Agenda item

Members are to receive a presentation from the Executive Councillor for Strategic Partnerships and Shared Services on the peer review.

With the aid of a report by the Managing Director (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) the Corporate Peer Challenge report was presented to the Panel. The Executive Councillor for Strategic Partnerships and Shared Services introduced the report to Members.

The Panel were informed that the Council have produced an Action Plan to act upon the recommendations of the Corporate Peer Challenge. The Executive Councillor for Strategic Partnerships and Shared Services has committed to attend further Panel meetings to give updated on the Action Plan.

Following a question on is the Council going to provide a list of actions that are not going to be completed, Members were informed that the information will be made available to them.

After a Member raised the question in relation to timescales, it was confirmed that the word ‘immediate’ means before end of the year.

In regards to action 3d and the making assets count programme, the Panel were informed that the programme has been paused until Devolution has been resolved. In response to a follow up question Members were informed that the programme had been paused before the emergence of Devolution.

Members were reminded that in relation to action 3a and the contracts awarded to the voluntary sector, the Voluntary Sector Funding Working Group looked at the issue extensively and made recommendations to the Cabinet who agreed the majority of the recommendations. The main recommendation which was agreed was to split the funding between the advice and infrastructure sectors.

The Panel wanted to emphasise in relation to recommendation three that the Council should secure benefits for the community and not just benefits for the Council. Members were advised that the Council will work with Town and Parish Councils to secure benefits for the community.

In relation to action 5a and the Council’s relationship with the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), the Executive Leader of the Council stated that the relationship was previously not good however he and the Executive Councillor for Business, Enterprise and Skills have worked to improve the relationship with the LEP. The Council and the LEP are about to undergo a process of establishing a Memorandum of Understanding which will focus efforts on particular infrastructure projects.

A Member raised a concern that the perception is that smaller businesses in the towns have been side-lined and that the Town Councils have not always communicated with the small businesses. The Executive Councillor for Business, Enterprise and Skills responded by informing the Panel that an additional action will be added (named 5b) which includes small businesses.

In response to a question on the NNDR retention when making commercial property investments and whether those investments could be within the District, Members were informed that the Council is unsure how much NNDR it will receive as a result of planned alterations in the next few years.

In respect to making commercial property investments within the District, the Council are open to making investments within the District however it would be contrary to the advice given at the time of the formation of the Commercial Investment Strategy which urged the Council to look externally and not just internally.

The Panel were informed that the formal transformation strategy and implementation plan would be ready for launch by December 2016.

Members were advised that the monitoring of the Action Plan would be carried out by the Project Management Governance Board but a progress report would be brought to a future meeting of the Panel.