Meeting documents

            Meeting: Overview and Scrutiny Committee (County Hall, Durham - Committee Room 2 - 24/09/2008 10:00:00 AM)

                  Item: A1 Minutes of the meetings held on 21 July, and 21 August 2008

         

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At a Meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee held at County Hall, Durham on Monday 21 July 2008 at 10.00 a.m.


Present:


Members:
Councillors B Alderson, Arthur, Avery, Blakey, Burnip, Campbell, Chaplow, Hopgood, Moran, Murphy, D Myers, R Ord and Stradling.

Other Members:
Councillors Simmons and Williams.

Co-Opted Members:
Mr B Birch and Ms M Fish

Faith Communities Representatives:
M Sands

Parent Governor Representatives:
Mrs A Tallentire

Other Co-Opted Members:
Y Telford

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors E Bell, Stoker and Southwell, and Mrs L Bailey.


A1 Minutes

The Minutes of the meeting held on 4 June 2008 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

A2 Declarations of Interest

There were no declarations of interest.

A3 Work Programme

The Committee received a presentation from the Chairman and Head of Overview and Scrutiny about the Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme (for copy of slides of presentation see file of Minutes)

The presentation included the key drivers, areas that the Committee must and should consider, and the programme of work for each Committee area.

Councillor Moran advised that an excellent piece of work had been undertaken on Worklessness and he welcomed members re-visiting this in light of the new economic climate.

In response to a question from Councillor D Myers about whether coast pollution could be considered as part of climate change, The Chairman advised that at their scoping exercise they should consider how to manage the workload. They should be mindful of the capacity issues, and could consider whether to look at coast pollution as a light touch review.

Councillor Hopgood advised that Durham City Council had undertaken a review on climate change and suggested that in order to avoid duplication the Committee should look at the work undertaken. The Head of Overview and Scrutiny advised that on 29 July there was to be a meeting with scrutiny officers from the District Councils to discuss the work programme and capacity.

Mr B Birch advised the Committee that they had received the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment on 10 July and responses to the 154 page document were required by 14 July. He explained that there were 5 issues that affect his community and that none of these had been dealt with properly. He wished that it had not been sent out with sections missing on equality and diversity, and health assessment. The Head of Overview and Scrutiny advised that he had spoken to County Council’s equality and diversity section about the document that had been sent out by the PCT. The Assessment will be picked up as part of the Work Programme to enable this to be monitored.

Resolved:-

The Committee agreed to the work programme and that work should commence as soon as possible.

A4 Member Development Proposal

The Committee considered a report of the Head of Overview and Scrutiny regarding a proposal for an Overview and Scrutiny Development Programme for Members of the Authority from the Centre of Public Scrutiny (CfPS) (for copy of slides of presentation see file of Minutes).

Resolved:-

That the report together with the recommendations included therein be approved.

A5 Evaluation of Overview and Scrutiny

The Committee considered a report of the Head of Overview and Scrutiny regarding a proposal arising from the Evaluation of Overview and Scrutiny in County Durham (for copy of slides of presentation see file of Minutes).

Members considered that further publicity should be given to the work undertaken by Overview and Scrutiny, and that this could be through ‘Countywide’.

Members considered it important for officers and members to be familiar with the situation at local level, and therefore they should be working out in localities. As part of the scoping exercise of the Working Groups it would be important to identify who the key stakeholders were and for members/ officers to liaise with them.

The Head of Overview and Scrutiny advised that every piece of work undertaken is reported to the Executive, and the Committee monitors its progress. He pointed out that last year there was £1m of investment arising from the recommendations from Scrutiny Working Group reports.

The Chairman agreed that the next item could be considered in order to keep Members informed.


A6 LGR Programme Update

The Committee received a presentation from The Head of Overview and Scrutiny which provided an update on the LGR Programme (for copy of slides of presentation see file of Minutes).

The presentation included information on programme overview, programme arrangements, milestones, priorities, key decisions, draft Blueprint, Vision and Values.

The Committee was advised that over the coming months there would be many additional meetings of the Committee to consider Blueprint, LAA Review, Sustainable Community Strategy, and the Constitution.

In response to a question from Councillor Hopgood, the Head of Overview and Scrutiny explained the procedure for appointing Co-opted Members. He went on to explain that on 28 July an event for the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of each Committee along with co-opted members was to be held to welcome co-opted members and to discuss their role.





At a Special Meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee held at County Hall, Durham on Thursday 21 August 2008 at 10.00 a.m.


Present:


Councillors Alderson, Arthur, Avery, B Bainbridge, R Bell, Blakey, Bleasdale, Bowman, Boyes, Brunskill, Burnip, Campbell, C Carr, Chaplow, Crute, Dixon, Freeman, Gittins, Graham, Gray, Hancock, N Harrison, Hopgood, Hugill, G Huntington, S Iveson, Laing, Lee, Martin, Moran, D Myers, Napier, O’Donnell, B Ord, R Ord, Paylor, Plews, C Potts, Savory, Shield, Simmons, Stoker, Stradling, Temple, Tennant, Thompson, Thomson, Walker, Wilkes, Wilkinson, Williams, Wood, Wright, and R Young.

Other Members:

Councillors Charlton, E Huntington, B Stephens and Todd.

Co-opted Members:

D Bates, M English, B Howarth, M Iveson, D Kinch, P Mackie, P Spurrell and A Tallentire.



Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Brookes, D Maddison, M Potts, and C Woods, and Mr B Birch, Ms M Fish, Mrs E Hunter, and Mr K Ibbotson.

A1 Declarations of Interest

There were no declarations of interest.

A2 Developing the Blueprint

The Committee received a presentation from the Head of Corporate Policy about Developing the Blueprint (for copy of slides of presentation see file of Minutes)

The presentation included the Blueprint’s format and content, an introduction, transformation, Vision and Values, improving outcomes, local outcomes, national/ regional agenda, the approach in relation to Customer Focus, Community Empowerment, Modern and Flexible Services, Efficient and Effective Use of Resources, Governance and a Design of the New Council.

The Chairman advised that no decisions had been made on the Blueprint, and that Overview and Scrutiny Members would have the opportunity to look at the Blueprint in detail. It was to be considered by the Cabinet on 11 September and the County Council on 1 October so they would be able to consider this during that time period.

The Head of Corporate Policy explained that developing the Blueprint was work in progress, and that there was no draft document yet. There had been some discussions with Cabinet and the key measures coming out of it were contained in her presentation.

The Head of Corporate Policy advised that they are currently in the process of holding public meetings to consult on the Blueprint. These comments would be brought in to form part of the Blueprint.

It was pointed out that there was to be an all party working group meeting on 13 September to consider the Governance arrangements.

The Senior Management structure of the Authority was currently out for consultation. If by 1 October the top layer of the Council was agreed this would form part of the Blueprint.

Councillor Hopgood advised that she was surprised that in the proposed structure there was no Corporate Director for Communities and there was no community development service.

In response the Chairman advised that Overview and Scrutiny had responded to the consultation document and this point had been made, together with a number of other issues including where scrutiny was to be placed within the structure. He advised that a copy of their response to the consultation document had been given to Leader of the Council and they would meet with the Cabinet later next week to discuss these concerns.

Councillor B Ord referred to the meeting of 4 June and asked for feedback on the issues he raised. Feisal Jassat in response advised that at the meeting of the Economic Scrutiny Committee on 7 September, Members would receive information on the Economic Development Action Plan. At the Heath Scrutiny Committee in October where they would look the dentistry being a NHS priority. In connection with the issue concerning ambulances in the Bishop Auckland area, it has been made clear to the PCT that they should not do doing anything until Overview and Scrutiny had looked at this.

Councillor Bates advised of his concern that the document did not include anything on the empowerment to Town and Parish Councils.

The Chairman advised that this was an integral part of the workstream being undertaken on LGR. He pointed out that the Blueprint was a summary of the work that had been undertaken to date.

The Head of Corporate Policy advised that the presentation gives high level headings that they are working too on the blueprint and that part of the document refers to local partnership working. She advised that there had been many meetings which had been attended by representatives of Town and Parish Councils.

Councillor Martin advised that it was difficult to consider the issues when they had not received any papers in advance of the meeting. He understood that the Cabinet where to consider the Blueprint on 11 September and make recommendations to the County Council on 1 October. He questioned why scrutiny was not receiving the same presentations as the Cabinet. He suggested that there be specific scrutiny working group to look at IT issues and new websites.

The Chairman advised that the timescales involved where out of the control of the Committee, Members from Overview and Scrutiny could get involved in the detail after the blueprint was agreed on 1 October, when they would have a general steer on the way ahead. He advised that the Blueprint would be considered further on 24 September at meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee.

Councillor Wilkes suggested that the document did not mention changes to the environment, and that at every meeting it be discussed how proposals would fit in with environmental targets. In terms of buying new IT, he was concerned that many items would have been bought for the new authority prior to the policy being adopted.

The Head of Corporate Policy advised that there is an Environment Board meeting as part of a workstream on LGR, which is looking at service delivery and sustainability. There would be clear guidance on how to tackle this issue. Some of this work is now complete, and therefore this would influence anything new that would be bought.

The Chairman pointed out that Sustainable Community Strategy is high on the agenda of Overview and Scrutiny, and there was a working group set up to look at the consultation document that is currently out for consultation.

Councillor Huntington advised that he was interested in the Management Structure and wished to ensure that there was expertise from all authorities in the new structure. He hoped that elected members would be involved in the recruitment process.

The Chairman advised that Chief Officer posts are made by the Chief Officer’s Appointments Committee, which is a cross party committee. He agreed that it was important to get the right people in the right jobs, and he was aware that there was a work stream to look at the appointment process.

Councillor D Myers asked for re-assurance that the workstreams were looking at areas in sufficient detail. He gave the example of a service request being made and then tracked.

The Head of Corporate Policy advised that there were 6 Programme Boards and 36 workstreams, and that they were looking at issues to that detail.

Councillor Stoker expressed concern that it appeared that environment was not one of the top ten priorities.

The Chairman pointed out that it does feature in SCS and the bid document and that slide 4 shows that they have a prosperous, safe and sustainable future.

In response to a question from Councillor R Bell asking whether Overview and Scrutiny members could meet at the same time as the Cabinet, the Chairman advised that it would be possible to meet on 12 September 2008, the day after the Cabinet.

In response to a question from Councillor Hopgood about which Committee of Overview and Scrutiny had met to respond to the consultation document on the management proposals, the Chairman, upon clarification, advised that it had been a meeting comprised of the Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee and the Scrutiny Committees; and he was happy to circulate the notes of that meeting to Members.

Attachments

 Minutes 21 August 2008.pdf;
 Minutes 21 July 2008.pdf