Agenda for Overview & Scrutiny Commission on Tuesday, 15th July, 2008, 4.00pm
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Agenda and minutes
PDF 227 KBVenue: Council Chamber, Hove Town Hall. View directions
Contact: Mary van Beinum, Scrutiny Support Officer
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PROCEDURAL BUSINESS Procedural Business. Declaration of Substitutes
Where a Member of the Commission is unable to attend a meeting for whatever reason, a substitute Member (who is not a Cabinet Member) may attend and speak and vote in their place for that meeting. Substitutes are not allowed on Scrutiny Select Committees or Scrutiny Panels.
The substitute Member shall be a Member of the Council drawn from the same political group as the Member who is unable to attend the meeting, and must not already be a Member of the Commission. The substitute Member must declare themselves as a substitute, and be minuted as such, at the beginning of the meeting or as soon as they arrive. Declarations of Interest
(1) To seek declarations of any personal or personal & prejudicial interests under Part 2 of the Code of Conduct for Members in relation to matters on the Agenda. Members who do declare such interests are required to clearly describe the nature of the interest.
(2) A Member of the Overview and Scrutiny Commission, an Overview and Scrutiny Committee or a Select Committee has a prejudicial interest in any business at meeting of that Committee where –
(a) that business relates to a decision made (whether implemented or not) or action taken by the Executive or another of the Council’s committees, sub-committees, joint committees or joint sub-committees; and
(b) at the time the decision was made or action was taken the Member was
(i) a Member of the Executive or that committee, sub-committee, joint committee or joint sub-committee and (ii) was present when the decision was made or action taken.
(3) If the interest is a prejudicial interest, the Code requires the Member concerned:- (a) to leave the room or chamber where the meeting takes place while the item in respect of which the declaration is made is under consideration. [There are three exceptions to this rule which are set out at paragraph (4) below]. (b) not to exercise executive functions in relation to that business and (c) not to seek improperly to influence a decision about that business.
(4) The circumstances in which a Member who has declared a prejudicial interest is permitted to remain while the item in respect of which the interest has been declared is under consideration are:-
(a) for the purpose of making representations, answering questions or giving evidence relating to the item, provided that the public are also allowed to attend the meeting for the same purpose, whether under a statutory right or otherwise, BUT the Member must leave immediately after he/she has made the representations, answered the questions, or given the evidence,
(b) if the Member has obtained a dispensation from the Standards Committee, or
(c) if the Member is the Leader or a Cabinet Member and has been required to attend before an Overview and Scrutiny Committee or Sub-Committee to answer questions. Declaration of Party Whip
To seek declarations of the existence and nature of any party whip in relation to any matter on the Agenda as set out at paragraph 8 of the Overview and Scrutiny Ways of Working. Exclusion of Press and Public
To consider whether, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted, or the nature of the proceedings, the press and public should be excluded from the meeting when any of the following items are under consideration.
NOTE: Any item appearing in Part 2 of the Agenda states in its heading the category under which the information disclosed in the report is confidential and therefore not available to the public.
A list and description of the exempt categories is available for public inspection at Brighton and Hove Town Halls.
Minutes: 15a Declarations of Interests and Substitutes
There were none.
15b Exclusion of Press and Public
In accordance with section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, it was considered whether the press and public should be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of any items contained in the agenda, having regard to the nature of the business to be transacted and the nature of the proceedings and the likelihood as to whether, if members of the press and public were present, there would be disclosure to them of confidential or exempt information as defined in section 100I (1) of the said Act.
RESOLVED: That the press and public be not excluded from the meeting.
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MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING Minutes: 16.1 At Minute 7.4 a briefing note from the Director of Finance and Resources was circulated on the respective roles and responsibilities of the Audit Committee and Overview and Scrutiny Commission in respect of Finance. 16.2 At minute 11.5 a reply from the Director of Adult Social Care and Housing was tabled regarding the query on the personalisation of adult social care. 16.3 RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 3 June 2008 be agreed and signed by the Chairman. |
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CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS Minutes: There were none. |
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PUBLIC QUESTIONS No public questions have been received.
Minutes: There were none. |
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LETTERS FROM COUNCILLORS No letters have been received.
Minutes: There were none. |
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NOTICES OF MOTION REFERRED FROM COUNCIL No Notices of Motion have been received.
Minutes: There were none. |
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THE CORPORATE PLAN; FEEDBACK ON CABINET CONSIDERATION OF OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMENTS Minutes: 21.1 The Head of Scrutiny presented the report which demonstrated how overview and scrutiny could influence Cabinet reports. 21.2 RESOLVED– That the report be noted. |
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DEVELOPMENT OF A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FRAMEWORK
Additional documents: Minutes: 22.1 The Senior Policy Development Officer presented the report on the development of a Community Engagement Framework and gave an example of how it could be used by a particular service. A recent workshop had been attended by two Commission Members. 22.2 The report enabled overview and scrutiny formally to be part of the development of the framework and to help drive the future agenda regarding policy outcomes and priority actions once these are agreed.
22.3 Some Members commented that much work on consultation policy had been done and that practical outcomes now needed to be demonstrable. Many areas of good practice were already in use.
22.4 The possible use of national and regional funding streams already available for third sector work with communities was questioned.
