Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence from Councillors.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Mohan Iyengar and Laurence Fear.

To receive information on any changes in the membership of the Committee.

Note – When a member of a Committee is unable to attend a meeting of a Committee or Sub-Committee, the relevant Political Group Leader (or their nominated representative) may, by notice to the Monitoring Officer (or their nominated representative) prior to the meeting, appoint a substitute member from within the same Political Group. The contact details on the front of this agenda should be used for notifications. 

Councillor Bobbie Dove substituted for Councillor Mohan Iyengar.

Councillor David Kelsey substituted for Councillor Laurence Fear.

Councillors are required to comply with the requirements of the Localism Act 2011 regarding disclosable pecuniary interests. Declarations received will be reported at the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

Councillors are asked to elect the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Board for the 2019/2020 Municipal Year.

RESOLVED:

That Councillor Philip Broadhead be elected Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Board for the 2019/2020 Municipal Year.

Councillors are asked to elect the Vice-Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Board for the 2019/2020 Municipal Year.

RESOLVED:

That Councillor May Haines be elected Vice-Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Board for the 2019/2020 Municipal Year.

To receive any public questions, statements or petitions submitted in accordance with the Constitution. Further information on the requirements for submitting these is available to view at the following link:-

https://democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/documents/s2305/Public%20Items%20-%20Meeting%20Procedure%20Rules.pdf 

The deadline for the submission of public questions is Monday 3 June 2019.  

The deadline for the submission of a statement is 12.00 noon on Friday 7 June 2019. 

The deadline for the submission of a petition is 12.00 noon on Friday 7 June 2019.

The Democratic Services Officer reported that there was one question and one statement received. The question and response received were as follows:

Question from Angela Pooley

“Prior to the Council merger it was agreed at a Shadow meeting that Co-opted members would still be part of the Scrutiny Panels.  Could you please confirm that this will still be taking place?”

Response from Councillor Phillip Broadhead (Chairman)

“The Overview and Scrutiny elements of the constitution were developed in liaison with the Centre for Public Scrutiny and are based on best practices in scrutiny.  Enabling the voice and concerns of the public is one of the six principles of Overview and Scrutiny as outlined in Part 1 of the Council’s Constitution.  Article 6 in Part 2 of the Constitution allows for this to happen in a flexible way. It says the following about involving non-elected members of Overview and Scrutiny Committees:

‘In addition to the Councillors elected to the Committee, members of the public can be invited to attend and contribute to meetings as required to provide insight to a matter under discussion. This may include but is not limited to subject experts with relevant specialist knowledge or expertise, representatives of stakeholder groups or service users. These attendees will not have voting rights.’

Paragraph 2.11 of The Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules at Part 4 of the Constitution also states:

‘Consideration will be given at the scoping stage as to how others, in addition to Councillors and Officers of the Council, may be engaged in the work of Overview and Scrutiny and the benefit that this engagement will bring to the work. This may include, but is not limited to, contribution from subject experts with relevant specialist knowledge and/or expertise; representatives of stakeholder groups and service users.’

The constitution therefore enables the O&S Board and each O&S Committee to invite members of the public to attend meetings as appropriate to the subject matter and seek input to matters under discussion.  This is not limited to Committee meetings and can include involvement in commissioned work such as working groups and detailed inquiries.  It will be for each individual Overview and Scrutiny body to consider what action it would like to take in relation to involvement of non-elected members in its work and this will form part of its work planning process to ensure that scrutiny work is scoped to involve others who will add value to the matter under review. 

Public involvement in Overview and Scrutiny is not limited to attendance at meetings and can also include:

· contributing evidence to an Overview and Scrutiny review;
· suggesting topics to be considered for Overview and Scrutiny;

Any member of the public interested in overview and scrutiny work is encouraged to ‘subscribe to updates’ for Overview and Scrutiny Committees via the Council’s website.

Note - the Constitution gives separate direction on the matter of members to be co-opted to the Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee, which is required by legislation.”

The Board noted  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To consider and comment on reports due for consideration by the Cabinet on 12 June 2019. Members are asked to consider these reports in advance of the meeting which will be available to view online using the following link: 

https://democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=285&MId=3718&Ver=4

Reports for this Cabinet meeting will be published on 4 June 2019.

