Maidstone Borough Council

Regeneration and Economic Development

Overview & Scrutiny Committee

Tuesday 26 March 2012

Future Work Programme 2013-14 and Outcomes 2012/13

Report of: Clare Wood

1.      Introduction

1.1     The Committee are invited to consider items for the Overview and Scrutiny work programme 2013-2014 and consider the impact of the Committee’s work for 2012/13.

  2.      Recommendation

2.1     That the Committee suggests items for next year’s Overview and Scrutiny work programme.

2.2        The Overview and Scrutiny Committees will be meeting in May 2013 to agree their work programmes for the next municipal year.  At each Committee meeting Members will consider the work programme suggestions from officers, members of the public, Councillors and the 2011/12 Overview and Scrutiny Committees.

2.3        That the Committee reviews the outcomes its recommendations for 2012/13.

3.      Future Work Programme

3.1     Topics for the work programme must not include individual complaints or have been reviewed in the two years previously. Reviews carried out by Overview and Scrutiny in the last two municipal years have included:

·         Visitor Information Centre Review

·         Customer Service Gateway;

·         Rural Economy;

·         Neighborhood Action Planning;

·         Mental Health Services (joint with Tunbridge Wells);

·         Traffic Congestion; and

·         Waste and Recycling and the New Waste contract.

3.2    The Committee could choose not to consider items for 2013-14 however this would mean that a valuable opportunity to suggest items from experienced scrutiny members would be lost.

3.3    When the Regeneration and Economic Development Overview and Scrutiny Committee met in May 2012 to discuss its work programme it was agreed that a review of the Visitor Information Centre would be the Committees main review topic with the Planning process as a reserve topic.

4.      Scrutiny Outcomes

4.1     Excluding reports that the Committee noted without any additional recommendations and actions arising from discussions on the Committee’s review topic, the Visitor Information Centre, a total of 17 recommendations were made by the Committee during 2012/13.

4.2     In relation to recommendations from the Committee the deadline for responding has not yet passed for seven recommendations. Of the remaining ten, seven were accepted (70%). Four of these related to the High Street Regeneration Project, one to consultation on the Core Strategy and Integrated Transport Strategy, one related to empty homes and the final one was on the Call for Evidence on Local Growth. All of these responses are available at Appendix A.

4.3     The Joint Regeneration & Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee met this year to consider the proposals for a public gypsy and traveller site. They made four recommendations around this topic over two meetings. All the recommendations were accepted (Responses at Appendix B).

5.      Impact on Corporate Objectives

5.1        The Committee will consider, as part of the formal work programme planning process, whether potential items meet the council’s corporate objectives.

5.2        The Strategic Plan sets the council’s key objectives for the medium term and has a range of objectives which support the delivery of the council’s priorities.  Actions to deliver these key objectives may therefore include work that the Committee will consider over the next year.