Councillor Ian Corkin was nominated for Chair by Councillor Nigel Simpson and seconded by Councillor Andy Graham.  Councillor Ian Corkin was elected Chair nem con.

 

 

 

Councillor Kate Gregory was nominated for Deputy Chair by Councillor Andy Graham and seconded by Councillor Imade Edosomwan.  Councillor Kate Gregory was elected Deputy Chair nem con.

 

Apologies had been received from Councillor Kate Gregory (substituted by Councillor Andrew Gant).

 

There were no declarations of interest.

 

Report by Director for Law and Governance

 

The purpose of this report is to set out proposals and initial ideas to develop the Overview and Scrutiny function for consideration. Members should consider if they support these proposals and how they would like to develop them further.

 

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to consider the contents of the report and agree on how to develop the Overview and Scrutiny function moving forward.

 

The Committee considered a report setting out proposals and initial ideas to develop the Overview and Scrutiny function.

 

The Chair opened the discussion by noting the diversity of elected members on the Committee and how he believed that would lead to better decision making.  There was an opportunity with the current review of scrutiny to design a system to better serve the public and other councillors who are not on scrutiny committees.

 

His experience as a councillor was that the opportunity for other Members to impact policy making at a time when it made a difference were limited in the Leader and Cabinet model,.  He believed that the Committee would be most effective if it spoke with one voice and was able to win the trust of Cabinet and officers.

 

Members introduced themselves and described their own background and divisions.  Those Cabinet Members and senior officers participating also introduced themselves and their roles.

 

Anita Bradley, Director of Law & Governance and Monitoring Officer, stated that she wanted to ensure that the Committee had the support that it needed to do its work.

 

Councillor Liz Leffman, Leader of the Council, welcomed the formation of this important committee and the enthusiasm of its Members.  She stated that she was particularly interested in hearing suggestions as to where the Council could do more for its residents.

 

Jodie Townsend, Democratic Services, introduced himself and the report.  The development plan had already been presented to the Health and Place overview and scrutiny committees.  It was important that scrutiny be Member-led.  He noted that at the scrutiny training sessions there had been support for prioritising issues in order to have a more thorough scrutiny on a shorter list of issues rather than trying to cover everything.

 

There was a strong commitment from officers and Cabinet to facilitate more effective scrutiny.  Training and development had started and would be a continuous process to look at best practice.

 

Members made the following comments on the report:

 

·         It was a good start which they could refine as the committee progressed.

·         There should be a review process – perhaps after 6 months.

·         There should be a greater role for the public than the current opportunities for petitions and public address.

·         Joint scrutiny with city and district councils should be considered.

·         Having data is important and knowing what data is already in the system.

·         Does the Committee want to focus on outcomes rather than outputs?

·         The Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) was an impartial source of data across the Council and partners and it informed the Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

·         It was sometimes important to look back at the history of an issue for context and the decision-making process that took place.

·         Reports should be circulated with the agenda in good time and most of the time in the meeting should be made available for questions.

·         There was a need to consider the involvement of the following:

o       co-opted members of the former Education Scrutiny Committee

o       faith groups

o       those working  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5/21

Report by the Director of Law and Governance

 

The purpose of this report is to support and advise Committee members to determine their work programme for the 2021/22 municipal year.

 

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to

 

(a)          consider the results of the limited work programme engagement exercise as detailed in Appendix 1;

(b)          consider suggestions made by the Cabinet and Senior Officers;

(c)          consider the methods by which the Committee would like to undertake its Overview and Scrutiny activity;

(d)          consider and agree the work programme for the Committee for the 2021/22 municipal year;

(e)          agree on whether to create any task group reviews and appoint membership of that review;

(f)           identify any specific training and support needs required to deliver the 2021/22 work programme.

The Committee had before it a report to support and advise Committee members on determining their work programme for the 2021/22 municipal year.

 

Councillor Michael Waine noted that the agenda pack did not include the items from the former Education Scrutiny Committee.  He had circulated those to Members before the meeting.  He believed that the most important items to include were the annual opportunities to scrutinise the work of the Regional Schools Commissioner, Ofsted and the Education Funding Agency.

 

Jodie Townsend, Democratic Services, emphasised that the Committee did not have to agree the whole work programme for the rest of the municipal year at this meeting.  A limited process had been conducted to get an initial list of ideas.  However, a more complete process was to be developed for prioritising items for work programmes going forward.

 

The Committee could also consider activities outside the meetings such as Task and Finish Groups, deep-dives, briefings and public engagement days for example.

 

The Chair suggested that the Committee could work best by taking a strategic overview rather than discussing operational issues.  He suggested considering the list of items in the appendix under Children and Young People first:

 

·         Home to School Transport – perhaps needing a Task and Finish Group

·         Engagement with Young People

·         Family Solutions Plus – possibly an external evaluation

·         New strategy for neurodiversity, CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service), EHCPs (Education Health and Care Plans) and SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disability) - especially since the pandemic

·         Looked After Children – a national review is expected in the new year

·         Safeguarding annual reports

·         Care providers, including out-of-county

·         Lessons learned from Covid

·         Identifying gaps in provision for Young People

·         Community and voluntary infrastructure will be coming to Cabinet for decision

 

The following issues were suggested under Adults:

·         Workforce challenge – there was a new government initiative to examine

·         Preparing for the new inspectorate for health and social care from 2023

·         Impact of transformation

·         Costs of care in Oxfordshire

·         Front door, first contact

·         Transition from young people’s to adult services

 

Under Public Health:

·         Community and voluntary sector

·         Physical fitness

·         Health inequalities - most deprived areas

·         Smoke-free Oxfordshire

·         Domestic abuse

·         Preventive approach

 

Under Education:

·         Regional Schools Commissioner

·         SEND funding

·         Workforce including wellbeing

·         Lessons learned from lockdown

·         Access to broadband

·         Early Years and 0-5 Reform

·         School Management

·         Parental choice

·         Inclusion

 

The Chair suggested that the following summary of priorities –

 

·         Children & Young People

o   Engagement with Young People

o   Family Solutions Plus external evaluation

o   Safeguarding

o   Workforce

o   Mental Health

o   Community and Voluntary Sector

·         Adults

o   Transition

o   Front door

o   Workforce

·         Public Health

o   Preventative mental health

o   Physical fitness

o   Smoking

o   Most deprived wards

·         Education

o   Regional Schools Commissioner

o   Ofsted

o   Stakeholders

o   Early Years provision

o   Recruitment/retention

o   Home to School Transport

o   Inclusion

 

Jodie Townsend suggested that in the longer term work programme the Committee could consider bringing partners together on wider issues such as cost of rail travel, County Lines, post-Covid recovery.

 

Action:

The Chair  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6/21