To consider progress to date on the current reviews against the terms set by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
The current reviews in progress are:
a) Abbey Stadium Task Group – Chair, Councillor Gandy;
b) Football Task Group – Chair, Councillor Bush;
c) Joint WRS Scrutiny Review – lead Member, Councillor Mason;
d) Landscaping Task Group – Chair, Councillor Hopkins; and
e) Voluntary Sector Task Group – Chair, Councillor Witherspoon.
(Oral reports)
Minutes:
The following updates in respect of current Task Group reviews were provided:
a) Abbey Stadium Task Group – Chair, Councillor Carole Gandy
Officers informed Members that the group had met with both Leisure and Cultural Services and Finance Officers to discuss the feasibility and financial implications of a number of draft recommendations. Members were informed that the café at the Abbey Stadium was now open and had been visited by some members of the Group. A visit to Stratford Leisure Centre had been arranged for 12th February 2014.
b) Football Provision within the Borough Task Group – Chair, Councillor David Bush
Councillor Bush informed Members that the group had held its first meeting and a number of further dates had been confirmed with a schedule of work being agreed. Membership of the group was confirmed as Councillors Pat Witherspoon, Andrew Fry, Pattie Hill, Carole Gandy and Andrew Brazier.
c) Joint Worcestershire Regulatory Services Scrutiny Task Group – Redditch member, Councillor Alan Mason
As Councillor Mason had been unable to attend the previous meeting of the Task Group Officers provided an update.
As the work involved in investigation had proved to be more involved than originally anticipated, Members of the Task Group had agreed to put back the completion of the final report to June 2014. Two meetings had been held since the last report and had involved interviews with a representative of the Management Board as well as with the Chief Executive and Section 151 Officer of the host authority. The Members had been grateful for the open and honest manner in which witnesses had responded to questioning. A visit to the WRS base at Wyatt House in Worcester had been arranged for the forthcoming week.
d) Landscaping Task Group – Chair, Councillor Gay Hopkins
Councillor Hopkins informed Members that the group expected to complete their investigations by their deadline. Members had recently visited the place intervention team in Winyates and had received positive feedback from three new workers to the project. The group had explored the commercial aspect from such materials as bark and logs, had reviewed the impact of tree roots on pavements and had explored the legal implications of disputes about landscaping issues involving private properties. The group had reached a stage where they were concentrating on recommendations and the final report.
e) Voluntary Sector Task Group – Chair, Councillor Pat Witherspoon
Councillor Witherspoon informed Members that the investigations of the group had been more in depth than expected. As they needed to visit two further projects she requested that an extension be granted until July 2014.
The group had held a successful visit to The Space and planned to visit both the Sandycroft Centre and the Bromsgrove and Redditch Network (BARN). Members already had a number of potential recommendations in mind in order to make improvements. The group had noted the large number of volunteers involved in supporting Council services, the value they brought to the local authority and the benefits of this volunteering to local communities.
RESOLVED that
the update reports be noted.