Agenda item

Report of the Head of Legal and Democratic Services.

Summary

To agree topics for future meetings, to identify issues arising from the Forward Plan (March – June 2010) and to monitor the status of items on the work programme.

The Chairman of the Anti Social Behaviour Task & Finish Group will be present at the meeting to discuss the conclusions of that review and the draft recommendations to Executive.  The Strategic Director, Planning Housing and Economy will also be present and will brief the Committee on the Kidlington Pedestrianisation Capital Bid.

Recommendations

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee is recommended to:

(1)               Note the current overview and scrutiny work programme for 2009/10 as set out at Appendix 1 and make amendments as necessary;

(2)               Note the contents of the Forward Plan and identify any possible topics for scrutiny;

(3)               Note the draft report of the Anti Social Behaviour Task & Finish Group and consider whether they wish to amend or add to the recommendations to the Executive.

The Committee considered a report of the Head of Legal and Democratic Services on the overview and scrutiny work programme 2009/10 and the proposed work programme for 2010/11.

Existing Work Programme

The Committee agreed that Concessionary Fares, Affordable Housing and Rural Exception Sites, Markets in Cherwell to be removed from the work programme as monitoring was complete.  If any issues relating to these topics needed to be scrutinised in the future then it would be a new piece of work.

The Committee agreed that the following topics should be considered for scrutiny in 2010/11 subject to the completion of a clearly defined scoping document: Conservation Area Policy, Youth Services and Preparations for an Ageing Population. 

Forward Plan

The Committee did not identify any further items from the Forward Plan for inclusion on their work programme.

Kidlington Pedestrianisation

The Strategic Director, Planning Housing and Economy informed the Committee that on the Kidlington Pedestrianisation capital bid (value £25,000) had been referred to scrutiny for further consideration by Council.

The Strategic Director, Planning Housing and Economy reported that the project was intended to extend the pedestrianisation of the village centre through the use of traffic orders and that there was no physical work involved other than signage.  The bid had been rejected as part of the 2010/11 budget process due to the overall financial constraints facing the Council.  However, the Portfolio Holder for Resources had indicated that a supplementary estimate could be made if the scrutiny review considered that it was justified.  The Committee noted that the scheme would bring Kidlington in to line with the other urban centres of the district.

The Committee agreed to look at the matter in more detail at their June or July meeting and that local Members, representatives from the Kidlington Pedestrianisation Project Board and Kidlington Parish Council and lead officers from Cherwell District Council should be present at the discussion. 

Crime and Anti Social Behaviour Task & Finish Group Report

The Chairman of the Task & Finish Group was present at the meeting to respond to the concerns raised by the Committee at its February meeting regarding the content of the report and the length of time that it had taken to Task & Finish Group to conclude its review. 

The Committee was advised that the delays had been in part due to constraints on officer and member time and also because the original remit of the Task & Finish Group had been too wide and it had proved difficult to stick to a narrower line of enquiry.  Members of the Committee who had also served on the Task & Finish Group re-affirmed their belief that the scrutiny review had been a success, not least because it was the first such review to actively involve young people and other community groups.

The Democratic Scrutiny and Elections Manager tabled a schedule of changes to the draft report for the Committee to consider.  He explained that the Committee could make observations and suggest changes to the draft report but that ultimately the decision rested with the Chairman and members of the Task & Finish Group.

The Committee noted these comments and then made some detailed observations on the text of the draft report.  The Chairman agreed to take these into account in the final version of the report.  It was agreed that this report should be presented to the Executive at the same time as the report on Democratic Youth Engagement as they raised complementary issues.

Crime and Disorder Scrutiny Protocol

The Committee considered the report on the draft protocol for the conduct of crime and disorder scrutiny and reflected on the potential blurring of responsibilities and duplication of effort between the Council’s two scrutiny committees.  The Committee recognised the importance of developing a strong knowledge base in this subject area and acknowledged that this would take a considerable length of time.  They noted that the scrutiny of crime and disorder was intended to be strategic and that the responsibility for the resolution of specific, operational issues lay with the organisations which belonged to the crime and disorder partnership.

In conclusion the Committee agreed to adopt the following approach to crime and disorder scrutiny (detailed as Option 2 in the report):

·         The Overview and Scrutiny Committee to consider crime and disorder matters on a theme or topic basis in terms of outcomes for the local community (e.g. youth offending, domestic violence)

·         The Resources and Performance Scrutiny Board to review the performance of the Cherwell Safer Communities Partnership in terms of its effectiveness and delivery against targets.

Resolved

1)                 That the current overview and scrutiny programme for 2009/10 be agreed subject to the amendments detailed above and that they should be carried forward to the work programme for 2010/11.

2)                 That the contents of the Forward Plan be noted.

3)                 That a review of the Kidlington Pedestrianisation capital bid should be scheduled on the agenda of the June or July meeting.

4)                 That the draft report of the Anti Social Behaviour Task & Finish Group be noted and that it be referred to the Executive at the same time as the Committee’s report on Democratic Youth Engagement.

5)                 That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee be responsible for the consideration of crime and disorder matters on a theme or topic basis in terms of outcomes for the local community (e.g. youth offending, domestic violence).

6)                 That the Resources and Performance Scrutiny Board be responsible for the consideration of crime and disorder matters in so far as they relate to the performance of the Cherwell Safer Communities Partnership in terms of its effectiveness and delivery against targets.