Venue: Committee Rooms A/B, South Walks House, South Walks Road, Dorchester, DT1 1EE
Contact: Lindsey Watson Email: lwatson@dorset.gov.uk - (01305) 252209
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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. |
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To confirm and sign the
minutes of the previous meeting held on 12 September 2018. Minutes: The minutes of the meeting
held on 12 September 2018 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the
Chairman. |
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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
D Harris raised a number of questions.
The Chairman read out a response which had been provided by the HR
Strategic Lead, Shaping Dorset Council. The
text of the questions raised and response provided is included as an appendix
to these minutes. Councillor
D Rickard raised an issue with regard to a recent request for the call-in of a
Shadow Executive Committee decision with regard to the transfer of services and
assets. The call-in request which had
received support from 27 cross party councillors had been determined as not
being a valid call-in by the Interim Monitoring Officer. Councillor Rickard asked that the call-in
process be examined by the committee. The
Interim Monitoring Officer noted that the Shadow Council had adopted the
call-in process which was included within the Constitution and due to the high
threshold set out in the Constitution, the call-in had not been accepted. All councillors supporting the call-in
request had been notified of the decision.
Although there could not be a call-in of the decision, the Shadow
Overview and Scrutiny Committee could consider whether they wished to carry out
a post decision scrutiny in respect of this.
A separate piece of work with regard to the Constitution for the Dorset
Council was underway and this would include consideration of the call-in
arrangements for the new council. The
draft Constitution would be brought to this committee, the Shadow Executive
Committee and in addition, member engagement would be undertaken through a
member workshop. Following
a discussion, the committee agreed that they would undertake a review of the
call-in process for the Shadow Dorset Council and whether the process was
appropriate. Consideration would also be
given to the call-in proposals for the new Dorset Council. Councillor
Rickard raised an additional point with regard to the scrutiny of decisions in
the Shadow Dorset Council. In response,
the Group Manager, Governance and Assurance, noted that in addition to the
call-in process, the Shadow Overview and Scrutiny Committee had the right to
examine any decision to be taken or already taken by the Shadow Executive
Committee and that members could review the Executive Committee Forward Plan to
review the items to be considered at each meeting. The Shadow Overview and Scrutiny Committee
could also look at the governance arrangements for the Shadow Council. The committee could decide what they wanted
to look at and include items as appropriate in their work programme. |
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Programme Highlight Report including SWAP Assurance Report PDF 156 KB To review the latest
Programme Highlight Report including South West Audit Partnership (SWAP)
Assurance Report to be considered by the Shadow Executive Committee. The Programme Director and a representative
of SWAP will be attending the meeting. The report will be published within the agenda for the
Shadow Executive Committee for the meeting on 15 October 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=125&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. Additional documents: Minutes: The
committee considered the latest Programme Highlight Report which was to be
considered by the Shadow Executive Committee on 15 October 2018. The report provided an update on progress
since the last meeting of the Shadow Executive Committee and included a request
for a change control on convergence and an update on the internal audit of the
programme governance. The
Programme Director noted that overall progress remained at Amber. Work on the implementation plans continued,
with theme boards making significant progress on developing the detailed
service continuity plans. Due to the scale and complexity of the work, the
plans were running approximately two weeks behind schedule. This would have a slight impact on the timing
for the Gateway Review. The request for
change control on governance highlighted any new requirements including
additional resources identified. The
SWAP Assistant Director noted that the SWAP Programme Governance follow up
report was a high level piece of assurance work. Assurance remained overall at ‘Partial’ but
with a positive direction of travel. In
response to a question with regard to the level of additional resources
identified, the Programme Director noted that work was continuing to further define
the additional resources required but that currently the estimate was for an
additional budget requirement of £350k – £400k. In
addition, lessons had been learnt from previous recruitment to the Programme
Team which would be used for any additional recruitment required. |
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Shadow Executive Operating Principles PDF 105 KB A discussion with regard to
