Agenda item

Southwark Council CfGS Scrutiny Improvement Review and Action Plan

To note the letter from the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny (CfGS) arising from the scrutiny improvement review commissioned by the council, and to consider which of the actions to take forward.

 

Note: Ian Parry, Head of Consultancy, CfGS will be in attendance to present the findings of the review.

Minutes:

Ian Parry, Head of Consultancy, Centre for Governance and Scrutiny (CfGS) presented the scrutiny improvement review report findings to the committee.

 

Following the presentation, discussion was held around the following:

 

·  Call-in procedures

·  An opposition chair of the committee

·  Earlier and systematic involvement of cabinet members

·  Need for release of information earlier (budget setting process given as example)

·  Appropriateness of recommendations monitor

·  Chairs of OSC moving minutes on their committee with recommendations to council assembly

·  The scrutiny review process undertaken with the council

·  Resourcing of support for scrutiny

 

It was indicated that no decisions would be made at this meeting on the adoption of the scrutiny improvement review recommendations.

 

Councillor Irina von Wiese moved recommendations that the opposition group members wished to be considered as part of the scrutiny improvement review process – detailed below:

 

1.  To remove the requirement for a councillor to be a sitting member of the overview and scrutiny committee to call-in a decision, allowing any three councillors to request a decision to be called-in.

 

2.  To establish a recommendations monitor to be maintained by the scrutiny team in order to track the progress of recommendations.

 

3.  To treat the recommendations of the scrutiny improvement review as a priority area in the council’s action plan.

 

4.  For minutes of the overview and scrutiny committee meetings to be submitted to council assembly, to be moved by the chair, and to be scrutinised and agreed by all members.

 

5.  To offer the position of the OSC chair to a member of the main opposition group of the council.

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.  That the letter from the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny arising from the scrutiny improvement review commissioned by the council, appendix 1 of the report be noted.

 

2.  That consideration of actions to take forward arising from the scrutiny improvement review be deferred until the June meeting.

Supporting documents: