Issue - meetings

To receive the minutes of the Leisure Complex and Bus Station Programme Board on 5 March 2018.

The minutes of the Leisure Complex and Bus Station Programme Board meeting held on 5 March 2018 were submitted.

Councillor Mrs Henson, having given notice under Standing Order no.44, spoke on this item. She raised the issue of the absence of representation from the opposition parties on the working groups which she felt was inequitable given the enormity of the project. In line with the Constitution officers should serve all Councillors and that exclusion of opposition parties from these groups was undemocratic.

The Deputy Leader clarified that Councillor Mrs Henson issue related to the inequity of the composition of the proposed workings groups of the Leisure Centre and Bus Station Complex Centre Boards given that they excluded non Labour councillors.

The Deputy Leader continued that, in accordance with the Council’s Constitution, the Programme Board itself was politically balanced and accorded with the necessary proportionality requirements.

The current terms of reference for the Programme Board made it clear that

“The Client Leads (Build, Estates, Operator) carry responsibility for leading and managing the project teams and ensuring the Senior Responsible Officer was accountable to the Board for managing and supporting the Client Leads and ensuring their performance, quality, risk management, cost control, timescale and overall project control for their specific Client Lead areas”.

The proposal to create working groups aligned to each of the work streams was in keeping with the terms of reference.  These working groups would have no decision making powers as these were the responsibility of the Programme Board.

The Portfolio Holder for City Transformation, Energy and Transport stated that, because of the importance and size of the project, it was not unreasonable that the Portfolio Holder for Health and Wellbeing, Communities and Sport was supported on the working groups by his Group Members.

The Portfolio Holder for Health and Wellbeing, Communities and Sport clarified that the Individual Project Working Groups would enable the increasingly heavy workload to be more appropriately shared and also to bring an objective point of view. Action points recorded at the meetings, together with documents produced for the working groups, all of which were, confidential would be made available to Members on request. He emphasised that, if there was a need to go outside the authorisation parameters of the working groups, a meeting of the Programme Board would be called. The Project Manager was available for Members to talk to with regards to all aspects of the project.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Leisure Complex and Bus Station Programme Board meeting held on 5 March 2018 be received and, where appropriate, adopted.