the Shadow Executive Operating Principles and how they have been brought to
fruition and an overview of the design principles for the new organisation. A copy of the report ‘Building a Council for the 21st
Century – Design Principles for the new Dorset Council Operating Model’, which
was considered by the Shadow Executive Committee on 21 August 2018, has been
attached, to support the discussion on this item. Additional documents: Minutes: Following
a request at the last meeting, the committee had asked to hold a discussion
with regard to the Shadow Executive Operating Principles and how they had been
brought to fruition. Members had also
requested to receive an overview of the design principles for the new
organisation which had been agreed at the Shadow Executive Committee on 21
August 2018. The
Group Manager, Governance and Assurance, noted that the committee would like to
gain an understanding of the operating principles, how they were embedded in
the work being undertaken, the design of structures, principles around
governance, culture and designing a new council that embraced these features. The
Interim Monitoring Officer noted that for effective governance, the executive
needed the ability to be able to take decisions, with scrutiny being able to
intervene where necessary. Reference was
also made to the distinction between a call-in and a call to account. Members
discussed the issues arising and points were noted with regard to the current
pace of decision making in the Shadow arrangements, the ability of scrutiny to
be proactive and work effectively with the executive arrangements and the need
for there to be consideration of future scrutiny arrangements The
Interim Monitoring Officer noted that there would be differences in terms of
arrangements between what would happen in a steady state council and the
position that the councils were currently in, in the transition of six councils
to one. A
point was made that Shadow Executive Committee meetings were open to all
members to attend and that currently a limited number of additional members
were attending meetings. Members were
encouraged to attend meetings and hear the discussions. Due
to the necessary information not being available for the meeting, it was agreed
that the item would be deferred to the next meeting. |
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Member Engagement in Task and Finish Groups / Work Streams A discussion with regard to member engagement in
the Shadow Dorset Council Task and Finish Groups and Workstreams,
with the Lead Member and Officer for Member Engagement. Minutes: The
Chairman welcomed the Lead Member and Officer for Member Engagement who had
been invited to the meeting to talk with members about member engagement in the
Shadow Dorset Council task and finish groups and workstreams. The Lead Member, Councillor G Carr-Jones
indicated that he was happy to answer any questions that members had related to
this area. Members
considered the issues in this area and during discussion the following points
were raised: ·
The group had been set up to look at issues around member engagement in
the Shaping Dorset Council programme and included representatives from each of
the six councils. The decision had been
taken that electronic communications would be used including members receiving
a newsletter by email and a full range of information being included on the Sharepoint site. Use
of Sharepoint by members had been monitored and it
was noted that only 43 members had logged into the site. In addition, monthly briefing sessions for
members had been held. Numbers attending
the briefings appeared to be declining although attempts had been made to hold
sessions at various times, including in the evening ·
A discussion was held in respect of the difference between member
engagement and member involvement. Some
members felt that they were not involved in the Shadow Council arrangements
although it was recognised that it was difficult for everyone to be involved ·
Councillor Carr-Jones noted that he was happy to receive feedback on
ways that the wider councillor membership could be best engaged ·
Consideration was being given to the use of ModGov
for the various meetings being held ·
A point was raised that there were some issues with members not
attending meetings and not sending their apologies in advance, including with
this committee. The Chairman indicated
that she would review the position with members attending meetings of this
committee ·
There needed to be a good system where members were able to self serve
in terms of finding out the information they needed ·
A discussion was held in respect of the arrangements for the member
briefings and in response to a point raised, Councillor Carr-Jones noted that
these needed to continue to be held as sessions for all members as it was not
practical for six separate sovereign sessions to be held. In addition it was seen as useful for members
of the six councils to have opportunities to meet together and hear each others
points ·
A point was raised with regard to the Shadow Council meetings and that
the opportunity to have presentations and discussion at the meetings would be
welcomed ·
In respect of information on people responsible for different areas,
information would be included in the next newsletter ·
