Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 9 November 2011

The Minutes (copies of which had been circulated) of the meeting held on 9 November 2011 were approved as a correct record.

Councillors and officers were invited to declare any interests which they had in any of the items on the agenda for this meeting.

The following interests were declared:-

Personal Interests

Councillor                             Interest

Suzanne Wyatt                    Any items on the agenda relating to ‘How the Public Contact the Council’ – as an employee of the Citizens Advice Bureau.           

Daniel Hawthorne              Any items on the agenda relating to ‘How the Public Contact the Council’ – as a member of the board of Stockport Homes.

The focus of this meeting will be to look at the advice and information provided at the eleven district centres.  Janet Wood - Head of Libraries, Advice and Information and Sue Baker - Advice Services Manager will attend the meeting to give a presentation on the:-

·         Location of the centres with distances from each to be plotted on a map.

·         Breakdown of the information/advice provided at each of the Centres.

·         Breakdown of the type of information/advice that the public are requesting.

·         Breakdown of the numbers of members of the public contacting for each enquiry including footfall at each centre.

·         Cost of each centre, opening times and staffing.

·         Breakdown of the funding streams for each Centre.

·         Examples of customer journeys.

·         Future plans for the services provided.

Key questions for members to consider at the meeting are:-

1. Are district centres the most effective way of providing information/advice to the public?

2. Are the services being provided the right ones?

3. Could services be provided differently to improve the customer experience?

4. Are there any suggestions for improvement that could be made at no extra cost to the Council to improve the customer experience?

Contact officer: Adrian Moores Tel: 0161 474 5405 email: adrian.moores@stockport.gov.uk

Janet Wood (Head of Libraries, Advice and Information, Stockport Council) and Sue Baker (Advice Services Manager, Stockport Council) attended the meeting and gave a presentation on the eleven Stockport Direct Local Centres, summarising the location and services at each Local Centre, the number of enquires made during 2010 and a breakdown of costings for the advice and information service. 

This provided an opportunity for Councillors to discuss issues concerning the Stockport Direct Local Centres.  The following issues were raised/ comments made:-

·         Concerns were raised with regard to the extensive range of public enquires made and how Local Centres managed this demand.

·         Why the Heald Green Local Centre did not facilitate the in-house scanning service for housing and council tax benefit forms whereas other Local Centres in the Borough provided this service to members of the public.

·         How many public enquires the Heald Green Centre received on an annual basis.

·         How Local Centres balanced customer’s demands in relation to the number of staff employed and how scanning and advisory staff were manages at the centres.

·         The limitations of a Local Centre and the benefits of partnership working.

·         Clarification was sought and provided in respect to the figures detailed in the presentation for the overall breakdown of costs for the Advice Service in the Borough.

·         A Councillor raised a question in relation to the ownership of First House in Brinnington, Stockport Mind and the Cheadle Hulme Local Centre’s lease expiry date.

·         Concern was raised in relation to the transition of online council services, particularly the accessibility for people who did not have Internet access or were Information Technology illiterate.

·         The advice provided to the public, explaining which documents they had to bring, prior to an appointment at a Local Centre. 

·         The difference between the advice given at Stockport Council and Stockport Mind.

·         The relationship between Stockport Council and large scale debt collection agencies in the Borough.

·         Comments were made in relation to the number of staff who worked at a Local Centre who were on sick leave and how this affected services.

·         Which council services were statutory and non-statutory.

·         Councillors raised issues with regard to the allocation of funding for council services and how beneficial it was to helping residents in the long term.

·         A Councillor stressed the importance of making long term efficiencies in the Council and suggested merging standalone Local Centres into existing libraries in the Borough.

·         The possibility of relocating the Cheadle Hulme Local Centre with Cheadle Hulme library and the potential consequences.

·         The possibility of whether members of the public could apply for benefits over the telephone as some national benefits had this facility in place.

·         A Councillor commented that he experienced difficulty in finding the services provided at his Local Centre on the Council’s website and in public literature.

·         The long term effect of the Welfare Bill on job centres across the Borough.

·         A Councillor asked whether the Citizens Advice Bureau was Council funded.

·         Further information was required and sought at the meeting in relation to the Reddish Local Centre being incorporated into the Reddish library building.

·         Members discussed using volunteers to provide additional support for Stockport Council services and partnership organisations.

RESOLVED – (1) That Janet Wood and Sue Baker be thanked for their attendance and presentation.

(2) That the Service Director (Place Management) be requested to:-

(a) Circulate the opening hours and a breakdown explaining the number and type of enquires at each Local Centre to Councillors and

(b) Inform the Online Communications Manager of the difficulties experienced by Councillors in finding the services provided at their Local Centre on the Council’s website.

To receive a verbal report from the Head of Customer Services.

The Head of Customer Services will provide an update on the progress on the work on transactional forms.

Contact officer: Adrian Moores Tel: 0161 474 5405 email: adrian.moores@stockport.gov.uk

The Head of Customer Services provided an update in respect to work undertaken for graffiti and the collection of bulky refuse online transactional forms since the last meeting. 

It was reported that further investigation had taken place with Solutions SK, Environmental Services and the Contact Centre to improve the (transactional forms) interface of these services on the Council’s website and projects to investigate the usability and interface for reporting pot holes and graffiti online had commenced. 

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

To consider a report of the Head of Customer Services.

Members are requested to consider an updated Project Plan for the Scrutiny Review - How the Public Contact the Council.

Contact officer: Adrian Moores Tel: 0161 474 5405 email: adrian.moores@stockport.gov.uk

The Head of Customer Services submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) detailing an updated Project Plan for the Scrutiny Review – How the Public Contact the Council.

RESOLVED – (1) That the report be noted and that the next meeting of the Scrutiny Review Panel, scheduled to take place on Tuesday, 10 January 2012 be deferred till Wednesday, 8 February 2012.  

(2) That the Head of Customer Services be requested to provide further clarity in respect to the outline objectives for Project Plan (d) as detailed in the report.