considered to be of a confidential nature, as detailed in the Local Government (Access to Information) Act