Scrutiny Committee - 16/02/2011

At a MEETING of the SCRUTINY COMMITTEE held at Dundee on 16th February, 2011.

Present:-

BAILIES

COUNCILLORS

Councillor Kevin KEENAN, Convener, in the Chair.

The minute of meeting of this Committee of 8th December, 2010 was held as read.

Unless marked thus * all items stand delegated.

I SUMMARY OF EXTERNAL INSPECTION REPORTS FOR WHICH ALL GRADES ARE GOOD OR BETTER

There was submitted Report No 42-2011 by the Chief Executive providing a summary of recent inspection reports by the Care Commission which do not require in-depth scrutiny.

The Committee:-

(i) noted the summaries of recent external inspection reports, all of which received grades of good or better in all areas covered by the inspection; and

(ii) remitted to the Directors of Social Work and Education to ensure that the areas for improvement requirements and recommendations included in each report were acted upon, both in relation to the service inspected and as guidance on good practice for other services.

II INSPECTION REPORT: KEMBACK STREET ADULT RESOURCE CENTRE SUPPORT SERVICE WITHOUT CARE AT HOME

There was submitted Report No 61-2011 by the Director of Social Work reporting on the findings of the next inspection by the Care Commission of Kemback Street Adult Resource Centre.

The Committee, having questioned senior management, agreed to note the contents of the report.

III EMPLOYEES

The Committee agreed to record their appreciation in respect of the excellent work carried out by employees within the above establishments and remitted to the Chief Executive to write in appropriate terms.

IV INTERNAL AUDIT REPORTS

There was submitted Report No 60-2011 by the Chief Internal Auditor providing the Committee with a summary of the internal audit reports finalised since the last Scrutiny Committee.

The Committee agreed to note the information contained within the reports except as hereinafter noted.

School Transport

Having been asked to consider the report's recommendations, the Director of Education was of the opinion that it would be inappropriate to ask all parents to complete a transport application annually. The Director accepted that there was a need to confirm annually which pupils were entitled to transport on the grounds of distance from their catchment area.

The Committee agreed to support this position.

V BEST VALUE 2 PATHFINDER AUDIT - PROGRESS WITH IMPLEMENTATION OF IMPROVEMENT PLAN

On a reference to Article II of the minute of meeting of the City Council of 28th June, 2010, there was submitted Report No 40-2011 by the Chief Executive providing a progress report on the implementation of the Improvement Plan which was agreed following the findings of the Best Value 2 Pathfinder Audit.

The Committee:-

(i) noted the progress which had been made so far towards implementing the Improvement Plan arising from the Best Value 2 Pathfinder Audit;

(ii) remitted the Chief Executive to continue to monitor and report on progress; and

(iii) remitted the Chief Executive to forward this report to Audit Scotland and the Accounts Commission for their information.

VI PROGRESS ON ACTIONS IN THE SINGLE OUTCOME AGREEMENT DELIVERY PLAN 2010/2012

On a reference to Article X of the minute of meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee of 28th June, 2010, there was submitted Report No 69-2011 by the Assistant Chief Executive providing a progress report on the actions included in the Single Outcome Agreement Delivery Plan 2010/2012.

The Committee:-

(i) noted the progress which had been made so far on the actions included in the Single Outcome Agreement Delivery Plan;

(ii) remitted the Assistant Chief Executive/Community Planning Manager to continue to monitor progress and produce regular reports; and

(iii) noted that separate reports would be produced on the indicators included in the Single Outcome Agreement and the Delivery Plan.

VII PROGRESS WITH ACTIONS IN THE COUNCIL PLAN 2010/2012

On a reference to Article I of the minute of meeting of this Committee of 24th May, 2010, there was submitted Report No 41-2011 by the Assistant Chief Executive providing a progress report on the actions set out in the Council Plan 2010/2012.

The Committee:-

(i) noted the progress which had been made so far on the actions set out in the Council Plan 2010/2012; and

(ii) remitted the Assistant Chief Executive to provide a full annual report to June's meeting of the Committee, which would also include a report on the performance indicators included in the Council Plan.

VIII CORPORATE PERFORMANCE SELF-ASSESSMENT 2010/2011 - REPORT FOR SIX MONTHS TO 30TH SEPTEMBER, 2010

There was submitted Report No 36-2011 by the Director of Finance advising elected members of the performance of Dundee City Council for the six months to 30th September, 2010 as defined by the key quarterly performance indicators.

The Committee noted that performance levels for the first six months to 30th September, 2010 had generally been maintained or improved and remitted to all Chief Officers to review the contents of Appendix 1 of the report as it related to their service and consider if there were any indicators for which performance could be improved over the remainder of the 2010/2011 financial year.

The Committee resolved under Section 50(A)(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 that the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the undernoted item of business on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 8 of Part I of Schedule 7A of the Act.

IX INTERNAL AUDIT REPORT

There was submitted Report No 102-2011 by the Chief Internal Auditor, providing the Committee with a summary of an internal audit report which had been finalised since the last Scrutiny Committee.

The Committee agreed to note the information contained within the report.

Kevin KEENAN, Convener.