Agenda and minutes

1.         This meeting is to be webcast. Members are reminded of the need to activate their microphones before speaking.

2.         The Chairman will read the following announcement:

“I would like to remind everyone present that this meeting will be broadcast live to the Internet and will be capable of repeated viewing and copies of the recording could be made available for those that request it.

If you are seated in the lower public seating area it is likely that the recording cameras will capture your image and this will result in the possibility that your image will become part of the broadcast.

This may infringe your human and data protection rights and if you wish to avoid this you should move to the upper public gallery”

The Chairman made a short address to remind all present that the meeting would be broadcast on the Internet, and that the Council had adopted a protocol for the webcasting of its meetings.

(Assistant to the Chief Executive). To report the appointment of any substitute members for the meeting.

It was reported that Councillor J Knapman was substituting for Councillor A Green.

Decisions required:

To confirm the minutes of the meetings of the Committee held on 11 December 2008 (attached).

            RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 11 December 2008 be taken as read and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

(Assistant to the Chief Executive). To declare interests in any items on the agenda.

In considering whether to declare a personal or a prejudicial interest under the Code of Conduct, Overview & Scrutiny members are asked pay particular attention to paragraph 11 of the Code in addition to the more familiar requirements.

This requires the declaration of a personal and prejudicial interest in any matter before an OS Committee which relates to a decision of or action by another Committee or Sub Committee of the Council, a Joint Committee or Joint Sub Committee in which the Council is involved and of which the Councillor is also a member.

Paragraph 11 does not refer to Cabinet decisions or attendance at an OS meeting purely for the purpose of answering questions or providing information on such a matter.

There were no declarations of interest made pursuant to the Council’s Code of Member Conduct.

To receive a presentation from the County Portfolio Holder, Councillor Norman Hume, on rural transport and the bus service.

This item links in with the recent Epping District Transport Survey carried out last summer.

The Panel welcomed Councillor Norman Hume, the County Portfolio Holder for Highways and Transportation and Nick Roberts the Essex County Council Passenger Transport Co-ordination Centre Manager (Schools). They were there to talk about and answer questions on, rural transport and the bus services. This linked in with the recent Epping Forest District Transport Survey carried out in the summer of 2008.

Councillor Hume noted that the survey touched on bus transport in general and other issues of rural transport. He acknowledged the need for lower cost, more frequent public bus services, improved cycle tracks and better safety for pedestrians and cyclists. The withdrawal of the 500 bus route was a big issue which was still being considered by county. He reminded the meeting that the bus operators ran a commercial business. Essex County Council (ECC) had a policy to try and meet a basic standard of service where ever possible. Where a service was subsidised the county provided £5 per passenger journey. Once over this £5 threshold the service provided would have to be amended. 15% of the total provision of bus services is provided by the ECC, these are the only services that could be controlled by county.  They also contribute to community transport, and they fund community bus services at about one million pounds per annum.

On concessionary bus travel for the over 60’s, there was now a national service for free travel. The Government had not fully funded this service, so District’s and Counties has to partly fund the service and this would grow over the years. The District Councils now pays about £17 million p.a.

He also wished to emphasize that the road conditions in the county are better than they were for a number of years. County was always trying to make it safer for all road users. There had been a 12% reduction of killed or seriously injured on the roads in 2007, with a further 22% reduction in 2008. Their ambition is to reduce it even further. Cycling had got a £2.1 million of government funding for Colchester and they were looking to apply the lessons learnt to other parts of the county.

Councillor Hume then went on to tackle some of the questions submitted earlier to him.

The Youth Council had asked:

Q:        What had happened about more subsidized bus passes for young people?

A:         Councillor Hume said that there was an issue here and they were looking into concessionary passes to young people, but this would not happen in the next financial year.

Q:        At the recent big youth debate it was said that bus drivers shouldn’t discriminate in any way against any group. In our survey it was discovered that a number of young people said that bus drivers were rude to them and applied different fares on the same bus. What is being done about driver attitudes and having consistent age criteria?

