Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence and notices of appointment of substitute Members (if any).

Apologies were received from Cllr Mrs C Collis

Members to note the Virtual Meetings Protocol

The Group had before them, and NOTED the *Virtual Meeting Protocol

Note: *Protocol previously circulated and attached to the minutes

Councillors are reminded of the requirement to declare any interest, including the type of interest, and reason for that interest, either at this stage of the meeting or as soon as they become aware of that interest.

Members were reminded of the requirement to make declarations where appropriate

Members to consider whether to approve the Minutes of the last meeting as a correct record.

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 17^th November 2020 were approved as a correct record

To receive any questions relating to items on the Agenda from members of the public and replies thereto.

Note:   A maximum of 30 minutes is allowed for this item.

There were no members of the public present.

To receive any announcements that the Chairman may wish to make.

The Chairman had no announcements to make

To receive, in accordance with the Health and Safety at Works Act 1974, the Council’s Health and Safety at Work Policy has been reviewed by the Health and Safety Committee.

The Group had before it a *report of the Group Manager for Performance, Governance and Data Security setting out the Corporate Health and Safety at Work Policy.

The officer outlined the contents of the report and explained that the Policy was the Council’s overarching Health and Safety Policy and that additional operational policies sat underneath this.

She explained that the Policy had been agreed by the Health and Safety Committee in October and that although there had been a substantial reduction in the wording the content remained broadly the same as the previous version of the Policy.

It was therefore RECOMMENDED to the Cabinet that:

·         The revised Health and Safety at Work Policy be adopted

(Proposed by Cllr J Downes and seconded by Cllr L Cruwys)

Reason for the Decision: In accordance with the Health and Safety at Works Act 1974 the Council had a duty to review its Health and Safety at Work Policy

Note: *report previously circulated and attached to the minutes

The Leisure manager to give an update on the electronic booking system used in the leisure centres

The Leisure Manager gave Members an overview of the electronic booking system currently used by the Leisure Services by way of a presentation.

He explained that the current system had been in place since 2011 and that the system was accessible via a website and mobile app. He further explained that the mobile app version was more user friendly than the website offering.

The officer then provided Members with a demonstration of the mobile app offering. He explained that there were opportunities for improvement but this had been slowed by the current pandemic, that capital funds had to be reprioritised but there were funds held in the capital programme for 2022/2023 for an improvement to the system.

He explained that the MDDC leisure app was currently at beta stage and would be launched in January 2021.

Members then discussed the current offering and explained that it was not user friendly, that it did not remember the user and therefore each booking was treated as a new user. They felt that there were too many processes to go through to book a class or activity.

Members felt that officers needed to make a case to improve the system for customers and that they would support a case to increase funding for an enhanced IT offering.

The Cabinet Member for Support Services and Working Environment and the Cabinet Member for Community Wellbeing advised that they had been involved in the process for selecting a new CRM system. They advised that, along with officers, they could explore the possibility that it could be adapted to offer an enhanced on-line booking facility for the Leisure Centres.

The Leader agreed with this approach and advised that a report on the feasibility of incorporating an on line booking system into the new CRM would be brought back to the Community PDG at its January meeting.

The Group agreed that Cllrs Mrs C P Daw and J Downes would also be a part of the investigation.

Members to note that the following are scheduled for future meetings:

·         Budget

·         Financial Monitoring

·         Corporate Anti Social Behaviour Policy

·         Single Equalities Policy and Equality Objectives

·         Air Quality Action Plan Update

·         RIPA

·         Town and Parish Charter

·         Grant Payments to External Organisations

·         6 Month Leisure Update

·         Performance and Risk

Note: This item is limited to 10 minutes.  There should be no discussion on the items raised.

No additional items were identified.