Scrutiny Committee - 20/04/2016

At a MEETING of the SCRUTINY COMMITTEE held at Dundee on 20th April, 2016.

Present:-

BAILIES

COUNCILLORS

Councillor Kevin KEENAN, Convener, in the Chair.

The minute of meeting of this Committee of 10th February, 2016 was held as read.

Unless marked thus * all items stand delegated.

I DECLARATION OF INTEREST

No declarations of interest were made.

II EXTERNAL INSPECTION REPORTS FOR WHICH ALL GRADES ARE GOOD OR BETTER

There was submitted Report No 143-2016 by the Head of Service, Strategy, Integration, Performance and Support Services providing a summary of recent external inspection reports which do not require in-depth scrutiny.

The Committee:-

(i) noted the summaries of recent inspection reports on Janet Brougham House, Menzieshill House, Craigie House, Turriff House, the Mackinnon Centre (Respite), and Mackinnon Centre (Skills), all of which received grades of good or better in all areas covered by their inspections; and

(ii) noted the Chief Officer, Dundee Health and Social Care Partnership would ensure that the areas for improvement and the recommendations included in the reports were acted upon, both in relation to the particular services inspected and as guidance on good practice for other services.

III EXTERNAL INSPECTION REPORTS FOR WHICH ALL GRADES ARE GOOD OR BETTER

There was submitted Report No 153-2016 by the Executive Director of Children and Families providing a summary of recent external inspection reports which do not require in-depth scrutiny.

The Committee:-

(i) noted the summaries of the inspection reports on The junction, Forrester and Drummond Houses all of which received grades of good or better in all areas covered by the inspections; and

(ii) remitted to the Executive Director of Children and Families to ensure that the areas for improvement, requirements and recommendations included in the reports were acted upon, both in relation to the particular services inspected and as guidance on good practice for other services.

IV LOCAL GOVERNMENT BENCHMARKING FRAMEWORK PERFORMANCE INDICATORS 2014/2015

On a reference to Article X of the minute of meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee of 14th March, 2016, there was submitted Report No 71-2016 by the Chief Executive relative to the above.

The Committee:-

(i) noted the results contained in the report;

(ii) remitted to Chief Officers to continue to seek improvement to the indicators contained in the report;

(iii) authorised officers to publish customised pages of the report on the Council's website to make it widely available; and

(iv) authorised the publication of selected excerpts from this report in the Evening Telegraph to ensure exposure to the Council's stakeholders was maximised.

V CORPORATE PERFORMANCE SELF-ASSESSMENT 2015/2016 - REPORT FOR NINE MONTHS TO 31ST DECEMBER, 2015

There was submitted Report No 131-2016 by the Chief Executive advising the Committee of the performance of Dundee City Council for the first nine months of the financial year to 31st December, 2015 as defined by the key quarterly performance indicators.

The Committee:-

(i) noted that performance levels for the first nine months of the financial year had generally been maintained or improved; and

(ii) agreed that all Chief Officers should review the contents of Appendix 1 as it related to their service and consider if there were any indicators for which performance could be improved over the course of the coming year 2016/2017.

VI TAYSIDE PENSION FUNDS - KPMG EXTERNAL AUDIT STRATEGY REVIEW AND PLAN FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH, 2016

There was submitted Report No 130-2016 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services providing a summary of the responsibilities and approach in respect of the Tayside Pension Funds for 2015/2016.

The Committee noted the information contained in the report.

VII DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL KPMG EXTERNAL AUDIT STRATEGY REVIEW AND PLAN FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH, 2016

There was submitted Report No 151-2016 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services describing how KPMG would deliver the audit of Dundee City Council for the year ending 31st March, 2016.

The Committee noted the information included in the report.

VIII INTERNAL AUDIT REPORTS

There was submitted Report No 140-2016 by the Senior Manager, Internal Audit providing the Committee with a summary of the internal audit reports finalised since the last meeting of this Committee.

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

IX INTERNAL AUDIT PLAN

There was submitted Report No 141-2016 by the Senior Manager, Internal Audit regarding the Internal Audit Plan for 2016/2017.

The Committee noted the information contained within the report.

Kevin KEENAN, Convener.