Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Joe Baker, Matthew Dormer and Jennifer Wheeler, with Councillors Natalie Brookes, David Thain and Wanda King present as substitutes respectively.

To invite Councillors to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Other Disclosable Interests they may have in items on the agenda, and to confirm the nature of those interests, and any Party Whip.

There were no declarations of interest nor of any party whip.

RESOLVED that

the minutes of the meeting held on 12^th April 2016 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

To consider a proposal to establish a Budget Scrutiny Working Group and a Performance Scrutiny Working Group in the 2016/17 municipal year.

(Report attached)

The Chair presented the report in respect of the proposed introduction of budget and performance scrutiny working groups.  The following points were highlighted in respect of the budget working group:

·                The work which the Committee has carried out over recent years to improve the scrutiny of the budget and to gain a better understanding of it.

·                A working group would enable a number of Members to receive the information at an earlier stage and to feed into the budget process in a more constructive manner.

·                Many local authorities had successfully used working groups for this purpose.

·                In its annual report the External Auditors had suggested that the use of such groups could be helpful.

Officers expressed support for the suggestion and agreed that it would allow for more detailed scrutiny of the budget and more timely receipt of reports.  It was also suggested that it would give the Overview and Scrutiny Committee an opportunity to work more closely with the Audit, Governance and Standards Committee, with perhaps a Member of that Committee being a Member of the working group.

The Chair also provided details in respect of a working group which would concentrate on data provided within the corporate dashboard.  This idea had come about following the presentation the Committee had received in respect of the corporate dashboard at its previous meeting.  Whilst it had been useful, it was also clear that the dashboard provided an abundance of information which Members needed to gain an understanding of in order to scrutinise the Council’s performance.

Members discussed how the working groups would work and whether these would be time limited or ongoing.  Officers explained that as the introduction of them was new it was in the gift of Members to set the “ground rules” for the working groups.  By establishing these groups the Overview and Scrutiny Committee would ensure that Members were focusing on two areas of best practice in terms of the scrutiny process.  The Committee would have an opportunity at the end of the municipal year, as part of its annual report, to review whether the groups had been successful.

If Members were in agreement to setting up the groups then Officers would contact the Group Leaders to canvass membership.  It was agreed that the groups would have no more than five Members (including a Chair). 

Following further discussion it was

RESOLVED that

a)    a Budget Scrutiny Working Group be established with Councillor Jane Potter as Chair;

b)   a Performance Scrutiny Working Group be established with Councillor Tom Baker-Price as Chair; and

c)    Officers canvass the Group Leaders in respect of Membership of the two working groups.

To consider feedback from the Overview and Scrutiny training that took place on 31st May and to determine whether to add any suggested items for scrutiny to the Committee’s Work Programme.

(Report attached)

The Chair thanked those Members who had attended the training session on 31st May and advised that it had been both constructive and worthwhile with a number of key areas being discussed.  These had been detailed in the additional papers pack and the Chair proposed that she would go through these whilst providing her thoughts on particular areas, allowing Members to also give their views in deciding which to include within the Committee’s work programme.  It was explained that Members had been split into two groups during the work programme planning exercise and it was noted that a number of the areas discussed within each group had been very similar.

Idea 1 – Promoting Redditch

A task group had been carried out a number of years ago which had concentrated on promoting Redditch as a tourist destination.  It was suggested, from the discussions which had taken place at the training event that a further review would concentrate on promoting Redditch as a business centre and how it could have a positive impact on both the employment and future training needs of young people in the Borough.  In this regard, Ideas 9 (Encouraging Business to come to Redditch) and 10 (Ensuring the Young People of Redditch meet the employment needs of the Borough) could be included within the group’s remit, with a view to a full Task Group being established and not the Short Sharp Review suggested.  Members were keen to ensure that young people were equipped with the right skills needed by employers in the Borough and that a review should be linked with both schools and the local college.

Officers informed the Committee that a scoping document would need to be prepared if this item were to be included within its work programme.  Following discussion it was agreed that Councillor Paul Swansborough would take a lead on this and arrange to meet with Officers to prepare a scoping document for future consideration by the Committee.

Idea 2 – Mental Health

Members discussed whether this needed to be discussed as part of the overarching health issues or whether it needed to be looked at in isolation. (It was noted with some concern that residents had a shorter life expectancy by 8 years compared to other parts of Worcestershire).  It was recognised that currently mental health was something which was receiving attention and a Task Group could take the opportunity to continue that high profile and ensure that it remained at the forefront of the health agenda.

There was concern that it was such a large subject that any investigation may not be able to do it justice.  Members therefore discussed whether to, for example, concentrate on a particular age group, as it was noted that young men under age 25 had one of the highest suicide rates.  Concerns were also raised that this may be an area which was more appropriate to be dealt with by the County Council and whether the Committee could have any constructive impact on the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Officers confirmed that there were no outstanding issues in relation to Overview and Scrutiny within the minutes, but highlighted a number of updates in respect of items on the most recent copy of the Executive Work Programme which had been tabled at the meeting.

RESOLVED that

the Executive Committee Minutes of 19th April together with the latest addition of the Executive Committee’s Work Programme be noted.

Officers provided updates in respect of two items on the Committee’s work programme.  The Leisure Intervention item for pre-scrutiny was now expected not before 5th September.  A scoping document, submitted by Councillor Tom Baker-Price in respect of Protecting Redditch’s Heritage Assets would also be considered at the meeting on 5^th July 2016.

Officers explained that the delay in respect of the Leisure Intervention report was due to additional work being carried out and which had taken longer than expected.  The demand had been costed out but, customers were now being consulted in order to also evaluate the value.

RESOLVED that

subject to the amendments detailed in the preamble above the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s Work Programme be noted.

To consider progress to date on the current reviews against the terms agreed by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

The current reviews in progress are:

a)        Joint Worcestershire Increasing Physical Activity Task Group – Redditch Borough Council representative, Councillor Gareth Prosser.

 (Verbal report)

Joint Worcestershire Increasing Physical Activity Task Group – Redditch Borough Council Representative, Councillor Gareth Prosser

Officers confirmed that the final draft report had been published as part of the agenda for the Worcestershire County Council Overview and Scrutiny Performance Board meeting on 25th May and would be presented to this Committee at its next meeting on 5th July 2016.  It was confirmed that, although Councillor Prosser was no longer a Member he had agreed to attend to present the report.

Councillor Nina Wood-Ford, the Council’s representative on the Worcestershire Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (HOSC), reported that the meeting scheduled for 8th June had been postponed.  Councillor Wood-Ford explained that there had been a number of changes to the Executive of the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust and matters remained uncertain.  Members discussed a number of issues including:

·                The removal of the midwifery led unit based at Redditch.

·                The Alexandra Hospital being a base for the orthopaedic team.

·                The ongoing review of services in Worcestershire.

Councillor Wood-Ford confirmed that she would provide a full report at the next meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.