PERFORMANCE AND OVERVIEW COMMITTEE
ORGANISATION
RECORD OF MEETING HELD ON 8TH JANUARY
2007
Present:
Councillor M R Jones, Chair
Councillors W T Beard, J A Beech, D H D
Charlesworth, R E Dodd, B Evans,
A C Johnson, J Lewis and M J Weatherill
In Attendance:
49 DECLARATIONS
OF INTEREST
No Member made any declaration of
interest in any item of business on the agenda at this point in the
proceedings.
50 WHIPPING
DECLARATIONS
In accordance with Paragraph 18 of the
Performance and Overview Procedure Rules, Members were invited to
declare in respect of items where the whip had been applied.
No such declarations were made.
51 RECORD OF
MEETING
AGREED: That the Record of the
Meeting held on 27th November 2006 be approved as
correct, subject to the inclusion of the name “Councillor J Lewis”
in the list of apologies.
52 BOARD BUSINESS
– MEETING 11TH JANUARY 2007
The Committee considered the following reports
to be considered by the Board on 11th January 2007 -
Ø
Report 5
Corporate Strategy 2007-2012
Response to Board: No comments
Ø Report
14 Job Evaluation/Single Status – Pay
and Grading Structure
Response to Board:
Page 83 : “Certificate of Pension Protection”. Insert
the word “consecutive” after the words “an average of 3------“ in
sub-section (b).
Ø Report
15 Timetable of Public Meetings –
2007/2008
Members briefly discussed the timetable with a view to increasing
the number of meetings for this Committee.
A Member made two suggestions; (1) that the
Council meeting scheduled for 19th March 2008 be
postponed to April 2008 to allow for the presentation of a
“portfolio of achievement” to each retiring Member; the names
of those retiring would not be published until early April; and (2)
that the Standards Committee meeting scheduled for 22nd
May 2008 be postponed in view of its close proximity to Annual
Council. In response to the first suggestion, another Member
suggested that such presentations could be made at Annual Council,
or a later meeting to enable the Council to acknowledge not only
the contribution of retiring Members, but also those who lost their
seats in the elections.
Response to Board:
Timetable supported, subject to a review by
the P & O Co-ordinating Group at an early meeting, with a view
to recommending to the Board (in April) an increase in meetings of
the Performance and Overview Committees.
Ø Report
16 Further Electoral Review of Crewe
and Nantwich
The Committee supported the proposals
submitted to the Boundary Committee as agreed at Council on
30th November 2005.
Ø Report
17 Appointment to Outside
Organisation: County Health Scrutiny Select
Committee
Response to
Board:
No
comments.
Ø
Report 18 Cheshire Districts
Concessionary Fares Scheme
2007/2008
Response
to Board:
The Committee supported the scheme, but
acknowledged that there had been a significant reduction in bus
services, particularly in the rural areas.
(Note: At this point in the
proceedings, Councillor B Evans declared a personal interest in
this item, on the basis that his wife fell within one of the
eligibility
criteria.)
53 PROVISIONAL
ITEMS (BOARD’S FORWARD PLAN)
The Committee noted the Board’s Forward Plan
for February and April 2007.
(Note: Councillor S W Hogben spoke
on this item with the permission of the Committee, in accordance
with Procedure Rule No. 26(2).)
54
RESPONSES/REFERRALS FROM THE BOARD OR COUNCIL
At its meeting held on 27th
November 2006, the Committee had challenged the Board’s power to
make a decision in respect of Fees and Charges and considered that
it was for Full Council to decide such matters. The Board, at
its meeting on 30th November 2006, had taken into
account the Committee’s comments, and as a result, had declined to
make a decision on Fees and Charges, referring the matter to Budget
Council in February 2007.
There were no referrals from Council on this
occasion.
55 WORK
PROGRAMME
The Committee gave consideration to its work
programme, having already acknowledged earlier in the meeting that
the Committee should be undertaking formal reviews which were
independent of those issues being considered by the Board.
To assist Members in identifying areas of
potential scrutiny, an A-Z list of Board Portfolios and Performance
and Overview Responsibilities was submitted.
There was a general discussion about the role
of scrutiny itself and its effectiveness and whether or not it may
be appropriate for the number of meetings of this Committee to be
reduced or the possibility of combining the scrutiny function into
one Committee only. A meeting of the P & O Co-ordinating
Group was to be arranged in the near future and this issue could be
raised at that time.
The following were discussed as areas for
review –
Ø Delivery
of Capital Schemes
The Executive Director (Treasury and Corporate
Support) suggested this as an area of review for the Committee,
from a monitoring perspective. There were a number of
“sub-topics” associated with this and it was
AGREED that a position statement on the Queen’s
Park Project be submitted to the Committee. This would be of
particular benefit to newer Councillors who were unaware of the
background.
As part of the overall review, the Committee
could consider a schedule of projects, by value, indicating
progress on schemes, timetable for completion and whether or not
they had already come to fruition. The Committee would be
invited to consider if there should be a more in-depth examination
of specific
projects.
Ø Communications
and Press and Media Relations
In view of the recent appointment of a
Communications Manager, it may be appropriate to examine this topic
as it applied across the authority, from a policy and practice
perspective and its links with Members.
Ø Asset
Management Plan
A report on Asset Management was due for
submission to the Board at its April meeting and the results of the
stock condition survey were awaited.
The Executive Director (Treasury and Corporate
Support) undertook to provide for the March meeting a schedule
showing the current value of assets. The Committee could
examine this and give consideration to the appropriateness of
suggesting the disposal of some assets. The principal purpose
of receiving the schedule would be to raise Members’ awareness of
the extent of the Council’s assets, but it would also be an
opportunity for the Committee to make recommendations to the
Board.
Ø
Member Support and Development
Reference was made to training sessions
arranged in accordance with the approved Member Development
Programme and the abortive costs which accrued to the Authority
when sessions were cancelled at short notice.
In response to a comment about the need for a
formal skills audit/needs assessment, the Committee was reminded
that 18-months previously, 1:1 sessions had been carried out with
the majority of Councillors by a training specialist from
North-West Employers’ Organisation.
AGREED: (a) That Asset
Management, Delivery of Capital Schemes and Member Support and
Development be included in the Committee’s Work Programme for
2007/2008; and
(b) That Communications and Media
Relations be considered for inclusion in the Committee’s Work
Programme at a later date.
56 DATE OF NEXT
MEETING
5th February 2007
………………………………………………….Chair