Agenda, decisions and minutes

Members are required to notify any substitutions by midday on the day of the meeting.

Late substitutions will not be accepted and Members attending as a substitute without having given the due notice will not be able to take part in the meeting.

No apologies for absence were received from Councillors.

Having given due notice Councillor Lisa Nash would fill in for the Liberal Democrat vacancy for this meeting.

Audio recording – 2 minutes 20 seconds

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Ian Moody.

Having given due notice Councillor Lisa Nash would fill in for the Liberal Democrat vacancy for this meeting.

To take as read and approve as a true record the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on the 9 March 2023.

RESOLVED:That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 9 March 2023 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chair.

Audio Recording – 2 minutes 47 seconds

Councillor Adam Compton, as Chair, proposed and Councillor Val Bryant seconded and, following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED:That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 9 March 2023 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chair.

Members should notify the Chair of other business which they wish to be discussed at the end of either Part I or Part II business set out in the agenda. They must state the circumstances which they consider justify the business being considered as a matter of urgency.

The Chair will decide whether any item(s) raised will be considered.

There was no other business notified.

Audio recording – 3 minutes 45 minutes

There was no other business notified.

Members are reminded that any declarations of interest in respect of any business set out in the agenda, should be declared as either a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest or Declarable Interest and are required to notify the Chair of the nature of any interest declared at the commencement of the relevant item on the agenda.  Members declaring a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest must withdraw from the meeting for the duration of the item. Members declaring a Declarable Interest, wishing to exercise a ‘Councillor Speaking Right’, must declare this at the same time as the interest, move to the public area before speaking to the item and then must leave the room before the debate and vote.

(1)   The Chair advised that, in accordance with Council Policy, the meeting would be audio recorded;

(2)   The Chair drew attention to the item on the agenda front pages regarding Declarations of Interest and reminded Members that, in line with the Code of Conduct, any Declarations of Interest needed to be declared immediately prior to the item in question.

(3)   The Chair advised that section 4.8.23(a) applied to this meeting.

Audio recording – 3 minutes 53 seconds

(1)   The Chair advised that, in accordance with Council Policy, the meeting would be audio recorded;

(2)   The Chair drew attention to the item on the agenda front pages regarding Declarations of Interest and reminded Members that, in line with the Code of Conduct, any Declarations of Interest needed to be declared immediately prior to the item in question.

(3)   The Chair advised that section 4.8.23(a) of the Constitution applied to this meeting.

To receive petitions, comments and questions from the public.

There was no public participation at this meeting.

Audio recording – 4 minutes 39 seconds

There was no public participation at this meeting.

The Chair to report on any urgent or general exception items which required their agreement. At the time of printing the agenda, the Chair had not agreed any urgent or general exception items.

The Chair advised that he had been informed of one item under the Urgent Proceedings regarding the Local Authority Housing Fund Round Two.

Audio recording – 4 minutes 45 seconds

The Chair advised that he had been informed of one item under the Urgent Proceedings regarding the Local Authority Housing Fund Round Two.

To consider any matters referred to the Committee for a decision in relation to a call-in of decision. At the time of printing the agenda, no items of business had been called-in.

There have been no items called-in by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Audio recording – 5 minutes 11 seconds

No items had been called in.

To receive and respond to any questions from Members either set out in the agenda or tabled at the meeting.

No questions had been submitted.

Audio recording – 5 minutes 17 seconds

No questions from Members have been submitted.

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE, MEMBER AND SCRUTINY MANAGER

To consider the outcome of Overview and Scrutiny Committee resolutions.

RESOLVED: That the report entitled Resolutions of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee was noted.

REASON FOR DECISION: To enable the overview and Scrutiny Committee to review and comment on actions and feedback received regarding resolutions previously made.

Audio recording – 5 minutes 22 seconds

The Committee, Member and Scrutiny Manager presented the report entitled Resolutions of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and drew attention to the following that:

·       The Task and Finish Group on Community Engagement was still ongoing, Group Leaders would be emailed asking for nominations.

·       The Draft Sustainability SPD was still in progress

·       The Peer report had been removed as requested at the previous meeting and the new Peer Review was being presented for consideration at this meeting.