The Chairman briefly clarified the role of the Overview and Scrutiny Board, reminding members that questions should be directed to Cabinet Portfolio Holders as the accountable policy makers, in order to delve further into the policy details. He explained that members could request that specific items be submitted for the Board’s consideration and that other scrutiny methods, such as Task and Finish Groups, could be utilised to scrutinise the policy.

The Board considered reports due for submission to the Cabinet on 12 June 2019. This allowed the Board to scrutinise the Financial Outturns 2018/19 report, Medium Term Financial Plan Update report, Appointment to Outside Bodies report and the Cabinet Forward Plan. The Chairman opened the discussion by inviting comments or questions on any of these items.

Financial Outturns 2018/2019

The Board considered the Financial Outturns 2018/2019 report, submitted by the Portfolio Holder for Finance.

The Vice-Chairman expressed that, because of the strict budget monitoring of the predecessor Councils, it was pleasing to see a surplus in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council budget. However, she highlighted that it was not clear whether other priorities had been considered for the allocation of the £493,000 in capital funding, as set out in Section 10 of the report. The Portfolio Holder for Finance explained that, when allocating the £493,000 in capital funding, various priorities were considered by Cabinet members and that it was agreed that the re-opening and refurbishment of Poole public conveniences was an early priority.

A Board member asked how many available public conveniences there were in each of the three areas of BCP and questioned why Poole’s public conveniences were prioritised above those in Bournemouth and Christchurch. The Portfolio Holder for Finance responded that in recent years the number of public convenience closures in Poole were far higher than in Bournemouth or Christchurch and the reputational damage because of this had been widely reported in both local and national news. The same Board member asked what the other priorities were that the Cabinet had considered, to which the Portfolio Holder for Finance reported that all members of the Unity Alliance felt that this was an early priority that was deliverable. The Portfolio Holder for Finance clarified that the various other priorities would be set out in the Unity Alliance’s corporate plan.

Following questions from another Board member, the Portfolio Holder for Finance explained further that the Unity Alliance’s corporate plan was currently being developed alongside senior officers. The Board member questioned whether, as development of the corporate plan progresses, there may be a better priority that emerges on which the £493,000 may be spent. She also said that the corporate plan may now be constrained due to this early decision. The Portfolio Holder for Finance agreed that there would be different priorities emerging as the programme developed but assured the Board that these other priorities would be worked through and assessed as they arose. The Leader of the Council explained that, during their strategy week, the Unity Alliance had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The future meeting dates for the Board are listed below.

Councillors are asked to confirm the venues for the future Overview and Scrutiny Board meetings.

2019:

8^th July – Bournemouth Town Hall

9^th September – Poole Civic Centre

7^th October – Christchurch Civic Offices

11^th November – Bournemouth Town Hall

9^th December – Poole Civic Centre

2020:

13^th January – Christchurch Civic Offices

10^th February – Bournemouth Town Hall

16^th March – Poole Civic Centre

20^th April – Christchurch Civic Offices

The Chairman opened the discussion on future meeting dates and invited comments from the Board. One Board member expressed that it would be sensible to start meetings earlier than 7.15pm due to the likelihood of extensive agendas. The Overview and Scrutiny Specialist informed the Board that support from the Centre for Public Scrutiny had been arranged for the 8 July 2019 meeting and therefore, the formal meeting would start at 7.15pm. However, all future dates would start at 6.00pm. A Board member commented that in the interest of ensuring diverse representation on the Board, a 7.00pm time would allow those with full time jobs or parental obligations a better chance to attend. A Board member enquired, given the membership of the Board, whether it would be more sensible to hold future meetings in Bournemouth and Poole.

The Chairman brought the meeting to a close by encouraging Board members to begin considering potential areas of work and to engage in the upcoming planning sessions and approach the Chairman or Vice-Chairman with any suggestions. The Overview and Scrutiny Specialist clarified that the recommendation made to Cabinet at this evening’s meeting would be taken to cabinet on Wednesday 12 June where the Overview and Scrutiny Board Chairman would have a right to speak.