Venue: Committee Rooms A/B, South Walks House, South Walks Road, Dorchester, DT1 1EE
Contact: Lindsey Watson Email: lwatson@dorset.gov.uk - (01305) 252209
No. | Item |
---|---|
Election of Chairman for the meeting To elect a Chairman for this
one meeting of the Shadow Overview and Scrutiny Committee in the absence of the
Chairman and Vice-chairman of the committee. In accordance with the Shadow Dorset Council Constitution,
the Chairman of the Committee will be a member of the largest minority
political group on the Shadow Council and who will be elected by the members of
the Committee. Minutes: In the absence of the
Chairman and Vice-chairman of the committee, the committee were required to
elect a Chairman for this one meeting.
In accordance with the Shadow Dorset Council Constitution, the Chairman
of the Committee was required to be a member of the largest minority political
group on the Shadow Council. It was proposed by N Lacey-Clarke seconded by J Somper Decision That J Tanner be elected as
Chairman for this one meeting of the committee. It was proposed by R Bryan
seconded by N Lacey-Clarke Decision That J Somper be elected as
Vice-chairman for this one meeting of the committee. |
|
Declarations of Interest Councillors are required to
comply with the requirements of the Localism Act 2011 regarding disclosable
pecuniary interests. Minutes: There were no declarations of
interest. |
|
To confirm and sign the
minutes of the previous meeting held on 22 August 2018. Minutes: The minutes of the meeting
held on 22 August 2018 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the
Chairman. Councillor Bryan abstained from agreeing the minutes as a correct record as he had not been present at the meeting. |
|
Public participation To receive any public
questions or statements on the business of the Shadow Overview and Scrutiny
Committee in accordance with the procedure rules as set out in the Shadow
Dorset Council Constitution. Minutes: There were no representations
from members of the public. Councillor David Harris
raised the issue of the investigation of local area groups as part of the new
Constitution for the Dorset Council, whether the committee were aware of moves
in this direction and whether this was subject to scrutiny? The Chairman noted that a
response would be provided to Councillor Harris. |
|
The Chief Executive and Leader of Dorset County
Council have been invited to attend the meeting to address issues raised with
regard to Dorset County Council in the Programme Governance Reports produced by
South West Audit Partnership (SWAP). The
Shadow Overview and Scrutiny Committee wish to seek assurance that action is in
place by the county council to address the comments made by SWAP. A representative of SWAP will also be
attending the meeting. The
SWAP report and follow up report are attached for information. Additional documents: Minutes: Following
a request by the committee at the last meeting, the Chief Executive and Leader
of Dorset County Council had been invited to the meeting to address issues
raised with regard to Dorset County Council in the Programme Governance Reports
produced by South West Audit Partnership (SWAP). A representative of SWAP, Dave Hill, had also
been invited to the meeting to provide an overview of the relevant issues. Mr
Hill provided an overview of the issues raised and noted that the flagged red
status had been in respect of one item, with the overall direction of travel
being seen as positive. It was noted
that the review had been based on stakeholder consultation. It was accepted that there were gaps in the
consultation held with Dorset County Council and that this was to be reviewed
and a further evidence based piece of work was to be undertaken. It was also noted that SWAP would be
producing monthly reports in future. The
Leader of Dorset County Council, Councillor Rebecca Knox, welcomed the committee’s
monthly review of the SWAP report and noted that the county council was also
considering additional independent review and would welcome further input and
recommendations. The
Chief Executive of Dorset County Council, Debbie Ward, thanked the committee
for the invitation to the meeting. She
did not believe that the actions of the county council were in any way
inhibiting the progress of local government reorganisation. The county council’s budget would form a huge
part of the new organisation and the county council was responsible for the
safe transfer of budget, services and staff to the two new organisations in
Dorset. A lot of work was currently
underway and it was the responsibility of the Chief Executive to maintain good
quality management information across the organisations. Information would be shared where it was
appropriate. Meetings had been held with
SWAP and the Shaping Dorset Council Programme Director and it was felt that
good progress was being made. It was
also noted that there was always appropriate officer cover in the absence of
the Chief Executive and it would be made sure that this was well known. Members
considered the issues arising and during discussion the following points were
raised: ·
In response to a question, Dave Hill noted that the statement made by
SWAP had been based on the stakeholder consultation exercise and had been based
on the conclusion made at that point in time.