·       Further details on the Tourism strategy and Town Centre Recovery strategy would be provided in the Q4 Update on the Council Delivery Plan.

The Chair advised any Members wanting to take part in the Task and Finish group to contact their Group Leader.

Councillor Adam Compton, as Chair, proposed and Councillor Val Bryant seconded and, following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED: That the report entitled Resolutions of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee was noted.

REASON FOR DECISION: To enable the overview and Scrutiny Committee to review and comment on actions and feedback received regarding resolutions previously made.

REPORT OF THE CHAIR OF THE OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE 2022-2023

To consider and comment on the Annual Report of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee 2022-2023, prior to consideration by Council.

RESOLVED: That the Committee considered and commented on the Annual Report of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee 2022/2023 as attached at Appendix A prior to consideration by Council.

REASON FOR DECISION: To enable the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to consider and comment on the report of the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee regarding the work of the Committee in the 2022/2023 Civic Year prior to consideration by Council.

Audio recording – 7 minutes 57 seconds

The Committee, Member and Scrutiny Manager presented the report entitled ‘Annual Report of Overview and Scrutiny 2022/23’ and drew attention to the following that:

·       This was presented at the last meeting with the decision taken to make some changes to the O&S procedures and agendas and for the Committee to review the report prior to going to full Council.

·       The report is compiled from information at meetings of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in 2022/23 and highlighted the following statistics, attendance at meetings, how many referrals were made and how many people viewed the YouTube channel.

·       The report was waiting for a foreword from the former Chair, Councillor David Levett, with the intention of being presented to Council on 13 July.

In response to a question from Councillor Matt Barnes, the Committee, Member and Scrutiny Manager stated the number of items adopted and their details could be found on Mod Gov and would be provided at a later date.

Councillor David Levett proposed, and Councillor Ralph Muncer seconded and, following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED: That the Committee considered and commented on the Annual Report of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee 2022/2023 as attached at Appendix A prior to consideration by Council.

REASON FOR DECISION: To enable the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to consider and comment on the report of the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee regarding the work of the Committee in the 2022/2023 Civic Year prior to consideration by Council.

REPORT OF THE CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER

To provide an update on the full year (22-23) performance of Comments, Compliments and Complaints.

The Information Note entitled ‘3Cs Full Year Update 22-23’ was presented by the Customer Service Manager.

Audio recording 11 minutes 46 seconds

The Information Note entitled ‘3Cs Full Year Update 22-23’ was presented by the Customer Service Manager who highlighted that:

·       The Information Note provided an update on the full year 2022-23 regarding the comments compliments and complaints, which included contractors.

·       Appendix A showed the dashboard of 3Cs and Appendix B highlighted this information by service area and type.

·       Compliments and complaints received by the Council had decreased since last year.

·       Comments remained the same as last year.

·       77% of complaint were resolved within the 10-day timescale, slightly under the target of 80%, 6 out of the 12 months were above the 80% target.

·       Planning Control had the most complaints, but the number had decreased by 48% on last year.

·       Percentage of interactions/collections/visitors resulting in a complaint remained at less than 1 %.

·       172 compliments were received directly to the Council.

·       LGO received 13 complaints across a range of service areas, five were upheld, however two of these had already been remedied by the Council.

The following Member asked questions:

·       Councillor Ralph Muncer

·       Councillor Clair Billing

·       Councillor Matt Barnes

·       Councillor David Levett

·       Councillor Adam Compton

In response the Customer Service Manager stated that:

·       Upheld LGO complaints and previous years LGO upheld information would be provided at a later date.

·       Urbaser collected their own information every quarter, and that information is then incorporated into our database.

·       The majority of customers telephoned Urbaser and they compiled a spreadsheet of issues for the Council.

·       The Customer Service Manager shared this information with other Councils and a comparison could be provided at a later date.

·       Urbaser had 105 complaints in the full year, 14 of which occurred in May 2022 and the reasons varied.

·       Numbers of complaints directed towards Settle would be provided.

RESOLVED: That the Committee noted the 3C’s full year update 2022-23

REPORT OF THE COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER

An update on the North Herts Place Narrative.

RECOMMENDED TO CABINET: That Cabinet approves the North Herts Place Narrative.

