Agenda and minutes

To elect a Chairman for the forthcoming year.

Nominations were sought for a Chairman for the forthcoming year. On the nomination of Councillor Gordon King seconded by Councillor Jonathon Seed, it was,

Resolved:

To elect Councillor Graham Wright as Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee for the forthcoming year.

To elect a Vice-Chairman for the forthcoming year.

Nominations were sought for a Vice-Chairman for the forthcoming year. On the nomination of Councillor Pip Ridout, seconded by Councillor Gordon King, it was,

Resolved:

To elect Councillor Christopher Williams as Vice-Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee for the forthcoming year.

To receive details of any apologies or substitutions for the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Jo Trigg and Gavin Grant.

It was stated that following the meeting of Full Council on 21 May 2024, Councillor Richard Britton had been replaced on the Committee Membership by Councillor Robert MacNaughton. The Chairman thanked Cllr Britton for his contributions to the work of the Committee and welcomed Councillor MacNaughton.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 12 February 2024.

The minutes of the meeting held on 12 February 2024 were presented for consideration, it was;

Resolved:

To approve and sign as a true and correct record of the minutes of the meeting held on 12 February 2023.

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

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive any announcements through the Chair.

The Chairman made the following announcements:

a)    Briefing on the council’s new Risk Management Policy

The Chaiman thanked those members who attended the online briefing provided by officers for the committee on the new Risk Management Policy, on 14^th May, with it noted that the new Policy had been approved by Cabinet on 7^th May.

The briefing provided an overview of the process that will now be followed to manage and mitigate risks. It was noted that the slides and a video of the briefing were available on the Councillors’ Hub.

b)    Suggested Scrutiny questions

The Chairman drew attention that the agenda pack for the meeting included a new document on page 5, titled Suggested Scrutiny Questions. This was a list of standard scrutiny questions that could be applied to almost any topic that a scrutiny committee might encounter. It would be included for members’ reference in all Overview and Scrutiny agendas.

The Chairman encouraged members to make use of the document and hoped it might prompt some questions that might not otherwise have been thought of. It was suggested that if the list was missing something, to contact a member of the Scrutiny team who would be glad to add further questions.

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 Tuesday 21 May in order to be guaranteed of a written response. In order to receive a verbal response, questions must be submitted no later than 5pm on Thursday 23 May. 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 by members of the public.

To receive the Quarter Four - Performance and Risk Report 2023-24, considered by Cabinet on 7 May 2024.

The Chairman noted that on page 23 of the agenda pack, was a report setting out the quarter four update on performance against the stated missions in the Council’s Business Plan 2022-32. The report also provided a summary of strategic risks that might impact on delivery of these missions.

The report was considered by Cabinet on 7th May and given the breadth of the report, members were invited to submit questions in advance where possible.

The Chairman expressed that in view of the briefing on Risk Management, which was earlier referenced, members were encouraged to pay as much attention to the risk data in the update as to the performance metrics as this was a specific request from the Leader.

Cllr Richard Clewer, Leader of the Council introduced the report and made the following comments that this was a revised approach to risk assessment and management by providing a greater degree of granularity and detail. The importance of the report was stressed as this enabled the Council to judge and assess risks as well as to understand how risks might be mitigated. Cllr Clewer drew attention to the scorecard element of the report in relation to young people, with it noted that this included sections of data which the Council had little control over as an authority, however such metrics were impactful on Wiltshire as a whole. Affordable housing was also discussed, with it noted that though there had been a dip in the delivery of affordable housing, it was expected that this would pick back up.

Terence Herbert, Chief Executive also commented on the importance and role of the report.

In the absence of Cllr Jo Trigg, the Chairman asked officers questions which had been provided by Cllr Trigg. Written responses were verbally provided during the meeting by the Chief Executive as well as being attached to the minutes of the meeting.

The following comments were received by Members of the Committee including a query in relation to the banding system on the housing register and whether the register was reducing through people finding accommodation or through them giving up. Clarity was provided that the reasoning for bands was to enable the prioritisation of people with a greater need of urgency, for example those with medical needs. The notion of local connections enabling residents to be placed higher up the list was discussed, with it also noted that recently the register had been maintained with 10,000 individuals removed who did not need housing. The Leader also raised the issue of adaptable housing and how it was difficult to find properties suitable for adaptation. Work was being done with the housing stock to maintain possessed adaptable accommodation. Cllr Seed also spoke on the matter as former Cabinet Member for Housing, noting that there had been a Housing Needs Analysis Task Group, which had produced 13 recommendations for changing the housing register, which was due to be received through Environment Select Committee and the current Cabinet Member.

Regarding housing, a question  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.

To note the summary of Overview and Scrutiny activity undertaken in 2023-24, following its approval by Full Council on 21 May 2024.

The Chairman noted that on page 57 of the agenda pack was the Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report 2022-23, which was considered by Full Council on 21st May.

The report provided a summary of the O&S function’s work over the past 12 months. The Chairman thanked everyone who had been involved in Overview and Scrutiny over the past year; including members, officers, representatives of partner organisations and members of the public.

The following comments were received from Cllr Hubbard, who questioned the pictures of Councillors within the report, but also replicated the comments made by the Chairman, stressing the value of scrutiny and the difference that it makes.

At the conclusion of discussion, it was,

Resolved:

The Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee agreed:

1.    To note the Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report 2023-24.

To receive an update on recent activity from the Financial Planning Task Group.

The Chairman noted that on page 63 of the agenda pack was the standing update on recent activity by the Financial Planning Task Group. The Task Group had met once since the previous Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting, where it considered a number of items, as detailed in the written report.

