Apologies were received by Cllr Dr Naylor, Cllr Sleep and Cllr Mrs Squirrell.

The Minutes of the Audit and Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 30^th September 2014 were approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

Sue Fretwell, Strategic Risk Consultant, Zurich Risk Engineering UK, will attend the Committee. This replaces the provisionally scheduled session from 30 October 2014.

The Chair welcomed Sue Fretwell from Zurich Engineering UK, who delivered a high level training presentation on Risk Management.

The training was well received by the Members present.

Councillors Clark, Kerslake and Mynott.

The Lessons Learned Report was created by the William Hunter Way Lessons Learned Task and Finish Group of Councillors Clark, Kerslake and Mynott.  The report recorded and shared lessons learned from the William Hunter Way Project 2005-2014. The purpose of the report was to:-

·         Describe the areas where issues arose;

·         Propose mitigation against those issues arising again;

·         Improve on project delivery standards by adopting proven good practice; and

·         Contribute to organisational growth and maturity by effecting long-term improvements in the way the organisation embeds and shares project management best practice.

The themes considered by the group included:

·         Project management processes;

·         Risk Management;

·         Resource issues;

·         Strategic issues that could be of use to the next William Hunter Way project.

The Chair thanked Cllr Mynott, Cllr Kerslake, Ben Bix and Sam Broughton for their work on this report.

A motion was MOVED by Cllr Clark and SECONDED by Cllr Kerslake to receive the recommendations in that report.

After a full discussion Cllr Quirk MOVED an amendment to the motion. Cllr Chilvers SECONDED the motion.

The meeting was suspended for 5 minutes to discuss this amendment. 

Cllr Quirk then withdrew that motion and an amendment to recommendation 2.1 was MOVED by Cllr Clark and SECONDED by Cllr Kerslake.

2.1       The report be received and the actions contained within are acknowledged by the Audit and Scrutiny Committee.

A vote was taken by a show of hands and it was RESOLVED UNANMIOUSLY that:

2.1       The report be received and the  actions contained are acknowledged by the Audit and Scrutiny Committee.

2.2       The report be presented by the Acting Chief Executive to the William Hunter Way Delivery Group; and

2.3       A report detailing the implementation of the future actions identified be added to the work programme of the Audit and Scrutiny Committee in October 2015 or at the next meeting thereafter.

Councillors Barrett, Faragher, Hubbard and Sanders.

A presentation on the findings of the Task and Finish Group was delivered by Cllr Barrett, Cllr Mrs Hubbard and Cllr Ms Sanders to the committee.

Within the report it was outlined that the Hutton Community Centre now exists as a community asset that we welcomed and appreciated by the local residents.  Its use was steadily increasing and the commitment of both Council staff and volunteers was clear.  It was hoped and expected the centre would go on to be an unqualified success.  The project was delivered in a reasonable timeframe and within the allocated budget.  The Hutton Community Centre Working Group functioned well within significant contributions from the local community.

The Hutton Community Centre Task and Finish Group had found some significant challenges in understanding the entire process due to the lack of availability of webcasts and the timeframe between the start of the project and the review.  However, officers and those involved were commended for making available all information that they had.

Despite the overall positive outcome of the project, the roof at the Centre had areas that were in of urgent replacement (though the majority was secure for five years or more).  The Council also currently had a financial liability for staffing and business rates at the time of the report, although that could be overcome by the granting of a lease to a community group.

The Task and Finish Group thanked all officers and Members for their contribution to this report.

A Motion was MOVED by Cllr Barrett and SECONDED by Cllr Parker to receive the recommendation set out within in the report.

A vote was taken by a show of hands and was RESOLVED UNANMIOUSLY that:

2.1       The Audit and Scrutiny Committee note the content of the report and the conclusions made;

2.2       The Finance and Resources Committee should consider the financial implications of the elements of roof replacement indicated in the independent report of August 2014;

2.3       The budgetary implications of the Council’s liability for Business Rates whilst operations still lay within the Council’s remit, be considered by the Finance and Resource Committee.

2.4       The Finance and Resources Committee should further consider the staff costs currently being supported by Brentwood Borough Council for the Centre; Manager and Assistant when ownership is transferred to a community group.

2.5       The Housing and Health Committee consider the costs of developing the former cellar into a resource for tenants and the community regarding council services; and

2.6       The Asset and Enterprise Committee should offer assurance on the future management and operation of the centre at the earliest opportunity to offer stability and confirm the long term future of the Centre.

Termination of Meeting

During the preceding item, in accordance with Rule 28 of Part 4.1. – Council Procedure Rules, the business of the meeting not having concluded by two hours after its start, Members voted to agree to continue with the meeting for a further 30 minutes.

The Chair will invite feedback from task and finish group Members.

The work of the Audit and Scrutiny Committee would be delivered both through Members working in groups and through formal Committee reports.  The Audit and Scrutiny Committee would make recommendations to decision making committees and Council as necessary.  The Audit and Scrutiny Committee was invited to consider its 2014/15 scrutiny work programme.

A motion was MOVED by Cllr Clark and SECONDED by Cllr Kerslake to receive the recommendation set out within the report.

A vote was taken by a show of hands and was RESOLVED that:

2.1       The Audit and Scrutiny Committee agree its scrutiny work programme 2014/15.

Termination of Meeting

During the preceding item, in accordance with Rule 28 of Part 4.1. – Council Procedure Rule, the business of the meeting not having concluded by two hours after its start, Members voted to agree to continue with the meeting for a further 30 minutes.

Scrutiny Work Programme 2014/15

The report before Members outlined the requirement for an additional item to be added to the Work Programme for 2014/15 and the requirements for an urgent review in order to consensually address the perceived requirement for an Extraordinary Council meeting.

A motion was MOVED by Cllr Clark and SECONDED by Cllr Chilvers to receive the recommendation in the report.

A vote was taken by a show of hands and was RESOLVED UNANMIOUSLY that:

2.1       To  prioritise a review on the William Hunter Way project as outlined in Section 4 of the report.

2.2       A Task and Finish Group comprising two members of the Administration and two members of the Opposition Group be formed to lead the review.

2.3       A report on the findings of the review be presented to the Audit and Scrutiny Committee on 26 November 2014.

2.4       A report be made from Audit and Scrutiny to the Council Meeting on 10 December 2014, including any recommendations arising from the review.

There was none.