Venue: Sparkenhoe Committee Room, County Hall, Glenfield
Contact: Mr. M.I. Seedat (Tel: 0116 265 6037) Email: mseedat@leics.gov.uk
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Appointment of Deputy Chairman for the period ending with the date of the Annual Meeting of the County Council in 2003. 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. |
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Minutes of the meeting of the Commission held on 8 May, 2002. PDF 16 KB Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of the Commission held on 8 May, 2002 were taken as read, confirmed and signed. |
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Questions asked by electors under Standing Order 35. Minutes: The Chief Executive reported that no questions had been received under Standing Order 35. |
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Questions asked by members under Standing Order 7(3) and 7(5). Minutes: The Chief Executive reported that no questions had been received under Standing Orders 7(3) and 7(5). |
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Any other items the Chairman has decided to take as urgent elsewhere on the agenda. Minutes: There were no urgent items for consideration elsewhere on the agenda. |
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Declarations of interests in respect of items on this agenda. Minutes: 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 |
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Declarations of the Party Whip in accordance with Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 16. Minutes: There were no declarations made under Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 16. |
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Presentation of Petitions under Standing Order 36. Minutes: The Chief Executive reported that there were no petitions to be presented. |
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Highways Network Management Best Value Review. PDF 93 KB 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 19th June. Their views will be reported at the meeting. Additional documents:
Minutes: 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. |
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Annual Report on behalf of Overview and Scrutiny Bodies. PDF 64 KB Minutes: 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. |
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Additional documents: Minutes: 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 19th 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. |
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Community Strategy. Five Member Panel Terms of Reference. PDF 17 KB Minutes: 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. |
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Date of next meeting. 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. Minutes: RESOLVED That the next meeting of the Commission be held at 2.30pm on
Wednesday 4th September 2002. 2.30pm – 4.15pm CHAIRMAN 26th June 2002 |