Issue - meetings

The Council considered a report which outlined the work undertaken by overview and scrutiny during the past municipal year and its future work programme as thus far developed. 

Decisions taken during the past municipal year under the ‘urgency’ provisions and the use of ‘call-in’ were also detailed within the report.  In 2022-23, six decisions had been taken under the urgency provisions of Access to Information Procedure Rules, call-in had been waived by the O&S Committee Chairman on three occasions and no Executive decisions had been called in.

The report had also been considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee at its meeting on 12 September 2023.  The Committee had commended the Annual Report to Council.

Upon the motion of the Chairman of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee, Councillor James Walsh, seconded by the Vice-Chairman of that Committee, Councillor Matt Furniss, the Council

RESOLVED:

(1)    That thereport be commended as the annual report of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for 2022-23.

(2)   That the current rules relating to call in or urgency provisions remain unchanged, subject to clarification of existing procedures to provide that whenever the special urgency provisions are used to take urgent key decisions in accordance with Access to Information Procedure Rule 16, details of those decisions shall be reported by the Leader to the next ordinary meeting of the Council, rather than annually.

(3)    That Access to Information Procedure Rule 17.3 be amended as follows:

“17.3  Annual Reports from the Leader on Special Urgency Decisions

In any event, the Leader will submit annual reports to the next ordinary meeting of the Council on any the executive decisions taken in the circumstances set out in Procedure Rule 16 (special urgency) in the preceding year.  The report will include the number of decisions so taken and a summary of the matters in respect of which those decisions were taken.”

Reasons:

·      Article 8.2(d) of the Council’s Constitution required the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee to report annually to Full Council on the work undertaken during the year, its future work programme, and amended working methods if appropriate. 

·      Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 16(i), required the operation of the provisions relating to call-in and urgency to be monitored annually and a report submitted to Full Council with proposals for review if necessary.