Agenda and minutes

To note the names of apologies given and deputy members who are attending the meeting in place of appointed members.

No apologies were given.

To receive any disclosure of interests from Members and Officers in matters to be discussed.

Note:  Councillors are reminded of their obligations to declare disclosable pecuniary interests, personal and/or prejudicial interests in accordance with legislation and the Council’s Code of Conduct.      

If you require advice, please contact the appropriate Democratic Services Officer, prior to the meeting.

Councillors Hiscock declared a non-pecuniary interest concerning items upon the agenda that may be related to his role as a County Councillor.

Councillor Scott declared a personal (but not prejudicial) interest concerning agenda item 9 (Forward Plan of Key Decisions) and the reference to the Housing Revenue Account as he was a Council tenant.

That the minutes of the meeting be signed as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the previous meeting held on the 7 September be approved and adopted.

To receive and note questions asked and statements made from members of the public on matters which fall within the remit of the Committee.

Members of the public and visiting councillors may speak at Scrutiny, provided they have registered to speak three working days in advance. Please contact Democratic Services by 5pm on the 19^th November 2020 via democracy@winchester.gov.uk or (01962) 848 264 to register to speak and for further details.

No comments or questions were made during public participation.

Councillors Brook, Weir and Clear have drafted a work programme suggestion for the committee to consider.

The chairperson introduced the item which had been brought to the committee following a meeting of Councillor Weir, Councillor Clear and herself. The work request asked that a review be undertaken into the current provision of mental health services across the district, including those related to the city council's policies and services. It was hoped that the review would ultimately identify opportunities to work with partners to tackle inequalities and build a stronger infrastructure for mental health provision.

The committee asked questions and raised comments which were responded to by officers and the chairperson accordingly. Councillor Porter, as the cabinet member, supported the proposal. The chief executive suggested that a task and finish panel may be an appropriate way of progressing the work request and an initial list of topics was summarised as:

• provision/support for council staff and councillors,

·         provision/support for vulnerable tenants,

·         the benefits of open space,

·         regional and national best practice and

·         understanding where the city council fits within the bigger picture of service provision and support.

After questions and debate, the committee agreed the following:

RESOLVED:

.

1.    That a task and finish panel of either three or five members be created to action the work request

2.    That Councillors Brook and Becker be appointed to the task and finish panel

3.    That an invitation be sent to all members to become members of the panel

4.    That the initial agenda for the task and finish panel would be to confirm its terms of reference and to propose anticipated timescales.

(For members reference, the minutes of the panel meeting of the 9 November 2020 are attached)

Councillor Horrill, as chairperson of the performance panel, introduced the item and updated the Scrutiny Committee on the panel’s meeting which had taken place on the 9^th November 2020. The notes of the panel meeting were attached to this agenda.

The committee asked questions and raised several comments regarding the meeting of the panel and the overall process adopted for the scrutiny of the quarterly reports. These questions were summarised in the following areas:

·         public accessibility of the quarterly reports

·         when and how "items of interest" were referred from the performance panel to either the scrutiny, or policy committees

·         the availability of all panel papers for all members 

·         the level of detail to be provided in the notes of the meeting

The points were responded to by Councillor Horrill and officers accordingly. It was confirmed that:

·         the quarterly report to be included as an attachment to the performance panel notes when published publicly for the Scrutiny meeting.

·         future meeting notes of the performance panel to include a section for "Items recommended for further review" which Scrutiny committee could consider if appropriate further action required  

·         all members to be provided with the quarterly report when it was dispatched for the performance panel meeting

·         fuller notes from the Performance Panel meeting to be provided to Scrutiny to give greater clarity and context

RESOLVED:

1.    That officers action the points above

2.    That the report be noted

Regarding the scheduled February 2021 meeting, members are asked to note the additional agenda item. In addition, officers are suggesting to bring the date of the meeting forward by one day to the 2^nd February 2021 which will enable the output from the meeting to be received by cabinet.

RESOLVED:

1.    that the scheduled February 2021 meeting would now take place on the  2nd February 2021

2.    that the work plan be noted

RESOLVED:

The forward play of key decisions for December 2020 was noted.