Agenda and minutes

A nomination for the position of Chairman was received in respect of Councillor P. M. McDonald. On being put to the vote, it was

RESOLVED that Councillor P. M. McDonald be appointed as Chairman of the Board for the ensuing municipal year.

A nomination for the position of Vice-Chairman was received in respect of Councillor S. T. Nock. On being put to the vote it was

RESOLVED that Councillor S. T. Nock be appointed as Vice Chairman of the Board for the ensuing municipal year.

There were no apologies for absence.

To invite Councillors to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Other Disclosable Interests they may have in items on the agenda, and to confirm the nature of those interests.

There were no declarations of interest nor of whipping arrangements.

The Board considered the report that detailed the outcomes of Overview and Scrutiny Training and Work Prioritisation Session. Members were invited to consider whether to add subjects suggested for scrutiny during the session to the Overview and Scrutiny Board’s Work Programme for 2024/25.

It was noted that in discussing work prioritisation for the year ahead, Members considered best practice approaches to setting the Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme, recognising the need to identify the key items for scrutiny during the municipal year and recognising the need for sufficient time to be allocated to each topic in a way that would add value.

At the training Members also recognised that there were alternative ways to receive information and that doing so, through a “first look” for some topics, would create capacity on the work programme. Subjects suggested, and agreed by Members, as suitable for a “first look” Member Briefing included:

·       The District Heat Network

·       Biodiversity

·       Street Sweeping.

It was noted that at the training session the following key subjects for scrutiny to focus on were suggested. Following discussion, it was agreed that these  should form the key subjects for Overview and Scrutiny to consider in 2024-25.

·       The Bromsgrove Play Audit – Members suggested the potential to discuss this over a number of meetings with an initial overview and scrutiny report at one meeting followed by a pre-scrutiny of a Cabinet report at another meeting.

·       Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) – Concerns were raised about ASB in the District. The suggestion was made that this could form the basis of a report to the Board alongside the separate annual update to the Board concerning the work of the North Worcestershire Community Safety Partnership in Bromsgrove. It was highlighted that whilst the legislation in respect of the partnership did not enable the work of individual partner organisations to be scrutinised, the Council’s representative on the West Mercia Police and Crime Panel could also be invited to attend the meeting when community safety and ASB was discussed, in order to assist with discussions concerning this subject.

·       Changes to Waste Services in response to the Environment Act 2021 – Members noted that proposals detailed in the Environmental Act 2021, especially with regard to food waste collection services, would have implications for the authority and the wider District. As such detailes scrutiny of this subject would therefore add value.

In discussing the addition of items arising from the Overview and Scrutiny Training and Work Prioritisation Session to the Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme for 2024/25, Members sought further details on the following areas:

·       Levelling Up Projects Update Reports – A Member commented that the greatest risk to the Council was with regard to the delivery of Levelling Up Projects in Bromsgrove and therefore this topic warranted inclusion as one of the key subjects for the Board to consider in 2024-25. The Member explained that the Overview and Scrutiny had not received an update on this topic for a significant period of time and that projects risk registers provided  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5/24

Members received a report asking for the chairman and members to be appointed to the Finance and Budget Working Group. It was noted that the Chairman of the Group had traditionally been the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Board. Members agreed that this arrangement should continue for 2024-25. It was explained that as per the terms of reference, the Working Group would comprise seven members – that is the Chairman of the Audit, Standards and Governance Committee and the five Overview and Scrutiny Members, in addition to the Chairman of Overview and Scrutiny Board.

The Board decided that for the time being the Finance and Budget Working Group would comprise only six members in total and elected members would be approached if it was subsequently felt this arrangement was not working.

A Member raised a query with regard to allowing substitutes on the Finance and Budget Working Group. Following discussion, the majority of Members felt that no substitutions should be allowed on the Working Group. It was also felt that Members would first discuss whether the quorum should remain at three before considering changes to the current terms of reference in this regard.

RESOLVED that

1)    Councillor P. M. McDonald be appointed Chairman of the Finance and Budget Working Group for the ensuing municipal year;

2)    As per the Working Group’s Terms of Reference, Councillor H. D. N. Rone-Clarke be appointed to serve on the Finance and Budget Working Group in his capacity as the Chairman of the Audit, Standards and Governance Committee;

3)    Councillors S. T. Nock, A. Bailes, R. Bailes, and S. A. Robinson be appointed to serve on the Finance and Budget Working Group;

4)    The Terms of Reference for the Finance and Budget Working be approved, including the provision that substitutes are not allowed at meetings of Finance and Budget Working Group.

Councillor B. Kumar was nominated to become the Council’s representative on the Worcestershire Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (HOSC) for the municipal year 2024/25. On being put to the vote it was:

RESOLVED that Councillor B. Kumar be appointed as the Council’s representative on the Worcestershire Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee for the 2024/25 municipal year.

The Chairman explained that Councillor M. Marshall (Chair of the Task Group) was due to present the final report of the Impact of Heatwaves Task Group at the Overview and Scrutiny Board meeting scheduled for 23^rd July 2024.

The Cabinet Work Programme was presented for Members’ consideration.

A query was raised regarding the Bromsgrove District Plan Consultation item, and it was noted this was due to be presented to Cabinet on 11^th September 2024. Members requested that in addition to Group Briefings, individual ward members should be contacted individually about proposed developments in their wards (development plan).

RESOLVED that, subject to the preamble above, the Cabinet Work Programme be noted.

RESOLVED: that under Section 100 I of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended, the public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the following item(s) of business on the grounds that it/they involve(s) the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A to the Act, as amended, the relevant paragraph of that part, in each case, being as set out below, and that it is in the public interest to do so:-

It was agreed by Members that exclusion of the press and public was not necessary in relation to Minute Item 11/24 (To confirm the accuracy of the minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Board held on 22^nd April 2024). The meeting remained in public session for its entire duration.

The minutes of the meeting held on 22^nd April 2024, including the confidential minutes record, are included in this agenda.

The minutes of the meeting of Overview and Scrutiny Board held on 22^nd April, including the confidential minutes record (for items that were discussed in exempt session), were submitted for Members’ consideration.

Clarification was received with respect to page 2 of the minutes record in that Constitution Review Working Group (CRWG) was not a formally constituted group of the Council but included representation from every political group on the Council. The group considered topics in relation to governance changes and it was highlighted that constitutional changes arising out of Governance Systems Task Group report (submitted by Overview and Scrutiny in September 2023) were discussed by CRWG prior to consideration at Overview and Scrutiny and afterward Cabinet and Council meetings.

With regard to the main minutes record of the meeting, the following amendments were requested:

·       That the typographical error on page 14 (second bullet point) be corrected from ‘the Operational Therapists (OT) service used for the DFG provision…’ to ‘…used for the OT provision…’

·       That the statement incorrectly recorded on page 19 (second bullet point from the bottom of the page) in relation to the number of car parks currently operated by the Council in the District should be corrected from ‘The Member stated that this figure probably included Churchfield Car Park which was closed and one other should not be included’ to ‘The Member stated that this figure should not include Churchfield Car Park and an unknown car park’

It was requested that an action log be circulated to all Board members prior to meetings of the Overview and Scrutiny Board to assist in keeping track of actions and requests for information made by Members at the meetings.

RESOLVED that, subject to the amendments in the preamble above, the minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Board meeting held on 22^nd April 2024, including the confidential record of that meeting, be agreed as a true and correct record.