REASONS FOR REFERRAL:

(1)   Despite being a district since 1974, North Hertfordshire has no clear identity and needs a point of differentiation within the county. This will help North Herts stand out as the place to invest, live, visit and work in Hertfordshire.

(2)   Currently, the Council and its partners are all telling different stories about North Herts which leads to fragmented communications. A joined up and coherent approach in the future will have greater impact, generate greater engagement and raise the profile of North Herts the place.

Audio recording – 20 minutes 3 seconds.

Councillor Elizabeth Dennis presented the report entitled ‘North Herts Place Narrative’ including that:

·       It is often remarked that there is no such place as North Herts, but from engagement with residents, businesses and those who work in the district it was clear there were things that tied people together. 

·       The Narrative compiled the different views and interpretations of the district and place so there was one message to promote to industries, as well as promoting North Herts as a place to move, live and engage to drive the local economy.

·       The Narrative focussed on the people, culture and businesses that makes North Herts a unique place, consisting of a logo, a strapline and passage of copy.

·       It was based on research completed by a partner Council and had been completed at no cost to North Herts Council with funding and support provided by the Local Government Association.

·       The Narrative put people at the centre and was aligned to the priorities of the Council, including the People First priority.

·       Bold colours were used for the logo and strapline and these deliberately avoided traditional political colours or those of the Council branding, to ensure that it was about the place North Herts, not North Herts Council.

·       It showcased what made North Herts a unique place, including our local artists, writers, businesses, residents and greenspaces, and would be key in recovery of town centres and the local economy.

·       It would assist in drawing people into the area, retaining the existing economy, growing local skills, and investing in people.

·       The project would be the responsibly of the Communication team to embed the Narrative and initially this would have minimal costs, though more ambitious strategies may be considered alongside partners.

·       The Narrative was about evolution not revolution and selling North Herts as a place that exists which is vibrant and unique.

The following Members asked questions:

·       Councillor Adam Compton

·       Councillor Matt Barnes

·       Councillor David Levett

·       Councillor Ralph Muncer

·       Councillor Nigel Mason

·       Councillor Clare Billing

·       Councillor Dominic Griffiths

In response to questions, Councillor Elizabeth Dennis clarified that:

·       The Narrative could be used when considering other policies and strategies of the Council, such as the climate strategy or town centre recovery, to make North Herts a better place.

·       The Herts Growth Board has a workstream looking into town centre regeneration, including understanding and creating place narratives. The progress has been slow and a number of districts and boroughs, including North Herts, have therefore undertaken their own work.

·       The comments from Leaders and Chief Executive were based on perception of place, which still had a role in contributing to the Narrative, but Members needed to be mindful of this.

In response to questions the Communications Manager clarified that:

·       Royston BID were unavailable when the research was completed but they now have a new manager in place, who would be consulted on the work before rollout. However local Councillors had been involved, as well as representatives from creative and arts groups in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 217.

REPORT OF THE SERVICE DIRECTOR – LEGAL & COMMUNITY

In 2020 the LGA Corporate Peer Challenge (CPC) undertook a review, the review report and Action Plan were agreed through Cabinet on 24 March 2020 and 23 June 2020, respectively.

A follow up review was undertaken by (different) LGA CPC Peers during 2022 and a further LGA Peer Committee Support report was issued in January 2023 (Appendix A). This concentrated on the Overview & Scrutiny and Finance, Audit and Risk Committees and a number of further recommendations have been made. These have been separated out into the Action Plan (Appendix B) with response and proposed actions for the Committees consideration and recommendations to Cabinet.

RESOLVED: That the content of the CPC report was noted.

RECOMMENDED TO CABINET:

(1)   That the draft Action Plan at Appendix A be considered, and proposed action be recommended to Cabinet for approval (as per Appendix A*).

(2)   That, in the absence of timescales, that it be recommended to Cabinet, that these be set by the Leader, Deputy Leader and Managing Director (in consultation with relevant Committee Chairs and Vice Chairs).

REASONS FOR REFERRAL: To ensure that the Council responds to the matters identified within the CPC report, ensuring that the benefits of the CPC process are realised.

*N.B. Appendix A should read Appendix B.

