Agenda item

The Committee received a report of the Director of Transformation and Partnerships, which provided Members with an updated work programme for 2017-18 (copy see file of minutes).

The Overview and Scrutiny Officer referred the Committee to the proposed work programme for the coming year with several special meetings already added to the schedule.  A special meeting on 11 September would be held at Seaham High School and would focus on educational issues, the special on 21 November would look at social care issues and the special on 5 February would be a joint meeting with Adults, Wellbeing and health OSC looking at obesity.    The Scrutiny Officer advised that members of the previous committee had mentioned they would like to carry out a piece of scrutiny review activity on the role of the social worker through the eyes of the child.  She reminded Members that the work programme was flexible and that items could be added as and when required.  Councillor Crute said that it was important for Scrutiny to allow flexibility and be able to react to recent news issues such as the Children’s Commissioner for England’s piece of work into vulnerability of children nationally.  It was important for the Committee to understand the term vulnerability and would be a common theme on the agenda from self harm to look after children and would be looked at in some detail later in the year once the definition was clearer and the data was understood.

Resolved:

(i)            That the new work programme be agreed.

(ii)          That the topic for the in depth Scrutiny review of the role of the social worker be agreed.