To consider the corporate policies and strategies for potential review by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee during 2017/18. 

14.1           The report of the Head of Corporate Services, circulated at Pages No. 63-73, set out an updated list of corporate policies and strategies. Members were asked to consider that list and identify any for inclusion within the Committee’s 2017/18 work programme.   

14.2           The Head of Corporate Services advised that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee had previously requested that a list of policies and strategies be produced to help inform its work programme as well as to provide support to the Executive Committee. That list was updated on an annual basis and the latest version was attached to the Committee report at Appendix 1. The policies and strategies that were due for review in 2017/18 were highlighted in bold.

14.3           There were four policies / strategies that were suggested for review by an Overview and Scrutiny Committee workshop which were the Workforce Development Strategy; the Customer Care Strategy; the Corporate Enforcement Policy – this referred to regulatory services; and the Waste Policy – this was not in the Council Plan but was a major front-facing service area. Members were asked to consider adding those to the work programme and whether they felt there were any further to add.

14.4           During the brief discussion which ensued, a Member referred to the Anti-Bullying and Harassment Policy and questioned whether the Council actively monitored any trends and whether it looked for a cause or just waited for complaints to arise. In response, the Head of Corporate Services explained that the policy was well promoted throughout the organisation and, in addition, the staff survey had a question about bullying and harassment. Officers did look for trends and incidents were viewed very seriously when they occurred. The Chief Executive advised that exit interviews were undertaken when people left the organisation and any issues identified were monitored. He was of the view that tackling any problems was a priority and would be dealt with swiftly. Staff members could report any instances of bullying and harassment to HR, Union representatives, named individuals within the organisation and Line Managers so there were many routes open for people that wished to report such behaviours.

14.5           A Member expressed concern with the system to report issues on enviro-crimes and waste as, once reported to Ubico, the Council seemed to lose control of the issue and they were then not dealt with in as timely a manner as Members would like. In response, the Head of Community Services explained that concerns were reported to Ubico and they had timescales for a response. Generally, if it was an urgent issue, this would be highlighted when the report was made; this meant Ubico could divert resources if necessary to get the matter dealt with as soon as possible. In relation to the Safeguarding Children Policy, a Member questioned whether this could be reviewed earlier than the target date of January 2018 due to the seriousness of the issues raised by a recent Ofsted inspection of County Council Services. In response, the Chief Executive advised that it was still early to make a judgement on the outcome of the recent inspection but it should be remembered that safeguarding was a County Council function and that organisation would need to respond to the Ofsted report. The County Council would have a plan to do that and the Chief Executive suggested that Tewkesbury Borough leave its review as timetabled for now but with the understanding that this could be revised if necessary. One of the areas identified as ‘good’ by the Inspection was the way the County worked in partnership and Tewkesbury Borough Council formed part of that framework so it was important that it worked with the County Council as it moved forward. He undertook to provide a briefing note to all Members in due course to ensure everyone was aware of what was happening.

14.6           Accordingly, it was

                  RESOLVED          That the following policies and strategies be included for review                              in the Committee’s 2017/18 Work Programme:

·           Workforce Development Strategy.

·           Customer Care Strategy.

·           Corporate Enforcement Policy.

·           Waste Policy.