Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed all attendees to the meeting.

Apologies were received from Councillor Anthony Negus who was substituted by Councillor Gary Hopkins.

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.

None received.

The minutes from the meeting on 6^th June 2019 were approved as a correct record.

RESOLVED; that the minutes from the meeting on 6^th June 2019 be approved as a correct record.

To note any announcements from the Chair

The Chair advised that the following meetings of the Call In Sub Committee of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board would be taking place;

Monday 22^nd July 19 - Call In of the Cabinet Decision: Development of Buildings Adjacent to the Harbour

Tuesday 23^rd July 19 - Call In of the Cabinet Decision: Temple Island – Update on Proposals and Disposal Arrangements

Both meetings would be webcast.

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 Thursday 11^th July.

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 Tuesday 16^th July.

The following public forum was received and a copy placed in the minute book;

As the question was submitted late, it was agreed that a reply would be provided following the meeting.

The Head of Paid Service introduced the item, advising the Board that the consultation around the Clean Air proposals was underway.  He acknowledged that the circumstances were not ideal since the timetable had been set by the Government which meant the consultation had commenced with some technical information not yet available, however, the course of action had been agreed based on a balance of all key risks.  A further update could be provided to OMSB during or at the close of the consultation period.

Members went on to receive a presentation setting out the current situation regarding the Clean Air plan, a copy of which can be found at Appendix A.  Members considered the information provided and asked for additional details in a number of areas.  The following matters arose;

• Modelling of various options had found that Bristol would find it more difficult to achieve clean air compliance as quickly as other similar sized cities.

• Should congestion charges be introduced in Bristol, consideration could be given to using a sliding scale of Clean Air Zone charges based on vehicle type.
• If the option to ban diesel cars from parts of the city was implemented then this may have an impact on air quality in other areas, although to a much lesser extent and within acceptable limits. Currently diesel vehicles could only be banned for 8 hours a day, which would require a Traffic Regulation Order.  A vehicle scrappage scheme could only be introduced with government support.
• The Council were planning to use Automatic Number Plate Recognition to enforce any changes that were introduced as part of the Clean Air plan.
• Air quality compliance in fleet vehicles was a particular area of concern for Members.
• The Clean Air Plan needed to be introduced alongside enhanced public transport, such as better bus services on Sundays.
• Members expressed some concern that a more proactive approach to improving clean air had not been taken.
• Members raised concerns about the legitimacy of the consultation.  They were assured that there were no statutory requirements around duration and that 6 weeks was thought to be reasonable.
• The consultation had been promoted via local publications.  Councillors were encouraged to help support engagement with their local residents.
• Drop in sessions regarding the consultation had been organised in key parts of the city i.e. those that would be most affected by the Clean Air proposals.  Other areas could be added if necessary and Members were invited to submit suggestions.
• It was not possible to directly contact previous consultees on other topics due to GDPR restrictions.

RESOLVED; That the update be noted and a further report be brought back to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board prior to any decisions being made by Cabinet.

The report was noted.

RESOLVED;  That the report be noted.

Members received an update from officers.  The key points made were as follows;

• The Terms of Reference for each of the One City Thematic Boards and activity updates were available on the One City website.  Minutes may also be published, but that was a decision for each Board. 
• The Mayor had indicated (during the proceeding Mayoral Question Time) that consideration would be given regarding the suggestion that an elected Member be invited to attend Board meetings in an observational capacity. 
• In January 2020 a report would be available outlining the funding arrangements for One City, including an update on developments to date, and this would be shared with OSMB.
• There were no additional costs to the council in running the Thematic Boards as three are already run by the BCC and the other three boards are clerked by the One City Partners.
• All recommendations from the One City Boards, with the exception of those relating to the Health and Wellbeing Board which was a statutory body, would be referred to Cabinet for decision therefore providing an opportunity for scrutiny.
• It was suggested the Members be invited to the One City biannual City Gathering events which brought together key stakeholders from across the public, private, third and voluntary sectors.

RESOLVED; that the update be noted and a further report setting out the One City Plan would be provided to the Board in January 20

During the introduction from officers, Members were advised that areas of improved performance included the number of care leavers in employment  and apprenticeships available, as well as admissions to care homes.  Areas that were not performing as well included the number of rough sleepers and invoices being paid on time.

Members went on to query the information provided and ask for additional details in a number of areas.  The discussion was as follows;

• Sickness absence rates in the Council were still in need of improvement although the direction of travel was positive.
• The Council were working on ways to further improve the timely payment of invoices and the Resources Scrutiny Commission had recently received a report setting out full details.
• The outcomes for number of care leavers entering employment were welcomed.
• Revised data regarding the provision of new homes would shortly be available.
• Some of the targets could be more ambitious but in areas where previous significant gains had been made or where performance was traditionally strong maintaining the status quo was regarded as success.
• Clarity was required about why performance for journeys taken by Park and Ride buses had been reduced. 
• The target for visits to museums had been reduced since it had previously been increased due to an influx of visitors who came for the Wallace and Gromit trail.

Members noted that the performance indicators had been revised following a recent workshop with Scrutiny Members and thanked officers for the clear presentation of the report.

RESOLVED; That the performance report be noted.

The update was noted.

RESOLVED; that the Corporate Risk Management Report and Annual Update be noted.

The Chair advised that the item would now be fully addressed at the aforementioned Call In Sub Committee of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board that would be taking place on Tuesday 23^rd July 19.  It was noted that the exempt legal advice relating to the Temple Island Cabinet decision (of 2^nd July 19) had not been shared with Scrutiny as stated at the Cabinet meeting.  Members requested that this information be corrected at the next Cabinet meeting.

RESOLVED; that the Cabinet Member for Finance, Governance and Performance be asked to correct the statement that the exempt legal advice in relation to the Temple Island cabinet decision (of 2^nd July 19) had been shared with Scrutiny.

To note the work programme.

The updated work programme was noted.  The following matters were discussed;

• The scheduling of the next meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board to consider the performance of Bristol City Council’s Companies was proving difficult.  It was agreed that the meeting could proceed on 14^th August 19 if no other suitable options were identified.
• Updates on the forthcoming Inquiry Days on Climate Adaptations, SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disability, and High Streets were noted.

RESOLVED: That the updated Work Programme be noted, and that the next meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board to review performance of the City Council’s companies take place on 14^th August 19 if no other suitable alternative could be found.

The process for budget scrutiny during 19/20 set out in the accompany report was approved.

RESOLVED; that the budget scrutiny process for 19/20 be approved.

The draft terms of reference of the Health Sub Committee of the People Scrutiny Commission were approved. 

RESOLVED; That the draft terms of reference of the Health Sub Committee of the People Scrutiny Commission be approved.

The minutes which were provided for information purposes were noted.

The updated Forward Plan was noted.

RESOLVED; that the Mayor’s Forward Plan be noted.