To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillor Peter Hamblin, Councillor Bob Matthews and Councillor Rob Williams.

To receive details of members nominated to attend the meeting in place of a member of the board.

Councillor Clare Davies was present as a named substitute for Councillor Bob Matthews.

To receive declarations of interests members of the board in respect of items on the agenda.

No declarations of interest were made.

To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 19 March 2024.

Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 19 March 2024 be confirmed as a correct record and be signed by the Chairperson.

To receive any written questions from members of the public.

No questions were received from members of the public.

To receive any written questions from councillors.

No questions were received from councillors.

To provide the board with the findings of its working group tasked with reviewing a draft of the Herefordshire Council Plan and its accompanying delivery plan.

[Papers to follow]

The Chair introduced the report, which detailed the findings of the working group that had been set up by the board in order to track the Council Plan and contribute to its development.

The Chair invited comments from the board members in relation to the report. The principal points of discussion are summarised below:

1.     The board raised concerns about the language used regarding the Council’s commitment to the declared climate and ecological emergency and queried whether the commitment to tackling climate change was less robust than that of the ecological crisis in the rivers.

·       The Cabinet Member Environment gave an assurance that the Council was fully and equally committed to addressing climate change/net zero and ecological issues impacting local rivers, but noted that these were serious challenges and warned against using language that overpromised. It was stated that these were issues that would require effort and endeavour and this was conveyed in the choice of language used in the plan.

2.     The board welcomed the three themes of ‘people, place and growth’ that ran through the plan, but raised concerns about the use of the word ‘ensure’ being used in circumstances where pledges, commitments and promises could not necessarily be ensured.

·       The Leader of the Council acknowledged these concerns and noted that certain choices were down to partnerships and individuals to make. The Leader suggested that an alternative word such as enable could be used instead of ensure.

·       The Leader suggested that the content of the plan could be adjusted to make it clear that the council would ensure that opportunities were there for people to take, but that ensuring people took those opportunities was a matter of choice for each individual.

3.     The board suggested that the item would have been more productive if it had been used to focus on which findings from the working group had been incorporated into the Council Plan that was due to go to Cabinet on Thursday 16 May 2024, rather than being asked just to note the findings of the working group.

4.     The board raised concerns that the Delivery Plan was unbalanced and was ‘Hereford rather than Herefordshire’ focused.

5.     The Chair noted that the Delivery Plan was coming to Cabinet on 27 June 2024 and that it would be useful to be able to take a look at it again.

·       The Leader of the Council noted that the board’s working group had focused on the Council Plan and had only had limited time to view the Delivery Plan. However, some board members had been able to add tracked changes to the Delivery Plan, these had been implemented to allow for the creation of a new draft of the Delivery Plan. The Leader hoped to bring the new draft of the Delivery Plan to a Political Group Consultation, which would allow members to see that the deliverables had been tightened up in a clear and concise way.

·       The Leader suggested that, if possible, the Delivery Plan could be put before  ...  view the full minutes text for item 69.

For the board to consider the Financial Strategy Work Programme.

[Papers to follow]

The report was introduced to the board, with particular attention being paid to the ‘Scrutiny Management Board Potential Areas of Focus’ table set out at Appendix 1. An overview was provided of the key topics of focus:

-          Reserves Policy

-          Service Savings Plans

-          Budget Consultation

-          Delivery of Capital Programme

-          Income and Charging

-          Quarterly Outturns

-          Treasury Management

-          Budget Scrutiny

It was explained that the report had been informed by guidance set out by the CfGS (Centre for Governance and Scrutiny) detailing how scrutiny boards and committees should be undertaking financial scrutiny of a councils’ financial operations and budget development cycles.

The Chair invited the board to discuss and comment on the report. The principal points of discussion are summarised below:

1.    A board member suggested that scrutinising budgets and account management on a quarterly basis was not frequent enough and should be being carried out on more regular basis.

·         The Cabinet Member Finance and Corporate Services welcomed the board’s interest in the finance portfolio and noted that finance was included in seven of the board’s scheduled meetings. The Cabinet Member suggested that this might indicate potential mission creep and noted that the board did have other responsibilities outside of the area of finance.

2.    The board members considered and discussed the potential need for a standing panel made up of members, who would track and follow the financial delivery of the Council by meeting up to review published quarterly reports and other financial documents - with a view to determining which appropriate topics could be drawn from the reports for the Scrutiny Management Board to address.  It was suggested that the panel could also monitor monthly budget reports coming out of each of the directorates.

3.    The board considered what additional training would be required by members, especially in relation to the scrutiny of financial items.

Action: The Head of Strategic Finance stated that they could produce some suggestions about training and topic briefings aligned to the board’s work programme.

4.    A board member contemplated whether items relating to savings within directorates could be delegated to the other scrutiny committees, which might remove some of the financial load identified earlier by the Cabinet Member Finance and Corporate Services.

5.    A board member suggested a potential recommendation that officers and the Cabinet look at other authorities to see what their financial plans were and how they shaped their revenue budgets in terms of the allocations that were made across the areas they were responsible for.

6.    The board raised concerns around the number of authorities and councils facing financial difficulties and going bankrupt, and sought assurance that Herefordshire Council was in a stable finical position.

7.    In response to the suggestion that the work programme was finance-heavy, a board member pointed out that the item being discussed was the Financial Strategy Work Programme, and that the Board had its own work programme that would include non-financial topics and items. It was suggested that some of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 70.

For the board to consider the Scrutiny Annual Report.

[Papers to follow]

The board heard that the Scrutiny Annual Report would be available at the next board meeting.

The board expressed its wish for the Scrutiny Annual Report to include a section on the timeliness of reports coming to committees and the requirement for members of the public and councillors to have reasonable time to submit questions relating to reports and papers.

The board agreed to defer the item until its next meeting.

Resolved:

That this item be deferred until the next meeting of the board.

To consider the work programme for the board.

A discussion took place about the remit of the Scrutiny Management Board with reference to Herefordshire Council Constitution.

The board agreed to defer the item and hold a dedicated session before the next meeting to discuss the content of the worker programme in greater detail.

The board agreed that the work programme item should always include the latest version of the Herefordshire Council Forward Plan.

The board agreed that the work programme items should include a progress sheet/action tracker detailing responses and feedback from recommendations and actions.

The board suggested that partnership working between the four counties should be added to the work programme list of topics.

Resolved:

That the work programme item be deferred until the board had discussed it in detail as part of a work programme planning session to be held before the board’s next scheduled meeting.  

Tuesday 16 July 2024, 2pm

Tuesday 16 July 2024 2pm