Issue - meetings

To consider a report of the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee.

As part of the 2018/19 Scrutiny Work Programme, the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee took the unusual step of undertaking a short review of its own, assessing how scrutiny was carried out in Stockport to determine what was considered was being done well, and what opportunities there were for improvement and using resource in a different and more efficient way. The review was undertaken by the Co-ordination Committee and additional members from the Labour and Independent Ratepayers Group to provide political balance.

The Cabinet is invited to consider the report and recommendations.

Officer contact: Stephen Fox, 0161 414 3206, stephen.fox@stockport.gov.uk

The Chair of the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee (Councillor Lisa Smart) attended the meeting to present the final report of the Scrutiny Review ‘Undertaking Scrutiny in Stockport’ (copies of which had been circulated) and to answer questions from the Cabinet. Councillor Smart also thanked those councillors who had joint the Review to provide political balance and emphasised the cross-party support for the recommendations.

Cabinet Members welcomed the Review and its timeliness in light of the impending commencement in the next Municipal Year of a review of the Council’s governance arrangements, emphasising the need to ensure that the findings and recommendations of the Scrutiny Review fed into that process.

Cabinet Members also commented on the positive examples of scrutiny activity undertaken in the past and the valuable contribution that scrutiny members made to the governance of the Council. Nevertheless, they acknowledged the need to review current practice to ensure it remained appropriate for the changing needs of the Council.

RESOLVED – (1) That final report of the Scrutiny Review ‘Undertaking Scrutiny in Stockport’ be received and noted.

(2) That the Chief Executive be requested to ensure that recommendations within the ‘Undertaking Scrutiny in Stockport’ Scrutiny Review be considered as part of the proposed Governance Review being undertaken in 2019/20.

(3) That the gratitude of the Cabinet be recorded for the work undertaken by the Scrutiny Coordination Committee and additional councillors as part of the Review ‘Undertaking Scrutiny in Stockport’.

To consider a report of the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee.

The report sets outs the findings and recommendations of the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee following their review of scrutiny activity in Stockport. It draws on good practice from elsewhere in the country and makes a series of recommendations for consideration by each of Stockport’s scrutiny committees.

The Scrutiny Committee is invited to consider the report and recommendations.

Officer contact: Stephen Fox on 0161 474 3206 or email: stephen.fox@stockport.gov.uk

Consideration was given to a report of the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee (copies of which had been circulated) setting out the findings and recommendations of the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee following its review of scrutiny activity in Stockport. It drew on good practice from elsewhere in the country and made a series of recommendations for consideration by each of Stockport’s scrutiny committees.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

To consider a report of the Chair of the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee, Councillor Lisa Smart.

The Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee agreed to undertake a short review to assess how Scrutiny was carried out in Stockport. Given that the composition of the Committee was made up of the Scrutiny Committee Chairs and therefor was not inclusive of all the political groups on the Council, Councillors Anna Charles-Jones, Amanda Peers and John Taylor all kindly agreed to participate in the review. This report details the findings and final recommendations of the Committee and has been circulated to all Scrutiny Committees for information.

The Scrutiny Committee is requested to note the report.

Officer Contact: Stephen Fox on Tel: 0161 474 3206 or email: stephen.fox@stockport.gov.uk

The Chair submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) inviting the Scrutiny Committee to consider the final report of the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee’s review into the discharging of scrutiny functions at the Council. The report identified a number of strengths in how the Council and its members undertook these duties and also identified a number of opportunities to enhance and maximise its effectiveness.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

·         The quality of discussion and the engagement of officers and Cabinet Members with the Scrutiny Committee was a positive feature of scrutiny in Stockport.

·         The suggestion of undertaking scrutiny in different ways outside of the stricture of a formal meeting was welcomed.

·         It was important that chairs received appropriate training on their role and responsibilities as soon as practicable after taking office.

·         The scrutiny process reinforced an adversarial approach to decision-making, and consideration needed to be given to the potential to break down those barriers to produce a more collegiate approach.

