Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Steve Oldrieve, who was substituted by Councillor Ian Thorn.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meetings held on 3 January,  1 and 14 February 2017.

The minutes of the meetings held on 3 January, 1 February and 14 February 2017 were presented for consideration, 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.

Councillor Simon Killane announced that as he was not standing in the May 2017 Unitary Elections, it would be his final meeting as Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee. He thanked the Committee for providing him the opportunity and paid tribute to the work of members and officers in developing the excellent level of scrutiny that had taken place.

The Vice-Chairman, Councillor Alan Hill, on behalf of the Committee thanked Councillor Killane for his service as Chairman, wishing him well in his future endeavours and praising his dedicated and assured chairmanship of a sensitive and vital service.

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 21 March 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 on 23 Marcy 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 receive verbal updates on recent activity on the following:

• Financial Planning Task Group
• Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership Task Group
• MyWiltshire System Task Group

Updates were received regarding the Committee’s tasks groups as follows:

Financial Planning Task Group – no meetings since the last update,

Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership Task Group – The next meeting would take place on 5 April 2017 and it was recommended it continue in the next council to ensure the responsibilities of the LEP be monitored by scrutiny services in Swindon and Wiltshire.

MyWiltshire Task Group – The Task Group was still awaiting requested details of the project, which was more convoluted than originally anticipated, and work was needed to focus the activity appropriately.

Resolved:

To note the updates from the Task Groups.

A report is attached providing an update of activity undertaken since the previous report and provide recommendations for the scrutiny legacy review.

The Committee received the report of the task group as included in the agenda, recommending additional scrutiny engagement continue. The Committee discussed how the task group could demonstrate it was adding value through its work to ensure both that lessons were learned for the various partners involved, and inform future processes.

A motion was moved by Councillor Alan Hill, seconded by Councillor Gordon King, and it was,

Resolved:

1)    There is a need to scrutinise the final Army Basing Peer Review report when published.

2)    Scrutiny could have a valuable role to play in ensuring that lessons are learnt from Wiltshire Council’s involvement in the initial army basing and applied to the arrival of future cohorts.

3)    There may be an opportunity to scrutinise any commitment to military/civilian integration made in the council’s next business plan.

A report is attached highlighting the key pieces of work undertaken by Overview and Scrutiny (OS) during the 2013-17 Council and recommending topics for suggested inclusion in a new OS work programme after the elections.

The report also reviews the effectiveness of OS during the 2013-17 Council, including by considering discussion points from the OS Legacy workshop, and makes recommendations for consideration by Management Committee after the elections as appropriate.

A report had been prepared for the Committee to reflect upon the activity undertaken by Overview and Scrutiny during the four years of the council 2013-2017. The report detailed key pieces of activity as well as potential topics for inclusion in future work programmes following the May 2017 Unitary Elections, as suggested by the select committees. The report also reviewed the effectiveness of Overview and Scrutiny, as well as analysis of discussion points raised at councillor workshops to review the legacy of the work undertaken.

The Committee discussed the comprehensive list of proposed activity, and how much the topics could or should be prioritised by the outgoing Management Committee to aid the incoming Management Committee, on top of the scheduled dates and other indicators as already included.

A motion was moved by Councillor Alan Hill, seconded by Councillor Christine Crisp to delegate to the Chairman and Vice-Chairman, in discussion with Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Select Committees, to further prioritise the proposed legacy work to provide additional guidance to the incoming Management Committee, taking into account current council priorities. Following a vote the motion was lost.

Following agreement to defer recommendation five of the report until Minute 37, responding to the enquiry into local government scrutiny by the Department for Communities and Local Government, the remaining recommendations were moved by Councillor Simon Killane, seconded by Councillor Gordon King, and it was,

Resolved:

1)     To thank all those councillors, partner organisations and officers who have positively contributed to the work of the select committees and in the effective delivery of the Overview and Scrutiny (OS) work programme;

2)     To acknowledge that the content of the report, including the key activities listed at Appendix A, demonstrates the significant contribution that OS is making to open and honest decision-making and to the overall good governance of the authority;

3)     To include the topics listed in Appendix B in the legacy report for the OS work programme of the new Council;

4)     To note the development areas identified at the OS Legacy workshop and ask Management Committee under the new Council to consider how they might be taken forward as appropriate;

5)     To note the delivery of the 4-year OS learning and development programme so far and ask Management Committee under the new Council to consider whether a review of the programme is required to ensure it remains appropriate and deliverable;

6)     To note the next steps described in paragraphs27 and 28 of the report.

The Annual Report presenting the key activities and outcomes of Overview and Scrutiny during 2016-17 will follow. This will be published on the council website and Elected Wire and presented to Full Council.

The Committee considered a draft annual report, produced in the format of previous years with summaries of key work undertaken by the Committees as well as messages from the Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen.

The Committee discussed the layout and content of the report, and requested that additional text be included detailing that additional scrutiny activity also included representatives on project boards, for example regarding the rollout of high speed broadband.

Resolved:

To approve the annual report.

A report is attached presenting for endorsement the council’s response to the Communities and Local Government’s (CLG) call for evidence under its enquiry into overview and scrutiny in local government.

On 24 January 2017 the Department of Communities and Local Government launched an enquiry into overview and scrutiny arrangements in England, seeking to determine that the arrangements are effective and monitorable by local communities. The Committee received a report on the themes focused on by the enquiry, noting that the enquiry was almost two decades after the original legislation which introduced the scrutiny arrangements, and following some high profile failures at councils and other authorities.

Owing to the submission deadline for responses, it was not possible for the Committee to be provided a draft response to the enquiry on behalf of Wiltshire Council. A response was therefore prepared by officers in consultation with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Management Committee, the Cabinet Member for Hubs, Heritage and Arts, Governance and Support Services, and relevant Corporate and Associate Directors.

The Committee welcomed the government was seeking evidence, and looked forward to receiving details of the findings of the enquiry, in particular should there be committee processes and recommendations arising from parliament.

There was a strong view that improved effectiveness was essential for scrutiny work, and the committee endorsed the response from Wiltshire Council highlighting strengths of the system and less strong areas within Wiltshire and elsewhere. Effective and frequent working relationships with council Executives and earlier and significant input of decision making were two areas highlighted. It was also noted that while most councillors had, at one point, had some involvement with the scrutiny process, there was still a need in Wiltshire for greater and more substantive involvement from a wider array of councillors.

At the conclusion of discussion, it was,

Resolved:

To endorse the Wiltshire Council response to the Department for Communities and Local Government’s call for evidence under its enquiry into overview and scrutiny in local government.

6 June 2017

The date of the next meeting was confirmed as 6 June 2017.

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

There were no urgent items.