Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed all those in attendance

Apologies for absence were noted from Councillor Kirk

To note any declarations of interest from the Councillors.  They are asked to indicate the relevant agenda item, the nature of the interest and in particular whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest.

Any declarations of interest made at the meeting which is not on the register of interests should be notified to the Monitoring Officer for inclusion.

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the meetings on 25th July 17, 31st August 17 and 20th September 17 were agreed to be a correct record subject to;

·         25^th July 17;

That Councillor Brenda Massey be added to the list of attendees.

·         31^st August 17;

That the references to Councillor Massey’s and Councillor Campion Smith’s chairing roles on pages 22 and 186 of the papers be amended i.e.;

-          Reducing demand on social care (adults) – should read Councillor Campion Smith not Councillor Massey; and

-          Reducing demand on social care (adults) – should read Councillor Massey not Councillor Campion Smith

RESOLVED; That the minutes of the meetings on 25^th July 17, 31^st August 17 and  20^th September 17 be approved as a correct record, subject to the amendments detailed above.

To note any announcements from the Chair

The Chair, Councillor Gollop, confirmed that the Mayor’s Question Time session due to take place immediately before the meeting had been cancelled due to a miscommunication.  Members agreed that the Mayor would be asked to attend their next meeting on 7^th December 17 for an informal discussion or if not then an alternative slot would be arranged as soon as possible thereafter.

RESOLVED; That the cancelled Mayor’s Question Time session of 1^st November 17 be replaced with an informal discussion either to take place on 7^th December 17 or at an alternative mutually convenient time.

Up to 30 minutes is allowed for this item

Any member of the public or Councillor may participate in Public Forum.  The detailed arrangements for so doing are set out in the Public Information Sheet at the back of this agenda.  Public Forum items should be emailed to democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk and please note that the following deadlines will apply in relation to this meeting:-

Questions - Written questions must be received 3 clear working days prior to the meeting.  For this meeting, this means that your question(s) must be received in this office at the latest by 5 pm on *name deadline date*

Petitions and Statements - Petitions and statements must be received on the working day prior to the meeting.  For this meeting this means that your submission must be received in this office at the latest by 12.00 noon on *name deadline date*.

Members received the following public forum statements, a copy of which can be found in the minute book;

Members received a presentation setting out the Flood Risk Strategy for 2017/18, a copy of which is appended to these minutes at appendix A.

The Board considered the information provided and asked for additional details in a number of areas.  The salient points were as follows;

·         The report before Members was to provide an overarching update on the strategy for the city and did not include specific reference to potential projects that were being considered.

·         The possibility of installing a tidal barrage as part of Bristol’s flood defences was still being explored and an update would be provided to Members at the appropriate juncture.

·         The flood risk measures recently adopted in Southmead were working well.  Members were encouraged to continue to report local issues.

·         A flood risk study for Ashton was underway and Members would be provided with details in due course.

·         A strategy for flooding in relation to the River Avon was planned; funding from DEFRA was being sought to deliver preventative measures. 

·         Flood risk was a serious concern for Members.  It was agreed that it would be added to the list of potential topics for a future Scrutiny Task and Finish Group.

RESOLVED;

That the report be noted and further updates be provided in due course.

Report of the Libraries Task and Finish Group.

1.      Libraries Task and Finish Group Report

The report was introduced by Councillor Negus, Chair of the Libraries Task and Finish Group, and Members went on to consider the recommendations and next steps.  The following matters were discussed;

• The Task and Finish Group accepted that reductions to the budgets for the library service has been agreed butbelieved there were alternative options that would minimise the number of closures that should be considered by the Cabinet but it was unlikely that all 17 threatened libraries would be saved.   Members did agree that in some communities libraries were so underutilised that they regretfully could not continue to be supported at a time of significant financial pressures.
• The findings of the report were unanimously supported by the Board, but concerns were raised by a Member regarding the viability of implementing mutuals/trusts etc. due to the Council’s diminishing resource and if the plans set out in the report were progressed but failed, the library service could be left in a worse position.
• The Cabinet Member for Communities, Events and Equalities confirmed that she welcomed the report and would provide a written reply to the recommendations in advance of the Cabinet meeting on 4^th December 2017.
• The Board asked that a vote of thanks be recorded to all of the Members and officers who worked on the Libraries Task and Finish Group, noting that a high quality report had been produced within a very short timescale.

RESOLVED;

That the report be endorsed and submitted to Cabinet for consideration at the meeting on 4^th December 17, alongside an extract minute setting out the accompanying comments.

For members to discuss and agree an approach to the public scrutiny of the 18-19 budget. To aide discussions included is the overarching communications plan and timeline within the reports pack. Members from the MTFP Task and Finish group will be invited to feedback on their recommendations following their meeting on 31^st October 2017.

