Agenda item

(1)       The Board received a report which looked at ways of building capacity for overview and scrutiny based on the decision taken at County Council on 15 October 2009. 

(2)       The Chairman invited Mr King to introduce this item.  Mr King stated that KCC had embarked on a process of change relating to the way in which the organisation worked and how Members could contribute.  Over the next three and a half years if Member made the most of the new mechanisms they would change the way in which KCC worked.  Part of the strength of KCC had been the trust between officers and Members and the way that they worked together, and this should be reflected in the new overview and scrutiny processes.  It was important that the Scrutiny Board and the POSC’s liaised with the Executive to avoid either party working in isolation. 

(3)       Mr King referred to the innovative ways in which the POSC’s were working, for example the visits by RED POSC to each district to look at key regeneration projects and to understand the challenges. 

(4)       He referred to the comments made at the Budget setting County Council meeting about the perception that Members had not had the opportunity to comment on the draft Budget.  He stated that there had been more Member involvement in the Budget process than ever before and that back benchers views had been taken into account in developing the Budget.

(5)       Mr King congratulated the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the work that they had carried out via a Task and Finish Group in looking at the plans for the reconfiguration of women’s and children’s services in Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells. 

(6)       Mr King expressed the view that KCC needed to be more transparent in its work and to seek genuine engagement, the press were part of this process.

(7)       Mr King agreed that the Forward Plan of Key Decisions was not in the form that was most helpful to Members, there was a need to provide more detail for Members on issues in order that POSC Members could decide where they could make a contribution prior to decisions being taken. 

(8)       Mr Smith gave details of the work that the CFE Learning and Development POSC were carrying out on 14 – 16 year olds learning and skills, which had involved a day of visits including hearing from young people themselves and a session at their last meeting where they gathered information from key stakeholders.  This would be continued at their May meeting.  He stated that he had spent 150 hours working on this.   He urged the Board to retain as much flexibility as possible for POSC to work in innovative ways. 

(9)       Mr Dance referred to the series of visit that the Regeneration and Economic Development POSC was carrying out to each District to look at regeneration projects.  Directorate officers attended these visits and produced bullet point notes, which Members then add to verbally at the POSC meeting.

(10)     Mr Vye commended the work of the new Learning and Development POSC but highlighted the importance of ensuring that there was enough time at meetings to carry out all the POSC roles.   In relation to the Medium Term Financial Plan IMG’s, although there had been an excellent input from Officers, the timescale for doing this was inevitably short.  He suggested that the IMG should be established sooner to give Members the opportunity to make a contribution at an earlier stage.

(11) A number of Members agreed that there was merit in POSC Members considering the MTFP at an earlier stage and contributing their ideas. 

(12)     Regarding rapporteurs Mr Vye suggested that all options should be kept open including individual Members being tasked with looking at specific issues and present their findings to the POSC.  In relation to the Forward Plan of Key Decisions, he emphasised the importance of having more details of the items so that Members could decide which to consider at POSC’s.

(13)     The suggestion of enabling the public to email in questions during meetings was generally supported, although the importance of   moderation and agreed guidelines was emphasised.

(14)     Mr Christie referred to the meeting of the Northfleet and Gravesend West Neighbourhood Forum which had been held the previous evening where there had been the facility for the public to email in questions. None were received which he put down to the lack of advance publicity for this facility. Also he was surprised the number of members of the public who choose to sit where they would not be webcast. 

(15)     Mrs Allen, highlighted the innovative ways that the Children’s Champions Board had engaged with Looked after Children and the value that they had got from this.  She also referred to the first meeting of the Children in Care Council that she had recently attended.  She stated that it was important that senior officers and Cabinet Members met with young people on their own terms to hear from them first hand what their lives were like and to receive suggestions for possible improvements. This may involve a change in the officer culture.

(16)     The Chairman informed the Board that he and the Overview, Scrutiny and Localism Manager had attended a meeting of the Chief Officers Group to talk though the changes to Overview and Scrutiny and their role within this. 

(17)     Mr Horne referred to the recent HOSC Task and Finish Group which had looked at the plans for the reconfiguration of Women’s and Children’s services in Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells. This Group had consisted of three County Council Members and two District Councillors and had been Chaired by one of the District Councillors. He commended the officers that had supported the group by co-ordinating information and making arrangements for meetings and visits.  He explained that the Groups report had been written by the Members of the Group.

(18)     RESOLVED that

            (a)       the examples of new ways of working be noted

            (b)       a report be submitted to the next meeting of the Scrutiny Board             on the ways in which POSCs can effectively contribute to the MTP and            draft budget in 2011.;

            (c)  the ongoing rapporteur work in its different forms across the                   

            overview and scrutiny suite be noted; 

            (d)       at the next or following meeting of the Board the media team     be invited to the meeting to discuss the way that Overview and Scrutiny          can develop a more effective collaboration with the press and media,     and following that representatives of the local media be invited to meet           with the Board.

            (e)       the need for .the statutory Forward Plan of Key Decisions to be            improved be noted and that there be further discussions with the   Cabinet and Chief Officer Group.

(f)   the comments made by Members on the proposed new approach of receiving live questions from members of the public via email at Committee meetings within the Overview and Scrutiny suite be incorporated into a draft protocol be to circulated to Cabinet and Chief Officers prior to it     being submitted to a future meeting of this Board for endorsement.