A:         This was an issue of training as well as an issue for young people. The County  ...  view the full minutes text for item 64.

With the agreement of the meeting the budget report was taken as the next item.

(Director of Finance and ICT) to consider the draft  Portfolio Holder Budgets report. The full draft budgets were considered in detail at the Finance and Performance Management Scrutiny Standing Panel on 13 January 2009 and at the Finance and Performance Management Cabinet Committee on 26 January 2009.

Report to follow.

The Committee considered the recommendations of the Finance and Performance Management Cabinet Committee and the Finance and Performance Management Scrutiny Panel on the Council’s budget for 2009/10. Additional information was requested at this meeting last year and so the full reports that went to the Finance and Performance Management Cabinet Committee were appended to the report.

The Director of Finance and ICT introduced the budget proposals report to the committee.

The Committee noted that:

a)         It was a difficult year to construct a budget because of:

i)                    The “Credit Crunch” and reduced housing market activity;

ii)                   Taking forward Safer, Cleaner, Greener and Waste Management;

iii)                 Future provision of leisure facilities in Epping and Waltham Abbey;

iv)                 Pay disputes and utility costs;

v)                  Need to obtain annual approval for capitalisation of pension deficit payments;

vi)                 Introduction of nationwide concessionary fares scheme;

vii)               Customer Services Transformation Programme.

b)         The budget guidelines for 2009/10 were established as:

i)                    The ceiling for CSB net expenditure be no more than £17.6m including net growth/savings.

ii)                   The ceiling for DDF net expenditure be no more than £270,000.

iii)                 The District Council Tax be increased by no more than 2.5%.

c)         CSB – some of the growth items listed are for sums agreed as part of previous year’s budgets but most are new for the next year. The largest item for next year was £217,000 for the reduction in interest earnings resulting from the substantial reduction seen in interest rates.

d)         An increase in the target for the 2009/10 CSB budget from £17.9m to £18.1m (including growth items).

e)         DDF – the DDF net movement for 2009/10 is £1.181m. The largest cost item was £432,000 for work on the Local Development Framework (LDF). The LDF was a substantial and unavoidable project and over the next four years DDF funding of £1.137m was currently allocated to it.

f)          Other significant items of expenditure include £215,000 for waste management expenditure that will be necessary as part of the transition to the new collection methods.

g)         At £1.181m the DDF programme exceeded the target by £481,000. All of the DDF items currently programmed to the end of 2012/13 can be funded from within existing DDF resources.

h)         Council Tax Increase - For a number of years now Members have had a policy of restricting increases in Council Tax to less than the increase in the RPI. At the meeting of this committee on 8 December 2008, Members amended this policy to one of increasing Council Tax by no more than 2.5%. The latest RPI figure is 3% so even if the policy had not been amended the proposed Council Tax increase of 2.5% would have been within that target.

Councillor Jacobs, Chairman of the Finance and Performance Management Scrutiny Standing Panel told the committee that his Panel had thoroughly considered the report at their last meeting and after some discussion had confirmed its recommendations.

Councillor Whitbread, the Finance and Performance Management Portfolio Holder, confirmed that the budget had gone through  ...  view the full minutes text for item 66.

This item stems from the 16 December 2008 Council meeting:

·                     The following motion moved by Councillor Stallan and seconded by Councillor Whitbread was adopted -

(1)        “That this Council notes the high level of interest by our residents in the consultation document on Development Plan Provision for Gypsies and Travellers in the Epping Forest District;

(2)    That to enable members and our residents to be better informed on the reasons for such provision in the Epping Forest District an invitation be sent to Mr Iain Wright M.P. Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Communities and Local Government for him to attend the next meeting of the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 29 January 2009; and

(3)    That the three local Members of Parliament be advised of our invitation”

The Assistant to the Chief Executive had sent an invitation to Iain Wright MP inviting him to attend the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in January 2009. However, officers have not received a reply to this invitation at the time of going to print.

