Agenda item

(Director of Governance) Progress towards the achievement of the work programmes for the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and each of the select committees, is reviewed by the Committee at each meeting.

(a)             Current Work Programmes

The current overview and scrutiny work programmes are attached as an appendix to this report.

(b)             Reserve Programme

A reserve list of scrutiny topics is developed as required, to ensure that the work flow of overview and scrutiny is continuous. When necessary, the Committee will allocate items from the list appropriately, once resources become available in the work programme, following the completion of any ongoing scrutiny activity.

Members can put forward suggestions for inclusion in the work programme or reserve list through the adopted PICK process. Existing review items will be dealt with first, after which time will be allocated to the items contained in the reserve work plan.

Overview and Scrutiny Committee

The Committee reviewed their current work programme, noting that the Transport for London had made a visit this evening and so that this could be taken off the work programme. The meeting had also discussed the proposed visit of the Principal of Epping Forrest College to this February 2018 meeting.

They also noted that they would also be receiving updating reports on the Transformation Programme.

Councillor Patel asked about the attendance of the Customer Services Manager at Scrutiny meetings and when was that likely to happen. Mr Macnab said that he had spoken to the Manager and that she would like to report to the main Overview and Scrutiny Committee in April, as her service cut across the whole of the Council, this would come at the same time as the outturn Transformation Report presentation.

Councillor Patel also noted that work programme item 9(a) had promised an update report of the Transformation Programme at each meeting. What was happening about that? Mr Macnab said that had been altered slightly so that the Select Committees would now review their bits of the programme and an annual report would be brought back to this Committee at the end of the year.

Reserve Programme

(a)          The Committee agreed that that they would like to receive the East of England Ambulance Service at their April 2018 meeting; and

(b)          to ask for officers from Essex County Council to attend the first meeting in the new municipal year to speak about the ECC Passenger Transport (this item initially sat in the Neighbourhoods Select Committee work programme).

Select Committees

Communities SC

Councillor Murray asked about item 16 on their work programme (briefing on proposed Council rent increases for 2018/19) – was that still going to the January meeting? Councillor Knight would take this up with the Housing Portfolio Holder.

Councillor Murray also asked about item 32 (restructure of older people’s housing services) was this going to the January meeting.  Mr Macnab said that he had seen the draft of this report recently and it would be going to the Select Committee in the near future.

Governance SC

Mr Tautz informed the meeting that item 13 of the work programme, analysis of compliments and complaints, formed part of the Customer Services work load and it would be drawn out of the report coming to the main Overview and Scrutiny Committee for the Governance SC.

Neighbourhoods SC

Councillor Bedford noted that there had been some complaints about Health and Safety investigations at Oakwood Hill depot and as a result he thought that his Select Committee should look at the procedures involved and investigate them; perhaps getting someone from Health and Safety to attend a meeting. Mr Macnab clarified that there had not been any issues at the Oakwood Hill depot but there had been some concerns at the Town Mead depot, which had been subject to an internal audit report. He was happy to have a report on how the Council fulfils its H&S responsibilities corporately and any specific items that the members would like to highlight. Probably if it was corporate wide than it should go to Governance SC but if it affected certain depots then it may well go to Neighbourhoods SC.

Mt Tautz noted that item 19 had now been handled at this meeting and should be removed and also item 20 would now be going to a future meeting of this main Overview and Scrutiny Committee and should also be removed from this SC’s work programme.

Resources SC

Councillor Patel had nothing to add to the Work Programme.