Agenda item

(1)       The Committee received an update on the current topic review programme and the resources available to deliver it.  Mr Wickenden reminded Members that a two-year topic review programme was an aspiration within the Constitution. It would be helpful to work towards a provisional programme which could be considered at a July meeting of the POCC so that the Select Committees could start their work in September 2009.

(2)       Members mentioned the perception that the terms of reference for Select Committee reviews tended to be drawn up by officers with little input from Members.  Mr Wickenden referred members to the agreement at County Council on 11 December 2008 that Members should be engaged in developing the terms of reference for Select Committees at an early stage.  Therefore, the terms of reference would be developed by a small cross party group of members group, from the membership of the Select Committee prior to approval by the Select Committee.  Mr Wickenden also mentioned the importance of involving the Cabinet Member and Managing Director at the beginning, middle and end of reviews to get engagement and sign up.

(3)       It was also important that the inaugural meeting of the Select Committee agreed its timetable so that it was clear when the Select Committees would be considered at Cabinet and County Council.

(4)       Dr Eddy referred to the appointment of Mrs Taylor, in September 2008 to the post of Research Officer for the Cabinet Scrutiny Committee.  He and the spokesmen on Cabinet Scrutiny Committee expressed their thanks to Mrs Taylor for the support that she had given to the Committee.

(5)       An issue raised by Mrs Hohler was what happened once the Select Committee had completed their work and had held their one year monitoring meeting.  There was often a need for this work to be taken forward with a Member input.  Mr Wickenden stated that once the monitoring of the Select Committee had held their monitoring meeting, work to carry the recommendation rested with the Executive, assisted by the Directorate(s).  The Executive had established a number of task groups to take forward Select Committee recommendations such as the one on Physical Social and Health Education.  Mrs Dean expressed the view that once a Select Committee had finished its work its ownership was at an end and their role was to monitor the recommendations,  there was a tendency to expect too much of  Overview and Scrutiny Members. 

(6)       In relation to officer support Mrs Dean pointed out that the IMG on Members Information had been supported by the Liberal Democrat Staff Officer, the Leader had agreed to this arrangement.  She raised a word of caution and on the overuse of IMGs, as these were not meetings that were held in public and therefore should not be used to consider issues which were of general interest.  She commended the annual monitoring process of Select Committee reviews which gave Select Committee Members the opportunity to comment on the outcomes achieved.

(7)       Mr Wickenden stated that in relation to offer support for Select Committees there were 2.5 full-time equivalent Research Officers. Mr Wickenden was planning to submit a joint report with Robert Hardy to the April meeting of the POCC to look at the resource issue as part of a wider report he was preparing on the options for re-structuring the Overview and Scrutiny Committees.

(8)       Regarding the “one year on monitoring report’s for Select Committees” which were submitted to the POCC for information, a number of comments were made including the importance of Members not accepting the response “work was being undertaken".  The monitoring reports should include measures of success and timescale for further progress.

RESOLVED That (a) the progress of the Select Committee Topic Reviews    Accessing Democracy, Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Provision of     Activities for Young People be noted

(b)               the process for establishing a two year Select Committee topic review programme be endorsed

(c)               the resources available to support overview and scrutiny and deliver the Select Committee topic review programme be noted

(d)               the adoption of the “Public Relations Protocol for Select Committee Reviews and Reports” and the ongoing work to agree a process for launching Select Committee reports be noted

(e)               the monitoring of Select Committee recommendations as set out in Appendix 1 be noted

(f)                 the Overview, Scrutiny and Localism Manager submit a report to the April meeting of the Committee on the structure of POC’s and staff resources.