Agenda and minutes

To note any substitution of Members made in accordance with Council Procedure Rules.

There were no Member substitutions.

There were no apologies for absence.

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 14 March 2023 (previously circulated).

The minutes of the meeting held on 14 March 2023 (previously circulated) were confirmed as a correct record.

No urgent business was identified.

To note declarations of Members’ disclosable pecuniary interests, non-disclosable pecuniary interests and non-pecuniary interests in respect of items on the Agenda.

Councillor S Thusu advised he is a Member of Hertfordshire County Council.

To receive and consider any requests by a councillor to scrutinise any matter relevant to the functions of the Committee.

No Call for Action had been received.

To consider the scoring of scrutiny topics and the draft Task and Finish terms of reference.

Subject to agreement of these items, to comment and agree the Committee’s draft work programme.

Members noted that the draft work programme had been populated with topics raised at a workshop earlier in the year, where it was agreed single reports would come to Committee on housing maintenance and cyber security, and that task and finish (T&F) groups would be established, meeting for the first time as follows: Budget (August), Street Scene (August) and Recruitment, Retention and Leaver processes (December). Officers took the committee through the scoring matrix and work programme.

The following points were raised and noted:

·        It would be helpful to be clear whether all relevant housing maintenance issues had been identified within the scope of the work programme and whether previous work could help evaluate the current position, which could act as a ‘scrutiny of our scrutiny.’  It was confirmed the scoring matrix in the work programme set out objectives for the work, including ensuring recommendations of the previous T&F group had been implemented. It was confirmed portfolio holders would be invited to attend relevant meetings.

·        There was a query about the Council’s working from home policy and potential issues not being included in the Recruitment, Retention and Leaver matrix, as there is the potential for Members and the public to not be able to contact officers; this is being explored via the customer service panel. It was noted that the scoring for this matrix had been increased from 12 to 14 and it was still being put forward, despite the minimum score normally being 15.  Responding to a request as to whether it would be possible for this T&F panel to receive a summary of union grievances, exit interviews etc from former staff, officers advised that there would be oversight of user feedback in a way that did not identify the individuals concerned.

T&F groups will have a minimum of 5 Members, be politically proportionate and have an Opposition Chair. While it is recommended that the Chair be a member of Overview and Scrutiny Committee, this is not a requirement. T&F panels can set their terms of reference at their first meeting in line with the panel objectives. Post-meeting note: The Chair noted the minimum of 5 would mean one party only had one representative which would mean significant pressure, particularly for the budget, and her preference would be for a minimum of 7; she has raised this accordingly.

RESOLVED (unanimously)

That Members agreed the Committee’s draft work programme.