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee had invited Iain Wright M.P, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, to address the Committee and to answer questions from members regarding the Gypsy and Traveller Consultation. The Committee was advised that Mr Wright had declined the invitation; he had felt that the timing was inappropriate. His official response was tabled at the meeting.

The Committee members requested that his response should be referred to the Planning and Economic Development Portfolio Holder Advisory Group for any action they thought appropriate. Members also felt that the response should include an expression of disappointment that Mr Wright did not attend this meeting.

RESOLVED:

(1)        That the reply from the office of Iain Wright M.P, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, be noted; and

(2)        That:

(a)        the letter from Mr Wright M.P., be referred to the Planning Services Portfolio Holder Advisory Group; and

(b)        a response be dispatched to Mr Wright M.P. stating the disappointment felt by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee that he did not attend the meeting.

(Chairman of the Panel – Councillor Mrs M McEwen) To consider the attached report.

The Senior Democratic Service’s Officer, Mr S Hill, presented a report to the Committee regarding the Civic Ceremonial Function – Review 2008. The report brought forward a number of issues for consideration following the Civic and Ceremonial Review for 2008. The review took account of the views from past Chairmen of Council, practice in other local authorities and references to the role of the Chairman contained within the Council’s Constitution.

The scope of the review was agreed at the meeting of the Panel on 8 September 2008 as follows:

The role of the Chairman of Council

• A response to the report of the Councillor’s Commission
• A review of the Council’s Protocol and the status of the Chairman
• A review of the member accountability statements contained within the Constitution
• How could the Chairman be better promoted?

Annual Council

• Civic and Business aspects of the Annual Council meeting
• Changes in 2009

The Annual Civic Events

• A review of: timing, type, reference and affordability
• What other authorities do

Issues from other reviews

• An update on the last review
• Issues from Audit Reports: Gifts and Hospitality, Account handling, Bank Account Processes

Contained within the Council’s Constitution were four main documents relating to the Chairman and Vice Chairman:

(a)        Article 5 – Chairing of the Council

(b)        Protocol on the Role of the Chairman and Vice Chairman

(c)        Protocol for the Election of the Vice Chairman of the Council

(d)        Member Accountability Statements which were the equivalent of a “job description” for councillors holding certain positions, not reviewed since 2001.

The two protocols largely reproduced the test contained within Article 5 of the Constitution. It was recommended that the tests be brought together into one document in the main article. A minor change was made covering the eventuality that a Vice Chairman cannot become the Chairman, an example being failure to be re-elected.

Chairman’s Role

The Government intended to place a statutory duty on Local Authorities to promote democracy, this was in addition to their expectation of increased electoral participation.

Government ideas included:

• Working with local schools, including initiating visits explaining their role and to support active citizenship education

• Making a positive presentation to local volunteer groups or boards about governance roles and how to apply to them.

• Promoting the role of the Council and councillor to community and voluntary groups

• Developing links with town and parish councils and supporting democracy related activities

It was felt that the Chairman was in a unique position to undertake this role as they already had the overall responsibility for promoting public involvement through the Council’s work.

Consideration had also been given to the idea that the Chairman and Vice Chairman might serve for two years instead of one. However, it was felt that with over 150 events per annum, there would be too many events for the Chairman to attend.

The Constitution and Member Services Panel had reviewed processes at the Annual Meeting, particularly the Civic Ceremonial aspects and whether a second “Civic” Annual Meeting should be held.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 68.

(Chairman of the Constitution and Member Services Standing Panel) To  consider a report of the Constitution & Member Services SSP (to follow).

The Assistant to the Chief Executive, Mr I Willett, presented a report to the Committee regarding the Review of Contract Standing Orders. Each year the Council reviewed its Contract Standing Orders to reflect changes in the law or operational matters regarding interpretation and good governance. Each of the Contract Standing Orders which had been reviewed this year, were dealt with below:

• CSO C1 (Authority for Contracts) (Recommendation (1))

In carrying out an audit of contract systems, there was at least one occasion when officers using the Essex Marketplace Procurement System had not obtained the relevant member authority for the acceptance of quotations or tenders. It was felt that Contract Standing Order C1 should stipulate that Chief Officers must ensure that whichever procurement method was selected, there was suitable authority from a Portfolio Holder or the Cabinet in accordance with value thresholds for contracts. The value thresholds set out in Contract Standing Orders still applied.

