Archived decisions

Contact: Denise Holden, ext no: 7338, email: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 The following decision was made:

That a Panel comprising Councillors Perry, Felicity Hindson and Ellis, together with Councillor Cartwright, Chairman of the Policy and Resources Select Committee and Councillors Collett and Jo Kelly be convened with the remit to consider the recommendations below in detail and report back to the Cabinet as soon as practicable.

A) There is a clearly defined mechanism agreed through which Select Committees can bring issues, reports and recommendations to the attention of the relevant Executive Member, or where appropriate the Cabinet, and a clear timeframe for providing a response to the appropriate Select Committee.

A1) When a response is made, if recommendations are not accepted an explanation is provided.

B) Where recommendations are accepted there will be an agreed process for following up progress with implementation and reporting this to the relevant Select Committee, with sufficient time allowed in meetings for Members to give full consideration to the actions initiated.

C) Make explicit the means by which Executive Members are able to feed into and inform Select Committee work programmes.

D) At the point of selecting a topic for inclusion in the work programme, Select Committee Chairmen ensure that the prioritisation and scheduling of work allows for maximum opportunities to inform or improve the service/topic under consideration.

E) The scope for Select Committee Members to access the expertise within Departments to obtain professional and technical advice/input is explored, taking account of the need to manage an appropriate separation of the work of Departments and scrutiny.

F) The point of contact between lead scrutiny officers and each Department is formally agreed to ensure that information is properly routed both through Departments and to Select Committee Members.

F1) Briefings and reports for Members can be easily identified and accessed through the County Council website.

G) Informal meetings are set up between the relevant Select Committee Chairmen, Vice-Chairmen, Opposition Spokespeople, Executive Members and key officers to provide an early alert to emerging issues and facilitate `real time' scrutiny of decisions, policy development and work programmes.

L) Consideration is given to the most effective way to support Members in building a knowledge base of, and engagement with, the work of the County Council. This may include the introduction of a `job description' for certain roles, a system of `lead scrutineers/member champions', or specified training completed prior to a Member being appointed to a particular role. The role of the Chairman in supporting non-Executive Member development should be included in this work.

M) Consideration is given to the resources available to support non-executive Members in the conduct of overview and scrutiny.

O) The `Call in' process is reviewed, taking account of national
best practice.

P) The way in which reports and other information is presented to Members be reviewed to ensure that all relevant evidence and supporting information is included, previous work can be easily tracked and links with corporate polices are clear.

Q) A `plain English' handbook is developed setting out the role
and function of the Select Committees and the procedures that support their work. This will be clearly accessible on the website and widely circulated in the County Council.

R) The scope to build Select Committee Member understanding of the key issues with regard to performance and finances, and better alignment with the annual cycle of both disciplines, is explored with the appropriate key leads in the County Council.

T) Work on the website for Hampshire County Council Select Committees continues and includes work programmes and other support activities as well as the handbook (see recommendation R above)

U) The Hampshire County Council media protocols are revised to ensure they properly reflect the role of the Select Committees

That the views of the Cabinet are shared with the Chairman of the Policy and Resources Select Committee.

NB: In regard to recommendations G1, H, I, J, K, N and S, the Cabinet agreed that these fall properly to the Select Committees to resolve therefore they were not included in the working group's remit.

2. Reason

2.1 The current arrangements for the local government overview and scrutiny function at Hampshire County Council were set up in Autumn 2006. In July 2007 the Policy and Resources Select Committee decided it was appropriate to review these arrangements to ensure that they were operating effectively.

2.2 Evidence was gathered by seeking the views of Select Committee Members, Executive Members and Senior Officers. A review group comprising the Select Committee Chairmen and Opposition Spokespeople was convened to consider the evidence. The review identified examples where scrutiny has been successful, and where there are opportunities to strengthen the scrutiny function.

2.3 The review group agreed that some clear messages emerged from the evidence. The Members of the review group are confident that recommendations A to U presented in their report respond to the issues raised in the evidence gathered.

3. Other options considered and rejected

3.1 This review was thorough and involved all key stakeholders so other options for reviewing the scrutiny function were not necessary.

4. Conflicts of interest declared by the decision maker or other Executive Member consulted - none.

5. Dispensation granted by the Standards Committee - not applicable.

6. Reason(s) for the matter being dealt with if urgent - not applicable.

Approved by: Date:

Councillor T.K. Thornber, CBE - Chairman