Cllr Pip Ridout, Chairman of the Financial Planning Task Group noted that the Task Group was now awaiting the year end outturn, which was clarified by officers as being reported to the July meeting of Cabinet.

Further clarity was also provided from officers that currently work was taking place to make sure that committee dates were aligned with the General Election, as the next meeting of the Task Group was set to be on 5 July 2024.

At the conclusion of discussion, it was,

Resolved:

The Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee agreed:

1.    To note the update on the Task Group activity provided.

2.    To note the Financial Planning Task Group’s forward work plan.

To receive updates on recent activity on the following Task Groups:

• Evolve Programme Task Group
• Stone Circle Governance Task Group
• Transformation Task Group

A report was received on the Task Groups and Panels established by the Management Committee.

Evolve Programme Task Group

Cllr Jon Hubbard, Task Group Chairman outlined that an extensive report had been included within the pack, however headlines included that the Oracle System was now up and running, with some rollout still to be completed regarding finance teams and budget holders; which had been considered in a report at the last meeting. It was stated that as the project was ending there would be an opportunity for the Task Group to consider challenges which had been experienced, with a final report set to focus on those, including the procurement methodology and staffing issues. Praise was directed to Stuart Honeyball, Director Business Transformation and his team for a good rollout as well as credit for the Payroll team who had effectively completed two months’ work in one month using both the SAP and Oracle systems.

Cllr Hubbard also raised a point regarding the current overtime policy of the Council and how there was not an incentive for people to work bank holidays. Lizzie Watkin, Director Finance expressed that this policy was currently being investigated and that the Director HR wanted to ensure that staff were incentivised and rewarded in the right way; however the right policies and mechanisms would need to be in place for this.

Stone Circle Governance Task Group

Cllr Ruth Hopkinson, Task Group Chairman outlined that the purpose of the Task Group was to look at future governance and scrutiny, however it was evident at the start of the process that most of the councillors involved did not understand Stone Circle as well as what information was available. Time was therefore spent investigating this which had led to it being determined what information was and was not available as well as identifying what was not being produced. Gratitude was placed to Democratic Services, who had provided support over a number of meetings. It was outlined that the Task Group now had most of the information needed and that some recommendations had materialised, with it hoped that there would be another meeting to decide on recommendations as well as a written response.

Cllr Ridout praised the Chairman for allowing this Task Group to exist and function separately from the Financial Planning Group.

Cllr Clewer also expressed that there was a Stone Circle Shareholders Group, which he wanted to be ran as openly as possible, with Members welcome to attend and submit questions from an operational perspective.

Transformation Task Group

It was noted that this was a new task group, with the proposed terms of reference set out in the report for Committee endorsement. Like with the Stone Circle Task Group, the objective initially would be to consider how scrutiny of the council’s transformation activity should be conducted, therefore recommendations on that would be brought back to Management Committee in due course.

The Chairman noted that currently Cllrs Hubbard, Williams and himself were sat on this Task Group and encouraged  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

To receive updates from the Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of the Select Committees in respect of the topics under scrutiny in their areas, including any recommendations for endorsement by the Management Committee.

Please note that the Children’s Select Committee Forward Work Plan will follow as an agenda supplement.

The Committee considered the forward work programmes for each select Committee, as well as updates from the Chairman for each Select Committee.

Cllr Jon Hubbard, Chairman of the Children’s Select Committee provided an extensive verbal update as a written report from the Children’s Select Committee had not been included within the agenda pack. The update covered that recently a productive meeting with the Executive had taken place to consider the Forward Work Plan, with consideration of trying to complete any ongoing work so that as little as possible would be carried over to the new Council and Select Committee. Work which would be carried over included the scrutiny of Safety Valve, which was a key priority of the Committee and had a standing item and report at each meeting. It was also stated that the Committee had decided not to start a task group on this. A recommendation was also going to be made to the new Committee to consider setting up a Safety Valve Task Group as well as scrutiny of the new Family Hubs. It was noted that for the rest of the year, work for the Select Committee included the scrutiny of children’s mental health and placements.

At the conclusion of discussion, it was,

Resolved:

The Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee agreed:

1.    To note the updates on select committee activity and approve the Overview and Scrutiny Forward Work Programme.

To set out the allocation of the Overview and Scrutiny Fund, which is part of the Council’s Members’ Allowances Scheme, for 2023-24.

The Chairman noted that on page 97 of the Agenda Pack, was a report noting the application of the OS Remuneration Fund for 2023-24. The method of allocating the fund was agreed in 2018, with following activities considered eligible:

·       Chairing active task groups, including standing task groups;

·       Leading rapid scrutiny exercises;

·       Vice-chairing Select Committees that do not attract an SRA;

·       Representation on active project boards;

·       Chairing active scrutiny panels.

The Chairman stated that he was pleased to see that the number of qualifying scrutiny meetings taking place is steadily increasing back to pre-covid levels. Additionally, last year it was agreed that the payment per qualifying meeting should be capped at £220 and this had been applied this year.

Cllr Seed questioned whether Members would be able to vote on the respective report if they had been mentioned within it, to which the Chairman clarified that the report was only for noting.

At the conclusion of discussion, it was,

Resolved:

The Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee agreed:

1.    To note the allocation of the OS Remuneration fund for 2023/24 as detailed in Appendix 1.

To confirm the date of the next meeting as 23 July 2024.

The date of the next meeting was confirmed as 23 July 2024.

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

There were no urgent items.