A point was raised that some members were not thinking forward to the
new council arrangements and that opportunities were being provided for them to
engage with the process. There was a role
for sovereign members to encourage other members to participate · It was noted that there would be some members who did not want to ... view the full minutes text for item 42. |
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Shadow Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme PDF 58 KB To consider the 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: Further
to the discussion at the meeting, it was noted that the following items would
be included within the committee’s work programme: ·
Call in arrangements – arrangements in the Shadow Dorset Council and the
arrangements for the Call-in process for the new council. ·
An overview of work being progressed by the Governance working group and
specifically proposals for scrutiny arrangements in the new council ·
Design Principles for the new Dorset Council Operating Model Members
considered issues around the work programme and the following points were
raised: ·
The item on ‘Future Operations of Leisure Facilities in Dorset’ had been
deferred to the 12 November meeting of the Shadow Executive Committee and would
therefore be considered at the meeting of this committee on 7 November 2018 ·
In response to a comment with regard to the timing for items coming to
scrutiny, the point was made that the Shadow Overview and Scrutiny Committee
met in the week prior to the Shadow Executive Committee ·
A key role for this committee was to review the Shadow Executive
Committee Forward Plan, which was included on the agenda for every meeting, and
identify areas for review. It was noted
that the Shadow Executive Committee should also consider potential items to
refer to scrutiny. However it was noted
that due to the pace at which things were happening, it may not always be
possible to bring items through scrutiny ·
A report on ‘Parish and Town Council Elections – Recharging Structure’
was to be considered at the Shadow Executive Committee on 15 October 2018. This item had not been identified for
scrutiny by this committee. Members of
the committee had the opportunity to read the report and attend the Shadow
Executive Committee meeting in respect of this item ·
The items proposed for the next meeting of the committee were
highlighted. |
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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. |
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Appendix A Minutes: Questions raised by
Councillor David Harris Was
the scrutiny committee aware that despite the serious budget position, £50000
was being spent on the process to appoint the new Chief Executive? If
they were aware did they scrutinise the decision to see if it was justified? Is
the committee aware of any funding being set aside to get external help in
appointing the second tier officers? This was not mentioned when members were
being briefed about the process so if money is being allocated for external
advice should this not be made clear at the start of the process? If money has
been allocated for external advice can this be investigated before it is spent? Response provided by Nicola
Houwayek, HR Strategic Lead, Shaping Dorset Council In February 2019, the Area Joint Committee
authorised the Monitoring Officers to appoint external recruitment consultants
to assist in designing and implementing the Chief Executive recruitment
process, with a budget of up to £50,000. Following a competitive procurement
process, GatenbySanderson were appointed. The
total cost was below this, £41,500. This was £8,500 under budget and
included advertising costs. The role of external advisers is critical to
recruit in a limited recruitment market for the councils most important posts
and will be especially so for the Tier 2 posts, where there are a very small
number of potential candidates across all roles. The role of the external
advisor includes: 1.
National Search exercise, adverts development
(and placement) and hosting the microsite 2.
An initial review of application, developing
the reports and advising at the longlisting meeting with members 3.
Running the longlisting exercise with a
technical assessor 4.
Feedback to candidates 5.
Preparing reports on the candidates to
support the creation of a recommended shortlist and attending the shortlisting
meeting with members 6.
Overseeing the Psychometric tests, input of
occupational psychologist. 7.
Running the final interviews – with advisors 8.
Giving feedback to all candidates At its September meeting, Shadow Executive have
agreed a budget of up to £75,000 for the recruitment of four posts at Tier 2
and one post at Tier 3. This budget will also include costs to support
internal applicants through the selection process. A further competitive
procurement process has taken place to select a provider to deliver this work
within the agreed budget. Additional
point Following requests by the Shadow Overview and Scrutiny Committee, the committee has received two presentations from the HR Strategic Lead. At the meeting on 22 August 2018, the committee received a presentation with regard to the Chief Executive Recruitment Process. This was followed at the meeting on 12 September 2018 with a presentation on the Tier Two Recruitment Process. |