Agenda and minutes

To elect a chairman for the forthcoming year.

Nominations were sought for a Chairman and following a proposal from Councillor Alan Hill, seconded by Councillor Christine Crisp, it was,

Resolved:

To appoint Councillor Graham Wright as Chairman for the forthcoming year.

To elect a Vice-Chairman for the forthcoming year.

Nominations were sought for a Vice-Chairman and following a proposal from Councillor Graham Wright, seconded by Councillor Christine Crisp, it was,

Resolved:

To appoint Councillor Alan Hill as Vice-Chairman for the forthcoming year.

To receive any apologies or substitutions for the meeting.

Apologies were received from Councillors Howard Greenman and Pip Ridout.

Councillor Greenman was substituted by Councillor Anna Cuthbert, and Councillor Ridout was substituted by Councillor Roy While.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 28 March 2017

The minutes of the meeting held on 28 March 2017 were received and it was,

Resolved:

To approve and sign as a true and correct record.

To receive any declarations of disclosable interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations.

To receive any announcements through the Chair.

Through the Chair it was announced there would be a 1 minute’s silence held at 11:00 as a mark of respect to those affected by the recent terrorist attack in London.

It was also announced the Communities and Local Government Select Committee Enquiry into Overview and Scrutiny in Local Government, to which the council and had submitted a response, had concluded its work for the Parliament as a result of the early General Election. A new Committee would need to decide if it wished to continue the Enquiry following the election.

The Council welcomes contributions from members of the public.

Statements

If you would like to make a statement at this meeting on any item on this agenda, please register to do so at least 10 minutes prior to the meeting. Up to 3 speakers are permitted to speak for up to 3 minutes each on any agenda item. Please contact the officer named on the front of the agenda for any further clarification.

Questions

To receive any questions from members of the public or members of the Council received in accordance with the constitution.

Those wishing to ask questions are required to give notice of any such questions in writing to the officer named on the front of this agenda no later than 5pm on 30 May 2017 in order to be guaranteed of a written response. In order to receive a verbal response questions must be submitted no later than 5pm on2 June 2017. Please contact the officer named on the front of this agenda for further advice. Questions may be asked without notice if the Chairman decides that the matter is urgent.

Details of any questions received will be circulated to Committee members prior to the meeting and made available at the meeting and on the Council’s website.

There were no questions or statements submitted.

To report to the new Management Committee:

a)    ongoing work recommended for inclusion in the new Overview and Scrutiny work programme by the former Management Committee, including through task groups;

b)    that an extraordinary meeting of the Management Committee will be held on 21 June to consider draft versions of the council’s new Business Plan and Digital Strategy, and the implications for the OS work programme;

c)    the referral by Full Council of Notice of Motion 40 – “Reducing Single Use Plastics” for the Management Committee’s consideration;

d)    the potential OS development areas identified by Overview and Scrutiny under the previous council, including the Overview and Scrutiny councillor learning and development programme;

A report was received outlining the work of Overview and Scrutiny in the previous council prior to the May 2017 Local Elections, including ongoing work recommended for inclusion in a new work programme, task group recommendations, the development of Overview and Scrutiny and referral of a motion from Full Council.

The Committee discussed the report and was content to approve the legacy topics recommended by the previous committee, as well as continuing the practice of holding early discussions between select committee chairmen/vice-chairmen with members of the Executive and directors in order to improve forward planning and beneficial levels of scrutiny engagement at appropriate times.

The Committee discussed the number of task groups which had been reporting directly to the management committee, and were supportive retaining the task groups in relation to Financial Planning, the Military-Civilian Integration Partnership, and the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership. It was also agreed that the scope of the MyWiltshire System Task Group be expanded to include wider aspects of digital strategy and implementation. Following discussion, it was also agreed to establish a task group under the Management Committee to consider the structure and procedures of planning committees.

