Issue - meetings

Report of the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee

In the absence of the Chair, the Vice-Chair of Overview and Scrutiny presented the report, thanking Councillor Foster who has occasionally stepped in to chair a meeting.  She also drew Members’ attention to an error in the report which stated that Councillor Barrell was a member of the committee in 2024-25; she was not, and this will be corrected before publication. 

She said Overview and Scrutiny has had a busy year with an ambitious agenda set by Members, under the much-appreciated guidance of the Head of Governance, Risk and Assurance.  She was also grateful to the Democratic Services team, who organise and liaise with all parties to ensure the items discussed meet the set objectives. 

The chart shows how the committee interacts with the council and other committees, receiving reports from some and making recommendations to others.  It has a wide-ranging and flexible remit to reflect current items of interest and concern, meets twice a year to set and prioritise agenda items, and appreciates dialogue with Members who report back from other scrutiny groups. She thanked officers for their expertise and time in preparing and presenting papers and answering challenging questions – Members don’t underestimate the time and attention they give to the process, together with Cabinet Members. 

Going forward she said Overview and Scrutiny Committee now includes two external members to offer further scrutiny of the items discussed, and looked forward to their future input.

A Member thanked the Vice-Chair of Overview and Scrutiny on behalf of Chair, for taking on leadership of this committee, saying it is a massive undertaking and huge amount of work.

A Member thanked the Vice-Chair for the report, and said she was looking forward to reporting to Overview and Scrutiny on all the ongoing work undertaken during No Child Left Behind’s Year of Youth Action.  She also asked Members to note that as part of the council’s work to tackle multi deprivation, and the problems faced locally and nationally with school attendance, she had met today with representatives from local junior and senior schools to consider how this can be challenged through NCLB effort. 

The Leader thanked members of Overview and Scrutiny and for their work in keeping things on track, and, as a regular attendee at meetings, knew how much work Members put in to holding the council to account for its actions. 

The Mayor thanked Members of opposition groups who sit on Overview and Scrutiny Committee, saying that with such a large majority on the Council, it is essential that the Cabinet is held to account for its decisions, and that best practice is followed by appointing a Chair from who is not a member of the main group.  He thanked officers who support the committee and provide information.

The Vice-Chair of Overview and Scrutiny thanked Members for their comments.

As set out in the Recommendation, no vote was required but Council noted the Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report 2024-25