Audio recording – 46 minutes and 1 second

Councillor Elizabeth Dennis presented the report entitled ‘Corporate Peer Challenge Report and Action Plan’ and highlighted:

·       The LGA 2020 Peer Review looked at North Herts Council and provided an action plan that was agreed by Cabinet in March 2020. A follow up review took place in 2022, with a focus on Overview and Scrutiny and Finance, Audit and Risk Committees and how these could be improved.

·       A number of recommendations were produced from this review, which are detailed in the Action Plan, and Members were asked to consider these actions and whether they were appropriate.

·       Any timescales that are not set would be agreed by the Managing Director, Leader and Deputy Leader consulting the relevant Committee Chairs and Vice Chairs.

The following Members asked questions:

·       Councillor Ralph Muncer

·       Councillor Matt Barnes

In response to a question from Councillor Ralph Muncer, the Service Director - Legal and Community advised that the Scrutiny Officer role was discussed with Group Leaders, and although a full time role would be ideal, the 17 hour role reflected the funding available. This could be reviewed following the recruitment process and when an Officer was in place.

In response to a question from Councillor Matt Barnes, Councillor David Levett, as former Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, confirmed that the Action Plan was a fair reflection of what was required, especially a dedicated Scrutiny Officer, however he noted that this had been difficult due to resources, recruitment and staff turnover.

The Chair made the following comments:

·       Overview and Scrutiny Members had not previously been reviewing the Forward Plan and therefore it was often left for Officers to decide what items to include on agendas.

·       Debate at meetings had previously been limited.

·       A pre-agenda meeting had been set up with Officers and the Chair and Vice Chair to discuss topics before publication of agenda.

·       The Scrutiny Officer role would assist with ensuring agendas were shorter and more focussed.

Councillor David Levett noted that the discussion on this item had been one of the most in-depth at the Committee and this was thanks to the new Members on the Committee who had contributed.

The following Members took part in debate:

·       Councillor Ralph Muncer

·       Councillor Matt Barnes

·       Councillor Val Bryant

·       Councillor Clare Billing

Points raised during the debate included:

·       The Action Plan proposed was fair and followed the best practices of the LGA peer report.

·       Without the Scrutiny Officer role in place, it was difficult to set timescales for the actions.

·       Taking relevant actions from the plan should be a priority, and operational before May 2024.

·       Requested that a progress report be provided at the next meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Councillor Adam Compton, as Chair, proposed and Councillor Val Bryant seconded, and following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED: That the content of the CPC report was noted.

RECOMMENDED TO CABINET:

(1)   That the draft Action Plan at Appendix A be considered, and proposed action be recommended to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 218.

REPORT OF THE SERVICE DIRECTOR- RESOURCES

An update on the projects, risks and performance indicators linked to delivery of the Council Plan for 22-23

RESOLVED: That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee determined projects that they wanted to receive more details on as part of the next monitoring report, including the resourcing issues the Council was facing.

RECOMMENDED TO CABINET:

(1)   That Cabinet notes the progress against Council projects as set out in the Council Delivery Plan (Appendix A) including new milestones, deleted milestones, and changes to milestone dates and risks.

(2)   That Cabinet notes the deletion of projects outlined in 8.6, to be replaced by new projects in 2023-24.

(3)   That Cabinet notes the completion in Q4 of the Museum and HTH recovery, Customer Portal, Full review of the Council Tax Reduction Scheme, and Green Space Management Strategy Projects.

(4)   That Cabinet notes the reduction in the Town Centre Recovery risk score from a 3 to a risk score of 2.

REASONS FOR REFERRAL: The Council Delivery Plan (CDP) monitoring reports provide Overview and Scrutiny, and Cabinet, with an opportunity to monitor progress against the key Council projects, and understand any new issues, risks, or opportunities.

Audio recording 1 hour 2 minutes 50 seconds

The Controls Risk and Performance Manager presented the report entitled ’Q4 update on the Council Action Plan 2022-23’ and highlighted that:

·       The report detailed project risks and performance indicators, as well as a high-level overview of progress made on projects in the Council Delivery Plan.

·       Members can request more details of specific projects to be reported to the Committee and are able to log into view projects on Pentana. 

·       Projects moving to the 2023-24 Action Plan are highlighted in grey in Appendix A, with new milestones and dates.

