Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs Christina Roles, Peter Scollard, Elizabeth Mulheran, Diane Morton and Gurjit Kaur Bains.  Cllrs John Caller, Emma Morley, Steve Thompson, Frank Wardle and Emma Elliott substituted.

The minutes of the meeting of the Overview Scrutiny Committee held on 10 June 2021 were signed by the Chair.

Cllr Jordan Meade declared an ‘other interest’ in Item 6. Cabinet Consideration of the Maritime Strategy Scrutiny Review in that he is a National Trustee and Director of the Maritime Volunteer Service.

Cllr Steve Thompson declared an ‘other interest’ in Item 6. Cabinet Consideration of the Maritime Strategy Scrutiny Review in that he is a member of the Maritime Volunteer Service.

Items called in from the Cabinet meeting of 7 September 2021

(Please ensure you have access to the Cabinet agenda for 7 September 2021

previously circulated to Members).

The Chair advised that of the eight items discussed at the previous Cabinet meeting, only two were able to be called in and having attended the meeting in person, the Chair was satisfied with the answers given by officers and that a debate that been held effectively.

For reference, the only two items that were able to be called in were the LGA Peer Challenge Follow-Up Report and Action Plan and the Drawdown Request from Rosherville Property Development Limited.

The Chair reminded Members that the burden of providing effective scrutiny fell upon them and he encouraged all Members to attend the Cabinet meetings so that they could have a greater understanding of the decisions being made. The Chair advised that if any Member wanted to call in an item from a Cabinet meeting, then he was happy to discuss that with them prior to the next Overview Scrutiny Committee meeting.  

The Chair gave an oral update to the Committee on Cabinets consideration of the recommendations from the Maritime Strategy Scrutiny Review.

The Chair advised that Cabinet considered the review and the seventeen recommendations put forward by Members on the Overview Scrutiny Committee but raised issue with a concern that was voiced by the Leader regarding lack of Member input into the review. The Chair reinforced the point that he wanted all Members to feel that they had the option to speak to the Chair of the review group and help shape the recommendations that came out of the review. All Members on the Committee were asked to share their views on the review, and they were able to feed their input into the process behind the review.

The Chair stated that at the previous Committee meeting, Member spent several hours discussing each recommendation from the review in turn and all Members actively contributed.

The Chair advised that the Cabinet thanked the Overview Scrutiny Committee and agreed to note the report and review the recommendations in order to find opportunities where the Cabinet could confirm their support and achieve some of the aspirations. The Cabinet agreed to report back to the Overview Scrutiny Committee in due course.

The Committee thanked the Scrutiny Review Sub-Group and the officers for all their hard work, against the backdrop of Covid-19, in completing the review successfully and creating a list of recommendations that would ultimately benefit the whole of the Borough.

Members noted the update.

To confirm the membership of the review sub-group and the terms of reference (attached).

The Committee were invited to revisit the Scrutiny Review of Street Cleanliness, littering, and Fly-tipping throughout the Borough and agree to the terms of reference and composition of the review sub-group.

The Chair advised that the terms of reference had previously been agreed by the Committee and the Director (Environment) had indicated prior to the meeting that he was happy with them as proposed in the report.

The Vice-Chair confirmed the list of Labour Members assigned to the Scrutiny Sub-Group:

• Cllr Peter Scollard
• Cllr Sarah Gow

The Vice-Chair, as Chair of the Scrutiny Review Sub-Group, advised that he wished to discuss the terms of reference as they had been agreed under a different Chair and although he agreed with the headings, he did not want to the Sub-Group to be limited to the questions under each heading. 

Following a discussion on the terms of reference, it was agreed that a statement would be included that informed the Sub-Group that the questions proposed were only advisory and the Chair was not limited to the questions that had been raised under each of the headings.

The Chair informed the Vice-Chair that it was important to get the review underway as soon as possible and the Director (Environment) would be in contact with him.

Members agreed to the terms of reference, subject to the aforementioned amendment, and composition of the Scrutiny Review Sub-Group.