Agenda item

A report of the Head of Strategic Support to assist the Board in determining the Scrutiny Work Programme.

Considered a report and a supplementary report of the Head of Strategic Support to enable the Board to agree the Scrutiny Work Programme, including considering requests from other scrutiny bodies, a proposal to establish a new scrutiny panel and updates on the delivery of the Work Programme, to identify Key Decisions on which scrutiny could be undertaken, and to consider whether scrutiny of any procurement activity should be programmed (item 6 on the agenda filed with these minutes).

The Chief Executive assisted with consideration of the report.

RESOLVED

1.         that the comments made by the Performance Scrutiny Panel at its meeting on 21st August 2018 (Minute 16.1) in respect of the Zero Waste Strategy (set out on page 4 of the report of the Head of Strategic Support) be noted, and that scrutiny of the Zero Waste Strategy be added to the Work Programme of the Policy Scrutiny Group and scheduled for after the publication of the Government’s Resources and Waste Strategy;

2.         that the following recommendations made by the Policy Scrutiny Group at its meeting on 25th September 2018 (Minute 17.2) in respect of the Open Spaces Strategy be submitted to the Cabinet:

a)      that the Cabinet be asked to note that the fact that developers could choose not to offer open spaces for adoption by the Council and the increasing use of management companies to manage open space on developments as an alternative to adoption by the Council were of concern to the Policy Scrutiny Group;

b)      that the Cabinet be asked to also note that the Group identified the following particular issues with the operation of the management company model in addition to its general concerns:

·      the service charges that were levied by management companies could be significant for local residents affected by them;

·      there could be a lack of transparency in the way in which service charges were increased;

·      there was no consideration of ability to pay when service charges were levied;

·      there was evidence that maintenance work was of low quality in some cases;

c)      that the Cabinet be asked to draw the attention of local MPs and the Government to the issues identified above so that a change in the law could be considered to require developers to offer areas of open space to local authorities for adoption;

3.         that the Customer Services Strategy and the Housing Acquisition Policy be added to the Work Programme of the Policy Scrutiny Group;

4.         that, having considered the submitted scope document, set out in Appendix 4 to the report, no further action be taken in respect of establishing a scrutiny panel to consider the likely impacts of the planned waste incinerator near Junction 23 of the M1 motorway;

5.         that the forthcoming Executive Key Decisions or decisions to be taken in private by the Executive, set out in Appendix 1 submitted as a supplementary report, be noted, and that items be added to the Scrutiny Work Programme as follows:

·      Housing Development Company (Policy Scrutiny Group, 13th November 2018);

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

7.         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.

Reasons

1.         In the light of the issues identified by the Panel, to enable further scrutiny of the matter to take place to determine whether the Strategy remained fit for purpose after the Government’s publication of its Resources and Waste Strategy and whether the [Council’s Zero Waste] Strategy and its targets required revision.

2.         To draw the Cabinet’s attention to an area of concern and, acknowledging that the current system could only be altered through a change in the law, to request that the Cabinet seek to influence Government policy regarding the matter.

3.         Having considered the request made by the Performance Scrutiny Panel at its meeting on 9th October 2018 (Minute 27.1), the Board considered that the issues raised fitted more closely with the remit of the Policy Scrutiny Group.  The Policy Scrutiny Group’s scrutiny of the Housing Acquisition Policy should include whether there were alternative options for acquiring properties other than on the open market as reported in the Housing Strategy Progress Report and the Council’s criteria for acquiring housing in detail.  With respect to the Customer Service Strategy, scrutiny of the matter would be useful as the strategy was now approximately half-way through its period of operation.

4.         Although there would have been benefits in establishing a scrutiny panel, in particular in relation to engaging with the public and making information more accessible, there were limits to what scrutiny of the matter could achieve given that decisions about the establishment of the incinerator had already been made and regulation of the site would be the responsibility of the Environment Agency rather than the Council.

5.         To ensure timely and effective scrutiny.

6.         The Board had decided to consider the Annual Procurement Plan and Quarterly Updates (submitted to the Cabinet) to ensure that timely and effective scrutiny of any procurement activity is programmed or to ensure that the Cabinet is informed of any views of the Board on procurement matters.

7.         To ensure that the information contained within the Work Programme is up to date.