• CSO C1 (District Council Works Organisations) (Recommendation (2))

A new sub-paragraph was being added to Contract Standing Order C1 emphasising that where Chief Officers were using the Council’s own works organisations or equivalent, it was not necessary to obtain competitive quotations and tenders. The relevant Chief Officer must consider whether procuring the service in another way was preferable if there was a value for money reason for doing so.

• CSO C15 (Publication of Tender Information and Local Businesses)

Two additional sub-paragraphs dealing with quotations and tenders were being included in Standing Order C15.

The first of these provided for tender and quotation specifications to include a statement that tender details may be published in a public agenda or in the minutes of the Council, or become available as a background paper or by means of a Freedom of Information Act request. There had been occasions where tenderers did not fully appreciate that by submitting tender documents they were potentially placing the information in the public domain. The Standing Order also required that the tender specification would say that the Council, if requested, would be obliged to provide any information but only on these matters which were not covered by any of the statutory exemptions.

The second addition was to reflect the decisions of the Council in October 2008 to assist wherever possible local businesses. One of the points raised related to contracts let to national or international companies where the services of local suppliers and sub-contractors were utilised. A statement was being included which encouraged main contractors to do everything possible to pay those invoices promptly, the resulting cash flow for local companies would greatly assist them.

The new standing order was going further than “just encouragement.” It was recommended that the following was included:

(a)        reference to the Council’s own policy (14 day payments).

(b)        a requirement for tenderers to give details of their own policies for paying suppliers and sub-contractors

(c)        a statement that will be part of assessments by the Council of tenders and quotations now and in future tendering exercises.

(d)        Recommendation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 69.

(Chairman of the Constitution and Member Services Standing Panel) To consider the attached report of the Constitution & Member Services SSP  (to follow).

The Assistant to the Chief Executive, Mr I Willett, presented a report to the Committee regarding the Review of Financial Regulations.

Over the past few years, the Council had resolved to undertake an annual review of its financial regulations ensuring that these complied with current legal requirements and ensured good governance of the Council’s financial operations.

This year’s review had identified only one matter which required attention, namely the decision to increase the limit for the Directors of Finance and ICT and Housing delegated authority to write-offs debts below £2,500 without referring to the Portfolio Holder. It was recommended that this change in delegation became permanent.

In 2007/08, the financial limit for the two Directorates to write-off debts, without approval, was increased to £2,500, subject to review after one year. It was found that other local authorities operated a higher limit for officer delegation. One of the main reasons for making the change was to avoid large numbers of small debts being submitted on a regular basis to the Portfolio Holder for writing off. With Housing benefit, NNDR, Sundry Debtors and Housing rents, the proportion of write-offs by the Directors of Finance and ICT and Housing had increased over the two years. The exception was Council Tax arrears where, to date in 2008/09, no write offs were submitted to the Portfolio Holder, primarily because only Council Tax arrears in the “H” banding were greater than £2,500.

The Directors of Finance, ICT and Housing had reported that there had been no problems in operating under the new delegation arrangements.

It was therefore recommended that the delegation limit of £2,500 should be retained on a permanent basis. No case was seen for seeking a higher delegation limit.

RESOLVED:

(1)        That the limit for writing-off arrears and debts in respect of Housing benefit, National Non Domestic Rates (NNDR), Council Tax and Sundry Debtors under delegated authority by the Director of Finance and ICT be retained at £2,500 on a permanent basis; and

(2)        That the limit for writing-off arrears and debts in respect of housing rents by the Director of Housing be retained at £2,500 on a permanent basis.

(Deputy Chief Executive) To consider the attached report.

