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DECLARATION OF INTERESTS Minutes: 54.1 Councillor Row declared an Other Registrable Interest (ORI) in Item JOS/23/32 as an employee of Suffolk Libraries and Suffolk Artlink.
54.2 Councillor Scarff declared that he was a member of the cross party member working group for the development of the Culture, Heritage, and Visitor Economy Strategy and the corresponding action plan.
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JOS/23/29 TO CONFIRM THE MINUTES OF THE JOINT MEETING HELD ON 20 NOVEMBER 2023 PDF 99 KB Minutes: 55.1 Councillor McLaren proposed that the minutes be approved and signed as a true record of the meeting.
55.2 Councillor Carter seconded the proposal.
By a vote of 10 For and 1 Abstention
It was RESOLVED:
That the minutes of the joint meeting held on 20th November 2023 be confirmed and signed as a true record.
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JOS/23/30 TO CONFIRM THE MINUTES OF THE BABERGH MEETING HELD ON 22 JANUARY 2024 PDF 100 KB Minutes: 56.1 Councillor Whyman proposed that the minutes be approved and signed as a true record of the meeting.
56.2 Councillor Jamieson seconded the proposal.
By a vote of 4 For and 1 Abstention
It was RESOLVED:
That the minutes of the Babergh meeting held on 22nd January 2024 be confirmed and signed as a true record.
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JOS/23/31 TO CONFIRM THE MINUTES OF THE MID SUFFOLK MEETING HELD ON 22 JANUARY 2024 PDF 123 KB Minutes: 57.1 Councillor Scarff proposed that the minutes be approved and signed as a true record of the meeting.
57.2 Councillor Carter seconded the proposal.
By a vote of 6 For
It was RESOLVED:
That the minutes of the Mid Suffolk meeting held on 22nd January 2024 be confirmed and signed as a true record.
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TO RECEIVE NOTIFICATION OF PETITIONS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE COUNCIL'S PETITION SCHEME Minutes: 58.1 None received. |
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QUESTIONS BY THE PUBLIC To consider questions from and provide answers to members of the public on any matter in relation to which the Committee has powers or duties and of which due notice has been given in accordance with the Committee and Sub-Committee Procedures Rules. Minutes: 59.1 None received.
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QUESTIONS BY COUNCILLORS To consider questions from and provide answers to Councillors on any matter in relation to which the Committee has powers or duties and of which due notice has been given in accordance with the Committee and Sub-Committee Procedure Rules. Minutes: 60.1 None received.
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Additional documents: Minutes:
61.2 Councillor Row questioned how the Strategy was being developed to attract a more diverse audience and range of talent on offer. The Arts and Culture Lead responded the action plan was already reasonably diverse but that steps had been, and will continue to be, taken in order to make improvements.
61.3 Councillor Row further questioned if measures had been taken to offer more accessible shows to customers, i.e. audio-described performances, and British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters. The Arts and Culture Lead responded that the Strategy does encourage events and performance organisers to ensure provisions are made so that they are accessible to a wide range of people and that the options as set out by Councillor Row would be explored further.
61.4 Councillor Carter queried if consultations had been undertaken with operators of affordable or sustainable travel. The Director for Economic Growth responded that the Councils’ Sustainable Travel Officer had been consulted and was assisting with the delivery of the Strategy, particularly within Mid Suffolk.
61.5 Councillor McLaren questioned what work was being undertaken in collaboration with schools to assist with young people’s cultural development. The Arts and Culture Lead responded that this was being addressed through the Local Cultural Education Partnership (LCEP) that linked local authorities, arts organisations, and education providers, and that a key aim was to make arts and culture venues more accessible and appealing to young people.
61.6 Councillor McLaren raised that it might be beneficial for officers to utilise the Town and Parish Liaison meetings as a way of communicating the Strategy and what is on offer to parish councils.
61.7 Councillor Grandon queried who the Strategy’s main audience was and how it fit in with Suffolk-wide tourism campaigns. The Director for Economic Growth responded that the Strategy was designed for those providing culture and tourism experiences, and was a necessary document intended to respond to a culture gap across the Districts and collate different council policy and schemes into one place for better overview. The Head of Economy and Business further added that campaigns and improved marketing were taking place in collaboration with Visit Suffolk to better the visibility of our areas.
