Issue - meetings

The Chairman, Assistant Director – Law and Governance/Monitoring Officer and the Principal Officer – Scrutiny and Democratic Lead will facilitate a discussion on work programme planning for the 2024-2025 Municipal Year.

Committee members will have the opportunity to propose subjects for consideration, and should bear in mind the five roles of scrutiny:

·         Performance Monitoring

·         Policy Development

·         Policy Review

·         Holding the Executive to Account – the latest version of the Executive Forward Plan can be viewed via the Cherwell District Council website

·         External Scrutiny

The Committee will also need to consider whether the following three working groups should continue in 2024-2025.

·         Climate Action

·         Food Insecurity

·         Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (joint group with Personnel Committee)

Officers will also give details of suggested topics by service areas, for Committee consideration.

Meeting dates have been set for the remainder of the Municipal Year and are as follows (all 6:30pm):

Tuesday 10 September

Tuesday 15 October

Tuesday 26 November

Tuesday 28 January

Tuesday 11 March

Resolved

(1)        That the Chairman and Vice-Chairman work with officers to bring forward a work programme, incorporating the topics suggested, to the next Committee meeting.

(2)        That the following working groups continue into 2024/25, with authority being delegated to the Assistant Director Law and Governance, in consultation with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman to liaise with Group Leaders regarding nominations to each group:

·             Climate Action

·             Food Insecurity

·             Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (joint group with Personnel Committee

The Chairman referred to the three working groups that had been established in 2023-2024: Climate Action; Food Insecurity; and, Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion (joint with Personnel Committee) and asked for Members’ views  on whether  the  working groups should continue. The Committee agreed that all working groups should continue and asked the Assistant Director Law and Governance, in consultation with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman to liaise with Group Leaders regarding membership of the working groups.

The Committee asked if it was possible for experts in the topic fields to attend working group meetings to give guidance to working group members. The Chairman advised that working groups should discuss in their meetings if experts in that field would be invited to attend the working group meetings.

The Assistant Director of Law and Governance advised the Committee that within the working group meetings, targets should be decided by the working group to focus discussion and not make to topic of discussion wide.

The Principal Officer - Scrutiny and Democratic Lead presented the list of suggested topics that Officers and Members had put forward for inclusion on the Overview and Scrutiny work programme. The Committee endorsed all topics and agreed that the Chairman and Vice-Chairman work with officers to bring forward a work programme incorporating the topics to the next meeting of the Committee.

As part of the work programme planning, the Committee requested that officers be advised that presentations be kept short and more interactive for the Committee.

Resolved

(1)      That the Chairman and Vice-Chairman work with officers to bring forward a work programme, incorporating the topics suggested, to the next Committee meeting.

(2)      That the following working groups continue into 2024/25, with authority being delegated to the Assistant Director Law and Governance, in consultation with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman to liaise with Group Leaders regarding nominations to each group:

·                Climate Action

·                Food Insecurity

·                Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (joint group with Personnel Committee