Issue - meetings

The Chairman agreed that this matter be raised as an urgent item at the meeting as a decision on this matter could not wait until the next meeting of the Board.

The Head of Legal, Equalities and Democratic Services informed the Board that at the full Council meeting held on 20th July 2011, under the Leader’s announcements, he had indicated that he wished the Overview and Scrutiny Board to undertake a scrutiny exercise into the issues that have arisen at the Marlbrook Tip.  The Head of Legal, Equalities and Democratic Services provided background information on the and advised the Board that from a Monitoring Officer’s point of view, this was a regulatory issue and would not come under the legislation which covered the role of the Overview and Scrutiny Board.  However, she indicated that Members might wish to consider whether it would be more appropriate for the Chief Executive to ask the internal audit team to carry out a formal investigation of the matter before making the findings of that enquiry public.  The Board discussed the following areas in more detail:

• Areas which the Overview and Scrutiny Board could investigate once an internal investigation had been carried out, on the basis that it would be possible for the Board to consider any matters in relation to planning policy that may emerge as an investigation finding.
• The circumstances surrounding the issues at Marlbrook Tip and the current regulatory status.

RECOMMENDED that the matter be referred back to the Leader requesting that he speak to the Chief Executive to make arrangements for a full investigation into the Marlbrook Tip to be carried out by the appropriate audit/investigation team and that the results of that investigation be made public.