·       Paragraph 8.5 of the report highlighted the four projects have been completed in this period.

·       Paragraph 8.6 of the report detailed the projects that will no longer be included in the report.

·       The Boundary Review report has now been received the project will be marked as complete and removed from future monitoring reports.

·       The further details requested on the Town Centre Recovery and the Tourism Strategy requested at the last meeting can be found in Appendix B at 8.9 of the report.

·       The proposed milestones changes are required to be signed off by Cabinet and are highlighted in yellow.

·       The Town Centre Recovery plan had moved from a risk factor of 3 to 2 following a review of the risks.

·       The risk performers indicators for Q4 show 6 Green, 1 Amber and 2 Red as highlighted in blue in the report.

The following Members asked questions:

·       Councillor Matt Barnes

·       Councillor Ralph Muncer

In response to questions the Controls Risk and Performance Manager stated that:

·       The projects identified for inclusions on the Council Plan are set out by the Leadership team and Cabinet and monitored by O&S.

·       Where the milestones have slipped, sometime this is due to resourcing, and an overarching resourcing risk has now been added to projects which is shown in Appendix A.

·       An update on the EV Charging project and delivery dates can be provided outside of this meeting.

·       There were no quality bids for the Royston Solar Thermal procurement, a feasibility report has been requested so it can be reviewed, and a decision made as to whether to continue with the existing project or roll into a new project on the 2023-24 Council Delivery Plan.

·       HR and the Leadership team are looking into the resourcing issues and a more detailed report on resourcing risk could be highlighted at the next O&S meeting.

In response to questions the Service Director – Enterprise stated that a budget had been set regarding the Churchgate project and a consultant had been appointed, with a review scheduled by the July Project Board.

The Chair stated that he would look to prioritise projects for consideration on the agenda from the Council Delivery Plan for future meetings.

Councillor Adam Compton, as Chair, proposed and Councillor Val Bryant seconded, and following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED: That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee determined projects that they wanted to receive more details on as part of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 219.

REPORT OF THE SHARED SERVICE MANAGER

A report on the Waste Shared Service - Client team and Corporate Support Arrangements.

RESOLVED: That the draft timeline for transition for customer service provision outlined at 8.7 in the report was noted.

RECOMMENDED TO CABINET:

(1)   That each Council leads on their own customer service provision with one set of processes for customer interactions being developed and agreed with a focus on resolution at the first point of contact.

(2)   That Cabinet agrees, the proposed updates and changes to financial management and governance arrangements and subsequent necessary changes to the Inter Authority Agreement outlined in Section 8.

(3)   That Cabinet agrees to the updated waste service policy statements contained in Appendix 2 to come into force from May 2025.

REASONS FOR REFFERAL: To ensure the effective and efficient administration of the shared waste service.

Audio recording 1 hour 17 minutes 39 seconds

Councillor Amy Allen presented the report entitled ‘Waste Shared Service: Client Team and Corporate Support Arrangements’ highlighting:

·       That this report related to the support and governance for the new waste, recycling and street cleansing contract.

·       This new contract would allow residents to get a consistent service across East and North Herts.

·       Each Council would lead their own Customer Services team.

·       North Herts would lead on expenditure management on behalf of both Councils, although each Council will remain in charge of their own income management.

·       The new service would come into effect in 2025.

·       As previously agreed at Cabinet, the Customer Services team will be managed by the in-house corporate team at each Council.

The following Members asked questions:

·       Councillor Clare Billing

·       Councillor Ralph Muncer

·       Councillor David Levett

In response to questions Councillor Allen stated that:

·       The contract would go live in May 2025.

·       Bin collections were moved to 6.30am and this was normal across other authorities to account for hotter weather.

·       Bigger bins will need to be replaced at the expense of the resident or Urbaser, depending on cause.

·       Food caddies and blue paper boxes were free to replace and could be requested online by residents and therefore are not referenced this is document.

In response to question the Shared Waste Service Managerstated that:

·       East Herts had considered, commented on, and agreed the recommendations at their Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the waste agreement.

·       The transition to a new payment system with online integration was a big project, and consideration had been given to Plan B scenarios but believed there is enough time to get the resources in place for a seamless transition.

·       There would not be a joint waste committee, but the partnership would continue, with the only minor change being that the Executive Member for Finance would be invited to relevant meetings.

