Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record and sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 18 July 2016.

The Minutes (copies of which had been circulated) of the meeting held on 18 July 2016 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Councillors and officers to declare any interests which they have in any of the items on the agenda for the meeting.

No declarations of interest were made.

To consider call-in items (if any).

There were no call-in items to consider.

To consider a report of the Monitoring Officer.

This report describes the emerging proposals for Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) decision making and invited members to consider proposals for the advance consideration of certain GMCA decisions by the Council.

Officer contact Celia Tierney on Tel: 0161 474 3230 or by email on Celia.Tierney@stockport.gov.uk.

The Monitoring Officer submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) describing the emerging proposals for Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) decision making and invited members to consider proposals for the advance consideration of certain GMCA decisions by the Council.

RESOLVED – (1) That the proposed scrutiny and decision making arrangements of the GMCA be noted.

(2) That the Constitution Working Party be informed that this Committee support the proposed broader remit of this Committee and the Head of Legal and Democratic Governance seeking a formal protocol with the GMCA to replace the existing protocol relating to the GMCA, Transport for Greater Manchester Committee and Transport for Greater Manchester and to ensure that sufficient notice of the proposed date of decisions requiring the consent  of Stockport is given to  elected members of the Council so as to enable prior debate and scrutiny within the Council.

(3) That and the Head of Legal and Democratic Governance be requested to write to the Chief Executive of the Combined Authority suggesting that meetings of the Scrutiny Panel be held in the evening rather than during the day as at present which made it difficult for working councillors and members of the public to attend.

Toi consider a report of the Monitoring Officer.

This report outlines proposed changes required to the Constitution in relation to the Scrutiny Function.

Officer contact Celia Tierney on Tel: 0161 474 3230 or by email on Celia.Tierney@stockport.gov.uk

The Statutory Scrutiny Officer submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) outlining proposed changes required to the Constitution in relation to the Scrutiny Function and proposed changes to the remit of the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee.

RESOLVED – (1) That this Committee welcome the proposals to expand the remit of the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee and the Constitution Working Party be recommended to support the changes as set out in this report and any consequential amendments required to give effect to the changes.

(2) That the Monitoring Officer be requested to confirm whether “Education Functions” included adult education.

To consider a report of the Deputy Chief Executive.

The Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee is asked to review and comment on the existing criteria set out in Section 2 above, along with the proposals for wider member involvement in developing the 2017/18 PPRAs.

Officer contact officer for accessing background papers and discussing the report: Steve Skelton, Head of Policy, Performance

The Deputy Chief Executive submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) reminding the Committee that at its meeting on 18 July 2016 it was agreed that future performance reports should include annual trend information and explain ‘tolerance levels’ within targets. The Committee also suggested that a meeting should take place at the beginning of each Municipal Year between Scrutiny Chairs and Executive Councillors to discuss the Portfolio Performance and Resources Agreements (PPRAs), including proposed measures and targets for the year ahead.

The Committee received a presentation in relation to the proposed Performance and Resources Framework for 2017/18 and were invited to review and comment on the existing criteria set out in Section 2 of the report, along with the proposals for wider member involvement in developing the 2017/18 PPRAs.

The following comments were made:

·         It was suggested that the “actual impact” should always be able to be quantified and there was a need to be able to measure outcomes.

·         It was recognised that it could take several years for the impact / outcome to materialise but this needed to be made clear together with when the benefit would be demonstrated.

·         The Committee discussed ‘tolerance levels’ within the RAG ratings and there was a need to be able to justify these with evidence.

·         The Committee welcomed the intention to consult Scrutiny Committees when setting the performance targets.

·         Scrutiny Committees needed to understand the influence/ effect of government policies and the actions of the Council’s partners on the performance data.

·         Data behind the performance targets may be needed to understand the trend (i.e. figures for previous years).

RESOLVED – That The Deputy Chief Executive be requested to consider the comments made above and arrange an extraordinary meeting of this Committee at the end of March (potentially 27 March) to discuss the format of the reports in the next municipal year further.