To consider the committee’s work programme.

The Chairman said that the committee needed to consider various changes and additions to the work programme.

In response to a question from the Chairman, the Assistant Director, Governance advised that the terms of reference of the two overview and scrutiny committees were mutually exclusive and housing was a matter for this committee.

Seminars

Community Safety Strategy

Referring to discussions at the last meeting about domestic violence and abuse, the Vice-Chairman suggested that a seminar be held on this topic for members of both overview and scrutiny committees, with input from the key agencies concerned.  Committee members commented on: the links between public health and environmental health functions; the correlation between drug / alcohol abuse and domestic violence; and reports of premature deaths of homeless people.  The Cabinet Member Health and Wellbeing commented on the differences between people seeking social housing and those people who consciously chose to sleep rough.  In view of the broader issues raised, the Cabinet Member Corporate Services suggested that the seminar could cover the principal work-streams of the Community Safety Strategy.

Understanding Herefordshire

A seminar on the Understanding Herefordshire 2014 report was suggested for members of both overview and scrutiny committees.

Task and Finish Groups

In response to a question, the Chairman confirmed that task and finish groups would be routinely listed in the work programme for future editions.

Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP)

In response to a question from a committee member, it was reported that the governance arrangements for the LEP were due to be considered by Cabinet in late July 2014 and that this report would be awaited before the need for any scrutiny work was assessed.

Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)

In view of the recent change of Vice-Chairman and given the expectation that the Vice-Chairman would chair a high proportion of task and finish groups, the Chairman suggested that consideration should be given to Councillor Durkin replacing Councillor Harvey as chair of the CIL Task and Finish Group.

Councillor Harvey commented on a number of issues, including: the recent background to this matter; that CIL was a long standing and on-going piece of policy shaping work and was material to the viability and deliverability of the Core Strategy; and the potential detrimental impact on public perceptions if a change was made at this time. 

Some committee members made comments about: the importance of continuity; the initial intention that task and finish groups should be chaired by councillors with specific knowledge of a particular area; the difficulties experienced by the CIL Task and Finish Group; and the need to conclude the work as soon as possible given the importance of CIL to the soundness of the Core Strategy.

The Assistant Director, Governance provided clarification that Council had approved changes to allowances for the vice-chairmen of the two overview and scrutiny committees to reflect the expectation that the vice-chairmen would chair a certain percentage of task and finish groups (minute 42 of 23 November 2012 refers).

A motion to change the chair of the CIL Task and Finish Group was not carried and Councillor Harvey was re-elected as chair of this group.

In response to a concern expressed by a committee member, the Assistant Director, Governance confirmed that the issue of chairmanships of on-going task and finish groups would be specifically addressed within this report in future years.

Digital Strategy

Councillor Harvey stood down as chair of the Digital Strategy Task and Finish Group, although indicated that she would wish to remain as a member.  Councillor Durkin was elected as chair of this group.

The Vice-Chairman emphasised that chairmanship of groups was about duty, not allowances.  He added that the formation of this group was something he may wish to consider.

Planning Services

The Vice-Chairman proposed that the work initiated by Councillor Seldon be extended into a Planning Services Task and Finish Group, particularly to consider interactions between the department and service users.

Councillors Bowen, Chappell, Durkin, Powers and Seldon indicated that they would be prepared to be involved.  Councillor Durkin was elected as chair of this group.

In response to a comment from a committee member, the Chairman said that scoping statements for new task and finish groups would be drafted and presented to the committee for consideration in the usual manner.

Balfour Beatty

A committee member noted that an agenda item was scheduled for the September 2014 meeting but felt that more in depth work was required and proposed that a Balfour Beatty Task and Finish Group be established, particularly to look at how the contract was working and how the new system was operating.  Other committee members commented on the need to learn lessons from contract design and a high level approach should be taken to contract management issues.

Councillors Bowen, Chappell, James, McCaull, Seldon and Wilcox indicated that they would be prepared to be involved.  Councillor Bowen was elected as chair of this group.

Hidden Costs of a Child’s Education

It was noted that, arising from the Cabinet’s response to the call-in of the Herefordshire School and Post 16 SEN School Transport Policy (minute 63 refers), consideration needed to be given for an ‘Hidden Costs of a Child’s Education’ Task and Finish Group.

Councillors Atkinson, Bowen and Mayo indicated that they would be prepared to be involved.

The committee discussed the need for this particular group, especially as a number of national studies had been published on such matters and the limited scope of the council to affect change.  The Chairman noted that the group might not proceed but suggested that a brief scoping statement be drafted for consideration.

Pupil Premium

The need for this group was also questioned, particularly given the potential for duplication with the work of the Herefordshire Schools’ Forum and the monitoring role of Ofsted, and it was suggested that a brief scoping statement be drafted for consideration.

A number of comments were made by committee members about the need to be mindful of the finite resources available for scrutiny work.

Future Agenda Items

The provisional agenda items for forthcoming meetings were previewed.

Briefing Notes

Briefing notes would be produced on: Waste Management and Collection; Education Strategy for Herefordshire; Free Schools, Academies and the Relationship with Herefordshire Council; and Probation Service Performance.

The committee discussed the potential implications of the recent statement, by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, that the Conservatives were considering the reinstatement of the previous legal requirement for councils to collect rubbish weekly if they won the next General Election.  It was noted that the majority of councils had moved to fortnightly collections and the Local Government Association (LGA) had identified that public satisfaction levels with waste collection services were generally high regardless of the frequency of collection.