61.8 Councillor Whyman queried whether the Strategy was being tied into the formulation of planning documents and helping to steer policy to better protect culture and heritage assets. Councillor Derek Davis, Babergh’s Cabinet Member for Economic Growth, responded that the Councils’ heritage team were actively working with the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) to regenerate and ... view the full minutes text for item 61.
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JOS/23/33 INFORMATION BULLETIN - A REVIEW INTO THE USE OF CUSTOMER FOCUSSED SERVICES PDF 738 KB The Information Bulletin is a document that is made available to the public with the published agenda papers. It can include update information requested by the Committee as well as information that a service considers should be made known to the Committee.
This Information Bulletin contains updates on the following subjects:
An overview of the different ways residents engage with customer services and how effectively these services are operating. Minutes: 62.1 The Head of Customer Experience introduced the report to the Committee outlining before Members the different services offered by the Customers team, the distribution of customer contact between different services, face-to-face customer contact points, the implementation of live chat website services, the number of compliments and complaints received, the results of the recent customer satisfaction survey, and proposed plans to improve customer facing services.
62.2 Councillor Grandon queried how the customer access points could be better advertised, specifically in Hadleigh. The Head of Customer Experience responded that the current advertisement posters for the service were being reviewed and that plans were being drawn up with Hadleigh Library to better promote what was available.
62.3 Councillor McLaren queried the provision of digital skills and inclusion sessions and how these could be set up across the District. The Head of Customer Experience responded that community mapping would be taking place in partnership with Suffolk County Council that would highlight areas in need of digital inclusion sessions and these would be delivered appropriately.
62.4 Councillor Jamieson questioned what provisions were in place to ensure that complaints were dealt with in a timely manner. The Head of Customer Experience responded that residents could log official complaints either through the online form, the designated telephone line, or via email to the feedback team, that these complaints would be logged on an official system, and that responses to the complaints were tracked through to completion.
62.5 Councillor Jamieson further queried if social media activity was monitored to pick up comments and complaints made online in public forum. The Director for Corporate Services responded that social media posts that tagged the Councils’ profiles were responded to via direct message and that a trawl also took place using buzzwords relating to Babergh and Mid Suffolk to pick up comments and issues.
62.6 Councillor Carter queried what measures were in place to protect residents from scam calls and emails. The Head of Customer Experience responded that this was something covered in digital inclusion sessions so that residents were able to identify the signs of a scam contact but that it was difficult to highlight all the means in which scams are made due to the different methods used.
62.7 Councillor Carter commented that the visibility of the customer access point in Stowmarket was poor and that there were accessibility issues within the building. The Head of Customer Experience responded that the building had been reviewed by the Mid Suffolk Disability Forum and that appropriate adjustments had been made following feedback but that changes were limited by the space available.
62.8 Councillor Grandon questioned if there had been an impact on the services delivered and callback times due to more members of staff working from home due to the pandemic. The Head of Customer Experience responded that customer demand and preferred contact methods had shifted post-pandemic, that all members of staff were still expected to assist with face-to-face contact with residents, and that there had been no negative impact ... view the full minutes text for item 62. |
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JOS/23/34 FORTHCOMING DECISIONS LIST To review the Council’s Forthcoming Decisions List and identify any items to be brought before the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
Please note the most up to date version can be found via the Website:
Minutes: 63.1 No comments. |
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JOS/23/35 OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY ACTION TRACKER PDF 96 KB Minutes: 64.1 Councillor Caston queried the reasons why recommendation 3.3 for Item JOS/22/45 had been rejected by officers. The Lead Officer for Overview and Scrutiny responded that a written reason would be requested from the key officer responsible and circulated to all Members.
64.2 Councillor Whyman questioned who was contacted to provide updates for recommendations. The Lead Officer for Overview and Scrutiny responded that if a recommendation was directed to officers then the relevant Director and Corporate Manager would be approached, and that when the recommendation concerned Cabinet then the relevant portfolio holder would be contacted. |
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JOS/23/36 BABERGH OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY WORK PLAN PDF 128 KB To agree the Babergh Overview and Scrutiny Work Plan Minutes: 65.1 No comments. |
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JOS/23/37 MID SUFFOLK OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY WORK PLAN PDF 126 KB To agree the Mid Suffolk Overview and Scrutiny Work Plan Minutes: 66.1 No comments.
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