Membership of these task groups, as well as appointment to the Constitution Focus Group and Wiltshire Online Project Board, would be determined by the Chairman and Vice-Chairman following expressions of interest from councillors.

It was noted that Full Council had received a motion on 21 February 2017 in relation to single use plastics, which had been referred to the Committee for consideration. Following discussion, it was agreed the matters raised in the motion should be scrutinised and the motion was referred to the Environment Select Committee for consideration on how best to scrutinise the issues.

In discussing engagement with Overview and Scrutiny, the Committee suggested that all members be reminded of the various methods for items to be brought to the attention of Overview and Scrutiny.

Finally, in consideration of the agenda supplement, it was agreed to consider topics raised by members during the councillor induction, following the next meeting of the Committee.

At the conclusion of debate, it was,

Resolved:

1.    To approve the legacy topics listed in Appendix A for inclusion in the new OS work programme and to advise the select committees accordingly.

2.    To support early discussions between select committee chairmen / vice-chairmen with the Executive and directors to gain a more informed understanding about key priorities and projects following council agreement of the new Business Plan.

3.    To agree to re-establish the task group structure at the conclusion of the previous Management Committee as follows (Appendix B):

·         Financial Planning Task Group

·         Military-Civilian Integration (MCIP) Task Group

·         Swindon & Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Task Group

      …appointing existing memberships where appropriate.

4.    To amend the My Wiltshire System Task Group’s name to the “Digital Strategy and Implementation Task Group” and its terms of reference to: “To scrutinise and support the development of the council’s Digital Strategy and its implementation”

5.    To authorise the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 47.

To present the work to date and recommendations for the future scrutiny of the SWLEP and the task group’s legacy topics for endorsement by this committee.

A legacy report from the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise (SWLEP) Joint Task Group was received. It was highlighted this was a joint task group with Swindon Borough Council, and that the SWLEP was responsible for spending more than £170m of public money, and that the Departments of Communities and Local Government, and Business, Industry and Skills, considered it good practice that the councils were seeking to scrutinise the SWLEP in that way, the first councils to do so. The SWLEP Board meetings, now held in public, also made reference to the task group and its work.

It was acknowledged it was not an easy topic to scrutinise, but that it was a worthwhile topic to move forward.

Resolved:

1.     To note the work to date of the SWLEP Joint Task Group as detailed in this report.

2.     To agree Option 1 of the report as the route to continue scrutiny of the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership (SWLEP) in the form of the SWLEP Joint Task Group.

3.     To recommend that the new membership of the SWLEP Joint Task Group agree their future work programme, taking into consideration the suggested key topic areas noted in paragraph 21 of this report.

To invite the Committee’s feedback on the Overview and Scrutiny information sessions held on 17 May and 24 May as part of the council’s 2017 councillor induction.

A report was received on the induction sessions for new and returning councillors following the May 2017 Local Elections, in particular seeking any feedback on the sessions dedicated to Overview and Scrutiny.

The Committee discussed their experiences of the induction, including content, location of training and timing of sessions and the suitability for as many members as possible.

Resolved:

To note all comments received.

To note the allocation of the remuneration fund for 2016/17 as detailed in the report.

A report was received on the application of the Overview and Scrutiny remunerations scheme for 2016/17, as agreed with the Committee’s former Chairman.

Resolved:

1.    To note the allocation of the OS Remuneration fund for 2016/17 as detailed in the appendix to the report.

2.    To note that the Scheme will be included in the wider review of councillors’ allowances scheduled for September.

To confirm the date of the next meeting as an extraordinary meeting on 21 June 2017 to consider the draft council Business Plan.

To confirm the date of the next ordinary meeting as 26 September 2017.

The date of the next meeting was confirmed as the extraordinary meeting on 21 June 2017 to consider the draft Business Plan for 2017-2027.

The date of the next ordinary meeting was confirmed as 26 September 2017.

Any other items of business which the Chairman agrees to consider as a matter of urgency.

There were no urgent items.