Agenda Item No_____11_______
SCRUTINY TASK AND FINISH GROUP – SCRUTINY COMMITTEE WORK
PROGRAMME AND RELATED ISSUES
Summary:
The issues examined by the Scrutiny Work Programme Task
and Finish Group are interrelated. Bringing about
improvements in agreeing what issues the Scrutiny Committee
should be focussing on and how the Committee works with
Cabinet and Council can only be fully achieved if changes are
also made to the such things as the council report format, use
of the Forward Plan and the Witness Protocol.
These changes if implemented provide the opportunity to help
improve overall decision making through access to better
quality information and processes that engage all Members in
important issues. How we involve outside bodies in the work of
the council can also be improved though new witness protocols
The changes proposed have only minor resource implications,
but do rely on corporate buy in and consistent use to achieve
the full beneficial impact of improved outcomes for the North
Norfolk Community. The Corporate Leadership Team will need
to consider implementation of some of the recommendations
and agreement of Cabinet to cooperate with the changes will
also be required.
Collectively these actions will help ensure that Scrutiny can add
value to the overall process of local government and how it
involves partners and residents in the process.
Recommendations: The Scrutiny Committee is recommended to:1. Agree use of the work template outlined in Fig 1. for all
new areas of work to be considered by Scrutiny
Committee.
2. Support the sequencing of meetings as outlined in Fig 1.
3. Recommend the updated report format in Appendix A.
4. Adopt the updated Witness protocol outlined in
appendix B
5. Hold meetings off site where appropriate in 2013/14 as a
pilot scheme.
6. Consider more use of Task and Finish Groups to deliver
the work programme of the Committee
7. Request the Corporate leadership Team and the
Democratic Services Team to manage the
implementation of these recommendations including
any necessary training to assist with new or revised
procedures.
8. Propose that any financial implications of these
revisions be considered as part of the 2013/14 budget
round
9. That the annual review of the Scrutiny Committee
should include an assessment of these issues to ensure
progress is being achieved.
10.
That these recommendations be considered by the
Corporate leadership Team and Full Council as
appropriate.
11.
That the Council Constitution be reviewed to
accommodate any agreed changes from these
proposals.
Cabinet Member(s)
Ward(s) affected
Mr K E Johnson
All
Contact Officer, telephone number and email: Overview and Scrutiny Work Plan
Task and Finish Group: Chair Mr P W Moore. Report Author Mr G Williams
Consultation Undertaken:
The draft proposals were provided to the chief Executive and Group Leaders and any
feed back received was considered in drafting this report to committee.
Background Papers used in writing this report:
The Council Constitution provides much of the background to these issues together
with the original legislation to establish the new executive arrangement for councils (Local Government Act 2000)
Existing documents have been reviewed including the scrutiny work programme
template, witness protocol and report template. All documents are available from the
Democratic Services Team Leader (Mary Howard).
1.
Introduction
1.1
The Scrutiny Committee established a Task and Finish Group to review the
arrangements for agreeing the range of topics and issues the Committee
should be considering within its annual work programme. The group was also
asked to consider how items could best be scheduled to fit well with the
overall decision making process of the council, particularly Cabinet. The
group also looked at introducing a formal witness protocol to guide both
Members and external witnesses asked to attend the Scrutiny meetings.
1.2
At the first meeting of the Task Group, it was agreed that the council report
format should also be considered, with the objective of producing accessible,
easy to read documents that provide all the required information and
background to help improve decision making and increase involvement and
the understanding of both elected members and visitors to the Council's
various committees and working meetings.
1.3
Together these revised processes and formats should aim to :a) Ensure that Scrutiny Committee can fulfil its corporate role as laid down in
the Council constitution and add real value to the decision making
process.
b) Establish productive working relationship with Cabinet and other Council
committees.
c) Help establish a more co-ordinated process, linking the work of the
various committees, Cabinet and Full Council in a logical way that creates
a transparent, easy to understand way of conducting business.
d) Improve the efficiency of how issues are considered by Scrutiny.
e) Encourage more external interest and involvement in the Scrutiny process
from partner organisations and the wider community.
f) Have clear simple processes to guide referrals to Scrutiny and a
corporate report format that provides the right information to facilitate
good quality, transparent decision making.
g) Make it easier to assess whether the scrutiny process is effective and
what difference it is making in North Norfolk.
