Agenda item
Items for future consideration
The Board to consider topics discussed at the training event on 15th June and to agree whether it wishes to include any of those topics within the work programme or to set up a task group if relevant.
Minutes:
The Board considered a report which detailed the outcomes of the Overview and Scrutiny training which had been delivered on 15th June 2015. During consideration of this item the following matters were discussed:
· The links between the issues identified during the training session and the demand reported by residents to Councillors.
· The potential to include topics identified during the interactive sessions on the Board’s Work Programme.
· The need for the Board to be selective and to consider carefully any suggestions for scrutiny during the year.
· The possibility that the range of subjects discussed during the training did not reflect the full range of strategic issues impacting on the Council and which scrutiny could influence.
· The extent to which Members had been aware that topics discussed during the training would subsequently be discussed at a Board meeting. The Chairman advised Members that explicit reference had been made during the training to the fact that the outcomes would be reported at the subsequent meeting.
· The date when the report had been published. Officers confirmed that the pack had been published and circulated in an electronic form the week before the meeting.
· The costs involved in undertaking Task Group reviews. Members were advised that Chairmen of Task Groups received one off payments of £260 and members of Task Groups received one off payments of £160. These figures were budgeted for in advance and therefore did not require additional expenditure.
· Members were advised that generally a maximum of 4 Task Groups per year were advisable and could be delivered within budget.
· The information provided in biannual Environmental Enforcement reports and the benefits of additional information about proposed action to tackle enforcement problems in future years. Members suggested that any information about future plans should be included in a presentation on the subject of environmental enforcement together with data relating to operational measures.
· An update on the outcomes of the Place team’s work, focusing on one of the key locations for a single Place team as a case study, was requested. Members agreed this could form the basis of a presentation to the Board.
· The need for scrutiny to undertake a detailed review of the Council’s budget. The Chairman explained that the Board consistently contributed to the Council’s budget setting process during meetings between September and February and also considered the Finance Quarterly Monitoring reports throughout the year.
· The potential for a Task Group focusing on specific elements of the budget to make a valuable contribution to the Council’s long-term financial position. The Board noted that a review of this subject would need to have a clear scope and would need to be brought before the next meeting of the Board.
RESOLVED that
(a) A presentation on the work of the environmental enforcement teams, encompassing future plans, be delivered at a forthcoming meeting of the Board;
(b) A presentation focusing on the outcomes of the work of the Place Team in a particular location be provided at a future meeting of the Board; and
(c) The report and items proposed during the Overview and Scrutiny training on 15th June 2015 be noted.
Supporting documents:
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