Agenda item

To receive the annual report on Overview and Scrutiny activity.

The Chairman invited Councillor Graham Wright, Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee, to present the Annual Report on Overview and Scrutiny activity.

Councillor Wright stated that in the past year Overview and Scrutiny had continued to play a key role in developing Council policy and holding decision makers to account, with 73% of decisions taken by the Council’s Cabinet scrutinised and 65% of eligible members taking part in work conducted by Overview and Scrutiny at some level. He also referred to the recent LGA Peer Challenge Review, which had provided positive comments on the work of Overview and Scrutiny Function. Thanks were provided to elected Members, Officers, and members of the public as well as to Vice-Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee, Councillor Christopher Williams.

A brief overview of the work conducted by Overview and Scrutiny was provided, including scrutiny of the budget and opposition group amendments, as well as complaints data, the new Service Devolution and Asset Transfer Policy, and the Council’s new performance scorecards. The work of the Select Committees was outlined with thanks paid to the respective Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of the Committees.

Councillor Wright paid tribute to the support provided by Henry Powell, Democracy and Complaints Manager, and the Scrutiny Officers, who had produced outstanding reports and other work supporting the Committees. It was stated that the Committees were focused on increasing emphasis on data to inform findings, with Members using their experience to improve policies. It was stated that all of the Overview and Scrutiny Forward Work Plans were available to view on a dedicated page which demonstrated the amount of work conducted by the Committees.

The Chairman then moved a motion to note the Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report, which was seconded by the Vice-Chairman.

Comments were then received by Select Committee Chairmen as follows:

Councillor Jon Hubbard, Chairman of the Children’s Select Committee, thanked the officer team for the support that they had provided, particularly to Marie Gondlach, Senior Scrutiny Officer, and the Members who had served on task groups.

Councillor Johnny Kidney, Chairman of the Health Select Committee and Councillor Jerry Kunkler, Chairman of the Environment Select Committee also thanked officers for their hard work and support.

Comments were then made by Group Leaders as follows:

Councillor Richard Clewer, Leader of the Council, echoed his thanks and stated how important Scrutiny was to the Council in working alongside the Executive to develop policies. The Leader cited Councillor Wright’s work as Chairman as an example of why Scrutiny was working as well as it was.

Councillor Ian Thorn, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, took the opportunity to pay tribute to Councillor Wheeler for his role as previous Chairman of the Council, whilst also welcoming the incoming Chairman and Vice-Chairman to their new positions. Councillor Thorn praised the work of Members who had volunteered their time to working groups. He also questioned whether there would ever be a specific Select Committee for Financial Planning matters, and not a standing task group.

Councillor Ernie Clark, Leader of the Independent Group, added his thanks to Members and officers for their work.

Councillor Ricky Rogers, Leader of the Labour Group, added his congratulations to Councillor Wright and the whole of the Scrutiny team for investigating a diverse range of services under their microscope. Encouragement was provided for Members to take part in task groups. He also noted the open and transparent process for scrutiny of budgetary matters, highlighting his own proposed amendment which had been considered at the last meeting.

The item was then opened to wider discussion and debate.

During the debate, Members were encouraged to participate in task groups as an opportunity to learn more about the Council functions. The cross-party working of the groups was also highlighted.

At the conclusion of the debate, it was then,

Resolved:

That Full Council note the Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report.