MAIDSTONE BOROUGH COUNCIL

Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Tuesday 3 September 2013

Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report 2012-13

Report prepared by Orla Sweeney, Overview & Scrutiny Officer

 1.     Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report 2012-13

1.1         The Maidstone Borough Council Constitution states “Overview and Scrutiny Committees may report annually to the full Council on their workings and make recommendations for future work programmes and amended working methods if appropriate” (Part One, Article 6:03(d)).

1.2         In the 2012-2013 Municipal Year there were three Overview and Scrutiny Committees; Corporate Services, Communities, and Regeneration and Economic Development.

2.      Recommendation

2.1        The Committee is recommended to agree the report subject to recommendations as appropriate to enable the report to be seen by full Council for approval.

2.2        In light of the recent Governance Review the Committee may wish to consider the structure and presentation of the Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report and makes recommendations to enable the document to be refreshed.  Members may wish to consider:

o   The length of the report;

o   The way in which topics and areas of investigation are currently presented;

o   Who the report should be written for? and

o   What information should be included?

3.      Reasons for Recommendation

3.1     The attached report (Appendix A) summarises the work of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees during 2012-13 and highlights key issues for 2013-14 and beyond.

3.2     Successful Scrutiny outcomes are governed by four principles:

• Ensures scrutiny provides ‘critical friend’ challenge to executive policy-makers;
• Enables the voice and concerns of the public and its communities;
• Makes an impact on the delivery of public services; and

o    Is carried out by independent minded          governors who take the lead and own the scrutiny process.    

4.      Impact on Corporate Objectives

4.1     The Committee will consider reports that deliver against the Council’s priorities.  The terms of reference of each Scrutiny Committee in 2012-13 were aligned to a priority and this structure has remained for the Municipal Year.

o   Regeneration and Economic Development Overview and Scrutiny - ‘For Maidstone to have a growing economy’;

o   Communities Overview and Scrutiny - ‘For Maidstone to be a decent place to live’; and

o   Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny - ‘Corporate and Customer Excellence’.