Agenda item

To consider and agree annual work programmes for overview and scrutiny committee and its commissions for the 2023-24 municipal year.

The chair and vice-chair of overview and scrutiny committee and the commission chairs went through the proposed initial work programme areas for overview and scrutiny committee and the scrutiny commissions.  Other committee members also provided comment on the proposed work programmes.  Following discussion the committee agreed the initial work programmes for overview and scrutiny committee and the commissions for the 2023-24 year.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the initial overview and scrutiny committee and scrutiny commission work programmes for 2023-24 be as follows:

 

OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

 

Standing items

 

·  Council Delivery Plan Performance Monitoring

·  Climate Emergency Performance Monitoring

·  Budget Setting Process 2024-25

·  Annual Workforce Strategy Report

 

Pre-decision scrutiny

 

·  Southwark Stands Together Refresh and Southwark Equality Framework

 

Scrutiny reviews and mini review topics

 

·  Abbeyfield Estate – A Way Forward (Maydew House) Scrutiny review to establish procedures that will prevent a similar situation occurring in the future.

·  Regeneration Scrutiny – with a focus on individual schemes

·  Improving Customer Services for Council Housing Repairs

·  Review of the Mayor’s Budget and Operations of the Mayor’s Office

·  Exploration of how the council could use the voluntary sector as a commissioned service to deliver the work that the council has committed to around:

 

·  Elections Act – Increase in communication costs and workload of Electoral Services

·  Managing the constitutional and governance changes arising from emerging and new legislation e.g.  Health & Social Care Act

 

·  Increase in Bulky Waste Charges – update on impact

·  Bids to alleviate excessive inflationary pressures in the Voluntary Sector

·  Capital Budget Refresh

·  Temporary Accommodation Budget (including housing allocation and use of temporary accommodation)

·  Formal council complaints and legal action (how many received/resolved, repeat problems, and cost of legal settlements)

·  Contract Management (assessing value, quality and efficiency, under-performing contractors)

·  In house Leisure Service (management of transition, quality of day to day management, overall financial health of service)

·  Mooring Fees (to be factored into budget scrutiny process)

 

EDUCATION AND LOCAL ECONOMY SCRUTINY COMMISSION

 

·  Traders and markets (how council can support markets and local businesses by cutting costs)

·  Community Wealth Building

·  School amalgamations and closures in Southwark

·  Planning processes and policies for Southwark businesses to help boost the local economy sector in Southwark

·  Southwark Stands Together – role and successes (schools perspective)

·  Update on Children’s Safeguarding Partnership in Southwark

 

ENVIRONMENT AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SCRUTINY COMMISSION

 

Biodiversity:

 

·  Kerb side strategy

·  Trees strategy

·  Biodiversity in parks and green spaces

·  Community gardening and urban food production

·  Council use of herbicides and pesticides

 

Sustainable Freight Review (continuation from previous years scrutiny review)

 

·  Air Quality (from a mitigation perspective)

 

HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE SCRUTINY COMMISSION

 

·  Air Quality (from a health perspective)

·  Access to public toilets

·  Adult Safeguarding

·  Access to Dental Care

·  Blue Badge Application Process

·  Drug and Alcohol

·  Pain Clinic Management

 

HOUSING AND COMMUNITY SAFETY SCRUTINY COMMISSION

 

·  New Allocations and Lettings Scheme

·  Temporary Accommodation

·  Compensation scheme for heating outages

·  New Council Homes

·  The Casey Review

·  Interviews with the Borough Police and Fire Commanders

 

 

The chair indicated that the community engagement element of the environment and community engagement scrutiny commission would be transferring to the housing and community safety scrutiny commission.  This would be ratified at the next overview and scrutiny committee meeting.