Agenda item

The  Board was asked to consider:

·         the aims of overview and scrutiny and note its remits;

·         agree whether it would wish to receive an update on emerging issues and developments within the remit of each Member of the OSPB, including an update on each Overview and Scrutiny Panel; and

·         the Council's latest Forward Plan to identify:

§  any items it would wish to consider further at a future meeting; and

§  any items it would wish to refer to the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Panel for further consideration.

Scrutiny Role and Remit

This was agreed as per detailed in the Agenda report.

A Member highlighted the importance of promoting continuous improvement, best practice and innovation in respect of Council services.

The Chairman highlighted that as well as scrutinising Council services, Scrutiny could take place beyond Council services if there was public interest in a particular area. Examples of this were highlighted eg BT Openreach had attended the Economy and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Panel when discussions about broadband were taking place as had Severn Trent and the Environment Agency for discussions about flooding.

Updates on Emerging Issues

It was agreed that Scrutiny Chairmen would provide an update on Scrutiny activity at each meeting of the Board.

The role of the OSPB Vice-Chairman was discussed and whether he should have a specific area of focus – it was agreed that this would be considered further before a decision was made.

Cabinet Forward Plan

The Cabinet Forward Plan was discussed, and it was agreed that reviewing it would be continued, but more detail would be helpful to the Scrutiny Chairmen. This would be considered for future Plans.

Adult Care and Well-being Panel (Cllr Shirley Webb)

The recent Adult Panel meeting had taken place informally via Zoom and been  livestreamed, so that it could be observed by the public.  One of the areas that the Panel looked at was Dementia Centres; Dr Shirley Evans from the Association for Dementia Studies attended the meeting to talk about how Dementia Centres were being developed in Worcestershire.

Akin to other Panels, the Panel looked at performance and finance information and were pleased to note that at the year end, there had been a small underspend.

In addition, Panel Members were in the process of making contact with local social work teams in their area, in order to arrange a visit.

Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Cllr Kyle Daisley)

One of the areas reviewed by the Panel was an update on developments relating to Worcestershire Children First (WCF) Social Care Placements Sufficiency Strategy. Unfortunately, the Report had already been agreed by Cabinet before it was discussed at the Panel which wasn’t ideal. It was however, pleasing to note when discussing the finance and performance monitoring that at the year-end WCF had achieved a financial surplus.  With regard to the Work Programme, whilst acknowledging that 2/3 Tier Schooling had been looked at a number of years ago, given developments more recently in various parts of the County it was agreed to add it to the Programme.

Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (HOSC) (Cllr Brandon Clayton)

The last meeting of HOSC had taken place informally via Zoom and had been  livestreamed, so that it could be observed by the public.  The main areas of discussion were: temporary service changes as a result of COVID-19, reset and recovery of services and emerging areas requiring focus as a result of COVID-19 pressures.

Some Members of the Committee were concerned that the Garden Suite ambulatory chemotherapy unit which had temporarily relocated from the

Alexandra Hospital in Redditch to Kidderminster to ensure that Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust could continue providing chemotherapy for cancer patients (to protect them from the risk of COVID-19 infection) would become permanent.  Health colleagues had assured the Committee that no permanent decision would be made about the future of the service without appropriate patient and public involvement taking place.

HOSC were keen to look at GP (Primary Care) and had agreed to convene an additional meeting to look at this in October.

A Member suggested that HOSC may wish to look at how residents’ complaints about the Health Service were handled, the Chairman of HOSC confirmed that this was an issue on the Committee’s work programme.

Economy and Environment (E&E) Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Cllr Alastair Adams)

The July Meeting of E&E took place informally via Zoom and was livestreamed, so that it could be observed by the public. 

The Panel received an update report on the Council’s work on developer funded highways infrastructure, in particular the time taken for planning submissions from developers to meet the criteria for approval.

In addition, the Panel had requested an update on cyclical drainage in respect of the Council’s online mapping system for gullies. The Chairman advised that there would be an opportunity for the Panel and all Members of the Council to test the App prior to its launch in December 2021.

Crime and Disorder (Cllr Richard Udall)

Cllr Udall advised the Board that he was meeting with officers on 27 July to discuss the Annual Crime and Disorder meeting, as well as the wider work programme and would report back in due course.

A number of councillors suggested that the number one issue in their area was speeding and more community speed watch schemes were needed – this was an area that could be considered for further Scrutiny.