Agenda item - OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE WORK PROGRAMME

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 Task and Finish Group on the Waste Contract continue to be undertaken, but consideration be given to timing in light of Covid 19 and the need to engage with the community.

(2) That the Committee, Member and Scrutiny Manager be requested to prepare a proposed Protocol on Task and Finish Reviews, taking into account research and the Peer Challenge report and that it be presented to the Committee as soon as is practicable.

(3) That the scope of the proposed Task and Finish Group on communication in relation to the Waste Contract be widened to encompass Communication and Engagement generally.

(4) That the following outside organisations be requested to attend a future meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee or a Task and Finish Group:

· Local Enterprise Partnership

· Settle

(5) That the Deputy Chief Executive be requested to make a presentation or present a report to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee regarding the Council’s plan for recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic including views on the new normal regarding delivery of services.

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 – 12 minutes 54 seconds

The Committee, Member and Scrutiny Manager presented the report entitled Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme together with the following appendices:

· Appendix A - Work Programme;

· Appendix B - Forward Plan - 8 June 2020.

She drew attention to the following:

Paragraph 8.1 – Work Programme

· The Annual Report did not go to Annual Council this year;

· A draft of the Annual Report would be presented to the next meeting for the Committee to consider;

· The Chair had requested that this report be presented to Council, although at this time it wasn’t clear which meeting it would be presented to.

Paragraph 8.2 – Forward Plan

· The Committee may like to consider the Forward Plan to identify any items they would wish to examine.

Paragraph 8.5 – Hitchin Town Hall Closure Report

· As stated in the Resolutions report this was published as part of the March Agenda as Appendix B to Q3 Update on Projects supporting the Corporate Plan.

· Although the meeting was cancelled, all Members saw the agenda and had the opportunity to comment on it through the consultation that took place.

Paragraph 8.5 – 8.12 – Task and Finish Groups regarding the Waste Contract

· Due to Covid-19 situation and the pressure for officers relating to this, officers had not yet managed to allocate time to drawing up draft scoping documents.

· This type of review would require evidence being gathered from many people and organisations from various areas including canvassing Members of the public and some thought should be given as to how this could be achieved in the current circumstances or whether the review should be postponed.

Paragraph 8,13 – Task and Finish Protocol

· The current Protocol for Task and Finish Groups was agreed in 2016 and since this time the Committee had opted to undertake Task and Finish Group Reviews using different methods and receiving reports in different ways, meaning that the protocol had not been adhered to by the Committee.

· It seemed sensible to await the outcome of the Peer Challenge, in case this had an impact on how the Committee would wish future Task and Finish Groups to be undertaken.

· A revised protocol would be drawn up and presented to the Committee for consideration as soon as is practicable.

The following Members took part in the debate:

· Councillor David Levett;

· Councillor Claire Strong;

· Councillor Kate Aspinwall;

· Councillor Sam Collins;

· Councillor Tony Hunter.

The debate included:

That the Peer Review had recommended that the Committee engage more with outside organisations and that the Local Enterprise Partnership and settle should be invited either to a future meeting or a Task and Finish Group

Following detailed discussion as to whether to continue, postpone or cancel the task and finish Group on the Waste Contract, the consensus was that this should remain on the work programme but, due to the challenge of undertaking engagement with the public and organisations, thought must be given to how this could be achieved effectively at this time.

That the proposed Task and Finish Group on Communication regarding the Waste Contract should be widened to include communication and engagement generally.

Members requested that information regarding the Council’s plan for recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic including views on the new normal regarding delivery of services be presented to the Committee.

Members commented that attendance at meetings had improved since remote meetings had been in place and suggested that remote meetings should remain in place permanently

The Service Director – Legal and Community advised that the change of law that allowed remote meetings was currently only in place until 7 May 2021.