·       The legal implications were included on the Cabinet version of the report and confirmed how the governance arrangements would work alongside the Council Constitution.

·       Within the Street Cleansing Policy, rural areas referred to did not mean the villages, but rather rural roads where road closures may be required or where it could be incorporated into already existing schedules.

·       The 3-14 days stated did not mean that it would take 14 days for action, and it was normal for action to be taken before the 14-days.

Councillor Nigel Mason proposed, and Councillor Dominic Griffiths seconded and, following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED: That the draft timeline for transition for customer service provision outlined at 8.7 in the report was noted.

RECOMMENDED TO CABINET:

(1)   That each Council leads on their own customer service provision with one set of processes for customer interactions being developed and agreed with a focus on resolution at the first point of contact.

(2)   That Cabinet agrees, the proposed updates and changes to financial management and governance arrangements and subsequent necessary changes to the Inter Authority Agreement outlined in Section 8.

(3)   That  ...  view the full minutes text for item 220.

To consider passing the following resolution:

That under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the Press and Public be excluded from the meeting on the grounds that the following report will involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the said Act (as amended).

B

RESOLVED: That under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the Press and Public be excluded from the meeting on the grounds that the following report will involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the said Act (as amended).

Audio recording – 1 hour 33 minutes and 27 seconds

Councillor Adam Compton, as Chair, proposed and Councillor Val Bryant seconded and, following a vote, it was

RESOLVED: That under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the Press and Public be excluded from the meeting on the grounds that the following report will involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the said Act (as amended).

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE, MEMBER AND SCRUTINY MANAGER

To consider the issues that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee plans to review at future meetings and the activities of its sub-groups.

RESOLVED:

(1)   That the Committee prioritises proposed topics for inclusion in the work programme attached as Appendix A and, where appropriate, determines the high level form and timing of scrutiny input.

(2)   That the Committee, having considered the most recent iteration of the Forward Plan, as attached as Appendix B, suggests a list of items to be considered at its meetings in the coming civic year.

REASON FOR DECISION: To allow the Committee to set a work programme which provides focussed Member oversight, encourages open debate and seeks to achieve service improvement through effective policy development and meaningful policy and service change.

Audio recording – 1 hour 49 minutes and 50 seconds

The Committee, Member and Scrutiny Manager presented the report entitled ‘Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme’ and drew attention to the following:

·       The supplementary document showed the 2023 -2024 Work Programme, the report cycle had been discussed with the Chair, Vice Chair, and Officers.

·       Any member of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee could request an agenda item for consideration.

·       Crime and Disorder matters would be discussed at the January meeting and Members were requested to suggest discussion topics so that relevant presenters could be found.

·       The standard Enterprise Update would be removed and focused on specific projects that would be added to the Work Programme.

·       The LGA Peer Report action plan could be added to the Work Programme item to review and monitor the progression.

The Chair stated that future agendas would be reduced so that the Committee could scrutinise more efficiently and invited the Members to suggest future items.

The following Member took part in the discussion:

·       Councillor Clare Billing

·       Councillor Val Bryant

·       Councillor Matt Barnes

Points of discussion were:

·       Issues of staff safety and abusive telephone calls.

·       The implementation of the new Leisure Contract.

·       Draft Sustainability SPD report.

In response, Councillor Compton as Chair stated that:

·       Safeguarding was on the September agenda, and a request would be made to include staff safety.

·       The implementation of the new Leisure Contract would be added.

In response to the discussion, the Committee Member and Scrutiny Manager stated that the Draft Sustainability was already on the work plan as part of the Local Plan.

Councillor Adam Compton as Chair proposed, and Councillor Val Bryant seconded and, following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED:

(1)   That the Committee prioritises proposed topics for inclusion in the work programme attached as Appendix A and, where appropriate, determines the high level form and timing of scrutiny input.

(2)   That the Committee, having considered the most recent iteration of the Forward Plan, as attached as Appendix B, suggests a list of items to be considered at its meetings in the coming civic year.

REASON FOR DECISION: To allow the Committee to set a work programme which provides focussed Member oversight, encourages open debate and seeks to achieve service improvement through effective policy development and meaningful policy and service change.