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MAIDSTONE BOROUGH COUNCIL

ENVIRONMENT AND TRANSPORTATION OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

17 AUGUST 2010

REPORT OF HEAD OF CHANGE AND SCRUTINY

Report prepared by Les Smith 

1.           REVIEW OF PAST REPORTS

1.1        Issue for Consideration

1.1.1   The Committee to consider which, if any, previous Reviews that fall within the Committee’s remit should be revisited to establish progress of the recommendations and decide whether any further scrutiny of the area should be conducted.  

1.2        Recommendation of the Head of Change and Scrutiny

1.2.1   That the Committee decides which, if any, of the previous Reviews the require updates or further scrutiny in the coming year.

1.3        Reasons for Recommendation

1.3.1   The Review of Past Reports, 2001-2008, involved a group of councilors analyzing the outcomes from previous scrutiny reviews. The report identified that a number of the reviews should be signed off as completed whilst some remain live issues that require further investigation. Appendix A contains extracts from the report on past reviews that are relevant to the Environment and Transportation Overview and Scrutiny Committee where further work was required.

1.3.2   The Review recommended that a watching brief be kept on the following items:

·         Abandoned Vehicles;

·         Climate Change;

·         Fly tipping; and

·         Rural Roads.

And that the following topics be put forward for follow-up and review:

·         Image of Maidstone Town Centre;

·         Memorial Safety;

·         Motorways;

·         Tree coverage; and

·         Water Shortages.

1.3.3   Following up these reviews should enable the Committee to establish issues preventing adoption of any remaining recommended actions, and to identify new measures that may be appropriate in the light of more recent developments.

1.4        Alternative Action and Why Not Recommended

1.4.1   The Committee could choose not to consider including any of these items in its future work programme. However this would prevent Members from establishing the reasons for non-adoption of some of the original recommendations, or from identifying areas that should be addressed to reflect changing circumstances   .

1.5        Impact on Corporate Objectives

1.5.1   Considering whether the Committee should receive updates on progress of these earlier Reviews should help deliver the Council’s objectives for the Borough to be a place to be a place that is clean and green.

1.6        Risk Management

1.6.1   There are no risks involved in the Committee determining whether to include any of these items in its future work programme.

1.7        Other Implications

1.7.1    

1.8        Relevant Documents

1.8.1 The extract from the Review of Past Reports is at Appendix A.