Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence.

There were no apologies for absence.

To confirm the minutes of the Scrutiny Board held on 24 February 2015.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 24 February 2015 be agreed as a correct record.

To consider any matters arising from the minutes of the previous meeting.

There were no matters arising.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Chairman welcomed members to the first meeting of the Scrutiny Board for 2015/16.

The Board received a report from the Environmental Services Scrutiny and Policy Development Panel setting out the Panel’s findings in connection with its review of CCTV in the borough.

The Leader of the Council, the Cabinet Lead for Environmental Services and the Service Manager (Neighbourhood Quality) were invited to join the meeting for the debate on this item and answered members’ questions in connection with the report.

During consideration of this matter the Board was of the opinion that details of the review were of such nature that the press and public should be excluded from the remainder of the item. It was therefore RESOLVED that:

(A)            Subject to (B) below the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the minute headed and numbered as below because:

(a)             it was likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public were present during those minutes there would be disclosure to them of exempt information of the descriptions specified in paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 12A (as amended) of the Local Government Act 1972 shown against the heading in question; and

(b)         in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Minute 9    Review of CCTV

(Paragraphs 2 and 3)

(B)            All councillors present at the meeting in the public gallery be permitted to remain in the meeting after the press and public had been excluded.

During the meeting the Board considered that Councillor Ponsonby be co-opted on to the Board for this matter to enable her to make a contribution towards the debate.

RESOLVED that Councillor Ponsonby be co-opted on to the Board for this item as a non-voting member.

The Board discussed future CCTV options and the financial implications of maintaining the current system.

In view of the results of the residents survey on CCTV the members considered the possible impact removal of the service would have. It was

RECOMMENDED to Cabinet that the current CCTV system be retained in the budget for 2016/17.

The Board received a report inviting it to agree the scrutiny leads and board members, the membership of the five Scrutiny and Policy Development Panels and the Panels terms of reference.

RESOLVED that:

(1)       The scrutiny leads and board members as set out in Appendix A be

approved;

(2)       Scrutiny and Policy Development Panels and their terms of reference as set out in Appendix A be approved;

(3)       The Scrutiny Panel membership as set out in Appendix A be approved;

and

(4)       Councillor Faith Ponsonby be co-opted onto the Scrutiny Board as a

non-voting member.

The Board received a report from the Executive Head (Environmental Services) setting out options for achieving further reductions in service budgets in the context of delivering Operational Services differently in the future.

The Environmental Services Cabinet Lead and the Operational Services Manager were invited to join the meeting for the debate on this item and answered members’ questions in connection with the report.

An outline was provided on the significant work that had been done to date, both in delivering major savings within the current service and also in researching alternative models for delivering services going forward. A public consultation had commenced on the various options and was scheduled for completion on 18 June 2015. The consultation  would help identify the best option for both the Council and its customers and inform decision making in due course.

Following a detailed discussion the Board agreed that further scrutiny of the proposals was required once the results of the public consultation had been obtained. The Board therefore agreed to hold an Extraordinary Scrutiny Board prior to the next Cabinet meeting.

RESOLVED that an Extraordinary Scrutiny Board be scheduled prior to the next Cabinet meeting.

The Board was given an opportunity to review progress with regard to the work undertaken by the scrutiny and policy development panels since the last meeting and to identify any additional matters for inclusion in the Board’s work programme.

RESOLVED that the progress to date with regard to the Board’s work programme be noted and that no additional matters be selected for scrutiny/policy review at the present time.