Agenda item

The Council considered a report which outlined the work undertaken by overview and scrutiny during the 2023-24 municipal year and the future work programmes of the Council’s two new overview and scrutiny committees 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 2023-24, four decisions had been taken under the urgency provisions of Access to Information Procedure Rules, no call-in waivers had been requested, and one officer key decision had been called in for consideration by Overview and Scrutiny.

At its meeting on 10 September 2024, the Overview & Scrutiny Committee (Resources) considered this report and agreed to:

(1)    Commend the report as the Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report, 2023-24.

(2)    Recommend that the current rules relating to call-in and the urgency provisions remain unchanged, subject to the addition that whenever the general exception provisions were used to take key decisions in accordance with Access to Information Procedure Rule 15, the details of those decisions should be reported by the Leader to the next ordinary meeting of the Council.

(3)    Recommend that an Overview and Scrutiny budget of £5,000 per annum be re-established.

At its meeting on 30 September 2024, Overview & Scrutiny Committee (Services) had also considered the annual report and had endorsed the recommendations to the Council therein.

Prior to the motion being proposed, a councillor asked in connection with Supplementary Planning Documents, which was one of the unscheduled items on the work programme of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee (Services) whether a Heights SPD would be coming forward for consideration as a matter of some urgency.  In response, the Lead Councillor for Planning confirmed that the Planning Policy team was currently working on a Heights SPD, which would be brought forward as quickly as possible.

The Chairman of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee (Services), Councillor James Walsh, proposed and the Chairman of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee (Resources), Councillor Philip Brooker seconded the adoption of the motion to commend the report as the Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report for 2023-24.

During the debate, the following points were made:

·      The new Overview and Scrutiny Committees were working really well and were very engaged.  Regular meetings would be held between the Executive and Overview and Scrutiny chairs and vice chairs to discuss matters that could be put into the Overview and Scrutiny Committees’ work programme.

·      Encouraging to see that so many items were now coming forward to Overview and Scrutiny for consideration, which would inform Executive decision-making which demonstrated the importance of backbench scrutiny as part of a healthy culture of a well -run council.

Having considered the matter, the Council

RESOLVED:

(1)    That this report be commended as the Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report for 2023-24.

(2)    That the current rules relating to the Council’s call-in and urgency provisions remain unchanged, subject to the addition that whenever the general exception provisions are used to take key decisions in accordance with Access to Information Procedure Rule 15 the details of those decisions shall be reported by the Leader to the next ordinary meeting of the Council.

(3)    That the following amendment be made to Access to Information Procedure Rule 17:

          “After paragraph 17.3, add the following paragraph:

“17.4  Reports from the Leader on the use of the General Exception Procedure

The Leader willreport to the next ordinary meeting of the Council on any executive key decisions taken in the circumstances set out in Procedure Rule 15 (general exception).  The report will include the number of decisions so taken and a summary of the matters in respect of which those decisions were taken.”

(4)    That consideration be given to the re-establishment of an Overview and Scrutiny budget of £5,000 per annum as part of the ongoing budget setting process.

Reasons:

·      Article 8.2(d) of the Council’s Constitution requires 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. 

·      There are no changes proposed to the call-in procedure or the urgency provisions at this time, except for the proposed additional provision with Access to Information Procedure Rules to require the Leader to report to Council on the use of the General Exception procedure.