Overview and Scrutiny Committee
16 November 2011
Report Title
Overview and Scrutiny Update
Which Committees is this report
intended for? (Please state dates)
Cabinet Date:
Overview and Scrutiny Date: 16 November 2011
Full Council Date:
Is the report Exempt?
Yes
No
Does the report concern a Key
Decision?
Yes
No
If a Key Decision is it on the Forward
Plan?
Yes
No
Why is it exempt?
Ward(s) affected
All
Responsible Cabinet Member name
Tom FitzPatrick
Contact Officer
Mary Howard
Email address
mary.howard@north-norfolk.gov.uk
Telephone number
01263 511456
Are there Non-electronic
appendices?
Yes
No
List of Background Papers, if any
File Location
909/WPData/New Committees/Overview and
Scrutiny/2011 – 2012/16 November
2011/Draft/Overview and Scrutiny Update
Implications/Risks
Have you identified and explained within the
report the implications of the options
available to Members?
(Implications should include financial, legal
and links to the Council’s existing policies
and strategies)
Have you highlighted the risks to the
Council?
Financial Implications and Risks to the
Council should have their own separate
headings. It is not acceptable to simply
state that financial implications or risks have
been alluded to in the main body of the
report.
Have you considered Sustainability issues
in relation to this report? Sustainability
should have its own separate heading. It is
not acceptable to simply state that
Sustainability has been alluded to in the
Yes
None
Yes
None
Yes
None
Overview and Scrutiny Committee
16 November 2011
main body of the report
Have you considered Equality and
Diversity issues in relation to this report?
Equality and Diversity should have its own
separate heading. It is not acceptable to
simply state that Equality and Diversity has
been alluded to in the main body of the
report
Have you considered S17 Crime and
Disorder issues in relation to this report?
Crime and Disorder should have its own
separate heading. It is not acceptable to
simply state that Crime and Disorder has
been alluded to in the main body of the
report
Yes
None
Yes
None
This report has been subject to the following processes:
Consultations with:
Cabinet Member
Yes
If not please state
reason below
Local Member
Yes
If not please state
reason below
Not applicable
S151 Officer
Yes
If not please state
reason below
Not applicable
Monitoring Officer
Yes
If not please state
reason below
S17 Officer
Yes
If not please state
reason below
Democratic Services Team Leader
Yes
If not please state
reason below
Communications Manager
Yes
If not please state
reason below
Other Head(s) of Service:
Others:
Chair and Vice Chair of Overview and Scrutiny
Please confirm this report has been signed off by:
Management Team
Yes
Not apt
Relevant Strategic Director
Yes
The Chief Executive
Yes
Not apt
Not apt
Overview and Scrutiny Committee
16 November 2011
Agenda Item No____17________
OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY UPDATE
Summary:
This report updates the Committee on progress with
topics in its agreed work programme (attached at
Appendix E) and invites Members to identify any
arising items for future meetings. The Scrutiny
Committee’s working style and role is attached at
Appendix F.
Conclusions:
That progress is being made in some areas, others
need to be monitored and opportunities for scrutiny
should be discussed.
Recommendations:
1. That Members should consider any followup actions required on these topics.
2. To approve the revisions to the Work
Programme Template and the Witness
Protocol or
3. to set up a Task and Finish Group to meet
once for the purpose of carrying out further
work on the Work Programme Template and
the Witness Protocol.
Cabinet Member(s)
Ward(s) affected
Mr T J FitzPatrick
All
Contact Officer, telephone number and email: Mary Howard, Democratic Services
Team Leader, Tel.01263 516047, mary.howard@north-norfolk.gov.uk
1.
Introduction
1.1
The Scrutiny Update report is a standing item on all Overview and Scrutiny
Committee agendas. The report updates Members on progress made with
topics on its agreed work programme and provides additional information
which Members may have requested at a previous meeting.
1.2
The report is prepared by the Democratic Services Team Leader whose role
includes that of Scrutiny Officer.
2.
Progress on topics since the last meeting
2.1
Public Question
Overview and Scrutiny Committee
16 November 2011
At the meeting of 18 October a question was received from Mrs Janet Farrow
of the Upcher Partnership regarding a review of the Local Area Partnerships
by Mark Patchett. The Chairman explained that the Committee had not seen
the report but that a full answer would be provided in writing within seven
days.
However Mrs Farrow returned for Full Council on 19 October and asked the
same question. A full answer was provided by the Chief Executive. He
explained that the report had been commissioned by the North Norfolk
Community Partnership, not North Norfolk District Council. It would have
been seen by some Members although it hadn’t been widely circulated. The
Leader told Mrs Farrow that the original intention had been that the local area
partnerships should have been self-funding by 2010 and that funding had
been extended twice since then. The Council would be talking to the local
area partnerships in the near future.
2.2
Health Strategy Update and the Norfolk Health Overview and Scrutiny
Committee
At the last meeting, the Health Improvement Officer told Members that clarity
was still required regarding the input of district councils into the County’s
Health and Wellbeing Boards. At the request of Members she sought an
update and has received the following response from the Senior Policy and
Performance Officer at Norfolk County Council:
“Regarding the role of districts in the Health and Wellbeing Board, the
discussions are still being held but it is likely that:
- the districts will be represented on the Health and Wellbeing Board
(Leaders?)
- there will be some form of locality working that supports/informs the
work of the Board. The locality could be based upon district council
areas or Clinical Commissioning Groups, what ever makes sense
locally.
