Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors A Barratt and S Broadhurst.  

To provide an opportunity for Members and Officers to declare any personal and/or prejudicial interests in any item on the agenda.

Councillor G Baxendale gave a general declaration of personal interest by virtue of being a Member of Congleton Borough Council and Congleton Town Council.  Councillor R Menlove gave a general declaration of personal interest by virtue of being a Member of Macclesfield Borough Council.    Councillor A Thwaite gave a general declaration of personal interest by virtue of being a Member of Congleton Borough Council and Congleton Town Council.  In accordance with the Code of Conduct they remained in the meeting during consideration of the relevant items. 

In accordance with Procedure Rules Nos.11 and 35 a total period of 10 minutes is allocated for members of the public to address the Committee on any matter relevant to the work of the Committee.

Individual members of the public may speak for up to 5 minutes but the Chairman will decide how the period of time allocated for public speaking will be apportioned where there are a number of speakers.

Note: In order for officers to undertake any background research it would be helpful if questions were submitted at least one working day before the meeting.

There were no questions from members of the public.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 10 October 2008.

RESOLVED

The Minutes of the meeting held on 10 October 2008 were approved as a correct record subject to the second paragraph of Minute 21 (Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee) being amended to refer to People Advisory Group instead of Places.  

To note details of action taken by the Chairman since the last meeting as follows:

1.    Waiving of Finance Procedure Rule 5.30

§                Free Swimming for under 16year olds.

§                Appointment of an Interim Places Director

§                Procurement of suitably experienced advice and resources on shared services

2.    Urgent decision Standing Order no 25

§              Appointment of Interim Head of Children's Services.

The Chairman reported that he had taken the following action since the last meeting:

1.  Decision taken under Urgency Procedure Rules - Free Swimming Programme

To approve acceptance of the Government’s Free Swimming Programme offers of funding for the 16 and under age category, and capital improvements, so that a formal response of this decision can be made to the Department for Culture and Media and Sport by 24 October 2008.  A report to explore how the programme would be taken forward would be submitted to Cabinet.

The reason for urgency was that on 10 September 2008 Cabinet confirmed its intention that Cheshire East participate in the Government’s Free Swimming Programme for persons aged 60 and over, from 1 April 2009 and a response was sent to the Department for Culture Media and Sport to that effect, by the 15 September deadline.  Cabinet approved an expression of interest on a further element of the scheme to provide free swimming for 16s and under, and funding for swimming pool modernisation.  The deadline for response was 24 October.

2.  Decision taken under Urgency Procedure Rules – Director of Places

Following the decision of the selected candidate for the post of Director for Places not to take up the offer of employment, and the decision of the Staffing Committee on 20 October 2008, the need arose to source an interim Director to fulfill the duties of the post on a temporary basis pending permanent recruitment to the post.

The reason for urgency was that due to the specialist nature of the role, the volume of work being undertaken by the emerging shadow Council and the need to ensure a smooth transition at this critical time in the Council’s development, and the time which it would take to recruit a permanent candidate to the post using external advertisement.  The following action was proposed:

1. To adopt for the purposes of this decision the rules of procurement contained within the Finance Procedure Rules of Cheshire County Council, in particular Section 5.

2.      To waive the Finance Procedure Rules, under Rule 5.30 thereof, on the basis that circumstances have arisen which in the opinion of both the Interim Chief Finance Officer and Interim Monitoring Officer (being the equivalent officers within Cheshire East Council of the County Finance Officer and County Solicitor), warrant an exception to the requirements for competition, to include when an emergency requires an immediate contract (which should in any event be procured from an approved list of suppliers where available), noting that there is no such “list of approved suppliers” in this case.

3.      To seek the services of an Interim Director for Places from Gatenby Sanderson, with whom the Council already has a working relationship on other procurement matters, and since verbal enquiries with two other leading suppliers of the same kind of services have established that similar costs would be incurred whichever supplier was utilised.

