MAIDSTONE BOROUGH COUNCIL
Overview & Scrutiny Committee
MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON Tuesday 20 December 2022
Attendees:
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Committee Members:
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Councillors English (Chairman), Cannon, Brice, Cleator, Conyard, Garten, Hastie, Jeffery, Knatchbull, T Wilkinson and Brindle
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44. Apologies for Absence
Apologies were received from Councillors Hinder and McKenna.
45. Notification of Substitute Members
Councillor Brindle was present as Substitute for Councillor Hinder.
46. Urgent Items
The Chairman stated that he had accepted an urgent update in relation to Item 12 – Committee Work Programme, which contributed to the matter’s consideration.
47. CHANGE TO THE ORDER OF BUSINESS
The Chairman stated that Item 12 – Committee Work Programme would be considered after Item 13 – The Council’s Performance against the Waste Strategy – draft Committee Report, to enable the Committee to consider its work programme moving forward, following the former’s conclusion.
48. Notification of Visiting Members
There were no Visiting Members.
49. Disclosures by Members and Officers
Councillor Brice stated that she was a Council representative on the One Maidstone BID Advisory Board.
50. Disclosures of Lobbying
There were no disclosures of lobbying.
51. EXEMPT INFORMATION
RESOLVED: That all items be taken in public as proposed.
52. Minutes of the Meeting Held on 22 November 2022
RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the Meeting held on 22 November 2022 be approved as a correct record and signed.
53. Presentation of Petitions
There were no petitions.
54. Question and Answer session for Members of the Public
There were no questions from Local Residents.
55. Questions from Members to the Chairman
There were no questions from Members to the Chairman.
56. The Council's Performance against the Waste Strategy - draft Committee Report
The Democratic Services Officer introduced the report, requesting that the consideration be given to the (draft) formal report attached at appendix 1 to the report, and agree the report for submission to the relevant decision-makers. The draft report outlined the how the review into ‘the Council’s Performance against the Waste and Recycling Strategy, 2018-2023’ had taken place, the evidence provided and the recommended actions and intended outcomes produced as a result.
During the discussion, several Members of the Committee felt that some of the recommended actions and intended outcomes should provide greater direction and measurable outcomes, to assist in their implementation and review by the relevant decision-makers. The changes proposed applied to actions six, eight and twenty, alongside further expansion of the review’s rationale on page 3 of appendix 1 to the report.
In response to the comments made, the Democratic Services Officer advised that if agreed, the report would be accompanied by a Scrutiny Recommendation and Action Implementation Plan (SCRAIP) when presented to the relevant decision-makers; the SCRAIP would include the relevant officer’s comments on each proposed recommended action such as its feasibility and the possible method and timeline for implementation for the decision-makers to consider.
The importance of ensuring that the information provided to the Committee was relevant and useful was reiterated, as it would assist the Committee in fulfilling its role to be a ‘critical friend’ to the Executive. The importance of reviewing all the lines of enquiry within a review’s scope was highlighted. A post-review evaluation could take place, although this would likely be in the next two-to-three years to allow the recommended actions to be implemented and their effects fully assessed.
RESOLVED: That the report be agreed for submission to the relevant decision-makers, subject to the addition of:
1. The following text after the second paragraph on the ‘Rationale’ section:
a. ‘It was further hoped that the review would increase both Member and Public knowledge of the service provided, facilitate service improvements and highlight the importance of communicating the service’s provision’
2. A recommended action to request customer services complaints data in relation to waster services on a quarterly basis, in order to ascertain any particular issues and investigate solutions to those issues;
3. The words ‘to make sure that the issues are appropriately addressed through the Lead Members involvement in the Kent Waste Forum’ within the intended outcomes section of recommendation six;
4. The words ‘and include specific reference to Policy CSW3 (Kent Waste and Minerals Local Plan 2013-2030) to recommendation eight; and
5. The words ‘As soon as possible’ to recommendation twenty.
57. Committee Work Programme
The Democratic Services Officer introduced the urgent update provided in relation to the item, which was an amended work programme proposal. The contributing factors to the proposed amendments were the feedback received from Members on the frequency of meetings, the capacity of the Democratic Services Team in supporting the new governance model and ensuring that the Committee’s reviews deliver what it wants to achieve.
The key changes proposed to the work programme included cancelling the Committee’s January 2023 meeting, to allow the Water Management Cycle Working Group (the group) to focus on its external stakeholder consultation meetings being held in the same week, concluding the ‘Safety in the Town Centre‘ review in February 2023, conducting a shared review into the night-time economy in accordance with page 4 of the urgent update provided and moving the remaining two reviews to the Committee’s 2023/24 work programme.
The Committee felt that the amendments proposed were suitable. In response to questions, it was confirmed that a progress update on the group’s review could be provided in 2023 through the provision of its minutes to the Committee alongside a short written update.
RESOLVED: That the amended Committee Work Programme be agreed.
58. DURATION OF MEETING
6.30 p.m. to 7.08 p.m.
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