I am sorry that I cannot provide you with anything further at this stage.
Draft Terms of Reference for the Operational Health and Wellbeing
Board (which will be established in April 2012) will be worked up in
anticipation of the final meeting of the shadow HWB on 9 December
2011. Things should be clearer thereafter.”
Members will be kept updated by future Health Update reports. The next one
is on the Work Programme for 13 December 2011.
A meeting of the Norfolk Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee was held
on 13 October 2011. North Norfolk District Council is represented on this
Committee by Mrs A Claussen-Reynolds. She has provided the Outcomes
and Actions from this meeting for Members’ information. It is attached at
Appendix G
2.3
The Corporate Plan
At the special meeting of Overview and Scrutiny on 4 October 2011,
Members drew up a comprehensive list of comments and suggested
amendments to the Corporate Plan. The Chairman outlined how the
Committee’s comments would be fed back to Cabinet. An initial list of
Overview and Scrutiny Committee
16 November 2011
comments from the meeting would be drawn up and once this was approved
by the Chairman and Vice-Chairman it would be circulated to Cabinet
Members. It was hoped that Cabinet would be able to provide a written
response to the initial comments prior to the next meeting of Full Council on
19 October 2011.
The Committee also made the following recommendation, because Members
were concerned that the Corporate Plan was not being issued as a draft
document and that there was no consultation with key partners:
“To recommend to Full Council that the decision to approve the
corporate plan is deferred to allow consultation with parish and town
councils and other key partners on the key priorities and actions.”
At Full Council on 19 October 2011 this proposal was lost with 15 Members
voting in favour and 19 against. The Corporate Plan was approved. A
Member of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee expressed disappointment
that Cabinet had made no response to the points raised by the Committee,
even though they had 2 weeks to do this. The Chair of Overview and Scrutiny
told the meeting that the Committee would like to receive a response to their
comments which had been made in a constructive manner but to date no
specific response has been received.
2.4
Community Infrastructure Levy
The following recommendation has been forwarded to Cabinet:
“To recommend to Cabinet that the Council investigates CIL and that the
Planning Policy and Built Heritage Working Party progresses the
detailed work in relation to infrastructure planning, viability testing, and
preparation of a Draft Charging Schedule.”
3.
Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme
Members have resolved that the following items should be added to the
Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme:
•
The work of the Health Trainer team (25 January 2012)
•
Suicide and Mental Health (to be allocated)
•
Domestic Violence (to be allocated)
A presentation by the Norfolk Coalition of Disabled People was originally
scheduled for 18 October 2011 but was deferred to 13 December 2011
because the representative from the Coalition was not available. He is now no
longer in post. The presentation will still go ahead for December but will be
made by the Community Liaison Officer.
4.
Public Transport Time and Task Limited Panel
The first meeting of the Public Transport Time and Task Limited Panel was
held at the offices of Broadland District Council on 26 October. NNDC’s
representatives on this panel are Mr T FitzPatrick, Ms V R Gay, Mrs B
McGoun and Mr R Reynolds. Mr P Balcombe of Broadland was appointed
Chair and Mr T FitzPatrick Vice Chair.
Overview and Scrutiny Committee
16 November 2011
Three amendments were made to the Terms of Reference which are attached
at Appendix H
Specific areas in the districts for the focus of the review are Fakenham, North
Walsham, Acle and Coltishall. The Panel will also look at some cross country
routes. The Panel will wish to meet representatives from the transport
operators in the districts, including those who provide community transport
schemes and supermarket buses. The Panel has set a target of 4 months to
complete the review.
An officer with transportation expertise will be invited to the next meeting
which is scheduled for 23 November 2011.
5.
Work Arising from the Training Day 16 September 2011
At the training day on 16 September 2011 some amendments to the Work
Programme Template were suggested by Members. It was also proposed that
a Witness Protocol should be produced. The work has since been completed
in draft form.
5.1
Work Programme Template
The Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme Template was
introduced, in embryonic form, by the report author in November 2005 as a
result of some training she had completed at the University of Birmingham.
Since then it has developed in response to the needs of the ever-evolving
scrutiny process and changes in legislation. The latest version is the 7th and is
attached at Appendix I. Revised explanatory notes are attached at Appendix
J.
The November 2011 revisions include:
• “Objectives and Desired Outcomes” and “How/when/where?” moved
forward because Members thought that these considerations should
be taken into account early in the scoping process.
• “Resources required” is a new category which has been added.
• “Urgency” has been added to “priority” and “strategic impact”
• The explanatory notes are more comprehensive
5.2
Witness Protocol
It is good practice to have a Witness Protocol. Until now, NNDC has not had
one although a questionnaire for witnesses was developed in 2006. In
producing this work the report author has looked at examples of witness
protocols from comparable councils and has found that they are all based on
the same model. In the interests of consistency she has therefore adapted
this model for NNDC. The questionnaire is a revision of the Council’s existing
one informed by the aims of the Witness Protocol.
Members may be minded to approve these documents with minor
amendments. They may, however, consider that more work is required with
greater Member involvement and may wish to form a Task and Finish Group
which would meet once for the sole purpose of addressing this work.
RECOMMENDATION
1. To approve the revisions to the Work Programme Template and the
Witness Protocol or
Overview and Scrutiny Committee
16 November 2011
2. to set up a Task and Finish Group to meet once for the purpose of
carrying out further work on the Work Programme Template and the
Witness Protocol.