3.  Decision taken under Urgency Procedure Rules – Shared Services

Following consideration by Cheshire East of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

To consider formally establishing Standing Scrutiny Panels.

Consideration was given to the report of the Governance Lead Officer on the establishment of three Standing Scrutiny Panels in respect of People, Places and Performance Monitoring. 

The Chairman reported that as part of an early training process for the Panels and for the Committee it was proposed that the Committee should carry out a scoping exercise on ‘The Review of Facilities for Young People as a scrutiny review on this subject had already been carried out by Congleton Borough Council, the necessary base information was readily available and officer support and guidance could be provided by Congleton Borough Council. 

RESOLVED –

1.  that approval be given to the establishment of Standing Scrutiny Panels for People, Places and Performance    Monitoring, with the membership as follows:

People Scrutiny Panel

Councillors G Baxendale, (Leader of the Panel), S Conquest, S Furlong and O Hunter.

Places Scrutiny Panel

Councillors R Menlove (Leader of the Panel), A Barratt, B Howell and J Wray.

Performance Monitoring Scrutiny Panel

Councillors P Edwards (Leader of the Panel, S Broadhurst, M Davies and L Smetham

2.  that it be noted that the Chairman and the Vice Chairman will be ex officio members of each Panel, and receive copies of all related information and correspondence.

3.  that the Committee meet informally to scope the training exercise.

In response to the following Notice of Motion adopted by the County Council at its meeting on 16 October:

“That the County Council will ensure that medium and long term actions arising from Reviews undertaken by its Scrutiny Panels and Committees are properly processed and passed on to the new Authorities in both East and West.”

The County Performance & Overview Committee has received the attached Schedule of major Scrutiny reviews undertaken by the County Council and resolved that it be brought to the attention of the new Authorities.

The Committee is requested to receive the Schedule of County Council Scrutiny Reviews.

Consideration was given to the schedule of scrutiny reviews that had been carried out by Cheshire County Council.  These had been forwarded in accordance with the Notice of Motion adopted by the County Council at its meeting on 16 October 2008 “That the County Council will ensure that medium and long term actions arising from reviews undertaken by its Scrutiny Panels and Committees are properly processed and passed on to the new Authorities in both East and West.”

In considering the most appropriate way of assessing this information it was requested that the major Scrutiny Reviews undertaken by Macclesfield, Congleton and Crewe & Nantwich Borough Councils be compiled into a similar schedule, to include the terms of reference, recommendations and actions of the scrutiny reviews.  It was requested that this information be submitted to the next meeting of the Committee with a view to it being considered in detail by the Performance and Monitoring Scrutiny Panel.

RESOLVED –  that the schedule be noted and further expanded to include information on major scrutiny reviews undertaken by Macclesfield, Congleton and Crewe & Nantwich Borough Councils, for consideration at the next meeting of the Committee.

To consider a paper setting out the draft Scrutiny Procedure Rules which will apply with effect from 1 April 2009.

Consideration was given to the report of the Interim Monitoring Officer on draft Rules of Procedure for scrutiny to be submitted to the Governance Committee. 

RESOLVED – that the draft Scrutiny Rules of Procedure be noted and that no comments be made to the Governance Committee.

To consider and note items for inclusion on the Committee’s Work Programme:

• Scoping Report for Outline Review of Facilities for Young People (AT)
•  Forward Plan

Consideration was given to the Committee’s Work Programme in connection with which a copy of the Cheshire East Forward Plan was circulated to the Committee for information.

With reference to the suggestion earlier in the meeting that a scoping exercise be carried out (minute 31 refers) the Committee received further information on the Review of Facilities for Young People, and an outline of the scoping process.  It was proposed that the pilot review be completed in time for consideration at the meeting of the Committee on 19 March 2009.

RESOLVED –

-        that the scoping of the Review of Facilities for Young People be carried out at an informal meeting of the Committee prior to the next meeting of the Committee.

-        that the Work Programme be considered as a regular item on the agenda for every Committee.