Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room 2, at the Council Offices, Southfields, Loughborough. View directions

Contact: Laura Strong 

Items
No. Item

26.

Minutes of Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 94 KB

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting.

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 24th October 2018 were confirmed as a correct record and signed.

27.

Disclosures of Pecuniary and Personal Interests

Minutes:

No disclosures were made.

28.

Declarations - The Party Whip

Minutes:

No declarations were made.

29.

Questions under Scrutiny Committee Procedure 11.16

No questions were submitted.

Minutes:

No questions had been submitted.

30.

Scrutiny Work Programme and Issues Arising From Scrutiny Groups and Panels pdf icon PDF 336 KB

A report of the Head of Strategic Support to assist the Board in determining the Scrutiny Work Programme and setting out Cabinet’s responses to recommendations made by the Board at its last meeting.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Considered a report of the Head of Strategic Support to enable the Board to agree the Scrutiny Work Programme, including considering requests from other scrutiny bodies and updates on the delivery of the Work Programme, identify Key Decisions on which scrutiny could be undertaken, to consider whether scrutiny of any procurement activity should be programmed, and setting out Cabinet’s responses to recommendations made by the Board at its last meeting (item 6 on the agenda filed with these minutes).

 

The Chief Executive assisted with consideration of the report.

 

RESOLVED

 

1.      that the deletions made from its work programme by the Policy Scrutiny Group at its meeting on 13th November 2018 (Minute 28.2) and the reason for that, as detailed on the third page of the report, be noted;

 

2.      that the Cabinet’s response to the recommendations of the Five Year Housing Supply Scrutiny Panel as agreed by the Scrutiny Management Board at its meeting on 24th October 2018, as detailed on the fifth and sixth page of the report, be noted;

 

3.      that the Cabinet’s response to recommendations made by the Board at its meeting on 24th October 2018 in respect of the Management of Public Open Space, as detailed on the sixth and seventh page of the report, be noted;

 

4.      that forthcoming Executive Key Decisions or decisions to be taken in private by the Executive, set out in Appendix 1 to the report, and scheduled scrutiny of those matters, be noted, and that further items be scheduled for scrutiny as follows:

 

(i)            Strategic and Private Sector Housing Fees and Charges Policy – Policy Scrutiny Group, 5th February 2019;

(ii)          Lightbulb Service Implementation Update – Overview Scrutiny Group, 11th February 2019;

(iii)         Council Tax Amendment to Empty Homes Premium and Exemptions – remove from Overview Scrutiny Group, 11th February 2019;

(iv)         Capital Strategy – Overview Scrutiny Group, 11th February 2019;

(v)          Revenues and Benefits Future Service Delivery Options – Scrutiny Management Board, 6th March 2019;

(vi)         Local Development Scheme – Overview Scrutiny Group, 11th March 2019;

(vii)        Business Plan 2019/20 – Scrutiny Management Board, 6th March 2019;      

 

5.      that the Annual Procurement Plan (and Quarterly Updates), set out in Appendix 2 to the report, be noted;

 

6.      that the Scrutiny Work Programme, set out in Appendix 3 to the report, be noted and updated in accordance with the decisions taken above and at this meeting;

 

7.      that a briefing note be submitted to the next meeting of the Board (6th March 2019) setting out the actions the Council is taking and plans to take to meet affordable housing needs in the Borough.

 

Reasons

 

1.         To ensure that the Board was aware of the deletions made by the Group.

 

2.      To ensure that the Board was informed of the outcome of scrutiny panel recommendations.  The Board did not indicate at this meeting when it wished to receive an update on implementation of the Cabinet decisions.  Usual practice was for an update report to be submitted to the Board six months  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

31.

Budget Scrutiny Panel pdf icon PDF 729 KB

A report of the Budget Scrutiny Panel following its scrutiny of the draft budget 2019/20.

Minutes:

Considered a report of the Budget Scrutiny Panel following its scrutiny of the draft budget 2019/20 (item 7 on the agenda filed with these minutes).

 

Councillor Miah, Chair of the Panel, presented the report.  The Chief Executive also assisted with questions on the matter.

 

RESOLVED

 

1.         that the content and recommendations in the Budget Scrutiny Panel report be endorsed and that the report be submitted to the Cabinet for consideration;

 

2.         that, in respect of conclusion (x) of the Panel, the suggestion be supported, and pre-decision scrutiny of the financial matters set out be undertaken as a matter of course.

 

Reasons

 

1.         To enable the Cabinet to consider the recommendations, which the Board supported.

 

2.         To support the view of the Panel in respect of this matter.

32.

New Scrutiny Committee Structure pdf icon PDF 240 KB

A report of the Head of Strategic Support setting out proposals for a new scrutiny committee structure, for recommendation to full Council.

 

 

Minutes:

Considered a report of the Monitoring Officer setting out proposals for a new scrutiny committee structure, for recommendation to full Council (item 8 on the agenda filed with these minutes).

 

The Head of Strategic Support assisted with consideration of the report.  Further to the report, he stated that the recommendations set out, if agreed by the Board, would be submitted to Council on 25th February 2019.  If agreed by Council, a further report setting out a 2019/20 meetings schedule to accord with the revised scrutiny structure would be submitted to the next Council meeting on 25th March 2019.  A report would also be submitted to the next meeting of the Board on 6th March 2019 to enable it to review the current scrutiny work programme and allocate items it wished to be carried over to the new scrutiny structure.  The Head of Strategic Support also advised that the correct name of the proposed scrutiny committee under the fourth bullet point of recommendation 1 in the report was the Housing, Planning, Regeneration and Regulatory Services Scrutiny Committee.

 

The Board asked the Head of Strategic Support to:

 

(i)        Ensure that it was clear in the report submitted to Council on 25th February 2019 that it was only proposed to change the scrutiny structure and that the executive, regulatory and governance committees of the Council would be unchanged.

(ii)       Ensure that the report to be submitted to the Board on 6th March 2019 to allocate items to the new scrutiny structure clearly states, for each item, a recommendation as to the new scrutiny committee it is most appropriately allocated to, perhaps via an extra column indicating that on the current scrutiny work programme.  

 

RESOLVED that it be recommended to Council that:

 

1.      that the current scrutiny committee structure set out in the Constitution be replaced with the following committees as from the commencement of the 2019/20 civic year:

 

        Scrutiny Commission (consisting of 7 members selected on a politically balanced basis, quorum to be 4 members), 

 

        Scrutiny Call-In Committee (consisting of 8 members being the Chairs and Vice-chairs of the other 4 scrutiny committees, quorum to be 5 members),

 

        Corporate Services Scrutiny Committee (consisting of 7 members selected on a politically balanced basis; quorum to be 4 members),

 

        Housing, Planning, Regeneration and Regulatory Services Scrutiny Committee (consisting of 7 members selected on a politically balanced basis, quorum to be 4 members),

 

        Neighbourhoods & Community Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee (consisting of 7 members selected on a politically balanced basis, quorum to be 4 members);

 

2.      that the overall areas of responsibility for each of the new scrutiny committees be as summarised in Part B of the report of the Monitoring Officer;

 

3.      that the Constitution be amended as required to implement the new scrutiny committee structure as set out in resolutions 1 and 2 above, with the detailed amendments to be set out by the Monitoring Officer for Council within a report to Council.

 

Reason

 

1 to 3.   To implement a new  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.