Agenda item

6.1

The Director of Policy, Performance and Communications submitted a report in relation to progress in respect of the Scrutiny Review. During 2013/14 a review of the Council’s Scrutiny function was undertaken, with the aim of improving the impact and effectiveness of Scrutiny. The report outlined progress on implementing the review’s recommendations.

6.2

Michael Bowles, Head of Elections, Equalities and Involvement introduced the report. He commented that the comments of Scrutiny had been fed into the report submitted to Cabinet. The Review itself was done. The Action Plan was submitted to this meeting and was not done fully and Members were able to add to it as issues emerged. This would hopefully address issues raised by Mr Slack and enable Scrutiny to respond to issues such as the Jay report.

6.3

Engagement with the public was a key aspect of the Action Plan. One of the biggest developments was the use of Task and Finish Groups where public engagement was key such as the recent Cycling Inquiry which involved substantial public involvement. Chairs of the Scrutiny Committees had also been in a number of reviews which involved going out of the Town Hall such as at St. Luke’s Hospice.

6.4

There had been some engagement with outside bodies and some agreements had been reached for outside bodies to report back to Scrutiny such as a report back from a member of the Police and Crime Panel.

6.5

It was acknowledged that there was the potential for a conflict of interest for a Member, particularly if they were a member of other Scrutiny Committees. However, Members were aware of the boundaries and the principles of public life and this shouldn’t exclude them when they may have a valuable contribution to make to a discussion.

6.6

In terms of public involvement in the Scrutiny Review, although the Review itself was completed, the Implementation Plan wasn’t. Members of the public therefore had opportunities to become involved. Further work needed to be undertaken in respect of the public’s involvement in LAP’s. However, they didn’t have a formal governance role within the Council.

6.7

Services were always encouraged to try to use plain English in reports. If the public had examples of where this wasn’t the case, Scrutiny Officers should be informed.

6.8

The important role Scrutiny had to play was not just restricted to the formal meeting itself. Examples such as Task and Finish Groups and Walkabouts showed the importance of public involvement. The critical issue was around meaningful engagement and what it was the Council really wanted to know from people.

6.9

The report submitted to this meeting was not the end of the story. The most visible change arising from the Review thus far was the change to the membership of this Committee. Chair’s were encouraged to share experiences and work programmes.

6.10

Members made comments and asked a number of questions and officers provided responses as follows:-

·      The question to be asked around LAP’s was whether issues raised there were suitable to be raised at Scrutiny Committees. LAP’s were not the place to discuss strategic issues.

·      The Action Plan for the Review would be circulated to Members.

·      Scrutiny Committees had an important role in seeking further evidence from services to support their comments.

Members then made further comments as follows:-

·       Further clarity on what was meant by public involvement would be welcomed. There needed to be a sense of realism of what was being asked given the level of resources available. Members needed to be bold enough on occasions to say that things just weren’t possible. Given the cuts to resources things could not be expected to remain the same.

·      The Chair of the Committee commented that the Action Plan was a work in progress. The Chair’s and Deputy Chair’s had a responsibility to take this back to their own Committees. The Work Programmes should stay within individual Committees rather than be dictated to by this Committee. Some Committees had invited other Members and Committees to attend their meetings when discussing relevant issues and this should be encouraged.

·       Scrutiny had tried to look at different ways of engaging the public such as taking meetings out of the Town Hall. The recent review of the Lettings Policy had invited a call for evidence and invited community groups to express their views which were incorporated into the final report.

RESOLVED: That (a) the above comments be taken into consideration when progressing the action plan for the Scrutiny Review; and (b) a further progress report be submitted to the Committee at a future date.