Issue - meetings

(1)       The Committee received a report which updated them on the Select Committee Topic Review Programme relating to this Policy Overview Committee.  This included the Alcohol Misuse Select Committee and the Accessing Democracy Select Committee.

(2)       In relation to the meeting with the Policy Overview Co-ordinating Committee on 23 May 2008, the Chairman updated Members on the following issues:

·                     Mr Gilroy had been invited to attend the next meeting to discuss the issue of resources for Overview and Scrutiny. 

·                     It had been proposed that when a Select Committee was established an IMG would be set up to scope the Select Committee Review at an early stage.

·                     The next Select Committee would be Activities for Young People under the remit of the Communities Policy Overview Committee.

·                     In relation to proposed review on domestic rail services   it was acknowledged that there was not currently any available resources in the overview and scrutiny team to support a Select Committee topic review on this issue.  Therefore Environment and Regeneration Directorate and the Leader were going to be asked to accept a focussed piece of work which could feed in to a larger piece of work at a later date.

·                     An IMG had been established to look at the process of launching Select Committees and the timetabling of the Policy Overview Committees in 2009.

(3)       A Member raised the issue of looking at resources for Members across the organisation. The Chief Executive confirmed that there was going to be a review of all Staff Officer resources, both for Politicians and Officers across the organisation to ensure they were being used to the best effect.

(4)       It was mentioned that training for new Members should be the time-tabling so that Members had the key training that they needed for their work as Elected Members. An example in relation to the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee, it was essential that the induction training was held before the first meeting of the Committee.

(5)       RESOLVED   that the update be noted.