Agenda item

(Assistant to the Chief Executive) To consider the attached report.

Councillor Stallan the Chairman of the Constitution and Member Services Scrutiny Standing Panel introduced their report on the presentation of Overview and Scrutiny reports to Council meetings. Standing and Task and Finish Panels have the status of sub-committees’ of the main Overview and Scrutiny Committee. As such, Panels would not normally report to the Council unless specifically authorised to do so by the Committee.

Bearing in mind the work undertaken by Panels, it was argued that it should be the Panel Chairmen, rather than the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, who should present reports as they have detailed knowledge of the matter concerned.  Such reports when submitted to the Council might involve changes to Council policies and practices where detailed knowledge by the Panel Chairman was desirable in order to answer questions at Council meetings. However, it was considered important that the role and status of the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee was not undermined to such an extent that the position was seen to be less significant than the Panel Chairman and the Cabinet. This was balanced against what was seen as a desirable change whereby Panels would submit reports to, for example, Council meetings.

It was considered that Panel reports should still be considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee unless there was a need to deal with a Panel report more quickly.  In such cases it was recommended that there should be a prior consultation with the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee so as to agree the degree of urgency.

An amendment was proposed and agreed to recommendation 1(a) to add the words “and other Council bodies” after the words ‘presenting reports at Council…’

            RESOLVED:

That a report be submitted to the Council recommending as follows:

(a)        That the principle of Scrutiny Panel Chairmen presenting reports at Council and other Council bodies meetings be approved;

(b)        That Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules 12(3)(h) (Standing Scrutiny Panels) and 13(3)(h) (Task and Finish Scrutiny panels) be amended to read as follows:

             “be able, after consideration by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, to report to the Council, the Cabinet, a Cabinet Committee, a Portfolio Holder or any other Council body”;

(c)        That Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules 12(4) and 13(3) be further amended by the addition of the following sub paragraphs:

            “(i) in the circumstances set out in (h), the report shall be submitted in the name of the Panel and presented by its Chairman, unless the work of more than one Scrutiny Panel is involved, in which case any report to another Council body will be in the name of the Overview & Scrutiny and presented by its Chairman

            (j) in the event that the submission of a Panel report to another Council body is required such that it cannot be considered by the Overview & Scrutiny Committee in accordance with paragraph (h) above, the Panel report may proceed for consideration subject to prior consultation with the Chairman of that Committee as to the reasons for urgency;

(d)        That, at Council meetings, the written report of the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee be dealt with prior to the reports by the Committee or any of its Panels and grouped under a single item relating to Overview and Scrutiny business; and

(e)        That the Assistant to the Chief Executive be authorised to make any other consequential amendments to the Constitution arising from the above changes.