Archived decisions

Contact: Emma Gordon [email protected] ext 7567

1. Summary and purpose

1.1 This report lists those pieces of work which Hampshire County Council's Policy Review Committees propose to undertake within their Work Programmes. The Policy and Resources Committee is asked to consider these items and approve them for further investigation within the individual Scrutiny Committees.

2. Proposals for Scrutiny Reviews

2.1 Policy and Resources Policy Review Committee

· Hampshire County Council furniture purchase and replacement policies and costs

· Community Call for Action (to be agreed first at the meeting of the Policy and Resources PRC on April 3 2007)

2.2 Culture and Communities Policy Review Committee

· Sustainable funding for Hampshire's Outdoor Centres

· Availability and use of demographic software at Hampshire County Council

2.3 Children and Young People Policy Review Committee

· Education provision for deaf and hearing impaired children

· School exclusions and links with crime

2.4 Environment and Transportation Policy Review Committee

Consideration of a topic additional to the existing Work Programme of this committee is to take place at the next meeting of the Environment and Transportation PRC meeting and therefore details were not available at the time of the agenda despatch for the Policy and Resources PRC.

2.5 Safe and Healthy People Policy Review Committee

The Safe and Healthy People PRC is in the process of selecting items for its Work Programme, one of which will be an in-depth review. These reviews are to be discussed at the next meeting of the Safe and Healthy People PRC and were not therefore available at the time of the agenda despatch for the Policy and Resources PRC.

3. Points for consideration

Under the current timetabling for Policy Review Committee meetings, it is becoming apparent that the validation system for scrutiny reviews may need to be reviewed. The Scrutiny operating protocols provide for the approval of `urgent' work outside of the scheduled Policy and Resources Committee meetings - for example, the Children and Young People PRC's work on education for deaf and hearing impaired children - however, for all other work, proposals either have to be delayed or scoped in insufficient time prior to the Policy and Resources meetings. Consideration of how the approvals mechanism for scrutiny reviews could be improved would therefore be welcomed.

4. Recommendations

4.1 That Members consider the proposals for scrutiny reviews in Section 2 of this report and approve or reject them accordingly.

4.2 That Members consider Section 3 of this report and make recommendations for how the scrutiny review approvals mechanism could be improved.

8. Financial implications

8.1 Items approved for further work within Scrutiny Committee Work Programmes will require additional financial and time resources, as outlined in each proposal.

9. Impact assessment

9.1 None as a direct result of this report

10. Crime prevention

10.1 None as a direct result of this report

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background documents

The following documents discuss facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and have 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.

None.