Agenda item

(To receive a report from Nigel West, Head of Democratic Services and Statutory Scrutiny Officer, which enables the Board to consider an evaluation of all of the potential topics for scrutiny reviews that have been identified and to agree which reviews should be undertaken by the Council's two Scrutiny Panels)

Consideration was given a report by the Head of Democratic Services Officers and Statutory Scrutiny Officer which invited the Board to consider an evaluation of all of the potential topics for scrutiny reviews that had been identified and to agree which reviews should be undertaken by the Council's two Scrutiny Panels.

Members were invited to agree topics for future scrutiny reviews to be undertaken by the Scrutiny Panels and to agree the draft terms of reference for the scrutiny reviews subject to a final version being agreed with the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Board.

The proposed topics were

·         Lincolnshire Agricultural Sector support

·         Town Centre Improvements

·         Capital Programme Planning

·         Young Carers

·         Restoring Family Relationships

·         Recycling Rates in Lincolnshire

·         Traffic Speed Management Review in Lincolnshire

·         Community Engagement

·         Increased numbers of Domestic Abuse during the Covid-19 Pandemic – support available to individuals

A priority matrix had been set out at Appendix A.

Members considered the report and during the discussion the following points were noted:

·         The Board nominated Lincolnshire Agricultural Sector support as a topic for review for a number of reasons, including the rise in mental health issues and labour shortages within the agricultural sector.

·         One Member questioned whether it was the right time to further investigate the issues within the sector given that it was heavily led by changes from central Government.

·         Support was given to the topic of town centre improvements as it was seen as an opportunity to stimulate employment and open town centres up to younger generations.

·         The Policy Advisor agreed to circulate the criteria for comparing urban and rural areas.

·         It was suggested that the Council had a responsibility to help young people in Lincolnshire, particularly given the impact of the pandemic. Therefore it was proposed that young carers be considered as a topic.

·         It was suggested that officers begin to consider possible topics for the reviews due to commence in April 2021 to ensure reviews could begin in a timely manner.

·         It was emphasised that the future of town centres was closely linked to the demographic future of an area. It was proposed that this be reflected within the terms of reference for that topic.

·         Boston Borough Council and North Kesteven District Council had recently started to collect separate paper and card recycling. It would take some time for the results of the new collections to be clear and therefore it was suggested that the topic of 'recycling rates in Lincolnshire' was not appropriate at this time.

·         It was requested that quantitative data for each potential topic be provided for the next report.

It was proposed and seconded that the Town Centre Improvements and Lincolnshire Agricultural Sector Support be selected as the topics for the scrutiny panels. 

It was agreed that the terms of reference for town centres include the concept of stimulating new business and a focus on reviving retail outlets be the main focus.

For agriculture, the focus should be on carbon neutral and green farming with funding links to provide business opportunities within the sector to stimulate growth.

The terms of reference were to be amended to reflect the comments made by the Board.

It was agreed that Scrutiny Panel A would investigate the topic of Town Centre Improvements, and Scrutiny Panel B would investigate the topic of Lincolnshire Agricultural Sector Support. 

RESOLVED:

That Town Centre Improvements and Lincolnshire Agricultural Sector Support be agreed as the topics for future scrutiny reviews to be undertaken by the Scrutiny Panels.

That the draft terms of reference for the scrutiny reviews be agreed, subject to the suggested amendments and subject to a final version being agreed with the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Board.