Agenda and decisions

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.

There were no apologies for absence received.  

To take as read and approve as a true record the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on the 18 June and 2 July 2024.

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meetings of the Committee held on 18 June and 2 July 2024 be approved as a true record of 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.

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 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 for the purposes of clarification clause 4.8.23(a) of the Constitution does not apply to this meeting.

(4)   The Chair advised Members of the ongoing Community Governance Review survey which was being conducted to look at parish arrangements. The survey was open until the 7 October 2024 and posters had been provided to Members to distribute in their wards.

To receive petitions, comments and questions from the public.

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.

No urgent or general exception items were received.

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 called-in items.

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 by Members.

REPORT OF THE SERVICE DIRECTOR – PLACE

To consider the key findings and observations from the Community Survey Round Two results (March - May 2024).

RESOLVED: That Committee commented on and noted the key findings and observations from round two of the Community Survey and commented on the approach to future surveys (as detailed in section 8.7.2).

RECOMMENDED TO CABINET: That Cabinet consider the recommendations and comments from Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

REASONS FOR DECISION: To ensure that Overview and Scrutiny and Cabinet are aware of the round two results of our digital Community Survey and how they compare to both our round one (2023) results and the Local Government Association (LGA) February 2024 Resident Satisfaction phone survey results.

REPORT OF THE POLICY AND COMMUNITIES MANAGER

This report proposes a new Council Plan and process for finalising the Plan. This is the plain-text version. Once the content is approved, the plan will be designed and formatted.

RECOMMENDED TO CABINET:

(1)   That Cabinet reviews and recommends the approval of the Council Plan to Full Council (Appendix A) with the four new Council Priorities as outlined below:

·       Thriving Communities

·       Accessible Services

·       Responsible Growth

·       Sustainability

(2)   Delegate authority to the Managing Director and Leader of the Council to approve any minor amendments to wording required as a result of the design process.

REASON FOR RECOMMENDATION: The Council Plan is a key element of the corporate business planning process, as a high level strategic document it sets out the Council’s Priorities for the next four years. As an overarching policy framework document, it guides and influences the use of Council resources; providing a focus for activities, plans, and services that the Council provide. The introduction to the plan highlights the link between the Council Plan and the Medium Term Financial Strategy and service delivery plans.

REPORT OF THE SERVICE DIRECTOR – RESOURCES

This report presents progress on delivering the Council Delivery Plan for 2024-25. This is a Quarter 1 update, but reflects progress up to the point that this report was prepared.

RESOLVED:

(1)   That Overview and Scrutiny Committee commented on the Council Delivery Plan Quarter 1 monitoring report, including the recommendations made to Cabinet.

(2)   That Overview and Scrutiny Committee determined any project that they want to receive more detail on as part of the next monitoring report.

RECOMMENDED TO CABINET: That Cabinet notes the progress against Council projects as set out in the Council Delivery Plan (Appendix A) including the new milestones that have been set for the current year.

REASON FOR RECOMMENDATION: 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.

REPORT OF THE SERVICE DIRECTOR – PLACE

This report refers to the End Project Report and lessons learnt for the Leisure Management Contract Procurement Project.

RESOLVED: That Overview and Scrutiny Committee commented on and noted the Leisure Management Contract Procurement End Project Report.

REASON FOR DECISION: To enable Overview and Scrutiny to consider lessons learned from the major procurement project.

REPORT OF THE SERVICE DIRECTOR – LEGAL AND COMMUNITY

To consider the Annual Safeguarding Report 2023-2024.

RESOLVED:

(1)   Received and commented on the annual report of progress made against the Council’s fulfilment of the statutory duty to maintain an effective safeguarding function regarding children, adults with care and support needs, modern slavery, Prevent and domestic abuse.

(2)   Noted the SIAS Audit Action Plan tracker (Appendix A).

(3)   Agreed that sufficient and robust processes were in place at the Council for application and review of safeguarding processes, and that an annual review and presentation to this committee should continue.

REASON FOR DECISIONS: The recommendations made, contained within paragraphs 2.1 to 2.3, are the best course of action that can be accommodated within the approved budget and officer resources, that will fulfil our statutory and lawful obligations but also ensure that a regular, corporate review exists.

REPORT OF THE SCRUTINY OFFICER

This report highlights items scheduled in the work programme of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for the 2024-25 civic year. It also includes items that have not yet been assigned to a specific meeting of the Committee.

RESOLVED:

(1)   That the Committee prioritised 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 at Appendix B, suggested a list of items to be considered at its meetings in the coming civic year.

(3)   That the Corporate Peer Challenge Action Plan as attached at Appendix C was considered.

REASONS FOR DECISIONS:

(1)   To allow the Committee to set a work programme which provides focused Member oversight, encourages open debate and seeks to achieve service improvement through effective policy development and meaningful policy and service change.

(2)   The need to observe Constitutional requirements and monitor the Forward Plan for appropriate items to scrutinise remains a key aspect of work programming.

RESOLVED: That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee adopted the Scrutiny Charter for Scrutiny at North Herts Council, attached as Appendix A.

REASON FOR DECISION: To ensure that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee members have a clearly defined purpose, objectives, and expectations of Scrutiny at North Herts Council.

RESOLVED: That the report entitled ‘Decisions and Monitoring Tracker’ 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.