1.       CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS

2.      INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

2.      

2.1     At its meeting on the 21 June 2022, the Committee considered a series of suggestions put forward by the Council’s Wider Leadership Team, the Executive and other Councillors for inclusion within its work programme.

2.2     The Committee decided that a suitable way of narrowing down the topics for inclusion in its work programme was to take a vote on the items. Each Committee Member was given three votes to exercise, with the four highest voted-for topics to be scoped and further considered at its next meeting. A decision is required on which issues are included and in what order the reviews will be conducted in accordance with the priority assigned by the Committee.  

2.3     The four chosen topics were:

·         Safety and Enforcement

·         Water Management Cycle

·         The Council’s Performance in relation to the Waste Strategy

·         Health Inequality

2.4     The topics have been scoped and are included within Appendix 1 to the report. In selecting which of the topics to include within its work programme the Committee is reminded that the scoping proposals are suggested approaches to conducting the reviews, rather than finalised scopes.

2.5     Included within the scopes are suggested timelines for conducting each review. In choosing which topics to take forward, the Committee should consider how many of its scheduled meetings will be taken up by the reviews. For example a review across three to four meetings, could cover October 2022 to January 2023. In this instance, two topics would be a guideline figure to include within the work programme. This would allow for flexibility should the issues overrun or for additional items to be considered. This further allows for smaller, one-off reviews to be completed in between. Two meetings will also be required to allow the Committee to sit as the Crime and Disorder Committee.  

2.6     A variety of approaches to conducting the reviews have been included within appendix 1 such as spotlight reviews, working groups, Member briefings and written and verbal evidence collection. Working Groups and Sub-Committees will be a feasible option in the future as two new Democratic Services Officers have been recruited, providing more resource within the team. However, this is unlikely to be immediate as training will need to be provided.

2.7     It is for the Committee to decide how they would wish to conduct the reviews, and for how long, i.e. how many of its scheduled meetings. This is to maintain the flexibility within the work programme to account for any unexpected items that occur over the year and allow for further time to be spent on a review if required.

2.8     The relevant Officers for each of the proposals were consulted on the scoping, to contribute to the information provided and highlight any particular lines of enquiry that it would be helpful for the Committee to consider as part of a review.

3.   AVAILABLE OPTIONS

3.1     Option 1 – Consider the scoped proposals attached at Appendix 1 to the report and choose which of the items to include within the Committee’s work programme. As mentioned above in 2.5, two large reviews would be suitable, with smaller reviews to take place alongside as required.  

This is the recommended option.

3.2     Option 2 – Consider the scoped proposals and decide to review the topics on an ad hoc basis. This is not recommended as it will not provide the opportunity to plan and conduct the reviews in a timely and productive manner. The lines of enquiry for each review will have to be re-visited prior to each review.

3.3     Option 3 – Choose new topics to be scoped. This is not recommended as it will delay the Committee in undertaking any reviews and significantly reduce the reduce the effectiveness of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee by not having an agreed work programme in place. This is not recommended.

3.4     Option 4 – Do nothing. Failing to identify a work programme and items for review is not recommended and this would significantly reduce the effectiveness of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. This is not recommended.

4.        PREFERRED OPTION AND REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS

4.1    See point 3.1 above.

5.       RISK

5.1    The main risk associated with Work Programming is that the Committee chooses too many large review topics and is unable to conduct detailed reviews in a timely and productive manner. This would impact the Committee’s ability to flexibly respond to ad hoc issues, such as call-in requests and unexpected events and would likely prevent one-off reviews from taking place. This risk can be mitigated by the Committee having this in mind when choosing options for its work programme. For example, if two large review topics were chosen, the first would be completed before the second commenced. One-off reviews could take place as required in between the larger reviews.

6.       CONSULTATION RESULTS AND PREVIOUS COMMITTEE FEEDBACK

6.1     The Committee previously considered its work programme at the 21 June 2022 meeting. This report is a continuation of that process.

7.       NEXT STEPS: COMMUNICATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DECISION

7.1     Once the items for inclusion and associated prioritisation are agreed, the Committee can begin its review work. This will include contacting the relevant consultees as part of the process as required.

7.2     Prior to each review, the Chairman and Vice-Chair will be approached to give direction on the number and content of the questions for evidence collection. The Committee Members will then be informed.  

8.        REPORT APPENDICES

The following documents are to be published with this report and form part of the report:

·         Appendix 1A: Safety and Enforcement Scope    

·         Appendix 1B: Water Management Cycle Scope

·         Appendix 1C: The Council’s Performance in relation to Waste Strategy Scope

·         Appendix 1D: Health Inequality Scope

9.        BACKGROUND PAPERS

(Agenda Pack) Overview and Scrutiny Committee Meeting held on 21 June 2022:

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