To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillor Terry James.

To receive details of members nominated to attend the meeting in place of a member of the board.

There were no substitutes present.

To receive declarations of interest in respect of items on the agenda.

No declarations of interest were made.

The minutes of the meeting held on 7 November 2023 will be submitted to the next scheduled meeting for approval.

It was noted that the minutes of the meeting held on 7 November 2023 would be submitted to the next scheduled meeting for approval.

To receive any written questions from members of the public.

No questions had been received from members of the public.

To receive any written questions from members of the council.

No questions had been received from councillors.

To provide an overview of the work undertaken to engage staff in the development of a new Workforce Strategy for the period April 2024 to March 2027 and seek views from Scrutiny Management Board on the emerging themes of the strategy.

The Cabinet Member Finance and Corporate Services introduced the report.  It was noted that the board had made recommendations to the executive on ‘Herefordshire Council’s Human Resources and Workforce Strategy’ at the meeting on 28 November 2022 (link to minute 36 of 2022/23).

The principal points of the discussion are summarised below.

1.           With attention drawn to the sentence ‘Central to the new strategy will be a theme of a ‘one council’ approach where staff not only work within their directorates but are able to work across directorates and we aspire to “grow our own” to achieve a one council culture.’ (paragraph 6, agenda page 10), it was clarified that this related to skills and capability development to support individuals to make conscious career decisions to move within or outside their directorates.

2.           It was confirmed that the “grow our own” approach would explore coaching and mentoring opportunities between the council and other local employers, and that there had been early discussions with the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Integrated Care System about transferable skills.

3.           It was noted that work was ongoing to address the gender pay gap, informed by emerging research and work at a national level, particularly in relation to flexible working practices and targeted interventions.

4.           The committee was advised that: although not mentioned explicitly in the report, apprenticeships featured within the draft workforce strategy and there was engagement with schools; the ‘Spirit of Herefordshire’ website would include career and learning pathways, although its focus was on the Children and Young People Directorate initially; the council had joined the Local Government Association’s National Graduate Development Programme, with three graduates appointed in the current year; and the council wanted to be known as an employer of choice with a skilled and stable workforce. 

A committee member suggested that the Spirit of Herefordshire website could include references to apprenticeships.

5.           It was noted that a key theme was ‘Culture and Belonging’ to attract and retain a diverse workforce, and that employee networks had been fundamental in shaping the draft strategy.

6.           The committee was advised that the council did not have an overseas recruitment campaign currently but this was being explored, potentially for the Children and Young People Directorate, informed by the learning from the campaigns run by local health partners.

7.           A committee member considered that: further consideration could be given to the wording of the themes and objectives (paragraph 19, agenda page 13) for the purposes of brevity and clarity; and the ‘Emerging Thrive values’ (agenda page 22), should focus on the substance of the content, rather than be constrained by an acronym.  The Chairperson welcomed the inclusion of word clouds, as different words would resonate with different people.

8.           The Chairperson commented on the need for staff and others to be able to provide open feedback and fair criticism, for unfair criticism of staff to be challenged, and for staff to be supported to try new things, recognising that they will sometimes fail.  The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.

To consider the delivery plan for 2023/24 and to receive an update on the development of the county plan 2024-2028.

The Cabinet Member Finance and Corporate Services introduced the report; this had been published in Supplement 1 to the agenda.  It was noted that the report on the Delivery Plan was to be considered by Cabinet on 21 November 2023 (link to minute 56 of 2023/24).

The principal points of the discussion are summarised below.

1.           In response to questions from the Chairperson about the timetable for the production of the County Plan 2024-2028 (Supplement 1, page 4), the Cabinet Member Finance and Corporate Services acknowledged that there was a challenging timeline for the development of the County Plan, and the Director of Strategy and Performance provided an overview of the intended engagement and consultation process.  The Cabinet Member added that the delivery of the County Plan was the number one priority for Cabinet.  The Chairperson proposed a recommendation that Cabinet consider rescheduling the governance process for the County Plan to enable a level of meaningful consultation to take place with the public and with scrutiny, and that the target date for the plan to go to Full Council be revised to become 8 March 2024.  This recommendation was welcomed by the Cabinet Member.

2.           It was noted that the presentation of the Delivery Plan 2023-2024 had been delayed and assurance was sought that the deliverables could be achieved within the remainder of the year.  The committee was advised that many of the deliverables were continuations of the work identified in previous plans.  A committee member considered that narratives should be provided to explain the changes to strategic documents. 

