Agenda item

Member Update

In addition to the Performance, In-Year Budget Monitoring and 2021/22 Budget Scrutiny updates provided earlier in the meeting, Scrutiny Chairmen provided updates on other work areas within their remits.

Cllr Potter advised that at the recent Adult Care and Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Panel, the Strategy for People and Communities (a strategic plan for change for the Directorate of People, to a strengths-based model) and the vision and plans being introduced to continue to promote people’s independence and sustain their independence for as long as possible, at home were discussed.

At the Economy and Environment (E&E) Overview and Scrutiny Panel, Cllr Adams advised that the Panel had discussed diversionary routes, including how they were identified and reviewed, and how the public were kept informed and suggested that members downloaded the One.Network traffic management software to keep informed of the up to date position of the road network.  The Panel also heard about the county-wide work to enable and promote cycling in Worcestershire.  After the County Council elections, Cllr Adams would also like to carry out a task group to look at S278 technical approvals.

Cllr Kent explained that the Corporate and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel had looked at the Councils Here2Help Service response as a result of the Coronavirus Pandemic and how it would continue beyond the COVID pandemic.  This was an area of interest to the Adult Care and Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Panel who had also been invited to the meeting.  In addition, the Panel discussed the .developments relating to the Corporate Redesign Programme.

In addition, Cllr Kent was leading a task group looking at the County Council’s Energy Purchasing Arrangements which would be reporting to the January Board.

Cllr Tuthill updated the Board on the recent meeting of the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee  where the Committee looked at restoration of health services and improvements arising from new ways of working during COVID-19 and were addressed by the Chief Executive of the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, Managing Director, Herefordshire and Worcestershire Clinical Commissioning Group and Director of Strategy and Partnerships, Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust.

Work Programme

Cllr Vale stressed the importance of keeping gateway drugs on the Board’s radar even though it wasn’t possible at the moment due to the pandemic to actively scrutinise this area of concern.

The Chairman referred to a letter that he had received from Cllr Denham and a briefing note that had been requested from the Director of Economy and Infrastructure (circulated to the Board) about service changes to the Transport Planning Team. Cllr Denham and Cllr Jenkins were in attendance for this part of the meeting and were concerned about the loss of staff expertise and implication on Council services resulting from this proposal.

The Chairman reminded the Board that it wasn’t appropriate to scrutinise matters of an operational nature and the Democratic Governance and Scrutiny Manager added that the Strategic Director had the authority to manage his service as appropriate in accordance with the policy framework of the Council. If there were concerns about the way in which a service was delivered from a strategic perspective, this could legitimately be scrutinised but day to day management decisions were not appropriate for Scrutiny.

The Chairman of the E&E Overview and Scrutiny Panel  was disappointed that this had not been mentioned in the recent November Panel meeting but advised that there was ongoing Budget Scrutiny which would as part of that process consider the savings proposals for the Directorate and a task group was being set up for that purpose which Cllrs Denham and Jenkins could join and contribute to.  There would also be an opportunity to review the implications of the service changes as part of ongoing Scrutiny.

Following the discussion, it was agreed that the mechanisms were in place for appropriate Scrutiny and that there would be an opportunity for members to ask questions as part of the Budget Scrutiny process of the Economy and Infrastructure Directorate.  Active Travel would be added to the E&E Overview and Scrutiny Panel Work Programme for monitoring of the impact of service changes.