It was proposed and duly seconded and

RESOLVED:  that Councillor Claire Wild be elected Chairman for the ensuing municipal year.

Apologies were received from Councillor Les Winwood, Councillor Vince Hunt attended as substitute.

It was proposed and duly seconded and

RESOLVED:  that Councillor Joyce Barrow be appointed Vice-Chairman for the ensuing municipal year.

Members are reminded that they must not participate in the discussion or voting on any matter in which they have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest and should leave the room prior to the commencement of the debate.

There were no declarations of pecuniary interest.

To consider the Minutes of the Performance Management Scrutiny Committee meetings held on 6^th February 2019 and 6^th March 2019.  To follow.

RESOLVED:  that the minutes of the meetings held on 6^th February 2019 and 6^th March 2019 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive any questions, statements or petitions from the public of which members of the public have given notice.  Deadline for notification for this meeting is 2pm on Tuesday 4^th June 2019.

There were no public questions.

To receive any questions of which members of the Council have given notice.  Deadline for notification for this meeting is 4.30pm on Friday 31^st May 2019.

There were no questions from Members.

To receive a verbal update from the Director of Workforce and Development on the progress of the Digital Transformation Programme.

Contact: Michele Leith, Director of Workforce and Transformation   Tel 01743 254402

The Director of Transformation and Workforce referred Members to the briefing note circulated before the meeting.  [Copy attached to the signed minutes].

In response to a Member’s request, the Director of Transformation explained that a data lake was where information was pooled from a number of systems into a form that could be used for analysis.  She continued that the data remained in the source system but when pooled it was anonymised but when returned to the source system subjects were re-identified with the additional information attached to their accounts.

To receive a presentation on the implementation of the Business World System

Contact:  James Walton, Director of Finance Governance and Assurance. Tel 01743 258915

The Director of Finance, Governance and Assurance gave an overview of the Implementation of the Business World financial system. 

Members raised concerns regarding schools’ ability to raise and pay invoices using the new system.  The Director of Finance, Governance and Assurance agreed that some school administrators were experiencing difficulties but there had been a disappointing attendance rate at the training provided, with not all staff booking a place on the training and only 55% of those booked onto training actually attending. He continued that training had not been made mandatory and with hindsight this may have been an error.  The implementation team had also over estimated the IT literacy of staff using the system.

The Director of Finance Governance and Assurance confirmed a specialist training company had been employed to deliver training and it was their recommendation that training was not started until mid-February.  Earlier training would have left too long a gap between the training and access to the new system. 

In response to a Member’s query about the length of time that the system was inaccessible during the transition between systems, the Director of Finance, Governance and Assurance confirmed that this had been for only 5 days which was not unusual at year end.  Schools final balances were calculated before the SAMIS system had been cut off as happened every year, there would have been a number of invoices not recorded.  He continued that this should not have had a huge impact on schools’ final balances but he agreed to discuss the issue with the School’s Team.  He agreed that not all service areas fully understood the implications of closing the SAMIS system and a number of invoices had payment delayed.  He continued that the issue of communication had been identified as a learning point.

The Director of Finance Governance and Assurance advised that data migration had been undertaken for all companies who had been financially active during the previous two years, and that the number of additional suppliers that schools required to be added to the system had been underestimated. 

The Director of Transformation and Workforce confirmed that e-learning and demonstration films were available for all staff to supplement classroom training that had been undertaken.  The e-learning modules had received positive feedback from users.  In response to a Members question, he confirmed that some areas had particularly effective and knowledgeable members of staff who were able to assist colleagues experiencing difficulties. 

Head of Finance and Deputy S151 Officer explained that the Business World System required a purchase order to be raised for each invoice.  Of the 11,400 invoices processed since the implementation of the new system only 2,800 had purchase orders raised with the remainder having to be manually processed.  She continued that the better scrutinization of invoices had resulted in a higher number being rejected for not containing the correct information required by law, or simply not adding up.  Rejected invoices were returned to the suppliers for amendment. 

In response to a Member’s question the Head  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

To review the implementation of the Council’s Parking Strategy.

Contact:  Steve Brown,  Interim Head of Infrastructure and Communities Tel 07990 085581

The Chairman introduced this item and noted that Mayor Gill from Ludlow Town Council was in attendance and would be permitted to address the Committee. She also noted that Councillors David Turner, Andy Boddington and Chris Mellings had also requested to speak. She asked them to keep their contributions to no more than three minutes each, which they agreed to do.

Mayor Gill representing Ludlow Town Council addressed Members.  He expressed concerns regarding the impact of the Car Parking Strategy on businesses in Ludlow.  He reported that the Town Council had undertaken a questionnaire, where businesses had reported decreased turnover since the changes were implemented.  He requested that the Car Parking Strategy be changed to allow 1 hour free parking in the town, and the Pop and Shop scheme be extended to allow 30 minutes free parking.  In response to a Member’s question, Mayor Gill confirmed that no foot fall surveys had been undertaken to confirm the shop holders decrease in trade was due to fewer shoppers.

Councillor Andy Boddington asked for clarification of the trends shown in the report.  He commented that members of the public did not understand the signs explaining the Pop and Shop Policy and asked the Committee to be aware of the impact of the removal of short term parking restriction in the Castle Street car park coupled with increased business rates had had on businesses within the town. He also noted that shopping habits in Shrewsbury and Ludlow were quite different and asked Members to be aware that what worked in Shrewsbury would not necessarily work in Ludlow. He requested that Members recommend the re-instatement of the four-hour limit to parking in the Castle Street car park and re-instate the Pop and Shop Scheme to 20 minutes.

Councillor David Turner observed that the public were generally satisfied with the Car Parking Strategy but noted that off street parking should be better signposted. He continued that the resident parking/season ticket parking had not been sufficiently promoted, and no liaison had been undertaken with local businesses to promote parking options.  He suggested that the drivers of poorly parked vehicles be given information on parking options.  He also suggested that there should be some free parking made available.

Councillor Chris Mellings reported the Wem Town Council had undertaken a survey with businesses within the town to assess the impact of the Car Parking Strategy.  The respondents reported reduced footfall and lost trade.  He continued that a number of key businesses in the town had recently closed or relocated and increased parking charges had discouraged shoppers from the using the remaining businesses.  He continued that the Town Council had been in communication with Whitchurch Town Council and Ellesmere Town Council and all three were experiencing similar difficulties following the implementation of the Car Parking Strategy.  He asked Members to consider the cost of parking permits which had proved unpopular and seen as discriminating against market towns.

The Transport Commissioner gave a presentation on the usage of car parks  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

To consider the establishment of a Financial Strategy 2019/20 Task and Finish Group.  Terms of Reference to follow.

Contact Tom Dodds, Scrutiny Officer  Tel 01743 258518

RESOLVED:

That the Financial Strategy Task and Finish Group 2019/20 be established. 

To consider the work programme of the Committee.

Contact:  Danial Webb, Scrutiny Officer  Tel 01743 258509

Members noted that a Work Programme Workshop would be held for all Members of the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committees after the next meeting of the Performance Management Scrutiny Committee on Wednesday 10^th July 2019.  All Members were asked to attend.

The Committee is scheduled to next meet at 2pm on Wednesday 9^th July 2019.

Members noted that the next meeting of the Performance Management Scrutiny Committee would be held at 2pm on Wednesday 10^th July 2019, and would be followed by a Work Programme Work Shop.