The Task and Finish Group has considered these overall objectives in making
the following observations and the recommendations above.
2.
2.1
Creating a Scrutiny Committee Work Programme – what should we be
looking at?
Scrutiny Committee has three main purposes/functions:
• Scrutinising and reviewing the decisions of Cabinet (which includes the Call
In procedure)
• Pre scrutiny/ overview where issues are referred to the Committee for
consideration and comment before any decision is taken by Cabinet or
Council.
• A third related role of examining issues that are impacting or have the
potential to impact on North Norfolk and /or its residents. These may be
generated by the committee or received as requests from others (including
a ‘Councillor Call for Action’ by an individual Member)
2.2
With such a spread of role and areas of potential interest it is easy to
fall into the trap of everything being referred to Scrutiny for question
or comment at some stage. This is particularly common when
Members consider a particular agenda item with discussion leading to
further related issues that the Committee then asks “for a further
report on the matter”. While this broadens the general understanding
and potentially the influence of the Committee and it’s members, it
lacks focus and the Committee runs the risk of being a ‘jack of all
trades’ and ultimately making little difference on the important issues.
2.3
Time is a precious commodity and the Committee only meets 12 times per
council year plus a few extra reserve dates for unplanned business. Unless
the Council were to establish additional ‘themed’ Scrutiny Committees (e.g
Economic Scrutiny; Community Scrutiny; Environmental Scrutiny) time is
short and it is essential that good use of time takes place and that the
important issues take priority over general ‘for information only’ issues.
2.4
Task and finish groups are available to the Committee, but this current group
is only the second such group since 2005. Managing a growing scrutiny work
load may only be achieved if, as well as improved processes, we also
consider more frequent use of task and finish groups. This would require
support from the Democratic Services Team which is currently only 2.5 FTE
staff, so there may well be resource pressure that will need to be resolved.
The appointment of a new team leader in October / November this year is an
opportunity to take this issue on board and the introduction of new committee
management software will help with these issues, but positive action by
Scrutiny Committee members will also be required.
2.5
Any increased use of task and finish groups will need to run alongside any
policy working parties established by Cabinet. They should not duplicate
work.
3.
Prioritising work – how do we agree what to look at?
3.1
The Committee is responsible for setting it’s own programme. Requests may
be made to the Committee to consider items, either from the Council,
Cabinet, other committees, officers or individual Members. It is for the
Committee to determine when and how it should deal with these requests.
The committee is in control of the work programme but we need an objective
way of agreeing what to look at and to determine any priority issues.
3.2
The current work programme template gives some guidance but is confusing
to complete and is ignored by most councillors and the committee itself.
When used, it is rarely completed in full. This is a missed opportunity.
3.3
To meet the objective of simplicity, clarity and appropriateness, a simple
template should prompt a description of:-
• What is being looked at - A description of exactly what is being
considered and who will be presenting it / responsible for the report(s)
• How it will be looked at - What process will be used - presentation, report,
external witness/participant, any consultation feedback, timetable for activity
(single or multiple meetings)
• Why are we looking at it - Why is the issue important? Is it urgent? Is it of
public concern? Is there a significant impact on the District? How the issue
links to the confirmed priorities and policies of the council and the Corporate
Plan / Annual action Plans.
• What outputs and outcomes can be expected - What is the target result
of the overall task.
• Resources required - Are there any resource requirements? - Officer time,
research, site visits, witness expenses.
3.4
Members have already commented on suggested improvements to the
existing template and using this as a starting point, new template headings
are proposed in Fig 1. (attached) This template should be used by the
Committee to structure the work programme and to inform anyone requesting
an agenda item, of the necessary information required before it can be
considered by the committee administrator and the Chair via the pre agenda
meeting. Consistent and strict adherence should be the norm. No completed
template - no agenda slot.
The template can also be used quickly during Scrutiny Committee meetings
as an ‘aide memoir’ / prompt to confirm whether a request from the meeting
for further work or new work is actually a priority. This would be a role for the
Chair quickly consulting with the Committee Administrator before any further
action is agreed.
