Agenda item

Work Programme

Meeting of Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Tuesday 15 March 2022 6.30 pm (Item 50.)

There are four documents for the Committee to consider:

· Appendix 1 – Constitution Review update

· Appendix 2 – Indicative Work Programme for 2022-2023

· Appendix 3 – Topic list update

· Appendix 4 – Update on items previously submitted to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Recommendations

The meeting is recommended:

1.1 To delegate responsibility to the Monitoring Officer, in consultation with the named officer where necessary, to review the following aspects of the Constitution to submit to the 19 May Council meeting with a view to their adoption:

§ Contract Procedure Rules and Financial Procedure Rules, in consultation with the S151 Officer

§ Members’ Planning Code of Conduct and Councillor call-in of planning applications, in consultation with the Assistant Director Planning and Development

§ Addition of the Council budget debate speaking procedures (currently based on custom) and general review of all sections to ensure consistency of language, accessible format and layout

1.2 To request the Monitoring Officer to keep the Group Leaders, relevant Lead Members and Committee Chairman updated on the Constitution review work

1.3 To note the work programme update (appendix 2).

1.4 To note the update on topics previously suggested for review (appendix 3).

1.5 To note the update on items previously submitted to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (appendix 4).

Decision:

Resolved

(1) That responsibility be delegated to the Monitoring Officer, in consultation with the named officer where necessary, to review the following aspects of the Constitution to submit to the 18 May Council meeting with a view to their adoption:

· Contract Procedure Rules and Financial Procedure Rules, in consultation with the S151 Officer

· Members’ Planning Code of Conduct and Councillor call-in of planning applications, in consultation with the Assistant Director Planning and Development

· Addition of the Council budget debate speaking procedures (currently based on custom) and general review of all sections to ensure consistency of language, accessible format and layout

(2) That it be agreed that the Monitoring Officer be requested to keep Group Leader, relevant Lead Members and Committee Chairman updated on the Constitution review work.

(3) That subject to the addition of an item to provide an update on Cherwell District Council’s support to Ukrainian Refugees, the work programme update be noted.

(4) That the update on topics previously suggested for review be noted.

(5) That the update on items previously submitted to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee be noted.

Minutes:

The Committee considered its indicative work programme for 2022-23, and received an update on items previously submitted to the Committee.

With regard to the Constitution Annual Review, the Committee were advised that the decision to end the formal partnership working between Cherwell District Council and Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) had impacted on the proposed work of the group. An interim Monitoring Officer (MO) had been appointed and full Council had delegated authority to the MO to undertake amendments to the Constitution required as a result of the termination of the section 113 partnership agreement with OCC.

As the delegations granted did not incorporate all areas initially identified as forming part of the annual review, it was proposed that further delegated authority be granted to the interim Monitoring Officer, to review further aspects of the Constitution. Changes proposed would be presented to full Council at the annual meeting in May 2022.

In response to questions from the Committee, the Governance and Elections Manager assured the Committee that all Group Leaders would be kept updated.

With regard to the work programme, two suggestions were put forward as additional items for the Committee to consider.

The first related to the current situation with Ukrainian refugees, and a CDC specific response. The Chief Executive was providing regular updates to Members through her weekly emails and additional emails as required, for example, to signpost to the Government website, however Councillor Perran Moon requested scrutiny consideration of the issue from a local Cherwell perspective.

The Governance and Elections Manager advised that a specific Scrutiny review may not be the most effective way to address the issue, as the Committee were not due to meet again until June 2022. An emergency motion expressing support to refugees had been unanimously agreed at full Council in February 2022. Councillor Moon requested that an update on Cherwell District Council’s support to Ukrainian refugees be added to the work programme.

The second suggestion was in relation to transparency and providing information for residents on how elections were run. Councillor Moon requested in particular that information on the process and procedure for an election count be made available on the Cherwell District Council website.

In response to the request the Governance and Elections Manager explained that the Returning Officer role was separate to the day-to-day running of the Council, but that the request would be relayed to the Returning Officer.