The Board discussed the proposed plan for Scrutiny of the City Council’s budget for 18/19 which had been prepared in conjunction with the Medium Financial Plan Task and Finish Group, with support from officers.  The following points were made;

• The Overview and Scrutiny Management Board would consider the budget at meetings in January 18 and the Cabinet Members would be invited to attend and participate in the discussion.
• The response rates for City Council consultations were often not very high (last year’s budget consultation was completed by 1100 people).  Efforts were continually made to address this and any suggestions of ways to encourage public participation would be welcomed.
• It was vital that consultation exercises remained accessible, which included providing the option to submit a paper response.
• Young people were important stakeholders.  It was agreed that Councillors Keen and Brook would raise the consultation at their next visit to the Youth Council in order to encourage participation.  It was also noted that the budget simulator tool would be shared with schools. 
• The verbatim responses provided as part of the survey would be ‘coded’ and used to inform the final consultation report.  The option of producing a ‘you said, we did’ type response could also be explored.
• It was agreed that the proposal relating to budget scrutiny be endorsed and that officers work to secure the relevant meeting dates as soon as possible.

RESOLVED:  That the proposals set out in the report in relation to budget scrutiny for 17/18 approved and implemented.

Verbal update

Members agreed to arrange an extraordinary meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board in December 17 in order to consider the Companies’ Business Plans, which would include an update in relation to the Waste Company.

RESOLVED:  That an extraordinary meeting of the OSM be arranged for December 17 in order to consider the Companies’ Business Plans.

Formal written response from the Mayor to the OSMB referral to Cabinet on 3^rd October 2017.

The response from the Mayor was noted.  The Board reiterated that they hoped they could meet the Mayor for an informal discussion (see Agenda Item no. 5 above) on 7^th December 17 or soon after.

During consideration of the item the following comments were made;

• Potential new Task and Finish Group topics would be identified by the Party Leads following discussion with their groups.  OSM would then be tasked with choosing those that went forward.
• Members acknowledged the difficulty in setting dates for some Task and Finish Group activities, particularly when timescales were short, and suggested that a Doddle Poll survey was the most efficient way to seek availability.
• It was noted that the libraries work that had recently concluded (see agenda item no. 8) was part one of a two stage process.  The follow up task would be to consider how best to implement changes to the library service following the Cabinet decision in December 17.
• The Task and Finish activities in relation to Adult and Children’s Social Care had taken sometime to define due to the very large remits of both areas, however, matters were progressing and both groups would shortly begin evidence gathering.
• It was noted that the Task and Finish Group update report would regularly be circulated to all Members to keep them informed of progress.

RESOLVED:  That the updates be noted and that the Lead Members prepare a list of potential new Task and Finish topics for consideration at a future meeting.

This is a standing item to share feedback on the new ways of working for scrutiny. Any emails/feedback received is included within the reports pack for consideration.

The Chair introduced the item, commenting that the pilot around scrutiny was working well in many areas but there were some aspects that would need to be refined as the process evolved and the Party Leads would be meeting regularly to consider arising issues.  The Board went on to share their views, commenting as follows;

·         Now that the first Task and Finish Group activity (on libraries) had concluded the part one of their work it could be useful to reflect on any lessons learnt.

·         Consideration should be given to some of the reports that used to be regularly received by Scrutiny such as the Risk Registers and performance updates.   It was noted that the Risk policy was being refreshed and would be considered at the Cabinet meeting on 7^th November 17, with the Corporate Risk Register going to Audit Committee in November 17, and the directorate Risk Registers thereafter.

·         Members agreed that it would be useful to access additional training and support to help develop skills in areas such as scrutiny and finance.  It was noted that in-house training could and should be utilised where possible, but a Member Development Steering Group would also be meeting on 2^nd November 17 to start to plan provision of any external support.  It was agreed that officers would report back on the outcomes of the Steering Group at the OSM meeting on 7^th December 17.

Standing item

The update was noted.

The update was noted.

The Mayor’s Forward Plan as published 9^th October 2017

The update was noted.

A standing item for any arising matters on WECA Scrutiny to be fed back from Cllr Stephen Clarke, Chair of WECA Scrutiny. Details of the WECA Scrutiny arrangements can be found here: https://www.westofengland-ca.org.uk/726-2/

No updates were provided.

P5 report is scheduled for publication on Monday 30^th October and will be circulated to OSMB once published.

The update was noted.

The update was noted.

Overview and Scrutiny Management Board;

Thursday 7th December - 5pm to 8pm

Thursday 11th January - 6pm to 9pm

Monday 12th February - 5pm to 8pm

Thursday 8th March - 5pm to 8pm

Thursday 12th April - 6pm to 9pm

The next meeting would take place at 5pm on 7^th December 17.

The Meeting ended at 8:50pm

CHAIR  __________________