Agenda item

The Scrutiny Adviser introduced the Draft 2018-19 Annual Forward Work Programme to the Committee and advised that it was best practice and a cornerstone of good scrutiny for Members of a Scrutiny Committee to have ownership of their forward work programme and to be involved in developing, reviewing and updating it. The draft Annual Forward Work Programme had been produced following a review of the outcomes from the Committee’s Work Programme the previous year, the Council’s Risk Register, Regulatory Reports and topics proposed by Members for inclusion.

The Adviser presented an overview of the proposed topics included within the draft Work Programme. For Performance Monitoring for the coming year, instead of having separate reports upon Performance Measures, Improvement Priorities and Budget Monitoring, one merged report would be created for each service area for consideration together. This should be a more efficient use of the Committee’s time and the information would be more timely and up to date.

Discussions included the following:

·        Whether this Committee could scrutinise the entire Cabinet portfolio. Members were advised that the remit of the Committee included service areas within the Place and Corporate Directorates, including: People and Business Change; Finance; Law and Regulation; Regeneration Investment and Housing, and; Streetscene and City Services. The Performance Scrutiny Committee - People would scrutinise service areas within the People Directorate, including: Adult and Community Services; Children and Young People Services, and; Education.

·        It was clarified that that there is room in the Annual Forward Work Programme to add future topics that the Committee agrees to scrutinise, or future emerging topics for example if the Committee agreed that a service area was under performing and needed to focus on its scrutiny.  The Committee would have the opportunity to review and update its Work Programme when the Forward Work Programme Update report is considered at the end of each meeting. The Committee could agree to request a briefing, an information report, a Committee report or set up a Policy Review Group on an area of concern that emerged.

·        Service Plans would be emailed to Members of the Committee as Information Reports once adopted.  Following feedback from the Committee at a previous meeting, Scrutiny Briefings would be arranged in September upon: Housing, and; the Quality of the Road Network, following which the Committee could consider whether they wished to consider an aspect of the topics in more detail. Performance Management and Budget Analysis training would be scheduled in the autumn, before the Committee would consider the 2018-19 Performance Updates in November and would also provide an opportunity for Committee Members to know more about target setting.

·        It was explained that the Recommendations Monitoring topic upon the draft Annual Forward Work Programme would be an opportunity for the Committee to monitor the implementation of the Cabinet’s Budget Decisions and how the concerns raised by the Committee were being addressed. Members agreed it was important for it to be recognised that the Committee’s recommendations were constructive.

·        Whether there would be the possibility of special meetings being arranged in the event of a particular challenge. Members were advised that should a challenging issue emerge, the Committee could agree to request a report and if the topic was too time sensitive to wait until the next Meeting, then in the circumstances a special meeting could be arranged.  Members were reminded that there would be some flexibility within the Annual Forward Work Programme for the Committee to prioritise an emerging topic, where necessary.

·        It was confirmed that the Chairs of the four Scrutiny meetings had met at regular intervals through the year and that this would continue.

·        Members enquired whether the Performance Scrutiny Committees could address issues with policy making and make suggestions and were advised that strategic policy making documents sit within the remit of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee.  In response to a query, it was clarified that there is still a Scrutiny Referral Topic Form for a Member to propose a topic and submit it for a Scrutiny Committee to consider whether to add it to its Work Programme.  However, the form would not be required by Members of the Committee as the Committee may agree to add a topic to their Work Programme or amend it in each meeting. The Committee could send recommendations to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee by formal letter.

·        It was advised that after each Scrutiny Committee meeting, any information requested by the Committee would be listed in an action sheet, to chase and report an update on information provided.  At the end of every meeting the Forward Work Programme Update would include a table of topics scheduled for the next two meetings, and request any particular information the Committee would like to be included and any Invitees the Committee would like to be invited, for each report and would also include the action sheet and a list of information reports circulated since the previous meeting.

·        Members briefly discussed Housing, as the topic had been raised in a previous meeting and identified as a topic the Committee wished to consider.  This topic would be the subject of a Briefing for the Committee in September, following which the Committee could decide on the scope of the topic they would consider in more detail.  It was confirmed that Cabinet Members had been invited to the July meeting to receive questions upon Year End Performance for the Service Areas within the remit of this Committee.

·        The Committee was assured that it could agree to adapt its Annual Forward Work Programme at its meetings or reprioritise topics and was reminded that the Council’s regulators such as Wales Audit Office and ESTYN are always looking for best practice being demonstrated by Scrutiny Committees driving and shaping their Forward Work Programme.

·        A Member praised how far the development of Scrutiny in Newport had come over the past 5 years.  The Scrutiny Team were complemented on the work undertaken.

Agreed:

The Committee approved the draft Annual Forward Work Programme, the proposed schedule of meetings for 2018/19 and agreed the start time for Committee meetings.

The meeting ended at 16:58