Agenda item

Review of Overview & Scrutiny Panel Work Programme for 2024/25

Minutes:

The Chair invited the Panel to comment on the report. Panel members requested that the current be reviewed at the next meeting as it contained some criteria that were out of date. They said that the scoring matrix should be a working document that was flexible enough to respond to urgent merging issues that would require the attention of the Panel. It would mean such urgent matters could jump the list of scrutiny topics. They also requested for training by the Monitoring Officer on new guidance for scrutiny that was published by the government.

 

The Chair asked for suggestions on topics for the cabinet member presentations for future meetings, in order to give Cabinet Members enough lead time to prepare. One committee member requested for a presentation on parking at either the 15 October or 19 November meeting. Another suggested a presentation by the Leader on the Council’s progress as measured against the five corporate priorities. There was also a request for a presentation on Key Performance Indicators by the Property team.

 

The Panel also requested that a report be brought to a future meeting on Cabinet responses to Overview and Scrutiny Panel scrutiny review reports and recommendations. This would include responses to the Panel’s Coastal Review report and Tourism Review report.

 

Councillor Austin, Chair of the External Grant Funding Review Working Party gave an update report on the work of the working party. Councillor Austin said that the sub group had held an evidence gathering meeting with Council officers from Regeneration, Community and Finance teams on 6 June. A meeting would be arranged with infrastructure organisations and local voluntary community organisations respectively in July after the General Elections.

 

Nick Hughes advised the meeting that Cabinet was required to respond to Panel review reports. He also said that the officers were currently working on updating service plans for their various service areas. Once that exercise is completed, that would be the best time to invite the Leader to a Panel meeting to make a presentation on corporate priorities.

 

Bob Porter also advised the Panel that teams in his service areas were also going through a review of the service plans and working on new KPIs for the portfolio areas, statutory compliance and conditions of commercial properties. They were also working on a new project planning process that included post project management. Any new projects would in future have to go through this new framework.

 

The Panel agreed the following:



  • The terms of reference of the External Grant Funding Review Working Party as detailed in Annex 4 to the report;
  • That the External Grant Funding Review Working Party report back to the Panel on their review work at the 17 September 2024 Panel meeting;
  • The Protocol for establishing the Panel’s future working parties;
  • That an item on developing a new scoring matrix for prioritising scrutiny projects be added to the 16 July 2024 Panel agenda;
  • That Councillor K. Bright be invited to the 15 October 2024 Panel meeting to make a presentation the Parking portfolio;
  • That a report back be made to the Panel on actions taken by Cabinet in response to scrutiny review reports and recommendations to Cabinet.

 

The Panel noted the report.

Supporting documents: