Agenda item

Membership: Cllr Desna Allen (Chairman)

                        Cllr Roy While

                        Cllr Bill Roberts

                        Cllr Bill Douglas

                        Cllr Howard Marshall

On 16 March the Task Group met to consider the Area Boards – Leader’s Review Report. The Task Group will have one further meeting in May to agree its final report before it is submitted to this Committee for approval.

The Chairman of the Task Group will present a summary report on the views expressed at the 16 March meeting to Cabinet at its meeting on 23 March. The report will also be circulated for the Committee’s consideration (to follow).

At the last Committee meeting councillors raised concerns about the consultation arrangements for the review and how the views expressed would be reflected in the final report. On that basis the Committee asked to receive the report along with the views of the Task Group to its next meeting and to invite representation from the Executive (copy attached).

The Leader, Deputy Leader and Service Director will be present from 11.00am to respond to questions from the Committee.

The meeting on 16 March considered the Area Boards – Leader’s Review Report.   A summary report (considered by Cabinet on 23 March) expressing the views of the Task Group on the report was also circulated.

Cllr Bill Roberts as a member on the Task Group provided further information on the content of the summary report and concluded that the Task Group were supportive of all 24 recommendations made as a way of seeking improvement to the operation of Area Boards. 

Ensuing discussion included acknowledgement that there had been an increase in attendance at area boards since their commencement although it was understood that some confusion still remained over the powers granted and the differing responsibilities between the Area Boards, Parish and Town Councils.   An overlap also existed between the area boards and other bodies, such as Chippenham Vision.  Clarification was provided by the Leader of the Council that the focus of the Chippenham Vision board was to engage residents in the economic development of the town but that this should not deter those residents involvement in area boards on other matters.

The Cabinet Member for Adult Care, Communities and Libraries clarified that as a new structure for this Council Area Boards were still evolving and necessitated Councillors and officers as a whole working together to promote their existence and to ensure appropriate issues were raised through the members for each board. 

Resulting discussion drew attention to how issues raised were subsequently handled with clarification that a process was in place to ensure these were logged.  Community Area Managers were responsible for logging the issues and ensuring the due process was followed.  No issues could be closed without approval of the individual area board.

It was reported that the area board handbook provided general policies on how the boards should be run, including details of the ‘issue log’.  Each area board also had the flexibility to allow a focus on community issues relevant to their individual areas.

Further response was provided that the reference to public scrutiny within the report did not refer to the statutory OS function exercised by the select committees and that details of the funding allocation provided to date would be circulated.

Resolved:

1)                 To note the matters considered by the Task Group and it’s overall support for the recommendations in the report submitted to Cabinet on 23 March 2010.

2)                 To agree that Overview and Scrutiny should be involved in the further review of the Area Boards in 12 months time.