Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors A J Jesson, C E D Mair and C L Strange and Added Members Mrs P J Barnett, Mr P Thompson and Dr E van der Zee.

It was noted the Chief Executive, having received a notice under Regulation 13 of the Local Government (Committees and Political Groups) Regulations 1990, had appointed Councillors J D Hough and Mrs H N J Powell as a replacement member of the Committee in place of Councillors P M Dilks and Mrs M J Overton MBE, respectively, for this meeting only.

There were no declarations of members' interests made at this stage in the proceedings.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee meeting held on 23 February 2017 be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

The Committee was advised that the Chairman had attended the meeting of the Executive held on 7 March 2017.  The Executive had considered a report on the Blue Light Campus and Collaboration Agreement, which had been discussed by the Community and Public Safety Scrutiny Committee on 1 March 2017 and the Council Business Plan 2016/17 Quarter 3, which had been discussed at the last meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee on 23 February 2017.  The comments from both Committees were presented to the Executive for its consideration.

(To consider any proposals for Scrutiny Reviews, should any be received)

The Committee was advised that no proposals for Scrutiny Reviews had been received.

(To consider any Councillor Calls for Action, should any be received)

The Committee was advised that no Councillor Calls for Action had been received.

(To receive a report by Nigel West (Head of Democratic Services and Statutory Scrutiny Officer), which provides the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee with the details of a Call In in relation to a decision made by the Leader of the Council (Executive Councillor for Governance, Communications, Commissioning, Finance and Property) on the Membership of the Local Government Association (Decision Reference: I013313))

A report from the Chief Executive was considered, which informed the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee of the details of a Call In, which was referred to the Committee by the Proper Officer in accordance with paragraph 15(h) of the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules of the Constitution. 

The Call In related to a decision made by the Leader of the Council (Executive Councillor for Governance, Communications, Commissioning, Finance and Property) on the Membership of the Local Government Association (LGA) (Decision Reference: I013313) on the Master Plan.  A copy of the report submitted to the Leader of the Council on 16 March 2017 and the subsequent Decision Notice were appended to the report presented.

The Chairman invited Councillor P M Dilks as the spokesperson for the Call-In, to outline the reasons for Calling-In the Leader of the Council's decision. The reasons submitted were detailed on page 14 of the agenda, which were expanded upon in the meeting as detailed below:

·       Although the basis of the decision was that the withdrawal from the LGA would produce an annual saving of £77,957, there had been no attempt to value the services delivered by the LGA, as detailed on paragraphs 3 and 4 of the decision report;

·       There were no financial details of what would be the cost of the services delivered by the LGA if they had to be bought elsewhere, in particular the lobbying of government;

·       There was no attempt to provide any evidence of the benefits to the County Council of the services provided by the LGA.  The spokesperson cited examples of such benefits, which included councillor and officer training and attendance at conferences and leadership programmes; subsidised peer reviews; the guidance and support provided on the Greater Lincolnshire Devolution Proposal; and the mentoring of County Councillors;

·       There was no evidence to support the claim that the LGA did not recognise the concerns of County Councils;

·       There was no recognition in the report of the damage to the County Council within the local government community.  It was also stated that the County Council would be seen as a 'freeloader' wanting to receive the benefits negotiated by the LGA but without paying the membership fee;

·       There was no mention in the report of the difficulties the County Council could face in future dealings with central government in getting its lone voice heard. It was also stated that the County Council would become isolated, as it would be the only Council outside of London not to be a member of the LGA.  The Spokesperson cited examples of when the LGA's lobbying had resulted in an increase in funding for local government which included the £2 billion of additional funding for adult social care services;

·       It was questioned whether the Deputy Leader of the Council would have been appointed to the important role of Children's Social Care Commissioner at Rotherham Council if she had not been a member of the Children and Young People Programme Board at the LGA; and

·       The overall lack  ...  view the full minutes text for item 97.

(To receive a report by Nigel West (Head of Democratic Services and Statutory Scrutiny Officer), which invites the Committee to begin the process of producing a scrutiny work programme for the new Council for the municipal year 2017/18)

Consideration was given to a report by Nigel West (Head of Democratic Services and Statutory Scrutiny Officer), which invited the Committee to begin the process of producing a scrutiny work programme for the new Council for the municipal year 2017/18.

The Head of Democratic Services and Statutory Scrutiny Officer advised that some initial thoughts had been gathered by scrutiny officers from the current chairmen and vice-chairmen and service area officers, which were detailed at Appendices A to F of the report.  It was recognised that those new committee members after the election in May 2017 may have further ideas that would need to be incorporated in the programme.

It was noted that going forward it was planned to rotate the scrutiny committees' work programme item on the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board to allow committee chairmen to provide regular updates, and at the same time provide fellow scrutineers with an opportunity to challenge. 

Members were provided with an opportunity to comment on the proposed work programmes, where the following points were noted: -

Overview and Scrutiny Management Board Work Programme

There were no further suggestions for inclusion in the work programme.

Adult Care and Public Health Scrutiny Committee

It was anticipated that Public Health would be given a prominent role on the work programme of the Adult Care and Public Health Scrutiny Committee and the new Committee would continue to engage with service users and providers.  It was also suggested that the Committee should continue to undertake visits of adult care facilities.

It was also confirmed that the Adult Care and Public Health Scrutiny Committee would consider whether to take forward a review of delayed transfers of care.

A suggestion was made for the Adult Care and Public Health Scrutiny Committee and the Health Scrutiny Committee for Lincolnshire to have a closer working relationship.  It was suggested that this could be done by ensuring that detailed analysis of the work programmes of each committee would be considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board at the same meeting.

Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee

There were no further suggestions for inclusion in the work programme.

Communities and Public Protection Scrutiny Committee

It was suggested that the meetings of the Crime and Disorder Committee should be scheduled to take place on a quarterly basis.

It was suggested that the Committee should consider an update in the autumn of 2017 from the Police and Crime Commissioner for Lincolnshire.

NOTE: At this stage in the proceedings, Councillor C E H Marfleet left for the remainder of the meeting.

Environment, Economy and Transport Scrutiny Committee

Members acknowledged that the workload of the Environment, Economy and Transport Scrutiny Committee had the potential to be extensive and the need for prioritisation of items would be essential.

It was suggested that the Committee gave consideration to the following issues:

·       the level of scrutiny input into the review of street lighting;

·       impact of parking in the vicinity of schools; and

·       Broadband (including mobile phone coverage).

Food and Water  ...  view the full minutes text for item 98.