Archived decisions

Hampshire County Council

Policy and Resources Scrutiny and Select Committee Item 10

9 September 2004

Preparing for the Select Committee Pilot

Report of the Chief Executive

Contact: Share D'All, Chief Executive's Department.

1 Introduction:

The purpose of the pilot is to undertake realistic number of reviews, which will in themselves perform a scrutiny function, and also provide learning to enable us to develop an effective model of scrutiny using a Select Committee style of approach.

The purpose of this agenda item is to:

· Prepare members of the Committee for the agreed pilot of a Select Committee approach to scrutiny

· Start the process of setting up the first panel

· Agree the initial two subject areas and the membership of the Select Committees to pursue them.

This report will be supported by a presentation given at the above meeting.

This report supports aims 5 and 6 of the Corporate Strategy

2 The Presentation:

This will cover the following issues associated with employing a select committee approach:

· The nature of the select committee approach

· Potential Benefits and intended outcomes

· Timings and time commitment requirements

· Stages of the process and issues to be resolved

· Framework for setting future topics

· Proposed initial topics

· Composition of the sub-committees

· Proposed actions for getting started

· Long term fit with other scrutiny functions

3 Decision Areas for this Meeting:

3.1 The initial subjects for Review:

This report suggests that the Committee should begin with two Reviews, each overseen by a separate panel of Members. In order to make early progress, the Chairman and the three Vice-Chairmen have given preliminary consideration together to current pressing issues and they propose the following topic areas to begin with:

· Services for children and young people provided by the County Council

· Crime and Disorder provision by the County Council.

These subjects will initially need to be explored to determine the precise focus of each review.

3.2 The Composition of Panels:

The Select Committee panels will need to be proportionate politically (4:2:1 or 5:2:1 is suggested) but other Members with particular expertise or experience could be invited to contribute to the body of evidence being gathered either at the initiation of the Panel or after consultation between the Panel Chairman and the Corporate Scrutiny Manager.

With the initial subjects agreed the proposal is for Members of the Committee to volunteer for each panel at this meeting and for membership to be agreed in line with political proportionality. Availability will also be an issue.

3.3 Proposed Programme for Developing the Process:

The presentation will outline further actions that are proposed once the initial subjects and panels are agreed. This will include activities to:

· Prepare the panel for the new way of working

· Set the first review into motion

· Resolve the outstanding procedural issues

4 Recommendations:

It is recommended that the Committee:

· Accept the initial two suggested subjects and prioritise one as the one to start with

· Volunteer members for each of the two first panels

· Endorse the proposed programme for developing the process

Background Papers: (Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972)

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB the list excludes

1. Published works

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

Title: File:

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