Agenda item

The summary was introduced by the Independent Shareholder Advisors (ISAs).

The following points were raised and discussed by the members present: 

·         The Chair highlighted that the report has gone to the Shareholder and that a response is in the process of being drafted and that this will take some time therefore it was important that this be discussed in exempt session.

·         OSMB thanked the ISAs for their constructive feedback and recommendations.

·         Members asked for further detail on who was involved in the review and also what national best practice existed. The ISAs advised that it was a range of council officers, councillors, company NEDs and executives to gain a broad range of opinions. Norfolk and Cornwall were cited as best practice (noted that one of the ISAs sits on the holding company for Cornwall)

·         Council officers advised that the full report is being finalised and should be going to the Shareholder group in early January following presentation to SLT. It is anticipated that it will be available for OSMB in February.

·         Members highlighted that the Centre for Public Scrutiny (CfPS) conference and the Parliamentary Select Committee on scrutiny have highlighted that councils are being over-zealous with exempt reports specifically on items viewed to be commercially sensitive and the need for exemption of the meeting’s reports was questioned. The ISAs advised that a lot of progress has been made in order to be able to bring this level of information to OSMB but that they would come back with a more considered opinion on this specific issue. They did however note that there is a large difference in the commercial nature between Waste and Energy and that Energy is operating in a very competitive market. The Chair highlighted that the council needs to find a mechanism for members to access appropriate information and also for as much information as possible to be made public. The Chair highlighted that Waste unlike Energy is a statutory function of the council and thus there is a very different trading position. 

·         It was highlighted that Bristol Energy is scheduled to come to OSMB on the 11^th January.

·         A member of OSMB questioned if the original ethos for the companies still stood which was in their view to ensure that a profit was made and that this was reinvested back into positive outcomes for citizens. It was felt by OSMB that this should be outlined in the cabinet report to demonstrate the commitment to this. The Deputy Mayor asserted that assessing social value is a high priority. The need for the correct skills and experience from the client side was discussed in the context of the council’s new structure and the need for dedicated resources at a senior level. Officers advised that a new Shareholder Liaison Director was due to be starting in December within the council.

·         Members highlighted that if a housing company were to be established this would be in a very competitive market and the correct resources will be needed to establish this and the holding company should be considered in this context. The Deputy Mayor reiterated that no decision has been made regarding a Housing company but that the Holding company would need to be reviewed in that context.

·         Members questioned the relationship between Scrutiny and the Shareholder and the companies and how to best to manage this in the context of waste being felt to be able to be more open and the Energy Company being much more commercially sensitive. It was suggested a six monthly update session could be useful and this should be incorporated into the Shareholder’s Forward Plan. The Chair of OSMB was in agreement with this and also suggested that need for an additional member of OSMB to sit as an observer on the Shareholder group and this potentially to be the vice-chair. Reassurance that all cabinet members are briefed on the council companies was also sought. The Deputy Mayor advised that these issues will be addressed in the council’s response to the ISA’s report.

·         Members also highlighted other  commercial ventures in which Bristol City council has an interest and the need to ensure that these are integrated with the overarching commercialisation strategy and subject to scrutiny. It was noted that some of these would have been set up under the previous administration and therefore may have a different emphasis that what is the priority now. A brief discussion was had about the future direction of the council overall and the range of views that exist in terms of mutualisation and commercialisation and that this needs to be considered carefully as part of the discussion about the future direction of the council.

·         The chair drew the meeting to a close thanking all officers and members presents and specifically the ISAs. The chair reminded all members presents of the obligations regarding confidentiality.

ACTION– ISAs to report back views on the level of exemption within reports on the council’s companies

ACTION – Points raised on scrutiny’s relationship to the shareholder to be incorporated into the response to the ISA’s report.