It was felt that since then, the situation had moved on. The further evidence based piece of work to
be undertaken would assist with this ·
R Bryan declared an interest as a Dorset County Council representative
on the SWAP Board ·
A point was made that Dorset County Council were undertaking the Shaping
Dorset Council programme work in addition to ongoing service provision and that
it should be noted that the county council were very open with their
information · A point was raised that it was disappointing that it had not been made clear in the ... view the full minutes text for item 32. |
|
Process for the appointment of Senior Officers (Tier 2) for the Dorset Council To receive a presentation
from the HR Strategic Lead, Shaping Dorset Council. Minutes: At
the request of the committee, the HR Strategic Lead, Shaping Dorset Council
attended the meeting to provide a presentation with regard to the process for
the appointment of Tier 2 officers for the Dorset Council. The process would also be looking at the role
of the Monitoring Officer. The
presentation covered the timeframe for filling the roles, the communications
and engagement plan and detail of the membership of the Senior Appointments
Committee. It was noted that there was
an expectation that there would be wider member involvement in the selection
process. The proposals were to be
considered by the Shadow Executive Committee at the meeting on 17 September
2018. Members
considered the issues arising from the presentation and during discussion the
following points were raised: ·
In response to a question, the HR Strategic Lead noted that once the
proposals had been agreed by the Shadow Executive Committee, comments would be
invited from members ·
A discussion was held in respect of the composition of the Senior
Appointments Committee. The Chairman
stated that he was sure that the process would be fair and transparent but
noted that members could bring any issues to this meeting if felt necessary ·
The HR Strategic Lead reiterated that there would be wider member
involvement in the selection process including an opportunity to feed into the
final decision ·
In response to a question, the HR Strategic Lead noted that the Interim
Head of Paid Service was currently involved in the process but that would be
reviewed in light of the decision to be taken on the appointment of a Chief
Executive for the Dorset Council |
|
Programme Highlight Report PDF 735 KB To review the latest
Programme Highlight Report to be considered by the Shadow Executive Committee. The Programme Director will be attending the
meeting. The report will be published within the agenda for the
Shadow Executive Committee for the meeting on 17 September 2018 and will be able
to be viewed using the link below when the Shadow Executive Committee agenda
has been published: http://shadowcouncil.dorset.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=136&MId=124&Ver=4
A copy of the report will be added to this agenda as a
supplement when it is published with the Shadow Executive Committee agenda. Minutes: The
committee considered the latest Programme Highlight Report which was to be
considered by the Shadow Executive Committee on 17 September 2018. The report provided information on the
progress that had been made across phase 2.
The Programme Director highlighted key points from the report including: ·
There were now around 30 people working in the programme team and
focused entirely on phase 2. In addition
around 200 people across the councils were involved in work to move forward
implementation plans ·
The Programme Board now included all current tier 2 directors or
equivalent ·
A current area under review was plans for phase 3 due to the loss of a
programme manager in this area ·
The format of the Programme Milestone Plan had been updated at the
request of the committee ·
The work stream reports described the key activities in each area In
response to a question the Programme Director noted that it was a challenge for
the Shadow Executive Committee to consider the level of engagement with members
with regard to transformation, within the timeframe available. Work around setting a legal budget would need
to take precedence. A
discussion was held with regard to the resources available to the Programme
Team and in response the Programme Director reiterated the point that he had
made at the previous meeting, that he trusted that the team had the resources
available in order to deliver the programme.
Additional resource may be required as work progressed but he felt
confident that this would be addressed as required. He thanked members for their support but
indicated that he did not require any action from the committee at this stage. Members
discussed the issues arising from the report and in particular comments were
raised with regard to the way risks were recorded in the report, the transfer
of social services data between councils and information that would be made available
to the committee with regard to the gateway process to be undertaken. The Programme Director confirmed that
comprehensive information would continue to be supplied to the committee. |
|
Shadow Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme PDF 59 KB To consider a draft work
programme for the committee for 2018/19. To review the Shadow
Executive Committee Forward Plan. All members of the Shadow Dorset Council receive
notification when Shadow Executive Committee agendas are published on Mod.Gov
and the Shadow Dorset Council website.
Members of the Shadow Overview and Scrutiny Committee can review the
items to be considered on each agenda and raise issues for review or comment to
the Shadow Executive Committee as appropriate. Additional documents: Minutes: Members
considered a draft work programme for the committee for 2018/19. Members discussed the contents of the work
programme and the addition of some further items for future meetings. Following discussion, further items were
agreed as follows: 8 October 2018 ·
Future operation of leisure facilities in Dorset ·
Shadow Executive Operating Principles ·
Discussion with Lead Member for wider member engagement workstream 7 November 2018 ·
TUPE process ·
Readiness of Critical Services ·
IT systems and services – discussion and question and answer session ·
Financial overview 2019 ·
Communications The
Scrutiny Officer reported that she was in discussion with the Interim Chief
Finance Officer with regard to the timing for reports associated with the
Budget. Once this has been agreed,
relevant reports would be added to the committee’s work programme. Members
discussed the status of the task and finish groups that were set up to look at
different areas and felt that there needed to be clearer understanding of which
groups were active and which were not.
The Group Manager, Governance and Assurance stated that the highlight
report set out detail of the current groups that were functioning and noted
that the committee needed to reflect on the work being undertaken and whether
there were any gaps. If it was felt that
there was not sufficient member engagement then that should be a challenge
coming forward. In
response to a question, it was noted that the committee was reviewing the same
information as the Shadow Executive Committee. |
|
Urgent items To
consider any items of business which the Chairman has had prior notification
and considers to be urgent pursuant to section 100B (4) b) of the Local
Government Act 1972. The reason for the urgency shall be specified in the
minutes. Minutes: There were no urgent items. |