Completing the template should help the proposer to shape their thoughts as
to why the issue may need to go to Scrutiny. In some cases it will become
clear that there is a better way of dealing with the issue. Making the template
practical and useful will help ensure its proper use and accompanying
guidance notes can assist with completion. There also needs to be clear links
to the new report template to avoid confusion over use of language / terms
etc. Much of the Scrutiny Committee agenda consists of cyclical reports which
have the ability to clog the system. Such reports should be time limited and
only reinstated if something changes. Six monthly or annual reports can
become excessive over time, leading ultimately, to limited space being
available in committee meetings for new issues. There is evidence that
cyclical reports and regular “update” reports have been choking the work
programme for some time. Unless the matter is very important, some update
reports could be incorporated into the Overview and Scrutiny Update item on
the agenda, which is primarily for information only. In addition, alternative
means of reviewing or informing on these subjects should be considered, for
example, via officer ‘briefing notes1’ issued outside the meeting agenda
process.
Where outside bodies request a presentation to Scrutiny the same rules
should apply and use of the work programming template will be required.
4.
1
Sequencing/scheduling of meetings
A standardized simple briefing note format could be used across the Council to share
information via the Intranet system. Linked to any new report format it could improve
consistency of approach and use of terminology and increase understanding and involvement
in key issues across all Members (and officers).
4.1
The various committees and decision making processes of the Council are
laid down in the Constitution. While responsibilities are clear, some areas of
process can be interpreted in several ways. One issue where this occurs is the
sequencing of meetings and the challenge to establish a workable efficient
programme of meetings in a crowded meeting calendar.
The ‘post decision’ role of Scrutiny obviously needs to follow a Cabinet
decision or recommendation and this is usually expected to take place before
the next full council meeting, often within a few weeks (and in some cases,
days). Comments / recommendations from Scrutiny are referred to Council to
be considered alongside the recommendation from Cabinet.
4.2
While the Council Chamber is theoretically the centre of the democratic
process at the local level, in reality it is often not the best place to have
detailed discussion and to receive essential contributions from officers or other
speakers. If Scrutiny has made detailed comments on an item referred from
Cabinet it would be better if they could be formally considered by Cabinet
before the issue is put to Council. This would mean missing a cycle to allow
the Cabinet agenda to consider feedback from Scrutiny. This is not essential
on all issues and in some cases urgency will require a swift route through
Cabinet and Scrutiny to Council. The new executive arrangements established
in the Local Government Act 2000 were partly to speed up the decision
making process, but they also expected full and proper engagement of the
scrutiny process. This expectation includes timely involvement.
What is proposed by the Task and Finish Group, is that, wherever possible,
when Cabinet wishes to receive Scrutiny views on a proposal/ decision it
should allow sufficient time in the process to receive comments back to the
following Cabinet meeting before referring recommendations to Council or
making the decision itself. Fig 2 (attached at page) shows the existing process
and the suggested new arrangement. This preferred action should be the
default situation for all major items/issues and wherever possible or practical,
in all other cases.
If Cabinet is unwilling or unable to refer matters in this way it will still be able to
take the decision and Scrutiny will need to consider what if any action it
wishes to take. Some items will not require further involvement while others
may need a response or, where appropriate, be called in, if it is a Cabinet
decision and sufficient grounds are evident.
Some of the positive and negative aspects of each way of managing decisions
is shown below.
Positive points of existing system
Negative points of existing system
Speedy decision making
Often little time for Cabinet to consider feed back
from Scrutiny
Achievable within existing approach to
committee timetable
Council receives last minute papers / updates
giving little time for Members to consider
Restricted debate at Council due to limited time
allocation to each Member.
Little time for partner or public input to the
process
Positive points of existing system
Negative points of existing system
NNDC possibly open to challenge over decision
making processes
Positive points of proposed system
Time for Cabinet to consider Scrutiny
feedback before decision is taken/finalised
Negative points of proposed system
Slower decision making (but urgent issues can
still be dealt with)
Better working relationship between Cabinet May be seen as Scrutiny ‘vetting’ Cabinet
and Scrutiny and less likelihood of call ins
proposals - a negative view rather than positive
enhancement
Council receives worked up
Potentially more complicated if badly introduced
recommendations and more informed debate
at meetings - reduced number of late papers
or amendments.
More realistic timescale to consult partners/ Requires buy in from officers to plan /deliver work
public where appropriate
well in advance of decision dates. Not always
possible if reliant on external factors.
