Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee
Thursday 18 December 2008 at 10.00 am at County Hall, Oxford
Membership Chairman – Councillor Lawrie Stratford Deputy Chairman – Councillor Nick Carter
Notes: Date of next meeting: 15 January 2009
Tony Cloke About the County Council
The Oxfordshire County Council is made up of 74 councillors who are democratically elected every four years. The Council provides a range of services to Oxfordshire’s 630,000 residents. These include:
Each year the Council manages £0.8 billion of public money in providing these services. Most decisions are taken by a Cabinet of 10 Councillors, which makes decisions about service priorities and spending. Some decisions will now be delegated to individual members of the Cabinet.
About Scrutiny Scrutiny is about: · Providing a challenge to the Cabinet · Examining how well the Cabinet and the Authority are performing · Influencing the Cabinet on decisions that affect local people · Helping the Cabinet to develop Council policies · Representing the community in Council decision making · Promoting joined up working across the authority’s work Scrutiny is NOT about: · Making day to day service decisions · Investigating individual complaints. Five Scrutiny committees ‘scrutinise’ or review and challenge decisions made by the Cabinet or the appropriate Cabinet Member and help it develop Council policies. There are Scrutiny Committees for: · Corporate Governance · Children’s Services · Environment & Economy · Community Safety · Social & Community Services There is also a Joint Health Overview & Scrutiny
Committee which brings together councillors from the County and the five district councils
in Oxfordshire to scrutinise health issues. What does this Committee do? The Committee meets up to 6 times a year or more. It develops a work programme, which lists the issues it plans to investigate. These investigations can include whole committee investigations undertaken during the meeting, or reviews by a panel of members doing research and talking to lots of people outside of the meeting. Once an investigation is completed the Committee provides its advice to the Cabinet, the full Council or other scrutiny committees. Meetings are open to the public and all reports are available to the public unless exempt or confidential, when the items would be considered in closed session.
AGENDA
1. Apologies for Absence and Temporary Appointments
2. Declarations
of Interest – see guidance note 3. Minutes
To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 13 November (CG3(a) and 26 November 2008 (CG3(b)) and to note for information any matters arising on them.
4. Speaking to or petitioning the Committee
5. Financial Monitoring to 31st October 2008 10:10
6. Service and Resource Planning 2009/10 – 2013/14 10:15
7. Work Programme 11:45 (a) “Opportunities in the Council” (Lead members: Councillors Johnston & Wilmshurst)
On 13 November 2008 the Committee conducted a select committee question and answer session concerning “Opportunities within the Council”. The Committee asked the lead members (Councillors Johnston & Wilmshurst) to consider the responses provided to questions at the meeting with the scrutiny officer and then to formulate proposals for the Committee’s consideration.
The report back by the lead members
on the next steps (CG7(a)) follows member / officer discussion. (CG7(a) - download as .doc file) The emboldened sections of the report are the items which they wish to draw out as proposals.
The Committee RECOMMENDS:
1. that the Cabinet should consider whether there is any funding that can be identified (to replace what had previously been drawn upon from the pilot “Access to Work” fund), and to promote this as a means to support the payment of “reasonable adjustment” requests from employees with a disability. (These have been paid for by Corporate Human Resources under the pilot arrangement over the past 3 years resulting in equipment being provided to 5 staff at a cost of approximately £5,000);
2. that it has identified a need for more training, both for Members and staff on the Council’s duties and responsibilities as an employer and on diversity. It is RECOMMENDED that the Diversity e-learning pilot in Corporate Core should be extended to Councillors, who should be encouraged to undertake the training. The need for Member training to meet statutory obligations in these and in other areas of the Council’s business, should feed into the training programme for Members in the new Council and form part of their formal induction process;
3. the Cabinet to consider appointing (creating) a Member champion for Equalities;
4. that all Members should receive a summary of the select committee question and answer session and the conclusions reached, to assist in raising awareness of the Council’s duties as an employer, of the business benefits of a diverse workforce and as a training outcome; and
5. that the impact
of this work is evaluated in 12 months time to assess what improvements have
been made.
(b) Publications (Working Group: Councillors Armitage, Atkins, Carter & Hallchurch)
Report back by the
Working Group on next steps.
(c) Updates:
(i) Implications for the Council’s scrutiny function as a result of all new Government legislation (Working Group: Councillors Brighouse, Carter, Johnston, Stratford & Wilmshurst)
and
(ii) Partnerships (Lead members: Councillors Brighouse, Bryden, Carter, Stratford & Wilmshurst)
To consider the outcome of informal
discussion between Chairman & Deputy Chairman with political Group Leaders
to inform the current position on scrutiny of these two topics.
8. Forward Plan Topics 12 noon (a) Review of Partnership Governance Arrangements Cabinet 17 February 2009 (Ref: 2008/159)
The Committee has identified this
topic for comment prior to Cabinet consideration.
(b) Oxfordshire 2030 – Sustainable Community Strategy – a Partnership Plan for Improving Quality of Life in Oxfordshire Cabinet 16 December 2008 (Ref: 2008/179)
The Committee has identified this topic for comment.
Note: please bring Cabinet report CA7 to
the meeting.
(c) Better Offices Programme (BOP)
The Committee is invited to
consider the outcome (to be reported at the meeting) of the Chairman’s
discussion with the Chairman of the Environment & Economy Scrutiny
Committee on future scrutiny of BOP.
(d) Topics for future Scrutiny
The Committee is asked to suggest items from the current Forward Plan on which it may wish to have an opportunity to offer advice to the Cabinet before any decision is taken.
(Please bring along to the meeting the latest copy of the Forward Plan which, at the time of writing covers December 2008 March 2009).
(Members are asked to contact the Chairman, Deputy Chairman and/or the Committee Officer at least 3 days before the meeting should they wish to raise an item on the Forward Plan for possible consideration).
1:00 Close of Meeting
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