Basingstoke & Dean Borough Council
Councillors:
54
Wards:
18
Committees:
22
Meetings (2025):
67
Meetings (2024):
72
Meeting
Resources Committee - Basingstoke & Dean
Meeting Times
Scheduled Time
Start:
Tuesday, 21st January 2025
6:30 PM
Tuesday, 21st January 2025
6:30 PM
End:
Tuesday, 21st January 2025
10:30 PM
Tuesday, 21st January 2025
10:30 PM
Meeting Status
Status:
Confirmed
Confirmed
Date:
21 Jan 2025
21 Jan 2025
Location:
Committee Rooms 1 & 2 - Deanes
Committee Rooms 1 & 2 - Deanes
Meeting Attendees
Secretary
Ellie Cole
Expected
Chair
Chair of the Resources Committee
Committee Member
Committee Member
Chair of the Licensing Committee
Reserve
Chair of the Audit and Accounts Committee
Reserve
Vice-Chair of Human Resources Committee
Reserve
Chair of the Development Control Committee
Reserve
Leader of the Conservative Group
Reserve
Mayor
Reserve
Deputy Mayor and Chair of the Resident Services Committee
Committee Member
Leader
Agenda
1
Apologies for absence and substitutions
Minutes
Apologies were received from Councillors D Conquest and Cllr H Golding.
Councillor S Carr was replaced by Cllr P Miller.
Cllr T Jones was replaced by Councillor J Tustain.
Councillor S Carr was replaced by Cllr P Miller.
Cllr T Jones was replaced by Councillor J Tustain.
2
Declarations of interest
Minutes
There were no declarations of interest.
3
Minutes of the meeting held on 19 November 2024
The Chair will move that the minutes of the meeting be signed as a correct record. The only part of the minutes that can be discussed is their accuracy.
Attachments:
- Document Minutes of the meeting held on 19 November 2024 13 Jan 2025
Minutes
The Chair expressed disappointment that several actions and questions raised by councillors arising from the previous meeting had only been responded to by officers on the day of the meeting, which did not provide sufficient time for councillors to consider responses. He observed that this was not acceptable in preventing the committee from fulfilling its constitutional role and he asked the Director of Customers, Digital and Improvement to report the Committee’s viewson the matter. In addition, the Director also agreed to follow up on questions that had not been answered adequately.
The minutes of the meeting held on 19 November 2024 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.
The minutes of the meeting held on 19 November 2024 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.
4
Customer Services
Contact Officer: Katy Sallis
The Committee will receive a presentation update about the performance of customer services including the reason for contact, volumes and further detail on complaints as requested by the Committee.
The Committee will receive a presentation update about the performance of customer services including the reason for contact, volumes and further detail on complaints as requested by the Committee.
Attachments:
- Document report 13 Jan 2025
Minutes
The Director of Customers, Digital and Improvement gave a presentation update, alongside the Leader of the Council, about the performance of the council’s Customer Services team, which included the reasons for contact, methods of contact, volume of contact and further detail on complaints as requested by the Committee on 19 November 2024.
The Committee discussed the presentation and made the following comments:
It was explained that waste and recycling services represented the highest volume of contact received and handled by thecouncil’s contact centre. Calls related to housing, planning and some council tax calls were redirected to the relevant teams. Were informed that calls from members of the publicreceived by the borough for Hampshire County Council services was at high levelsand should have been recorded in the council’s contact statistics. The Director confirmed that data would be provided to the Committee. The Director advised that the council’s out of hours service was managed by a third party. Questioned if a website visit without a complaint or question should be considered a measurable form of contact for the council. Raised concern that web form submissions would generate emails, which could be measured as an email contact and questioned how this affected the measurement of website interactions. Clarification was also sought on how website forms were monitored when tracking customer contact. It was agreed that further information would be provided to the Committee. Asked if ongoing local government reorganisation plans could impact the council’s plans to modernise digital systems such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Questioned why the council offices had closed at 4.30pm and suggested that longer opening hours would improve the customer experience. The Director explained that this was due to evidence that established low call volumes later in the day. The Committee expressed satisfaction with the comprehensive provision of information provided by the presentation and requested that the presentation slides be circulated to all councillors. Suggested the councils’ teams could inform each other weekly on situations that may develop to improve communications and to help the contact centre handle matters of concern for residents. Expressed concern about high volume of calls to the waste service and questioned if data had been analysed to identify patterns and address issues. The Director agreed to work with the council’s waste team to provide further information.
Resolved: The Committee note the contents of the presentation.
The Committee discussed the presentation and made the following comments:
It was explained that waste and recycling services represented the highest volume of contact received and handled by thecouncil’s contact centre. Calls related to housing, planning and some council tax calls were redirected to the relevant teams. Were informed that calls from members of the publicreceived by the borough for Hampshire County Council services was at high levelsand should have been recorded in the council’s contact statistics. The Director confirmed that data would be provided to the Committee. The Director advised that the council’s out of hours service was managed by a third party. Questioned if a website visit without a complaint or question should be considered a measurable form of contact for the council. Raised concern that web form submissions would generate emails, which could be measured as an email contact and questioned how this affected the measurement of website interactions. Clarification was also sought on how website forms were monitored when tracking customer contact. It was agreed that further information would be provided to the Committee. Asked if ongoing local government reorganisation plans could impact the council’s plans to modernise digital systems such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Questioned why the council offices had closed at 4.30pm and suggested that longer opening hours would improve the customer experience. The Director explained that this was due to evidence that established low call volumes later in the day. The Committee expressed satisfaction with the comprehensive provision of information provided by the presentation and requested that the presentation slides be circulated to all councillors. Suggested the councils’ teams could inform each other weekly on situations that may develop to improve communications and to help the contact centre handle matters of concern for residents. Expressed concern about high volume of calls to the waste service and questioned if data had been analysed to identify patterns and address issues. The Director agreed to work with the council’s waste team to provide further information.
Resolved: The Committee note the contents of the presentation.
5
Review of work programme
The Committee is asked to note and review its Work Programme and to receive updates from the Lead Members of Task and Finish Groups.
Attachments:
- Document Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme May v2 13 Jan 2025
Minutes
The Chair introduced the work programme and gave a brief overview of the items that would be included on the agenda for the upcoming meetings.
The Committee requested periodic reporting to scrutinise and monitor the impact of proposed changes arising from planned local government reorganisation, to ensure transparency, clarification on outcomes, and allow the Committee to analyse potential impact on the borough’s communities and council officers.
The Committee supported a review of the council’sequality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) policies and practices as part of legal responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 and wished to examine progress, cost, alongside officer workload. It was suggested to review this in line with annual reporting.
It was suggested to review the council’s important responsibilities and relationships as part of the Armed Forces Covenant, as established in legislation.
The Committee requested periodic reporting to scrutinise and monitor the impact of proposed changes arising from planned local government reorganisation, to ensure transparency, clarification on outcomes, and allow the Committee to analyse potential impact on the borough’s communities and council officers.
The Committee supported a review of the council’sequality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) policies and practices as part of legal responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 and wished to examine progress, cost, alongside officer workload. It was suggested to review this in line with annual reporting.
It was suggested to review the council’s important responsibilities and relationships as part of the Armed Forces Covenant, as established in legislation.
Join the Discussion
You need to be signed in to comment.
Sign in