Scrutiny Committee - 24/08/2011

At a MEETING of the SCRUTINY COMMITTEE held at Dundee on 24th August, 2011.

Present:-

BAILIES

COUNCILLORS

Councillor Derek SCOTT, in the Chair.

The minute of meeting of this Committee of 15th June, 2011 was held as read.

Unless marked thus * all items stand delegated.

I SUMMARY OF EXTERNAL INSPECTION REPORT FOR WHICH ALL GRADES ARE GOOD OR BETTER

There was submitted Report No 339-2011 by the Chief Executive providing a summary of a recent inspection report by HM Inspector of Education which did not require in-depth scrutiny.

The Committee:-

(i) noted the summary of the recent inspection report on St Fergus RC Primary School, which received grades of good or better in all areas covered by the inspection; and

(ii) remitted to the Director of Education to ensure that the areas for improvement included in the report were acted upon, both in relation to the particular service inspected, and as guidance on good practice for other services.

II ARMS LENGTH EXTERNAL ORGANISATIONS - ARE YOU GETTING IT RIGHT?

There was submitted Report No 375-2011 by the Director of Finance providing elected members with a summary of the above national study which had recently been issued by Audit Scotland on behalf of the Accounts Commission.

The Committee noted the key findings arising from this national study including the questionnaire checklist and self assessment tool kit (Appendix 1 and Appendix 2 of the report) that may be useful to help elected members consider the Council's position and, in particular, to identifying where further improvements could be made.

III CORPORATE PERFORMANCE SELF-ASSESSMENT 2010/2011 - INCIDENTS OF VIOLENCE

On a reference to Article VIII of the minute of meeting of this Committee of 15th June, 2011, there was submitted Report No 340-2011 by the Director of Finance providing elected members with more detail regarding incidents of violence towards Council employees, together with an additional note which was circulated at the meeting comparing the annual position to the first quarter.

The Committee:-

(i) noted the detailed breakdown of the statistics provided in the report, in particular the split between Kingspark Special School and the other Education incidents;

(ii) remitted to Chief Officers to review these figures to ensure they were satisfied that all reasonable steps were being taken to protect employees in carrying out their duties; and

(iii) agreed that the detailed schedules be provided as back up to future Position Statements in the event of further performance deterioration.

IV INTERNAL AUDIT REPORTS

There was submitted Report No 383-2011 by the Chief Internal Auditor providing the Committee with a summary of the Internal Audit Reports finalised since the last meeting of this Committee.

The Committee agreed to note the information contained within the report.

V INTERNAL AUDIT ANNUAL REPORT 2010/2011

There was submitted Report No 384-2011 by the Chief Internal Auditor summarising the activities of the Council's Internal Audit Service for the period 2010/2011 and providing an opinion on the overall adequacy and effectiveness of the Council's control environment.

The Committee noted the information contained within the report.

VI CORPORATE PERFORMANCE SELF-ASSESSMENT - THREE MONTHS TO 30TH JUNE, 2011

There was submitted Report No 386-2011 by the Director of Finance advising elected members of the performance of Dundee City Council for the three months to 30th June, 2011 as defined by the Key Quarterly Performance Indicators.

The Committee:-

(i) noted that performance levels for the first three months of the financial year had generally been maintained or improved; and

(ii) remitted to Chief Officers to review the contents of Appendix 1, as it related to their service, and consider if there were any indicators for which performance could be improved over the remainder of the 2011/2012 financial year.

Derek SCOTT, Convener.