Overview and Scrutiny Committee - Thursday, 20th July, 2023 7.00 pm - Agenda and minutes

To confirm the Minutes of the Meeting held on 15th June 2023 (copy attached).

The minutes of the meeting held on 15th June, 2023 were agreed as a correct record.

To receive a presentation for Aaron Hodgkiss, Stagecoach Operations Manager - Aldershot. The presentation will cover:

• Current Stagecoach services in and around the Borough
• Performance delivery and any challenges
• Summary of recent changes
• Any potential impact of funding changes to services

Members will then have the opportunity to discuss with Mr. Hodgkiss, matters of service delivery and issues for residents.

The Committee welcomed Aaron Hodgkiss, Operations Manager, Aldershot and Sudib Gurung, Assistant Operations Manager, Aldershot, at Stagecoach, who were in attendance to addresses matters raised regarding Stagecoach services, performance delivery and challenges, recent changes and potential impacts from changes to service funding.

In addition, Members had been apprised of a current residents survey, undertaken by the Labour Group, on changes to bus services. The survey deadline was yet to be reached, however preliminary findings had been shared with the Committee prior to the meeting.

County Councillor Bill Withers was also present at the meeting, and had been invited to join the discussions. 

Members received the presentation from Mr Hodgkiss, which covered;

·         Operations – It was noted that the Aldershot depot had been fully staffed with 196 employees, of which, 153 were drivers, this was despite there being a national shortage of drivers. It was also advised that Stagecoach’s fleet of buses, which carried 480,000 passengers per month locally, was expected to be sustainably fuelled or fully electric by 2035.

·         Data on revenue and passenger numbers – it was advised that following the pandemic, concessionary travel had been slowest to recover. Fare paying travel had recovered well on most routes.

·         Current Challenges – Road works and traffic delays were key challenges for the bus services. Understanding post pandemic working pattern and hybrid working, to identify growth areas and effectively serve the community was also noted as a challenge for the operator.

·         Bus Station closure – the closure of the Aldershot Bus Station in early May, 2023, had presented some challenges, including temporary traffic orders in Aldershot Town Centre and roadside parking. However, some positives had emerged from the closure, including timetable improvements and improved reliability, the creation of opportunity for change and the provision of more centrally located stops for shoppers. The team continued to manage customer feedback and concerns and were aware of a number of issues relating to accessibility to the Railway Station.

·         Future Plans – It was noted that Stagecoach had met with and would continue to engage with the Leader of the Council on local issues and would also be meeting with Labour representatives to discuss the full findings of the survey once the deadline had passed. It was also noted that the Santa Bus would be returning in the run up to Christmas with the aim of raising funds for local charities.

The Committee raised a number of queries, as follows:

·         No. 9/10 Service (Voyager House) – it was noted that the current No. 9 only ran till 3pm, causing issues for those attending medical appointments in the afternoon at Voyager House, the No. 10 served the area later in the day but the walk to Voyager House was longer. It was noted that these services would be looked at to see if any changes could be made to improve access to the medical facility.

·         Railway Station – data was requested on the routes servicing Aldershot Railway Station. It was noted that the information  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The Assistant Chief Executive will report on progress made in delivering against the Council’s performance management framework (copy attached). In addition, there will be a report on the delivery against the Council’s Business Plan 2022-2025 as at the end of Quarter 4. Report number ACE2304 submitted to the Cabinet on 6 June 2023 can be found here.

The Committee welcomed Rachel Barker, Assistant Chief Executive who was in attendance to report on progress made in delivering against the Council’s performance management framework and Quarter 4 of the Council’s Business Plan 2022-25.

The Council’s Performance Management Framework, which had been refreshed in June 2023, was developed to act as a tool to strengthen performance management within the authority and to ensure delivery against priorities. The framework provided a consistent approach to the way performance and quality was managed, monitored, reviewed and reported across the organisation.

Performance management was in place to monitor outputs and performance indicators (PIs), alongside being a tool to drive improvement on performance across the organisation. It was advised that performance management should not be considered as separate from the day-to-day management of the Council and should be used as a tool to plan, review and revise cycles over different timescales and at different levels within the organisation. For example, there was:

·         a long-term cycle that set and reviewed the Council’s priorities;

·         annual service planning and target setting; and

·         quarterly collection and review of performance information

The quarterly performance monitoring cycle consisted of a number of stages, starting with data requests from services at the end of the quarter. This was followed by a review stage including, engagement with Portfolio Holders and the Corporate Management Team. Cabinet then reviewed and approved the quarterly monitoring documents before the Committee considered the document and identified areas for more in depth scrutiny.

The Committee were advised on progress in delivering the 2022/23 Performance Management Framework. It was advised that alongside the approval of the quarterly monitoring and the annual report (in quarter 4), an update on the Council’s key strategies and plans had been presented to the Cabinet in quarters one and three. All services had produced service plans for 2023/24 and the Council Plan 2023-26 had been agreed. In addition, a Performance Management audit had been carried out with an outcome of Assurance Level – Substantial, with a number of recommendations to take forward.

Ms Barker, reported on the vision for the Office of Local Government (Oflog). The vision had been to provide authoritative and accessible data and analysis about the performance of local government, and to support improvement. To understand local government performance, Oflog would draw on the best available data and evidence, would improve access to data increasing transparency and fostering accountability – while also highlighting excellence and showcasing success and, would play a significant role in wider work to establish a stronger accountability framework, including identifying and supporting at-risk councils. A watching brief would be undertaken on the development of Oflog’s work.

Moving forward for 2023/24, quarterly monitoring would continue with quarter one due to Cabinet in August, 2023. Services would be asked to refresh their service plans and the Performance Management Audit recommendations made in 2022/23, would be incorporated into the framework.

The Committee were asked to consider how their role in reviewing the Council Plan monitoring could be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

To consider the Work Plan for the 2022/23 Municipal Year (copy attached).

The Committee noted the current Work Plan and an additional meeting on 7th September, 2023 to discuss the recent Notice of Motion brought to the Council Meeting in July, 2023 regarding the Armed Forces community and veteran engagement, and Gurkha Welfare.