For this re-scheduling proposal to work it will be necessary to improve forward
planning of Cabinet business. Some items will always be urgent and will have
to be dealt with in the most appropriate way and any proposals from the Task
and Finish Group are not intended to inhibit that. What could be expected is
better use of the Council’s Forward Plan process, giving earlier warning of key
and important decisions.2. Where the need for decisions are known well in
advance, officers and portfolio holders should aim to present papers to
Cabinet/committees early enough to allow a two cycle decision period as in
Fig 2. (attached at page). The pre agenda planning process will also need to
take this into account.
If we can build space into the programme, Scrutiny and Cabinet could work
better together and input from Scrutiny members could then be properly
considered before decisions are finalised. The overall aim is to help secure
better informed decision making and greater elected member involvement in
important decisions. This is not a political issue, rather one of ensuring that
Scrutiny and Members generally have a meaningful role in important
decisions, even if it is simply that they are consulted and informed properly
and in a timely fashion.
The whole issue of the number of scrutiny meetings and the ability to get
through business also needs to be considered. It appears difficult to slot in
any more meetings, but it may be worth considering longer meetings when
agendas are heavy. All day meetings with proper breaks can be productive.
2
The requirements for, and use of the Forward Plan are laid down in legislation and the
Council Constitution, but do not appear to currently feature strongly in the work planning of
the Council.
The Task and Finish Group recommendations to the Scrutiny Committee aim
to offer an integrated proposal that deals with all the related matters templates, meeting schedules, use of task and finish groups, report style, use
of witnesses and number of meetings. The following issues complete this
range of tasks.
5.
5.1
Report Format – Understanding what we are being told
Part of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the scrutiny function (and
any committee) is access to good quality information provided in clear easy to
understand formats. This can be achieved in several ways, but the main way
should be through well written committee reports and background papers/
appendices.
The Council has used a report template for some time, but there is some
evidence that at best this appeared to be interpreted in different ways and at
worse, largely ignored. A new report template has been designed and has
being launched . This is a considerable improvement but will need fine tuning
to accommodate any agreed outcomes from these proposals. There are also
several additional items that could also be included in the main report
document including what consultation has taken place prior to, and informing
the recommendations and, for Executive decisions by Cabinet, what
alternative courses of action/recommendations have been considered during
the process. This second point has recently been introduced following
changes in legislation. A suggested updated template is attached as
Appendix A. This should be refined and implemented by the new Business
Manager (Democratic and Corporate Services) for use as soon as possible.
5.2
What will be essential for success, is absolute compliance with any agreed
template. Report authors will need to use the template properly if they expect
reports to get on the agenda. The template design includes a tick box
approach for some elements, but a tick box mentality cannot be tolerated for
the overall template. Training should help ensure the template is seen as an
aid to structuring any report and proper consideration of each of the elements
will be required.
5.3
The use of complex jargon and badly referenced information should not be
tolerated. A glossary of terms and use of footnotes should be encouraged for
technical issues. Listing background papers used to draft the report will help
the reader to understand the issues and context better and hence they can
contribute to the debate and any decision making on an informed basis.
The use of plain English in reports should be a basic requirement across the
council with any necessary training as required. The Corporate
Communications Team can also play a useful role in helping ensure a plain
English approach to report writing and involvement in the committee pre
agenda stage may be appropriate.
5.4
The introduction of the new template was the subject of a low priority external
council audit recommendation. There is currently limited evidence that it is
being used properly across the organisation. This issue needs to be reviewed
quickly as part of the introduction of any improvements agreed by the Scrutiny
Committee or as part of the programme of corporate changes being managed
by the Corporate Leadership Team and should be progressed by the Business
Manager - Democratic and Corporate Services when appointed shortly.
6.
Witness Protocol
6.1
Involving witnesses/visiting speakers, whether as individual officers, outside
organisations or the public, in the scrutiny process is vitally important. To aid
that process, there is a need for a witness protocol for both members of the
Committee and potential witnesses. While officers can be expected to be
relatively comfortable in meeting and working with Members, the same cannot
always be said of visitors. We need simple guidance to help Members get the
best out of witnesses and to help visitors understand what will happen and
how they play a role in the process.
6.2
The overall objective of the Task and Finish Group is to bring about
improvements to how the scrutiny process works and how it can contribute to
better services and outcomes for the communities in North Norfolk. The
witness protocol aims to reflect that objective and give easy to understand
guidance to councillors and to encourage attendance and worthwhile
contributions from visitors.
