Up to 15 minutes are allowed for public participation.  Participants are restricted to 3 minutes each.

There was no public participation.

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the previous meeting.

A Member of Committee noted that the resolution for minute item 104, Refresh of Members' IT Devices, specified 'council owned devices' not ‘council owned iPads’.

The minutes of the Corporate Policy and Resources meeting held on 14 February 2019 were approved and signed as a correct record.

The minutes of the Concurrent meeting held on 28 February 2019 were approved and signed as a correct record.

The minutes of the Joint Staff Consultative Committee meeting held on 22 November 2018 were noted.

Members may make declarations of Interest at this point or may make them at any point in the meeting.

There were no declarations of interests.

Setting out current position of previously agreed actions as at 3 April 2019.

The matters arising were noted by Committee.

The Committee were asked to consider a report detailing the updated policy for the recording of telephone calls. It was introduced by the Strategic Lead for Governance and People who explained that the report came via the Joint Staff Consultative Committee (JSCC) and there had been no concerns raised by the staff or union representatives. The Committee heard that this was an existing policy but had required updating due to changing processes, such as telephone payments, as well as the requirements of GDPR.

Councillor D. Cotton, as Chairman of the Joint Staff Consultative Committee, reiterated that there had been no issues raised during discussions at the recent meeting and that the policy was as much about protecting and supporting Council staff as it was for the customer. It was a useful tool for dispute resolution and staff training and he moved the recommendations in the report.

The Vice Chairman supported the paper and felt it was a pragmatic approach to keep the policy under review and ensure the Council was compliant at all time. He seconded the recommendations.

There was discussion amongst Committee Members as to the purpose of recording internal calls and whether this was a form of surveillance on staff. Members were assured by both the Strategic Lead and Chairman of JSCC that the recording of internal calls was primarily for a training and development need, for example to demonstrate best practice for telephone call handovers, and internal calls would not be routinely listened to. It was also emphasised that any requests for recorded calls would be logged and there was a specific process in place for requesting such recordings. It was also clarified that the system was only being used in those teams with high call rates, such as the Revenues and Housing Benefits teams.

            RESOLVED that:

1)    Members approve the amended policy for formal adoption; and

2)    Delegated authority be granted to the Director of Resources to make minor housekeeping amendments to the policy in future, in consultation with the chairman of the Corporate Policy & Resources committee and chairman of JSCC.

Members considered a report on the Revenue, Capital and Treasury Management Monitoring for period four. The Strategic Finance and Business Support Manager highlighted the key points of the report. The draft revenue forecast out-turn position for 2018/2019 was reflecting a net contribution to reserves of £634k as at 31 March 2019 with approved carry forwards of £919k. She explained that £263k of the forecast contribution to reserves related to the net Treasury Management activity on investment and borrowing interest. The capital out-turn position for 2018/19 was £21,079k, with carry forwards of £8,893k requested for approval. The Committee heard that in February 2019 the Council externally borrowed £2,500k for 25 years from the Public Works Loans Board (PWLB) at an interest rate of 2.53%. This took the external borrowing level to £11,000k. It was noted that there had been no breaches of Treasury or Prudential Indicators within the period of this report. Average investments for the Quarter (Jan-Mar) was £15.493m which achieved an average rate of interest of 1.592% in Quarter 4 (1.757% Oct-Dec).

Members heard that there were two items to report, firstly, that it was requested to introduce a 24hour parking charge at the Roseway carpark for customers of the Travelodge, this would be set at £6.50. Secondly, the 2019/20 update for Capital schemes requested approval of up to £82k for the 3 year extension and enhancement to the Income Management System, which would be funded from the Project Investment Reserve.

There was significant discussion regarding parking charges and that there appeared to be a downward trend in the income from parking. This was identified as partly a result of the old Lidl site having been unoccupied and the transition of customers using the carpark at the new Lidl site. There was however an increased number of parking spaces in the Roseway carpark and the parking strategy would be looking at all options for maximising parking income.

There was further discussion regarding the introduction of a 24hour parking charge for people staying at the Travelodge. It was explained that this was at the request of the hotel as their guests had found issues with the previous parking arrangements. The practical implications of this new charge were discussed at length, including changes to the set-up of the ticket machine and how the 24hour period would be enforced. It was acknowledged that the suggestion to charge had come from the hotel and was designed to help them accommodate their guests. A Member of Committee also enquired about the use of parking permits and whether there were options for increasing the sale of permits, the Executive Director of Resources explained that the current permit price provided a 40% reduction compared with standard rates and the limit for applying for a permit had now been lifted. However, costs and income were reviewed annually and changes could be implemented if necessary.

There was one further comment from a Member of Committee who suggested that, given the increase in fuel prices and the unpredictability of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 115.

The work plan for the coming months was noted.

The Executive Director of Resources took the opportunity to extend his thanks to the Strategic Finance and Business Support Manager and her team for completing the period four report so quickly. It was explained that there would be a further update report brought to the committee in June, however, with this being the last meeting of the current cycle it was felt it had been important to provide a final view of the position this year.

A Member of Committee agreed and commended the work undertaken by the Strategic Finance and Business Support Manager, saying she did excellent work for the authority.

To resolve that under Section 100 (A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

RESOLVED that under Section 100 (A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

To note the exempt record of the concurrent meeting held on 28 February 2019.

The exempt record of the concurrent meeting held on 28 February 2019 was noted.