Richard Kemp 0803

Concerns over appointment of Chief Executive

An independent report into the recruitment, selection and appointment process of Suffolk County Council’s (SCC) new chief executive was scrutinised at the authority’s Audit Committee on May 20.

The Audit Commission report was prepared by the district auditor, Robert Davies. The Audit Committee is an independent, cross-party, committee of the county council.

Opposition councillors reacted with disbelief at the interpretation of the report by the County’s Administration. The report was compiled by the District Auditor after opposition groups wrote to him expressing concerns about the process, especially on the setting of the salary. It also emerged at the committee that the Auditor had already begun his own investigation when he received the opposition letters.

The report concluded that the Conservative administration "cannot demonstrate that value for money was given sufficient consideration" (paragraph 25). Further, that "there was no consideration of a clear business case based on an assessment of the Council's circumstances and needs" (paragraph 31) and that the decision to increase the salary range was "potentially unlawful" (Paragraph 32).

The report highlighted that key information was not given to the majority of the Staff Appointments Committee and that this led to the Conservative members of the committee increasing the salary level based on inadequate information.

The Administration has agreed to change its recruitment practices in the light of the report. The report can be found here:
http://apps2.suffolk.gov.uk/cgi-bin/committee_xml.cgi?p=doc&id=1_11232&format=pdf

Recycling Old Phones

Suffolk schools have been given the opportunity to make money from old mobile phones, and help the environment at the same time.

Suffolk County Council and 'Recycle Your Mobile' have been working together to encourage people to recycle their unwanted mobile phones for the benefit of schools in Suffolk. Since the launch of the project, more than £13,750 has been raised for local schools and almost 4,000 unwanted phones have been diverted from landfill sites.

For each 'recyclable' phone donated, the nominated school will receive up to £5 and improve children's understanding about the benefits of recycling and the need to protect our environment. So far the scheme has diverted 3 tonnes of hazardous waste from landfill and one Suffolk school has raised £1,500 in just one term.

Approximately half the phones collected are classed as reusable and are repaired and sold to developing countries. These mobile phones provide vital means of communication in areas where there are few or no landlines. Phones which cannot be reused are diverted from landfill as component parts are used to repair or make new phones. The remaining plastics are granulated and reused for road sleepers, frisbees and other plastic products.

The County Council is hoping that more people will join the scheme this term as recycling unwanted mobile phones via the project is an easy, but very effective way to help the environment.
When schools register they will receive a supply of freepost envelopes or alternatively, phones can be collected in a box at school and collection arranged when the box is full. For more information on the scheme, contact Emma Cooke on 0800 970 5097.

National survey on the road to better customer feedback

The public's views on Suffolk's Highways and Transport services will soon be compared with others across the country, thanks to a new nationwide survey being carried out on behalf of the participating Local Authorities by market research specialist, Ipsos MORI.

Suffolk County Council has signed up to a standardised survey that will ask members of the public exactly the same questions, whether they live in Swindon, Suffolk or Somerset.

The launch of the survey is the result of months of hard work between the National Highways Benchmarking Club and a regional Highways Service Improvement Group. It will enable Local Authorities to compare results, share in best practice and identify opportunities to work together in the future.

The questionnaire will be sent to a random sample of 4500 place name residents in May, with local and national results expected to be published this summer. Since the survey is based on a sample, residents that receive a copy are being urged to take part.

Health Scrutiny Committee consider proposed changes to head and neck cancer services

In May, Suffolk's Health Scrutiny Committee invited clinicians, both from Ipswich and Norwich Hospital, to comment on the head and neck cancer services currently provided at Ipswich Hospital. The Committee also heard from the Chief Executive of Ipswich Hospital, Anglia Cancer Network and the Suffolk NHS Primary Care Trust (PCT) about the consultation on where this specialised cancer service should be provided.

The Committee asked the Ipswich Hospital Chief Executive for an up to date account of the availability of data concerning the demand for head and neck cancer treatment in Suffolk. The Committee raised concerns over the consultation and the proposal to move the services to Norwich.

The Committee papers can be found on the Suffolk County Council website:
http://apps2.suffolk.gov.uk/cgi-bin/committee_xml.cgi?p=detail&id=1_11163

Boundary Review in Suffolk

The review of boundaries of local government in Suffolk is continuing. The Boundary Committee of England received nearly 20 submissions of ‘concepts’ for unitary models for Suffolk. These ranged from a single Suffolk unitary to an East / West unitary system to a North Haven unitary and others. More details can be found on the boundary committee website:
http://www.boundarycommittee.org.uk/our-work/suffolkstrrev.cfm

The Boundary Committee will now consider each of the proposal and the responses to its further questions and will publish its proposals for public consultation at the beginning of July.

Public Questions

At the County’s May Full Council the council received a motion which suggested that members of the public should be allowed to ask questions to the Cabinet. The issue was subject to a rigorous debate and, after a few amendments, was accepted.

The County’s ‘Constitutional Working Party’ will now look into the issue and how it will work, and will report back to the full council meeting in September. This move will hopefully see the County Council becoming more transparent and accountable to the public.

Richard Kemp