Agenda item

To discuss and agree future working arrangements for the People and Health Overview Committee.

Role/Terms of Reference

Overview and scrutiny is a statutory activity of the Council, its powers and responsibilities are set out in detail the Council’s Constitution. The Council will appoint members to 2 Overview Committees and 2 Scrutiny Committees:

· People and Health Overview Committee

· People and Health Scrutiny Committee

· Place and Resources Overview Committee

· Place and Resources Scrutiny Committee

Each Overview and Scrutiny Committee will perform all those functions conferred on it by the Local Government Act 2000.

The Overview Committees shall:

(i) Review and develop policy at their own initiative and at the request of the Cabinet.

(ii) Oversee major consultations and make recommendations to Cabinet and full Council.

(iii) Monitor performance of services in accordance with the targets in the Corporate Plan.

(iv) Provide a clear focus on finding efficiency savings in accordance with requirements in the Council’s financial strategy.

(v) Monitor expenditure against available budgets and make recommendations to the Cabinet.

(vi) Make reports and recommendations to the full Council or the Cabinet on matters which affect the authority’s area or its inhabitants.

In the absence of any alternative joint arrangements having been entered into, the Overview Committee and the Scrutiny Committee with primary responsibilities for:

(i) “People and Health” shall be the Council’s Overview Committee and the Council’s Scrutiny Committee for the purposes of fulfilling the Council’s statutory duties in relation to crime and disorder;

(ii) “People and Health” shall be the Council’s Scrutiny Committee for the purposes of fulfilling the Council’s statutory powers in relation to health scrutiny; and

(iii) “People and Health” shall be the Council’s Overview Committee and its Scrutiny Committee for the performance of the Council’s statutory functions in relation to education matters.

To consider the Cabinet's Forward Plan.

The Committee considered its future working arrangements, the current Forward Plan and noted its Terms of Reference.

The Chairman stated that formal meetings were not always the best means of developing policy, although they had their purpose.  He thought the Committee should embrace new ways of working, was keen to use technology in the formulation of policies and hold informal workshops to work on policy development with the outcomes being considered at formal meetings of the Committee.

The current Forward Plan was an amalgamation of the Forward Plans of the Council's People and Health Scrutiny Committees but he believed this needed to amended to reflect the Committee's future way of working.

Members noted that it had been agreed that an informal meeting of the Chairmen of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees would be held to ensure agenda items went to the appropriate Committee and to reduce duplication.  It was suggested that Cllr R Knox, as Chairman of the Dorset Health and Wellbeing Board, be included in these meetings.

The Chairman of the Place and Resources Overview Committee, who was also a Committee member, highlighted the need for the Committee to undertake manageable pieces of work.  He also offered to undertake joint work with his Committee on cross-over issues by way of inquiry days or working groups which was a more efficient use of time and resources.

It was suggested that the findings from working groups could go straight to Cabinet rather than being considered by the Committee which was adding a further layer of bureaucracy.  The Chairman hoped that such findings could be shared through a Teams Group where it could be commented upon and quickly signed off at a formal meeting.

The Vice-Chairman referred to the need for transparency and public involvement and that the more work done informally, the more difficult it became to involve the public.

The Chairman of the Dorset Health and Wellbeing Board, also a member of the Committee, welcome the opportunity to join the Chairmen's informal meeting.  She thought it was important for the Chairmen to have a holistic view and decide where items were best directed as some of the housing policies scheduled for this Committee could equally sit under the Place and Resources Overview Committee. 

The Executive Director of People - Children said she saw a real opportunity for the Committee to look at what was not working well and what was being done about it in various areas.  She offered to provide a list of such areas for the Committee to consider.   The Executive Director of People - Adults added that policy development should support the Council's ambition, focus on outcomes and make a difference.

The Corporate Director - Legal and Democratic Services explained that the Committee's Terms of Reference would help them develop their Forward Plan and that the Cabinet might request them to carry out policy development.  It might also like to look at the risk register to focus on areas of concern.

The Chairman suggested having a session to create a new Forward Plan by way of a Teams group with the outcome coming back to a formal meeting.  This approach was agreed. It was also suggested that additional Teams training might be needed for this.

Members noted that some of the reports previously identified for scrutiny had been moved to overview since the new committees came into being.  Under their terms of reference performance data was to go to overview but this was not a statutory responsibility so members could choose not to consider.  They also noted that its work needed to be informed by and help deliver the Council Plan whereas performance management could be carried out by accessing data and asking questions outside of meetings.

Decision

That an informal meeting of the Committee be held on-line to consider its Forward Plan whilst taking into account, the Council Plan, the Cabinet Forward Plan and statutory responsibilities.