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ITEM CG3(a)

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE SCRUTINY COMMITTEE – 18 DECEMBER 2003

Minutes of the Meeting commencing at 10.00 am and finishing at 1.55 pm

Present:

The Scrutiny Committee considered the matters, reports and recommendations contained or referred to in the agenda for the meeting and agreed as set out below. Copies of the agenda and reports are attached to the signed Minutes.

63/03. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND TEMPORARY APPOINTMENTS

Apologies for absence and temporary appointments were received as follows:

Apology from	Temporary Appointments
Councillor Andrew Crawford	-
Councillor Johnston	Councillor Bearder
Councillor Sylvia Tompkins	-
Councillor Roy Tudor Hughes	-

64/03. MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 16 October 2003 were approved and signed.

Minute 57/03: The Councillor Reference Group was monitoring the Support for Members Review outcomes. An update would be considered at the March 2004 meeting.

Minute 59/03(c): Mr Blue, OCN Business Manager (Resources) was thanked for his follow-up action with the Vale of White Horse Group.

65/03. WORK PROGRAMME – SOCIAL INCLUSION REVIEW UPDATE

(Agenda Item 5)

Councillor Brighouse gave a brief update on the work of the Social Inclusion Review Group (Councillors Liz Brighouse, Ray Jelf, Bob Johnston and Margaret MacKenzie) which had met on 17 December 2003. The Group was aiming to report in May 2004, but this could slip due to the comprehensive nature of the review and the complexities of community engagement.

The Scrutiny Committee expressed the hope that the Executive would not take decisions around Social Inclusion matters prior to the Review report.

66/03. HUMAN RESOURCES

(Agenda Item 6)

In September 2003 the Director for Resources reported the intention to commission an external review of human resources in order to respond to a number of the issues raised at the Scrutiny Committee earlier in the summer. The Employers Organisation was selected to carry out this review. The Terms of Reference for the review were attached (CG6).

Consultants Barbara Clearly and Martin Coopey gave a presentation on their report ‘Review of Human Resources Function’ (copies of which had been sent separately to members), circulated Annex C ‘HR Organisation Chart’ and copies of the slides (all of which are attached to the signed Minutes) and highlighted the key points identified in the review report. The Scrutiny Committee then considered the Employers Organisation report. Ms Clearly, Mr Coopey and the Director for Resources responded to questions and comments; there would be an opportunity to consider the more general human resources issues raised by the consultants at a meeting later in 2004.

The Scrutiny Committee AGREED: to

1. thank the Consultants for the presentation on their report;
2. consider at the Scrutiny Committee’s March 2004 meeting a draft Human Resources Strategy and Action Plan on the Consultant’s report; and
3. consider any resource issues at item 7 (Minute 67/03) below.
   
   

67/03. REVENUE AND CAPITAL EXPENDITURE PROPOSALS 2004/05–2008/09

(Agenda Item 7)

The Committee considered a report (CG7) which provided an indicative 2004/05 base budget in the Medium Term Financial Plan - Service Analysis budget book format. Each expenditure proposal reported to the Executive in the Financial Forecast 2004/05 to 2008/09 report (28 October 2003) had been annotated with the relevant service area sub reference(s) as used in the detailed budget book to show where it would be added. Capital expenditure proposals as reported to the Executive on 11 November 2003 were also provided.

Scrutiny Committees were asked to advise on the expenditure proposals for their Programme Area, and to comment on the relative priorities of the proposals. The outcome of each Scrutiny Committee will be considered by the Executive and the Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee at an additional meeting on 20 January 2004. The Executive would propose a draft budget at its meeting on 14 January 2004.

The Leader of the Council, the Deputy Leader and officers responded to members’ questions and comments around key issues in the papers.

The Scrutiny Committee AGREED to forward to the Executive the following comments for the Corporate Governance programme area:

Category A

Supported

Category B

Supported:

Control of asbestos at work regulations;

Strengthening of Financial Services;

Additional resources for Health and Scrutiny;

Social Inclusion;

and

in place of the existing ‘Human Resource & Performance Management Employee Development’, the proposals in the Consultants Report ‘Review of Human Resources Function’ at item 6 (Minute 66/03) above.

Category C

Supported:

Local area working at a cost lower than £200,000.

Capital

Supported:

Repair & Maintenance of Buildings;

Improvement to Council Buildings;

Central Buildings;

and

Energy Conservation Programme.

68/03. PARTNERSHIP AND JOINT WORKING - AFFORDABLE HOUSING

(Agenda Item 8)

In August 2003 the County Council had appointed an Affordable Housing Project Leader to lead on the affordable housing partnership priority, one of three key areas identified where action could be delivered only through effective partnership arrangements and where the County Council would act in support of other organisations.

Miss Pettis, Affordable Housing Project Leader gave a short presentation to update members on the partnerships and areas of joint working carried out so far. There were four main areas:

partnership arrangement between the County Council and Oxford City Council to deliver the affordable housing PSA target; the Oxfordshire Community Partnership Key Worker and Housing Ambition Group; Oxfordshire Members Affordable Housing Group; and the County Council Key Worker and Housing Forum. (Notes of the presentation were circulated and a copy is attached to the signed Minutes). She then responded to questions and comments.

The Scrutiny Committee AGREED: to

1. thank Miss Pettis for her presentation and request an update at the March 2004 meeting; and
2. invite representatives of the five district councils in Oxfordshire to attend the Scrutiny Committee’s March meeting to consider their views of inter-authority partnership with the County Council in the context of affordable housing.
   
   69/03. ROLE DESCRIPTIONS FOR COUNTY COUNCILLORS

(Agenda Item 9)

On 9 September the Council asked officers, following consultation with the Councillor Reference Group, to draw up more detailed proposals as to how the Panel’s recommendations as to ‘role descriptions’ for councillors and a system of annual reports by individual councillors might be implemented, for report to a future meeting of the Council.

On 10 December 2003 the Councillor Reference Group had considered further the draft role descriptions (CG9) and made some amendments. A revised paper including the changes had been circulated and is attached to the signed Minutes.

The Scrutiny Committee considered the draft role descriptions as revised for County Councillors and AGREED: to

(a) submit the paper including the scrutiny Committee’s comments (shown at Annex 1) to the County Council; and

(b) thank Mr Watson for his work on the role descriptions.

70/03. INFORMATION ITEMS

in the Chair

Date of signing 2004

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