Issue - meetings

(Briefing Paper - Information requested by Board following submission of Overview & Scrutiny Proposal Form by Councillor C. R. Scurrell. Head of Community Services to attend.)

The Board considered the briefing paper in respect of the Bromsgrove Urban and Rural Transport (BURT) provided by the Head of Community Services.  The briefing paper provided a response to Members’ questions following submission of an Overview and Scrutiny Proposal from Councillor C. R. Scurrell at the meeting of the Scrutiny Board held on 13th July 2010. 

The age profile data provided was queried and found to be inaccurate.  The Head of Community Services would review this and report back to the next meeting.  The lack of continuity of services was noted as evidence in the summary of journeys and take up data provided in the briefing paper, which showed that service provision was variable around the district.  This was due to the limited capacity through running one bus across the whole District. The relationship with Redditch Borough Council’s (RBC) services through a service and maintenance agreement was noted, as it provided critical support to BURT when it was off the road.  It was noted that a closer working relationship between BURT and RBC services may be possible to further improve continuity of service provision and value for money.

The Board discussed the following issues in detail:

• The Service Level Agreement with the Women’s Royal Voluntary Service (WRVS)
• Take up of the service
• The purchase of the vehicle and maintenance costs
• Feedback from users (which had been very positive particularly from the Disabled Users Group)
• Future budget bid
• Promotion/advertising of the service

The Head of Community Services advised Members that as the service had now been in operation for 12 months she would be undertaking a full evaluation/review, to ensure that the service was still required, meeting its full potential and offered value for money.  She also informed Members that she was now holding regular meetings with the WRVS in order to obtain clearer up to date information on the service and appropriate customer feedback.  The evaluation/review would cover the inclusion of the more rural parts of the district, any scope for expansion of the service, cost constraints and the service and maintenance agreement with RBC, particularly in view of the shared services agenda.  After further discussion it was

RESOLVED that a more detailed background report on the service, including clarification of the service user data be provided to the meeting of the Scrutiny Board to be held on 26th October 2010.