Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Mrs. A. Grigg.

(Director of Governance). 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.

At the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 1 July 2014 this Panel was established with Councillor Angold-Stephens being appointed as the Chairman. However, no Vice Chairman was appointed. Therefore, the Panel is asked to appoint one of their members to this post.

Recommendation:

To appoint a Vice Chairman for the Scrutiny Panels Review Task and Finish Panel.

RESOLVED:

That Councillor Mrs. M. Sartin be appointed as Vice-Chairman of the Panel for the remainder of the municipal year.

Attached is a draft of set of Terms of Reference which the Panel is asked to review and modify as they see fit. This will then go to the next Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting for their final approval.

Members were reminded that, at the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 25 February 2014, the establishment of the Task and Finish Panel to review the structure of the existing framework of the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Standing Panels, had been agreed.

A review of the Council’s overview and scrutiny arrangements had been undertaken in 2013/14 and the new management structure had been finalised in December 2013, resulting in a reduction from seven service directorates to four. A proposal for a suggested new scrutiny panel structure aligned to each of the directorates, which had not been considered as part of the overview and scrutiny review, had been deferred by the Committee in February 2014 for further consideration.

The Panel considered draft terms of reference for the review and welcomed Gareth Nicholas (National Management Trainee), who was leading the officer support for the review during his initial six-month placement with the Council. Members noted that the review was only to address the possible future structure of the scrutiny panel framework and that wider constitutional aspects (unless the Panel identified any matters that affected the constitution) and the operation of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee itself, were excluded from the scope of the review exercise, having already been considered by the earlier review.

In undertaking the review, Members intended to gather evidence and information from relevant stakeholders, and agreed to invite the Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of each of the existing scrutiny panels to attend the next meeting to discuss the operation of the current framework. In the meantime, officers would also seek the views of service directors in relation to the review and identify options for a future framework in discussion with other local authorities and representative organisations.

The changes to the management structure of the Council also presented the Panel with an opportunity to consider the workloads of the existing scrutiny panels. Members therefore agreed that some comparison of the terms of reference of each panel should be undertaken as part of the review, in order to ensure that panels have balanced and achievable work programmes. The review was also to consider appropriate scrutiny arrangements for some elements of the functions of the Governance Directorate and how these interrelated with the terms of reference of the Audit and Governance Committee and the Standards Committee, as this was an area of concern expressed by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee when the directorate-aligned proposal had been considered earlier in the year. The Panel intended to discuss these matters with the Chairmen of the Audit and Governance and Standards Committees. The Panel also wished to consult with all members in relation to the review and would report progress with regard to the review to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on a regular basis.

The review was due for completion in February 2015 to allow time for a final report to be considered by the Committee and the Council during March/April 2015, with a view to the agreement of any  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

RESOLVED:

That future meetings of the Panel be held  at 7.00pm on the following dates:

20 October 2014

25 November 2014

20 January 2015