Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence and details of any Councillor (or co-optee substitute) nominated to attend this meeting in place of a member of this Committee.

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillors Cookson and Thomas.

To invite Councillors to declare any interest they may have in items on the Agenda and any Party Whip.

There were no declarations of interest or of any party whip.

To confirm the minutes of the most recent meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee as a correct record.

(Minutes attached)

RESOLVED that

the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on the 12th of September 2007 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

To consider whether any Key Decisions of the Executive Committee’s most recent meeting(s) should be subject to call-in and also to consider whether any items on the Forward Plan require pre-scrutiny.

(No separate report).

Members received the Decision Notice from the meeting of the Executive Committee held on Wednesday, the 19th of September 2007, with a view to considering the need for any Call-ins.

RESOLVED that

no action be taken to initiate call-in procedures on any of the Key Decisions contained in the Executive Committee Decision Notice.

To consider any scoping documents provided for possible Overview and Scrutiny review.

(No reports attached)

There were no draft scoping reports for consideration.

To consider progress to date on current scrutiny reviews against the terms set by the Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

The current reviews in progress are:

1.         Communications Task and Finish Group (Stage One), Chair -   Councillor J. Brunner.

2.         District Centres Task and Finish Group, Chair - Councillor A. Fry.

3.         Fees and Charges Task and Finish Group, Chair – Councillor C          MacMillan.

Future Reviews (in current priority order):

4.         Housing Priority Task and Finish Group, Chair - Councillor B.    Passingham

5.         Gypsy and Travellers Task and Finish Group, Chair - Councillor P. Hill

(Oral reports and / or reports attached)

The Committee considered update reports in relation to current and pending reviews.

The Chair stressed that, so as not to make this matter too cumbersome, it was important to stick to a time limit of two minutes for each report.

The following oral reports were given:

a) Communications Task and Finish Group (Stage One) – Chair Councillor J. Brunner.

The Chair of this Group reported that the Members had made good progress.

The Group had recently undertaken interviews with expert witnesses.   Members were also informed that there had been some responses to the questionnaires that had been sent to Members, Officers and external organisations.  The Chair reminded Members that they had all been sent copies of the questionnaire and asked that they return their copies to Officers as soon as possible.

The Committee agreed that, in view of delays occasioned by forthcoming Officer leave and the postponement of a visit to Stevenage Borough Council, the initial findings of Stage One of the Communications exercise could be postponed.  The Chair agreed to consult with Members of the Group and to report a new date for the presentation of these findings at the next meeting of the Committee.

b)         District Centres Task and Finish Group – Chair Councillor A. Fry

The Chair of the District Centres Task and Finish Group explained that he was due to meet the relevant Lead Officer to discuss the progress of the exercise. 

c)         Fees and Charges Task and Finish Group – Chair Councillor C. MacMillan

The Chair reported that the second meeting of the Task and Finish Group took place on Tuesday the 25thSeptember.  Members were informed that the Group had discussed a list of fees and charges that had been provided by Officers for Member consideration.  The Chair noted that in view of the late receipt of this information Members had agreed to analyse the content of this document at the next meeting of the Group.  

The Chair informed the Committee that the Group had decided to scrutinise the Council’s fees and charges on a service by service basis and that Planning Services had been selected as the first area for analysis.  The Group had agreed to identify questions that they would like to address to the Head of Planning Services who has been invited to the next meeting of the Group on the 10th of October 2007.

Members were also informed that an academic representative from The Institute of Local government Studies (INLOGOV) at the University of Birmingham had been identified as an expert witness who could be invited to provide further information about fees and charges.  The Group had agreed that the Chair would liaise with Officers to produce a proposal for this presentation and that this would be circulated amongst Members of the Group.

d)         Housing Priority Task and Finish Group – Chair Councillor B. Passingham

The Chair of the Group informed Members that the first meeting of the Group took place on Monday the 24th September 2007.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51.

To consider current and future arrangements for combining the Neighbourhood Group and PACT meetings.

(Oral report to follow)

Members were informed that seven of the thirteen forthcoming  Neighbourhood Group meetings in Redditch would be merged with Police PACT meetings.  Officers reported that they were working towards amalgamating all the Neighbourhood Groups and PACT meetings within the Borough but that this would not be achieved in full until the following year.