The Public Relation’s and marketing Officer, Mr T Carne, presented a report to the Committee regarding the Code of recommended practice on Local Authority Publicity – Consultation.

The Code of Recommended Practice for Local Authority Publicity was incorporated within the Constitution of Epping Forest District Council. It was based largely on guidance annexed to the Local Government Act 1988. The purpose of the Code was to prohibit the issue of any publicity by a local authority which could in whole or part, appear to be designed to affect support for a political party.

Local authorities were constrained in the type of publicity they issued. Detailed direct reference to members was limited largely to their capacity as representatives of the whole council. Promotion of the role of individual councillors in their ward capacity was limited largely to basic information such as contact details published online or in newsletters.

An objective of the Code was ensuring proper use of public funds. The code went beyond media releases, statements to the media and local authority publications, it included web content, marketing, consultation and governed the use of both general and recruitment advertising. As well as the “political impartiality” test, a council must have been able to show that it had authority and could also justify its expenditure on publicity.

However, on consideration, members thought that the consultation needed closer scrutiny and recommended that it be put before the Constitution and Member Services Panel.

RESOLVED:

(1)        That an extraordinary meeting of the Constitution and Member Services Panel be arranged as soon as possible to discuss the Consultation on Public Relations.

(2)        That notice of the meeting be put in the Members’ Bulletin.

(3)        That the Constitution and Member Services Panel be authorised to take their conclusions to Cabinet without reporting back to the parent committee.

(Chairman of the Constitution and Member Services Standing Panel) To consider the attached report of the Constitution and Member Services Standing Panel regarding changes to the Executive Constitution as a result of the Local Government Act 2007.

The attached report has been circulated in full to the Cabinet and was considered at its meeting on 15 December 2008.  The Cabinet endorsed the report and, in relation to recommendation (1) (e) agreed with the proposal that the three outside bodies listed should be included in the Council approval list (Appendix 10 ) rather than in the list for Leader approval (Appendix 9) . If this committee agrees, the schedule will be changed prior to submission to the Council.

The Assistant to the Chief Executive, Mr I Willett, presented a report to the Committee regarding the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 – Executive Constitution.

The 2007 Act made a number of changes to the operation of local authority executives, and in particular the powers of the Leader of the Council. The new Act provided a choice of two types of executive an elected Mayor and Cabinet or a Leader and Cabinet

The District Council had been operating the Leader and Cabinet option since 2000, but on a different basis from the one which the 2007 Act provided for. The appointments of the Leader, Deputy and Portfolio Holders, were made by the Council. Likewise, the number and duties of portfolios, delegation to officers and appointments to outside organisations were not dealt with by the Leader, but by the Council.

The 2007 Act ended the current executive arrangements and required the Council to move to a “Strong Leader” model. The main changes were:

(a)        the Leader of Council was appointed by the Council at its Annual meeting;

(b)        If not appointed at the Annual meeting, the Council must make the appointment at its next available meeting;

(c)        A Leader’s term of office starts on the date of election into that role and ceased at the conclusion of his or her term of office as a Councillor unless:

(i)         The Leader resigned;

(ii)        The Leader was disqualified;

(iii)       The Leader was removed from office by a majority vote in the Council; or

(iv)       The Leader became incapacitated.

The Leader’s term of office runs until his or her term of office as a Councillor ended, but the 2007 Act extended this by a few weeks to the next Annual Council meeting.

At the Council meeting on 22 April 2008, the Council had resolved:

(d)        to continue with the Leader and Cabinet executive;

(e)        to reject the option of a Mayor and Cabinet executive;

(f)         to vary the Constitution in accordance with statutory requirements;

(g)        to consider a public statement regarding the Council’s decision, set a timetable for implementation ad describe any interim arrangements;

(h)        to retain the provision for the Leader to be removed from office by a majority vote in the Council;

The Constitution and Member Services’ Panel had recommended to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, that under Outside Bodies, there were some representations which need not be under the Leader, they were:

(i)         Local Council’s Liaison Committee had five representatives from the District Council, two of the appointments were the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Council, a third representative was the chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, the remaining two places were occupied by a Cabinet member and a past Chairman of the Council. It was felt that these five seats were not strictly cabinet functions, they should be allocated by the Council;

(j)         The Victoria County History of Essex (one representative), this should not be included in the Cabinet list.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 72.

