Committee details

About Scrutiny Panel Meetings

 

Scrutiny Panel meetings are usually held in public. They give elected members not on the Cabinet an opportunity to examine, discuss and make recommendations about significant issues and decisions.

 

 

                                               

1.      Purpose/Objectives of the Review    

 

·        To evaluate all customer services with a review of the customer contact centre, customer satisfaction and the refurbished and extended one stop shop.

 

2.    Outcomes Required

 

·        To establish whether all customer services are providing value for money around:

§         Quality of service and service delivery

§         Customer satisfaction across the whole organisation

§         Cost and efficiency

§         Use of all media

·        To establish the accessibility of customer services

·        To establish the benefits of a shared customer services facility

·        To establish the appropriateness of current targets for customer services

·        To make recommendations for improvement as appropriate

 

3.    Information Required

 

·        Baseline data including

§         Budgets

§         Statistics

§         Targets

§         Call times

§         Performance Indicator data

·        Evidence from partners, key employees, including the Customer Services Manager and service users

·        Evidence from the Portfolio Holder (Community Engagement) and the Leader of the Council, NBC

·        Evidence from the Director of Finance and Support, NBC

·        Benchmarking with other Local Authorities, including information regarding:-

§         Targets

§         Costs 

§         Recorded calls

·        Site visits to internal customer services facilities at Northampton Borough Council (NBC)  - observing process including perusing waiting times, signage, observing calls into the contact centre, speaking with staff and service users

·        Site visit to a sample of departments within NBC, including the Gateway Project

·        Site visit to Enterprise Managed Services (EMS) and Northampton Leisure Trust

·        Site visit to a best practice Council external to Northamptonshire

·        Focus Group with a sample of Chairs of Residents’ Association

 

4.    Format of Information

 

·        Various site visits

·        Officer briefings/presentations

·        Baseline data

·        Witness interviews and written evidence

·        Portfolio Holder evidence

·        Officer evidence:

§         Director of Finance and Support

§         Customer Services Manager

§         Various other Officers

·        Partner evidence including:

§         Northamptonshire County Council

§         Northants Police

§         Womens’ Aid

§         Citizens’ Advice Bureau

§         Bromford Support

§         Enterprise Managed Services (EMS)

§         Northampton Leisure Trust

·        Evidence from Councillors regarding their experience of customer services at NBC

·        Desktop research

·        Encapsulate all new methods of customer services within the Council, including organisations providing a service on behalf of the Council

·        Northamptonshire Residents’ Association to be approached suggesting that it sets up the Focus Group as detailed in section 3 above.

 

5.    Methods Used to Gather Information

 

·        Desktop research

·        Minutes of the meetings of the Scrutiny Panel

·        Officer Reports and presentations

·        Witness evidence

·        Site Visits

·        Examples of best practice

·        Witness interviews and evidence as detailed in section 4 above.

·        The Northamptonshire Residents’ Association to be approached regarding it setting up a Focus Group comprising a sample of Resident Association Chairs.

 

6.    Co-Options to the Review

 

·        County Councillor Marion Minney to be approached suggesting that she is co opted to this Review for its life.  County Councillor Marion Minney had been co opted to the previous Scrutiny Review into Customer Services (2009)

 

7   Equality Impact Screening Assessment

 

·        Scrutiny Officer to undertake an Equality Impact Screening Assessment shortly after the Scoping meeting

 

8   Evidence gathering Timetable

 

          January 2012 – April 2012

 

5^th January 2012 – Scoping meeting

2nd February      -  Evidence gathering

1^st March              -   Evidence gathering

21^st March            -   Evidence gathering

19^th April `            -   Approval of final report

 

Meetings will commence at 6pm

 

Various site visits will be programmed during January and April 2012.

 

9    Responsible Officers

 

·        Lead Officer  Marion Goodman, Head of Customer Services and ICT

·        Co-ordinator Tracy Tiff, Scrutiny Officer

 

10   Resources and Budgets

 

·        Marion Goodman, Lead Officer, to provide internal support and advice.

 

11                         Final report presented by:

 

·        The Chair of the Scrutiny Panel to present the report to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

 

·        The Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to then present the report to Cabinet.

 

12     Monitoring procedure:

 

·        Review the impact of the report after approximately six months (November/December 2012)