For comparison purposes, Officers distributed a scrutiny report produced by Wyre Forest District Council on the subject of joint Neighbourhood Groups and PACT meetings in their local authority area.  Officers provided further explanation about the contents of the document to Members.

The Committee was advised that Officers would be producing their own report  on the merger proposals in due course which would be reported to the Executive Committee for consideration.  Members therefore agreed to read their copies of the WyreForest report but to postpone any O&S action in relation to the Neighbourhood Groups until after the Executive Committee had considered this report.

RESOLVED that

the proposed his course of action be supported.

To consider the Council’s response to recommendations contained in the Anti-Social Behaviour Report produced by the Social Overview and Scrutiny Committee in 2006.

(Oral report to follow)

The Head of Community Strategy & Partnerships attended the meeting to provide Members with an update on the Council’s responses to recommendations contained in the Anti-Social Behaviour report, produced by the Social Overview and Scrutiny Committee in 2006.  Members were informed that some changes at the national level, including the introduction of the Respect Agenda, had rendered some of the recommendations invalid since the production of the report. Similarly some local changes had also impacted on recommendations, such as deletion of the Youth Team.

Members were also informed that, due to the scale of the recommendations and their resource implications, Officers had not yet acted in response to four of the original recommendations.  Those four recommendations were: the provision of mediation services; the provision of an anti-social behaviour helpline in conjunction with Redditch Community Safety Partnership; the provision of a Seminar for Members and the Council’s partners on Anti-Social Behaviour; and the promotion of diversionary activities to young people by both the Council and its partners.

Members agreed that Councillors Brunner, Passingham and Taylor, who had been involved in the original scrutiny exercise, should meet together to consider the Council’s response to those four recommendations in more detail.  These Members also agreed to analyse the terms of those recommendations and suggest updates to the recommendations where necessary to correspond with current circumstances.  The Chair reminded Members that if the Members decides that further scrutiny work was required they would need to complete a scoping document in accordance with current Overview and Scrutiny Procedures.

RESOLVED that

subject to Members’ comments as detailed in the preamble above, the report be noted, and proposed action agreed.

To identify Members’ aims when considering the Portfolio Holders’ annual reports to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and to consider potential questions to address to the Portfolio Holders.

(Report attached)

The Chair informed Members that the Portfolio Holders had been asked to provide a ten minute presentation to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and that this would be followed by up to twenty minutes of questions from the Members of the Committee.   Members were asked to suggest additional questions that they would like to address to the Portfolio Holders. 

Members suggested a number of additional questions, some focused generally upon the role of a Portfolio Holder, whilst other questions focused upon the subjects of particular portfolios.  These suggestions were recorded by Officers.  Officers informed Members that the questions would be dispatched to the Portfolio holder for Community Safety, who would be the first Member to present his Annual Report to the Committee.  The Members also agreed that Officers should attach written guidance relating to the role of a Portfolio Holder to the agenda for the next meeting.

RESOLVED that 

the agreed action be approved.

To consider the implications of Community Calls for Action for the Overview and Scrutiny Process at Redditch Borough Council.

(No separate report attached)

Officers informed Members that there were currently due to be two forms of “Community Call for Action”: a version focusing on Crime and Disorder-related matters (CCA) and a local government version involving community issues that did not relate to the subjects of Crime, Disorder or Health (CCfA).  Members were informed that the Crime and Disorder version of the Community Call for Action (CCA) had been postponed, though the local government version was due to be introduced in Spring 2008.  Officers noted that many Councils had not yet developed plans about how to respond to the Community Calls for Action because they were awaiting guidance from Central Government.

Officers also reported that the Community Calls for Action would require wider action from the Council because it was likely that they would only be reported to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee as a last resort. 

RESOLVED that

the Executive Committee be requested to consider:

1) the implications for the Council of the two versions of the Community Call for Action; and

2) associated Member Development needs.

There were no referrals.

The programme of future work was received and accepted, without comment.

RESOLVED that

the Committee Work Programme be noted.