(Chairman of the Safer Cleaner Greener Standing Panel) to consider the attached report of the Safer Cleaner Greener Standing Panel.

Councillor M Colling, Chairman of the Safer, Cleaner, Greener Standing Scrutiny Panel, presented a report to the Committee regarding the Essex County Council – Forest Transportation Consultation.

Essex County Council had wished to improve the transport network in and around Epping Forest. It was hoped that people would consider both sustainable transport alternatives as well as providing a safer and more accessible environment.

The Epping Forest Transport Survey contained a series of measures to reduce the impact of traffic and to address the protection of the forest landscape. It offered a package of inter-related measures that aimed to restore some of the rural character to the roads in and around the forest.

The consultation strategy document and the questionnaire were put in the 9 January 2009 edition of the members Bulletin, for information enabling individual members to respond to the consultation.

Although Epping Forest was London and Essex’s largest public open space, it was fragmented by roads, some of them being amongst the busiest in Essex. The traffic volumes threatened air quality and were also a potential hazard.

The Safer, Cleaner, Greener Scrutiny Standing Panel had been asked to respond to this questionnaire and had considered this at a special meeting.

The Panel came to the following conclusions:

(1)        The document was local in context and at some point a more strategic overview was required to include:

(a)        review of M11 north facing slip roads at Loughton;

(b)        re-opening of Ongar – Epping line; and

(c)        the ability to transport bicycles or the tube at weekends.

(2)        There was general acceptance of the principles behind the strategy in endeavouring to:

(a)        protect the Forest and its environs;

(b)        improve access to all who wished to enjoy the Forest; and

(c)        control as far as practical, vehicles and vehicle speeds etc.

(3)        However, the Panel did raise the following issues:

(a)        the panel was sceptical about the need to reduce speeds on the main roads e.g. Epping New Road, considering that accidents were more likely due to poor driving rather than speed generally;

(b)        any steps to control traffic should be achieved without the use of “hard” landscaping such as central refuges, street lighting, excessive signage etc;

(c)        the Panel wished to see the exploration of “softer,” less intrusive controls such as differential road surfaces, road markings to signify the need for lower speed;

(d)        the Panel were generally supportive of cattle grids provided that they were restricted to main road junctions and that consideration was given to the effects of grids upon other animals in the forest;

(e)        the Panel was concerned about the introduction of grazing cattle etc and wished to be assured that adequate steps would be taken to keep animals and traffic separated;

(f)         the Panel were concerned about the introduction of additional crossing points. The Panel recognised the principle of proving more crossings to change the balance between people and cars in the forest, but were of the view that, for example, on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 73.

(a)               Updated Schedule

The Committee are asked to note the updated schedule. This reflects the work programme proposed by each Panel. Any changes made under preceding items will be amended in the programme accordingly

(b)               Reserve Programme

A reserve list of scrutiny topics is required to ensure that the work flow of OSC is continuous.

OSC will ‘pull out’ items from the list and allocate them accordingly once space becomes available in the work plan following the completion of existing reviews.

Members can put forward any further suggestions for inclusion in the reserve list either during the meeting or at a later date.

Existing review items will be dealt with first, and then time will be allocated to the items contained in the reserve work plan.

Any space within the work plan is filled on an ongoing basis.

(c)     Item from the 16 December 2008 Full Council meeting.

