Agenda and minutes

That Mr. Jones be appointed Deputy Chairman of the Scrutiny Commission for the period ending with the date of the annual meeting of the County Council in 2003.

The minutes of the meeting of the Commission held on 8 May, 2002 were taken as read, confirmed and signed.

The Chief Executive reported that no questions had been received under Standing Order 35.

The Chief Executive reported that no questions had been received under Standing Orders 7(3) and 7(5).

There were no urgent items for consideration elsewhere on the agenda.

The following members declared personal but not prejudicial interests in Item 10 – Best Review of Highway Network Management:-

 

Mr. S. Galton CC

Mr. B. Garner CC

Mr. Mike Jones CC

Mr. A.M. Kershaw CC

Dr. M. O’Callaghan CC

Mr. M.B. Page CC

Mr. N. Rushton CC

There were no declarations made under Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 16.

The Chief Executive reported that there were no petitions to be presented.

A copy of the Executive Summary of the Final Report of the Best Value Review Panel has been sent to all Members of the County Council and to the Press.  For additional copies of Executive Summary, the Full Report, or the Appendices and Figures to the Report, please contact Committee Services (tel: 0116 265 6225).

 

The Highways, Transportation and Waste Management Scrutiny Committee is considering this report at its meeting on 19^th June.  Their views will be reported at the meeting.

The Commission considered:-

 

a)                 The Executive Summary of the Review;

 

b)                 The comments of the Highways, Transportation and Waste Management Scrutiny Committee which enclosed an explanatory note from the Chief Executive and Acting Director of Planning and Transportation on liaison with elected members on highway matters;

 

c)                  The following letters:-

 

·        Letter from the Leader and Chief Executive of Charnwood Borough Council;

 

·        Letter from the Leader of Harborough District Council;

 

·        Letter from the Chief Executive of Oadby and Wigston Borough Council;

 

·        Letter from the Manager of Technical and Contracting Support at North West Leicestershire District Council;

 

·        Letter from the County Council’s Acting Director of Planning and Transportation in response to the letter from the Chief Executive of Oadby and Wigston Borough Council;

 

·        Letter from the Trade Union representative.

 

Copies of these documents are filed with these minutes.

 

RESOLVED

 

The Cabinet be advised:-

 

a)                 That the Commission notes the comments of the Highways, Transportation and Waste Management Scrutiny Committee and supports its request to have a role in monitoring the progress of the implementation plan;

 

b)                 That the Commission supports the findings of the Review Panel and considers the Review Panel report a professional, well presented and well argued case for change;

 

c)                  That in endorsing the recommendations of the Panel, the Commission would wish to draw particular attention to:-

 

i)                   recommendation 25 which refers to the development of a Local Highways Service Charter which it considers is an important document  which should inform members of the public of the service standards they should expect;

 

ii)                 recommendation 61 which proposes the sponsorship of roundabouts, the scope of which it considers should be broadened to enable sponsorship of other suitable landscaped areas on highways;

 

iii)               the potential for the proposed Integrated Model of service delivery in improving recruitment and retention of skilled and suitably qualified highways staff;

 

d)                 That the Commission, in noting the wide variation in service provision and user satisfaction outlined in the Review Report, accepts the view taken by the Panel that there is a need for developing consistent standards of service across the County and considers that the new policy should seek to address areas of weakness and raise the overall level of service provision;

 

e)                 That the Commission welcomes the proposals to develop District based Local Highways Forums for members of County and District Councils (similar to the present Harborough Highways Partnership) along the lines outlined in the explanatory note from the Chief Executive and Acting Director of Planning and Transportation on liaison with elected members on highway matters;

 

f)                    That in the process of establishing the new District based Local Highways Forums, the Commission is of the view that within the overall framework outlined in the review report and explanatory note, there should be some flexibility so as to take account of local factors and to address the following points identified by the Commission:-

 

i)                   that District Councils should be encouraged to bring ‘something to the table’ in the form of staffing or financial resources or the sharing of some their statutory functions and that this should be a factor in determining the scope/remit of the Forum in any area;

 

ii)                 that consideration should be given, where appropriate, to inviting Quality Parish and Town Councils to participate;

 

iii)               that given that the highways service provision is the responsibility of the County Council the chair of the Forum should be a County Councillor and that County Council officers should undertake the servicing of the Forum.

The Commission considered a draft of an annual report to the County Council on behalf of Overview and Scrutiny Bodies. A copy of the report marked to ‘C’ is filed with these minutes.

 

RESOLVED

 

That the draft Annual Report be noted and submitted to the next meeting of the County Council.

The Commission considered a report of the Chief Executive requesting it to give initial consideration to developing its own work programme and advising it of the advice given to Scrutiny Committees regarding developing their work programmes. A copy of the report marked ‘D’ is filed with these minutes.

 

The Commission also considered a supplementary report of the Chief Executive arising from the Highways, Transportation and Waste Management Scrutiny Committee meeting on 19^th June requesting approval for establishing a five member panel to deal with issues relating to Waste Management and in particular incineration. A copy of the supplementary report is also filed with these minutes.

 

The Commission was advised that the Commission at its next meeting would receive details of each Committees work programme and that the report would include the draft terms of reference for any five member Panels.

 

In response to a question on the Better Access to Better Services Initiative, the Commission was reminded that at its previous meeting it had stated that ‘the focus of this Initiative should be on services to the public and that this should be the uppermost consideration, the Initiative should not be technology driven’.  If the Commission were minded to ask the Resources Scrutiny Committee to look at this issue, the Committee would also be advised of the view of the Commission.

 

RESOLVED

 

a)         That the advice given to Scrutiny Committees in developing their work programmes be noted and it be noted that their detailed work programmes will be reported to the next meeting;

 

b)         That the potential topics identified in the report be noted and that the Scrutiny Reference Group be requested to consider the matter further and report thereon to the next meeting of the Commission;

 

(c)        That the request from the Highways, Transportation and Waste Management Scrutiny Committee to establish a five member panel with the following terms of reference be approved and appointment thereto be sought from the Group Whips:-

 

‘To assist and advise the Highways, Transportation and Waste Management Committee in formulating a response to the Cabinet on the emerging Household Waste Management Strategy and in particular the implications of any proposals to use incineration as a means of disposing household waste.’

 

(e)       That the Resources Committee be requested to consider whether it wishes to scrutinise the implementation of the Better Access to Better Services Initiative.

The Commission considered a report of the Chief Executive concerning the proposed terms of reference for the five member review panel to consider the development of the Community Strategy in Leicestershire. A copy of the report marked ‘E’ is filed with these minutes.

 

RESOLVED

That a five member review panel be established with the following terms of reference:-

 

On behalf of the Scrutiny Commission:-

 

a)         To examine the actions of the Executive with a view to assisting in the development of a Community Strategy for the County of Leicestershire;

 

b)         To consider the District community strategies and strategies of other agencies in terms of their compatibility with the Community Strategy for the County with a view to assisting the Executive in formulating a response to these documents;

 

c)         To examine and comment upon proposals of the Executive that advance the implementation of the Community Strategy;

 

and to report on regular basis thereon to the Commission.

Following consultation with the Chairman and Spokesmen it is suggested that the next meeting be held on Wednesday, 4 September at 2.30 p.m.

RESOLVED

 

That the next meeting of the Commission be held at 2.30pm on Wednesday 4^th September 2002.

 

 

2.30pm – 4.15pm                                                                                   CHAIRMAN

26^th June 2002