22.5 Several areas for priorities were suggested including a common research protocol, improving coordination of work ‘on the ground,’ and participatory budgeting. 22.6 Replying to a perception that the paper seemed inaccessible and included jargon, the Officer said it had been produced together with the community and voluntary sector organisations. This version was aimed at the organisations already engaged with the process and a summary was available. The priority actions would be agreed by all the members of the Local Strategic Partnership.
22.7 The OSC considered how overview and scrutiny fitted as an engagement activity and agreed it should undertake a monitoring role of the use and outcomes of the framework. All Councillors are invited to an event on 8th September after the close of consultation on 5th September.
22.8 RESOLVED (1) To note the progress to date on developing the Framework
(2) To put forward priority actions as minuted at 25.5 above
(3) To agree to receive feedback on the consultation and the final version of the Framework at a future meeting
(4) To monitor the practical use of the Framework when agreed, and its outcomes.
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THE COUNCIL'S EQUALITIES AND INCLUSION POLICY
Additional documents: Minutes: 23.1 The Head of Equalities and Inclusion presented the report on the Council’s Equalities and Inclusion Policy which had been considered by the Equalities Forum and was due to be considered by the Cabinet meeting on 18 September. 23.2 Many equalities activities had been mainstreamed but examples of good practice were not necessarily recognised or improved consistently. A draft Equalities Scheme outlining departmental actions to support the council’s target to achieve level 3 of the Equalities Standard by 2009 was also provided.
23.3 The Commission wished to help shape the Policy. Some Members felt that although ‘excellent,’ some of the aspirations had been developed over some years and needed to be practised more widely.
23.4 The Commission felt that 6-monthly reports would be needed and that if the actions were re-ordered chronologically they would be simpler to monitor.
23.5 Progress on improving performance in areas related to employment were raised as a concern.
23.6 The Head of Equalities and Inclusion said it was important that the Council’s managers, and those who were delivering services on behalf of the council, were fully competent in dealing with equalities matters. The Dignity at Work policy would be checked by the Audit Commission, as part of the forthcoming review of governance arrangements.
23.7 Asked about the membership of the City Inclusion Partnership (CIP) the Head of Equalities and Inclusion said that this was established as part of the wider constitutional changes and was agreed by full council in April, following cross-party consultation. OSC took the view that the CIP Chairman should be independent from the Council.
23.8 RESOLVED – (1) That the views of OSC be compiled and presented to Cabinet for consideration along with the Equalities and Inclusion Policy at their September meeting.
(2) that twice-yearly reports on progress towards Equalities Scheme targets, including employment practices, be presented to the OSC.
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ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORT Additional documents: Minutes: 24.1 The Senior Performance Analyst presented the Council’s Annual Report of Performance. To enable full scrutiny of performance information Chairmen of the respective scrutiny Committees should receive performance reports relating to their own service areas.
24.2 The Assistant Director, Improvement and Organisational Development said this was the last time the government required performance to be reported in this way and that future performance reports would be on a reduced set of indicators, Local Area Agreement targets and corporate health measures.
24.3 Members asked questions on school exclusions, recycled waste, older people helped to live at home, numbers of abandoned tenancies, social services and reporting of crime. Replies to these queries would be referred to their respective Committees.
24.4 The Commission asked for a further breakdown of information available on the numbers of staff from an ethnic minority among the top 5% of earners.
24.5 The Chairman of the Children and Young People’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee asked for details of looked after young people in education, training or employment. Reporting on performance on schools exclusions was also queried.
24.6 RESOLVED – that the Commission ask for further information to be supplied, as minuted above.
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TARGETTED BUDGET MANAGEMENT MONTH 2 Minutes: 25.1 The Director of Finance and Resources referred Members to the paper on the respective roles and responsibilities of the OSC and the Audit Committee in respect of finance. (See minute 16.1). Detailed briefings on finance matters could be arranged as necessary, either on an individual basis or collectively.
25.2 The Director of Finance and Resources introduced the TBM report. Members said this was a good report and noted that it had been produced earlier than before in the financial year, and it was not unusual to forecast significant overspends at this stage.
25.3 The Commission discussed the key variances and the Director answered questions for example on parking and energy costs. The financial recovery plans were- being worked on and would be reported to Cabinet. The Chairman asked that it also be presented to the Commission.
25.4 Members agreed that the Council’s energy costs were an important issue and asked for the matter to be included as part of the Commission’s work planning process.
25.5 Comments were made on costs of home care services, and current forecast overspends including Section 75 budgets.
25.6 RESOLVED – (1) That the Commission notes the Cabinet resolution as outlined in the report.
(2) that the financial Recovery Plan in relation to S75 partnerships be reported to the Commission
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OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMISSION WORK PLAN Minutes: 26.1 The Interim Head of Policy outlined the Work Plan which would be reported to each meeting as part of the performance management process for Overview and Scrutiny.
26.2 RESOLVED - That the report be noted. |
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ITEMS TO GO FORWARD TO CABINET OR THE RELEVANT CABINET MEMBER MEETING To consider items to be submitted to the next available Cabinet or Cabinet Member. |
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ITEMS TO GO FORWARD TO COUNCIL |