At their last meeting the Council asked that the following be presented to the next Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting for their consideration:

The following motion moved by Councillor Mrs Haigh and seconded by Councillor J M Whitehouse was adopted -

That this Council notes:

(a)        the growing economic crisis and the impact it is having on individuals in the district;

(b)        the increasing number of people struggling with mortgage repayments and the record levels of personal debt;

(c)        the initiatives of the current administration in trying to alleviate the impact of the growing financial crisis on our residents;

(d)        the increasing demand placed on the Council’s Benefits Section and on local organisations such as the Citizens’ Advice Bureaux; and

resolves to:

(i)         ask the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to work with relevant local public and voluntary sector bodies to undertake a review of current debt and the money advice service provision; and

(ii)        ask the Cabinet to review the support that the District Council offers the Citizens’ Advice Bureau and similar services and consider whether this support should be extended, and to incorporate the outcome of the review into the budget process.

The Council’s Constitution notes that:

“Motions at Council Meetings

Any motion adopted by the Council following due notice from a Member of the Council and which relates to the responsibilities of the Overview and Scrutiny shall, on adoption, stand referred to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for consideration. In determining how to respond to the motion, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee shall consider whether the proposal should be incorporated in the work programme or held for future consideration in accordance with the procedures outlined in paragraph 4 and 5 above. The Committee shall also advise the Council, via the Member’s Information Bulletin, of the action taken on such motions.”

RECOMMENDATION:

(1)        That (d)(i) (above) be considered to either be added to the committee’s work plan or held for future consideration.

(2)               The Committee can ask that:

a)      A Task and Finish Panel be established to consider this item; or

b)      Allocate it to an  ...  view the full agenda text for item 74.

(a)        Work Programme

Overview and Scrutiny Committee

The following changes were noted:

• Item 3, the Cabinet Forward Plan  be brought to the April  2009 meeting;

• Item 13 (Scrutiny of Essex Police – Community Policing Initiative) had been moved to April 2009;

• Item 16 (Scrutiny of Highways Local Service Agreement) had been moved to the May – June 2009 period;

• Item 17 (To receive a presentation from the Fire and Rescue Services in March 2009) had been moved to the May – June 2009 period.

(b)               That the new principal of Epping Forest College be invited back to the Committee around September 2009 time.

(c)        At the last Council meeting, a motion had been moved and seconded by Councillors Mrs A Haigh and J Whitehouse respectively, regarding the current on-going economic problems, and the reuslting pressures on the public and support agencies alike, in particular the Citizens Advice Bureau.

It was recommended that a sub-group of members comprising no more than six councillors, be established to investigate the pressures on these voluntary bodies, and report back to this Committee with recommendations.

Councillors Ken Angold-Stephens, Jon Whitehouse and Mrs J Whitehouse indicated their willingness to serve on this sub-group.

RESOLVED:

(1)        That a sub group, comprising no more than six councillors or less be created to investigate the pressures imposed on relevant local public and voluntary sector bodies to review current debt and money advice provision.

(2)        That Councillors be asked through the Members Bulletin to express their interest to sit on this sub-committee.

RECOMMENDATION:

To consider any items to be raised by the Chairman at the Cabinet meeting on 2nd February 2009.

(Assistant to the Chief Executive). Under the Overview and Scrutiny rules the Committee is required to scrutinise proposed decisions of the Executive. The Chairman is also required to report on such discussions to the Cabinet.

The Committee is asked to consider the 2 February 2009 Cabinet agenda (previously circulated) to see whether there are any items that they wished to be raised at the Cabinet meeting.

The Committee were informed that the following items were going before the 2 February 2009 meeting of the Cabinet:

(a)        Council Budgets 2009/10; and

(b)        Report of the Customer Transformation Task and Finish Panel

To discuss any presentations to go to the next meeting.  At present a presentation from the Local Strategic Partnership is indicated in the work programme.

The Committee considered upcoming presentations for their next meeting from the Local Strategic Partnership.

            RESOLVED:

They would like:

·         An update on the action groups;

·         A discussion on Health and Inequalities;

·         How schools and colleges are joined up and how are schools being targeted by the LSP;

·         How the LSP was intended to work (back to basics);

·         What they intend to do (future plans); and

·         What they do well and what they struggle to do.