Agenda item

This report sets out the Council’s progress in delivering the Transformation and Communications portfolio. 

Councillor Mason welcomed Councillor Tierney to the meeting to present the Transformation & Communications Portfolio Holder update.

Members made comments, asked questions and received responses as follows:

·         Councillor Miscandlon said he feels we should encompass a broader method of communication than mentioned within the report, such as local radio. Not everybody has access to a computer or social media, and he asked what the Council could do about this. Councillor Tierney said the normal approach is to send out press releases, but the suggestion of including radio is something officers can take on board to ensure the maximum number of people hear the good news that FDC is doing, and so we will include as many forms of media that we can. The press team work hard but new ideas are always welcome.

·         Councillor Boden advised that Fenland Youth Radio has just been added to FDC’s publicity and press release list.

·         Councillor Booth asked for clarification as to why some of the items on the list of projects were on the transformation programme as he thought they were things we would deliver naturally. He asked if it is the intention that the transformation programme overlooks all projects delivered across the district as opposed to more innovative projects. Councillor Tierney said his portfolio role is to act as a strategic lead on transformation and not to interfere with the work of other portfolio holders or committees; he will just ensure that loose ends are tied up. It does not matter that there are some additional projects in there, he will merely guide the overall direction of travel that we are taking.

·         Councillor Booth raised the issue of complaints. He has commented many times before that a good quality organisation takes complaints as an opportunity to learn and improve as an organisation. He has previously asked for a breakdown of the nature of complaints as opposed to just the number. He asked for a commitment to provide this information going forward, i.e. broad themes and what action will be delivered to counteract further similar complaints. Councillor Tierney agreed it is important to look for patterns in the nature of complaints and to identify any gaps in service delivery; he agreed that this can be done going forward but also giving regard to confidentiality where required.

·         Councillor Cornwell suggested a weekly newsletter could be emailed to people who interact with their local authority. It will particularly keep the majority of more rural customers aware of what is going on. Less people now read newspapers and a large number of our residents do not get a local newspaper so often press releases are not seen. Councillor Tierney thanked Councillor Cornwell for the idea. He said part of his role is to stay ahead and not leave anyone behind. When we have new ideas, we can look at it but with a view to seeing if the amount of additional officer time makes it worthwhile. He pointed out that press releases do not just to papers, but also to social media channels, which are growing fast. However, he will take away the idea of an opt-in mailing list and perhaps talk about it again at a later meeting.

·         Councillor Booth asked what controls are in place to ensure that what we deliver engages everyone and that nothing falls in the gaps, and that we do not fall foul of our legislative responsibilities. Councillor Tierney responded that firstly officers have all the processes in place in respective of existing business and secondly it is the job of elected members and committees such as this to scrutinise and look for things that may be coming up and make officers aware of them. All the existing measures are there but it is incumbent on us all to ensure that nobody is left behind as he appreciates that technology is not for everyone and everybody should have equal access to the council.

·         Councillor Booth asked that with the scale of change we are proposing does that not mean we should be considering additional layers of oversight to ensure nothing falls between the cracks. There is a cultural aspect we need to address to ensure that people come along with us and are not afraid to raise concerns.

·         Councillor Tierney said he feels confident with existing systems but if there is anything that he is missing or not capturing he is open to hearing a specific example and seeing what can be done with that.

·         Councillor Booth expressed concern that we have the correct culture for staff to be able to raise concerns or report issues on changes that are being delivered. The role of members is to set policy and they may have the oversight on democracy but are not seeing what officers are dealing with at the coalface on a daily basis. Councillor Tierney said there is a system for staff to report issues and raise concerns in a neutral way, but senior officers can check and see that system is robust.

Councillor Mason thanked Councillor Tierney for his time this afternoon.

The Overview & Scrutiny Panel considered the progress made in delivering the Transformation and Communication Portfolio during 2020 - 2021.