3.           The Chairperson considered it unfortunate that the format of the Delivery Plan 2023-2024 differed from previous plans, in that it did not set out clearly the County Plan ambitions, the work undertaken to date, and the work that was planned.

4.           A committee member commented on the need for: appropriate numbering to assist with reporting and monitoring; identification of the relevant County Plan programmes; specific and measurable deliverables; and clarity about those elements that had been achieved in previous years, such as the establishment of the Economy and Place Partnership Board and the Herefordshire Skills Forum.  Presentational points were also made about wording repeated in the Foreword and in the Future Planning and Delivery section, and about the centring of the map image on the final page.

5.           There was a further discussion about delays in the production of the documents.

6.           With attention drawn to the objective ‘Improvement of Children’s Services’, further comments were made about the absence of specific, measurable deliverables, and RAG (Red-Amber-Green) ratings, which made it difficult for councillors and the public to ascertain whether the council was delivering on the ambitions.

7.           The Cabinet Member Finance and Corporate Services said matters relating to formatting and layout would be addressed.

8.           The Chairperson expressed concerns about omissions in the Environment ambition, such as the lack of references to the Hereford City Centre Masterplan, initiatives to reduce the council’s carbon footprint, the Phosphate Commission,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

To provide committee members with information concerning Herefordshire Council’s Property Services, Asset Management Plan, together with update reports on council acquisitions of College Road Campus and Three Elms Trading Estate.

Further to the ‘Income and Charging’ report considered at the meeting on 7 November 2023 (link to minute 18 of 2023/24), the Chairperson said that it had been expected that more information would have been made available in the published agenda for this meeting.

The Cabinet Member Finance and Corporate Services introduced the report; this had been published in Supplement 2 to the agenda.  The Corporate Director - Economy and Environment tabled the presentation ‘Thrive Transformation’, which included slides on ‘Herefordshire Council’s Thrive Transformation Programme’ and ‘Thrive: Service Cost Recovery Work Package’; the presentation was published following the meeting in Supplement 3.

The principal points of the discussion are summarised below.

1.           It was noted that there was an intention to ‘make much greater use of digital technologies to deliver services and improve the efficiency of the council’ (Supplement 3, page 4).  The Chairperson questioned the risks associated with not being able to realise the benefits and savings of transformational changes.  The Director of Strategy and Performance explained that each business case would consider what was needed in terms of upfront investment, the transformation programme, and the service delivery model to recover the investment.  It was reported that pilots for an automated contact system had received positive feedback.  The committee was advised that clarification could be provided on the budget timescales for wider investment in digital technologies across the organisation.

2.           There was a discussion about the differences between services that had to be delivered as part of the council’s statutory responsibilities and additional services that could be provided.

3.           A committee member commented on the need to explore cost savings fully given the financial pressures on council tax payers and local businesses.

4.           In response to a question about the overall target for the transformation programme, the Corporate Director - Economy and Environment said that a long- list of opportunities was being worked through in order to ascertain reasonable targets in terms of efficiencies and increased charges.  Comments were also made about the need for services to be affordable and about the longer term sustainability of the organisation.

5.           It was noted that budget setting for 2024/25 would include directorate savings, base budget and income plans.

6.           It was reported that the government had recently announced that planning fees would increase from 6 December 2023 on most types of planning applications.

7.           In response to questions about the council’s strategic transformation partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the Cabinet Member Finance and Corporate Services advised that PwC had business and transformational skills that were not available within the council, along with substantial experience of the public sector nationally and internationally.

8.           The Chairperson noted that the council had a commercial property portfolio and the appendices to the report included updates on the College Road Campus acquisition and the Three Elms Trading Estate acquisition.  The Chairperson also welcomed the provision of the Strategic Asset Management Plan (StAMP) and the Property Services New Ways of Working – Informal Brief. 

9.           Further  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

To determine whether to form a task and finish group to scrutinise the current expenditure and future budget of the children and young people directorate.

The Chairperson drew attention to the draft terms of reference for ‘Children and young people directorate – budget task and finish group’; this had been published in Supplement 2 to the agenda.

Resolved: 

That the task and finish group be formed according to the terms of reference attached to the report.

To confirm the date of the next meeting.

It was noted that the date of the next scheduled meeting was Tuesday 16 January 2024 at 2.00 pm. 

[Note: In addition, an extraordinary meeting was arranged subsequently for Wednesday 10 January 2024 at 10.00 am]