Issue - meetings

The Annual Report of the Scrutiny and Overview Committee has been enclosed separately.

Council RECEIVED the Scrutiny and Overview Committee’s Annual Report to Council. 

Councillor John Batchelor, Scrutiny and Overview Committee Chairman, presented the Annual report to the Council, highlighting the Committee’s growing reputation as a body delivering robust and detailed work, specifically its receipt of a national award for its 2008 review of Arbury Park (now Orchard Park).  He paid tribute to Councillors James Hockney and Bridget Smith for their chairmanship of, respectively, the Finance and the Children and Young People Task and Finish Groups, and to former Councillor Richard Summerfield for his significant commitment to the review of the Council’s budget-setting process.  He also thanked Jackie Sayers, Scrutiny Development Officer, for her work, describing her as a great ambassador for the Committee.

Councillor James Hockney, Scrutiny and Overview Committee Vice-Chairman, echoed Councillor Batchelor’s comments and thanked Councillor Batchelor for his hard work as Chairman over the past two years.

Council RECEIVED the Scrutiny and Overview Committee’s Annual Report to Council. 

The Committee will be invited to discuss the attached report and suggest amendments. The Committee will also be asked to give the Chairman delegated authority to make any final amendments to the report, before it is submitted to Annual Council on 27 May 2010.

The Chairman introduced this report which detailed the Annual Scrutiny and Overview Report 2009/10 that will be considered by annual Council. He invited comments and amendments from the Committee.

The Committee

AGREED

(A)               To add the following paragraph to the beginning of the call-in section: “Call-in is used as a last resort when other means of influencing decision-making have failed. Nationally, councils have an average of 2.5 call-ins per year and fewer than a fifth result in an amended decision.”

(B)              To include the following sentence to the end of paragraph 1.56 of the report: “There is ongoing dissatisfaction with the Members’ e-mail service.”

(C)              To add the following bullet point to paragraph 2.9: “Constitutional arrangements for call-in.”

(D)              To give delegated authority to the Chairman to make any final amendments to the report, before its submission to Annual Council on 27 May 2010.