One issue is the use of the term ‘witness’ and the committee may wish to
consider if an alternative term may be more useful in explaining the role and
easing the concern or confusion of some attendees when asked to attend the
Committee. Suggestions have included - ‘Visiting participants’, ‘participants’,
‘visitors’ and ‘speakers’.
The draft protocols have been updated and are presented in Appendix B for
approval. It includes a separate section providing guidance for Scrutiny
councillors to help get the best input out of witnesses/participants/visitors.
This is for internal council use only.
7.
Committee meetings off site
7.1
In principle Members have always agreed to meeting off site, particularly in
community venues, although it has never happened. Using the Council
Chamber is more convenient for officers and most Members, but that is not a
good enough reason for it to always be the case. A few years ago the
Committee Room was used for Scrutiny, but it was made clear that the
Council Chamber was preferred, mainly due to acoustic issues.
7.2
There are occasions when meeting off site would be beneficial whether in a
community building or at a particular partner venue. These should be
considered when appropriate and used to help demonstrate that the Council
is doing all it can to understand and appreciate often very detailed issues and
to meet with key people in their locality or at their base to help that process.
This approach is worth exploring further and it is recommended to the
Committee should run a pilot project/meeting during the 2013/14 year should
a suitable subject and venue arise. There would be a resource implication
(room hire, sound system etc) but this should be relatively minor (estimate
£500).
8.
Annual Review
These changes to how Scrutiny operates will make it far easier to carry out an
annual review that should seek to confirm:-
• The Scrutiny Committee has examined and considered the important
issues.
• That the views of the Committee have been properly considered within the
decision making process of the council.
• That the council has a consistent and quality approach to providing
information to elected members in a timely manner that can help inform
decision making.
• That the council involves outside bodies in the scrutiny process in
productive and sensitive ways.
• But perhaps most important of all that the Scrutiny system is adding real
value to local government in North Norfolk and in the services provided for
residents.
The annual review process will consider any improvements required to ensure
the Committee continues to carry out its role both effectively and efficiently.
9.
Consultation on Task and Finish Group Proposals
The recommendations from the Task and Finish Group are likely to have
significant implications for the management of council decisions. An outline of
the draft proposals was provided to group leaders and the Chief Executive for
comment. Feed back from this exercise has been incorporated into the final
draft report.
Proposals and recommendations are now presented to the Scrutiny
Committee for consideration and, if necessary, recommendations referred on
to the Corporate leadership Team and Full Council.
10.
Resource Implication
The proposed changes have little if any resource implication other than a
commitment of officer time to establish new procedures and to find space in
the planned decision making programme to introduce earlier information and
recommendations to committees. Once implemented to new timetables, the
effort to operate the new procedures is no more onerous than existing. In fact
in several cases it is suggested it will be easier - e.g new report format. The
Council is also introducing a new electronic decision management system
(Modern Gov) that will make procedures easier. The only area where there
would be a potential resource issue is over increasing the number of meetings
whether of Scrutiny Committee meetings or task and finish groups. This will
need to be considered in the budget process for 2013/14.
11.
Financial implications and Risks
The recommendations in this report have no direct budget implications other
than a possible impact on staff time should the number of Scrutiny meetings
or use of task and finish groups increase significantly. If meetings off site were
also to become a regular feature of the Committee programme, some budget
provision should be made (£500 for 2013 – 14 pilot scheme). It is therefore
recommended that the operating budget for the Scrutiny Committee be
reviewed to accommodate these issues as part of the 2013/14 budget
process
12.
Sustainability
Scrutiny is an important part of the planning and decision making process of
the council which in turn is in place to help deliver the agreed priorities and
policies of the council. Collectively these policies help deliver a sustainable
approach to meeting community needs in North Norfolk. Economic,
environmental and social objectives can be achieved in effective and efficient
ways through clear transparent decision making and proper engagement of
partner organisations. An effective scrutiny process will assist in that process.
13.
Equality and Diversity
These proposals aim to improve the scrutiny process by making it more
accessible and transparent for, councillors, officers, partner organisations and
the public and will have a positive impact on equality and diversity issues.
14.
Section 17 Crime and disorder considerations
There are no direct consequences from these proposals or recommendations