Agenda item

To consider the report of the Director of Resources (copy enclosed).

The Committee received the report of the Director of Resources confirming the Committees Work Programme for 2018/19, as attached at Appendix 1 to the report.

Following receipt of the report Members made comments on the following items:

·        Provision on Healthcare Services - Councillor N R Pudney provided members with feedback from his recent meeting with the Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust (MEHT) and that he will be attending a meeting of the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (HOSC) on 05 September 2018.  The Director of Resources confirmed that the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) will be invited to a future meeting of the Committee.

·        Section 106 - An update was to be presented at a future meeting of the Committee.

It was agreed that Councillor I E Dobson would replace Councillor Mrs M E Thompson as the Member Sponsor.

·        Internal and External Communications - At the request of Members it was agreed that the following items are not removed from the Programme of Work until the completion of the Ignite project:

·         telephone communication via the Council’s contact centre.

·         how the Council can improve the website.

·         the Council’s Digital strategy.

            Members raised concerns regarding lack of response to emails.

It was agreed that staff would receive a reminder that the Council aims to respond to all emails within five working days as set out in the Maldon District Council Customer Charter – The Council’s Service Standards, July 2011.  A notice on this would also be published on the intranet.

Councillor S J Savage raised a concern around non-receipt of council sent emails and relying on email as the main form of communication.  The Committee discussed that whilst the current system offers the option for the sender to request delivery and read receipts this is something that the recipient can opt out of.

In addition a discussion was held over supplementing emails with telephone calls.

·        Monitoring the Organisational Change Programme - A report for discussion will be provided at the next meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

·        Review of Fire and Rescue Service provision in the Dengie - The Committee was advised that Councillor P G L Elliott would meet with the Director of Service Delivery on 30 August 2018 for further discussion.

Councillor Dewick raised concern that retained firemen within the Maldon District were not aware of the anticipated changes, and informed the Committee that with the proposed closures response times would increase by at least 30-40 minutes due to the additional travel time which could result in serious injury or the death of persons involved.

·        Dealing with Waste Water­ - The previous meeting has now been rescheduled.

It was requested that diary invites are sent to Members in advance of any meetings which occur.

·        Provision of Tourist Information Centres within the District - A meeting had been scheduled for 31 August 2018.

·        Office Accommodation and Leases within the Maldon District Council Offices - All information has now been received and a report will be provided to the next meeting of the Committee.

Members were advised to direct questions on the Police Offices to a forthcoming meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny, Crime and Disorder Committee.

·        Job Centreplus - Following a meeting attended by Councillor M S Heard, Members were advised that a report will come to a future meeting of the Committee.

·        Waste Contract – Reliability of the Contractor Vehicles - Feedback will be provided at a future meeting of the Committee.

RESOLVED

(i).   That the content of this report and actions as outlined above be noted.