The Minutes of the meeting held on 11 June 2015 were signed by the Chair.

No declarations of interest were made.

The Corporate Performance Manager updated the Committee on the Corporate Plan 2015/19 which was endorsed by Cabinet on 7 September 2015 and will be presented to Full Council on 13 October 2015.

The Corporate Plan sets out the Council’s vision for the borough complete with a suite of key objectives and policy commitments that will shape the Council’s activities over the relevant period.  Operationally, the Corporate Plan enables the Council to effectively plan and prepare the resources required to deliver set objectives and equally provides a framework for future service business plans and strategies to work to.

The Council carried out a public consultation between November 2014 and January 2015 to establish the level of importance the community associated with each of the Council’s frontline services.  The intelligence gathered from the exercise was integral to the new plan. 

To give the work of the Council over the coming years a framework, four key Corporate Objectives have therefore been designed to reflect the results of the public consultation and importantly the election manifesto pledges of the new administration:-

1.         Safer Gravesham

2.         Stronger Gravesham

3.         Sustainable Gravesham

4.         Sound & self-sufficient council

In the plan each objective is supported by a number of key policy commitments to which the Council will work towards over the coming 2015/19 period.

The plan also presents a new performance framework aimed at scrutinising the progress of the Council in delivering its commitments.

The new framework has been deliberately streamlined so that only information relating to the determined indicators should be being reported against.

The Performance/Administration Cabinet Committee will have a key role when reviewing the progress of the Council’s work in delivering the Corporate Plan.  The Committee will receive quarterly reports relating to its portfolio as well as an annual update providing the complete suite of performance for the authority.

There will also be a broader role for the Committee in acting as a ‘test bed’ for initiatives identified by officers which have the aim of improving performance across the authority.

The Committee commended the more streamlined process and looked forward to receiving updates on the relevant policies to the Committee.

The Assistant Director (Corporate Performance) provided the Committee with an update on the future delivery of Internal Audit & Assurance services for the Council.

The Assistant Director (Corporate Performance) advised the Committee of the aim to have a fully shared Internal Audit and Fraud Services with Medway Council by 1 April 2016.

From 1 December 2015, the intention is for officers from Gravesham’s Audit & Assurance Team to transfer to Medway Council, and consultation is due to commence imminently with GBC staff on this matter.

Following a request from a Member, the Assistant Director (Corporate Performance) advised that he would circulate a list of areas within Audit and Fraud Services that the Council is responsible for and the areas that the Department for Work and Pensions is responsible for, both pre and post the introduction of the Single Fraud Investigation Service.

The Assistant Director (Corporate Performance) advised the Committee that the Shared Service Arrangement should provide the Council with savings broadly equal to the reduction in Housing Benefit Administration Grant which will result from the introduction of the Single Fraud Investigation Service, currently estimated to be around £60,000.

There will be further updates on the finer details of the shared service that will be presented to the Committee at a later date.

The Committee noted the update on Internal Audit & Fraud Shared Service Arrangements.

The Service Manager IT provided the Committee with an update on progress made with implementing actions arising from the IT Strategy (2015/18).

The update covered the following areas:-

·         Service Modernisation;

·         Communications;

·         Self-Service;

·         GBC Website update.

The Committee discussed security issues and data protection matters.  The Service Manager IT advised that the Assistant Director Governance & Law would be best placed to provide Members with an update on data protection.

Following a question from a Member, The Service Manager IT advised the Committee that a new look GBC website is being developed and is currently being tested before going live.

Members noted the progress made with implementing actions arising from the IT Strategy (2015/18).