Issue - meetings

Forward Plan of Key Decisions

Meeting: 27/03/2017 - Overview and Scrutiny Board (Item 109)

Minutes:

The Board considered the content of the Cabinet Leader’s Work Programme for the period 1st April to 31st July 2017.

A number of concerns were raised by Members during consideration of the Cabinet Leader’s Work Programme:

· The majority of the items listed on the Cabinet Leader’s Work Programme were scheduled for the consideration of Cabinet in April 2017.

· As many of these items appeared to have been added since the last meeting of the Board there had been limited notice provided to enable Members to identify items that might have been suitable for pre-decision scrutiny.

· Unfortunately some items on the Cabinet Leader’s Work Programme had been postponed for consideration, sometimes multiple times, which made it difficult to determine when the Board might undertake pre-decision scrutiny.

· Questions were also as to whether the proposed timing for consideration of items was realistic in all cases. For example Members suggested that the Alvechurch Parish Neighbourhood Plan would probably not be ready for consideration by the Cabinet in April 2017.

· Members suggested that Heads of Service needed to take more responsibility for items on the Cabinet Leader’s Work Programme and to improve forward planning arrangements.

· There was a risk that the Board might need to resort to calling in important items which had been added to the Cabinet Leader’s Work Programme with limited notice, particularly key decisions.

· Such an outcome would not be ideal as it could delay the implementation of decisions. Members therefore suggested that updating the Cabinet Leader’s Work Programme so as to enable more pre-decision scrutiny would be preferable.

Members noted that the Burcot Lane Site Future Development, which had originally been scheduled for the consideration of Cabinet in April, had been postponed. The item remained on the Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme. However there was the possibility that an extra meeting of the Board would need to be scheduled to enable Members to pre-scrutinise the report.

RECOMMENDED that Cabinet Members work with senior Officers and Heads of Service to ensure that items are placed on the Cabinet Leader’s Work Programme in a timely manner so that the Overview and Scrutiny Board has the opportunity to identify items for pre-scrutiny.