·         It was important that meetings were held at times which ensured that the majority of members were able to attend them.  It was noted that a number of authorities held meetings during the day, and it was suggested that Stockport’s longstanding approach to holding public meetings in the evening was one which should continue.

·         In the absence of any benchmarking data or national guidelines, it was difficult to establish an evidence-based approach to recasting the role of scrutiny. 

·         It was stated that as it currently operated, the scrutiny arrangements served Stockport well in the light of the council being in a state of no overall control.

·         There was a case to consider the balance of workload between the various scrutiny committees.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

To consider a report of the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee.

The report sets outs the findings and recommendations of the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee following their review of scrutiny activity in Stockport. It draws on good practice from elsewhere in the country and makes a series of recommendations for consideration by each of Stockport’s scrutiny committees.

The Scrutiny Committee is invited to consider the report and recommendations.

Officer contact: Stephen Fox, 0161 474 3206, stephen.fox@stockport.gov.uk

The Chair submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) inviting the Scrutiny Committee to consider the final report of the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee’s review into the discharging of scrutiny functions at the Council. The report identified a number of strengths in how the Council and its members undertook these duties and also identified a number of opportunities to enhance and maximise its effectiveness.

Councillors expressed some concerns that the reducing the frequency of meetings may have a negative impact on the efficiency of decision-making and on the need for clarity on what the evidence was for changes to practice.

In response, the Chair stated that the review and report encouraged councillors to be flexible in their approach to scrutiny and not to give to great a focus on reactive activity (pre-decision scrutiny, performance monitoring) to the detriment of looking at issues in greater depth. She also stressed that the Coordination Committee did not wish to be prescriptive but wanted to encourage scrutiny committees to experiment when undertaking their work.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

To consider a report of the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee.

The report sets outs the findings and recommendations of the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee following their review of scrutiny activity in Stockport. It draws on good practice from elsewhere in the country and makes a series of recommendations for consideration by each of Stockport’s scrutiny committees.

The Scrutiny Committee is invited to consider the report and recommendations.

Officer contact: Stephen Fox on 0161 474 3206 or email: stephen.fox@stockport.gov.uk

The Chair submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) inviting the Scrutiny Committee to consider the final report of the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee’s review into the discharging of scrutiny functions at the Council. The report identified a number of strengths in how the Council and its members undertook these duties and also identified a number of opportunities to enhance and maximise its effectiveness.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

·         Concern was raised that a reduction in the number of scrutiny committees would result in meetings becoming increasingly busy and as a result, reduce the ability of members to effectively scrutinise.

·         It was commented that the report proposed to supplement a reduced committee cycle with the potential for ad hoc meetings; however unprogrammed meetings would invariably result in scheduling difficulties and obviates the purported benefits of reducing the number of meetings.

·         It was important that the role of Statutory Scrutiny Officer was appointed to.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

To consider a report of the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee.

The report sets outs the findings and recommendations of the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee following their review of scrutiny activity in Stockport. It draws on good practice from elsewhere in the country and makes a series of recommendations for consideration by each of Stockport’s scrutiny committees.

The Scrutiny Committee is invited to consider the report and recommendations.

Officer contact: Stephen Fox, 0161 474 3206, stephen.fox@stockport.gov.uk

The Chair submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) inviting the Scrutiny Committee to consider the final report of the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee’s review into the discharging of scrutiny functions at the Council. The report identified a number of strengths in how the Council and its members undertook these duties and also identified a number of opportunities to enhance and maximise its effectiveness.

Concerns were expressed about whether a reduction in the frequency of meetings would negatively impact on the ability of scrutiny committees to effectively carry out their duties, although it was recognised that fewer programmed meetings would allow for more in-depth activity.

It was commented that feedback from the experience of other local authorities indicated that the Stockport’s approach was more robust.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted and the recommendations be revisited in the next municipal year.