Agenda item

Consider presentation of the Best Value Audit Implementation Action Plan.  (Copy attached.)

5.1       With reference to paragraph 4 of the Minute of 15 February 2021, Jason McDonald, Senior Manager Business Strategy & Resources, was in attendance to give a presentation and progress update relating to the Best Value Audit Implementation Plan.  A copy of the presentation slides had been included with the papers circulated with the agenda.   The update considered the full suite of 40 actions associated with the Best Value Implementation Plan.  End dates for actions had been reviewed and amended where applicable as recommended by the Committee.  Two key projects were underway that addressed key recommendations of the Best Value Audit report.  The projects were the refresh of the Council Plan and a review of the organisation’s performance management approach.  Three actions were amended and had been presented to the committee.  These were actions numbers 23, 24 and 36.  The change to action 23 reflected the use of Yammer as a platform for Council-wide staff engagement sessions with members of the Strategic Leadership Team (SLT).  The change to action 24 was developed to ensure Scottish Borders Council continued to learn from and exploit opportunities brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.  The change to action 36 was developed to clarify focus on service improvement than to address broad services. 

5.2       Members discussed the progress on action points and expressed disappointment that only 50% of proposed actions had been completed two years later while welcoming the review of the Corporate Plan.  Mr McDonald explained that the Community Plan was due for review which provided an opportunity for matching priorities with those in the new business plan.  The way the Council Plan had been drawn together showed a team effort and the same approach was needed in terms of production and development of the Community Plan to reflect key partners’ priorities.  With regard to the adoption of PSIF for self-evaluation, Mr McDonald did not want to overburden Services with demands for information and that self-evaluation would form part of Service plans.  In response to a question from Councillor Thornton-Nicol querying the 100% completion of locality models, Mr McDonald explained that the locality model had been accelerated during Covid and was a successful way of responding to community need.  There were some concerns about the engagement of some partners but the model was operational, which was why it had been marked as complete.  Councillor Thornton-Nicol suggested this action be re-addressed as NHS was not fully interacting with the locality model.  Councillor Bell suggested that it may be better for a recommendation to go to the Integration Joint Board (IJB) rather than add something into the Improvement Plan and this was unanimously agreed. 

5.3       Councillor Anderson, seconded by Councillor H. Scott, proposed as a Motion that the committee “Notes with disappointment that 2 years on only 50% of the proposed actions have been completed, therefore we welcome the commitment to produce a new Council Plan which will enable a more robust culture of performance management to be undertaken and ask that these recommendations be addressed in this Plan.”  Councillor S. Scott, seconded by Councillor Richards, proposed an amendment that “due to Covid, the Committee noted the report”.

VOTE

Motion – moved by Councillor Anderson, seconded by Councillor H. Scott

Amendment – moved by Councillor S. Scott, seconded by Councillor Richards

Motion - 5 votes

Amendment – 3 votes

The Motion was accordingly carried.

DECISION

(a)     AGREED to the amended actions contained within the Best Value Audit Implementation Plan

#       (b)      AGREED to RECOMMEND to the H&SC INTEGRATION JOINT BOARD that it directed attention to the operation of the Localities Model and the participation of partners therein.  

(c)     DECIDED to note with disappointment that, two years on, only 50% of the proposed actions have been completed and that the commitment to produce a new Council Plan which would enable a more robust culture of performance management to be undertaken was welcomed and asked that these recommendations be addressed in this Plan.