Oxfordshire Growth Board Scrutiny Panel

Terms of Reference and Joint Protocol

1.      Purpose and Objectives

1.1 The purpose of the Oxfordshire Growth Board Scrutiny Panel is to review and scrutinise plans, proposals and decisions to be taken and actions taken in connection with the discharge of the Growth Board’s functions and the delivery of the agreed Oxfordshire Housing and Growth Deal. The Scrutiny Panel will perform a ‘check and balance’ and ‘critical friend’ function to the Growth Board through the review of key policies, decisions and strategic objectives.

1.2 The Scrutiny Panel does not have the right to call in any executive decisions made by any partner authorities.  All partner authorities will retain the right to formally call in decisions made by their own executives to their own Scrutiny Committees.

2.      Scrutiny Panel Powers

2.1    The Scrutiny Panel has no decision-making powers, but it shall:

(a) Prioritise key issues for review, and make reports and recommendations to the Growth Board where necessary. The Growth Board will be required to respond to any reports and recommendations.

(b) Require the Growth Board and partner bodies to provide information that it reasonably requires in the discharge of its functions.

(c) Require the attendance of Growth Board members and their senior supporting officers to answer questions about the work and decisions of the Growth Board.

(d) Establish sub-groups as required to assist in the performance of its functions.

(e) Monitor the Growth Board’s Forward Plan of decisions and Housing and Growth Deal Milestones.

3. Membership and appointments

3.1 The Scrutiny Panel will comprise 18 councillors, three appointed annually by each constituent Council of the Growth Board. Executive members of the constituent councils shall not be members of the Scrutiny Panel.

3.2 Each constituent Council will appoint its members having regard to its own political balance.

3.3 The Chair and Vice-Chair of the Scrutiny Panel shall be appointed by the Scrutiny Panel at its first meeting in each council year.

3.4 Co-opted non-voting members may be appointed for specific items or a period of up to a year by the Scrutiny Panel as it deems necessary.

4. Meeting Arrangements

4.1 The Scrutiny Panel will agree its own schedule of meetings, having regard to the timeliness of such meetings in relation to Growth Board meetings.

4.2 The normal rules as to declarations of interest will be applied to members in accordance with their respective Council’s Code of Conduct.

4.3 Meetings may be rearranged, cancelled or additional meetings scheduled with the agreement of the Chair.

4.4 The Chair will report to the Growth Board in circumstances where the Panel has produced a report and recommendations.

4.5 The Chair will have discretion to manage meetings as they see appropriate, having regard to any advice given, these terms of reference and relevant legislation.

4.6 Each meeting will be recorded through the production of minutes which will be made available to the public online after the meeting with the exception of any exempt or confidential information.

4.7 The secretariat to the Scrutiny Panel will be provided by the partner authorities as agreed by the Chief Executives of the partner authorities.

4.8 The Scrutiny Panel is not a decision making body, and the Chair should aim to facilitate consensual agreement on matters under consideration. Where a consensus cannot be reached, the Chair shall present the split views of the Panel to the Growth Board. Formal votes should only be used in exceptional circumstances. Notwithstanding this, voting arrangements will be one vote per member, and in the case of an equality of votes, the Chair will have a casting vote.

5. Quorum

5.1 The quorum will be a minimum of six of the members of the Scrutiny Panel, but must consist of at least one member or substitute from each partner authority.

6. Substitutes

6.1 Any member may send a substitute from their own authority if they are unable to attend, but this may not be a member of the authority’s executive and should ideally be a member of the authority’s scrutiny committee or panel

7. Access to information

7.1 The Scrutiny Panel will hold its meetings in public, except in circumstances where the matter under consideration contains exempt or confidential information, as set out in the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

7.2 It is expected that the Scrutiny Panel will have the right to see the same information as that of the Growth Board when considering an issue, in order that an informed view can be reached.

7.3 Meeting agendas and associated reports will be circulated to the members of the Scrutiny Panel, and the designated officers of the respective partner authorities, at least three clear working days before the meeting. Non-adherence to this in exceptional circumstances will not invalidate a meeting. Growth Board papers will be circulated to the panel when published for the Growth Board.

8. Reviews of Growth Board decisions

8.1 The Scrutiny Panel may exercise the right to review any matter that is going to the Growth Board for decision and make recommendations in advance of that decision that the Growth Board must then consider.

8.2 The Scrutiny Panel will identify areas of Growth Board work it wishes to review and timetable these into its annual work plan, taking into account the Growth Board forward plan. Officers will ensure the Scrutiny Panel receives information required to inform these reviews in time for recommendations to be made to the Growth Board. 

8.3 The Growth Board will allow time in its decision making processes for the Scrutiny Panel to review information regarding key decisions and make recommendations in advance of those decisions being made. This includes any submissions to Homes England in relation to milestones in the Deal.

8.4 The Growth Board will include reports and recommendations from Scrutiny Panel as a standing item on its meeting agenda. The Growth Board will be required to respond to the Scrutiny Panel recommendations to be recorded either at the meetings of the Growth Board or within 10 days of the meeting.

9. Public Participation

9.1 Members of the public may address meetings of the Scrutiny Panel, where notice is given to the secretariat no later than 4.00pm on the last working day before the day of the meeting.

9.2 The Chair will have discretion to manage the public participation procedure as they see appropriate, including rejecting frivolous, defamatory or offensive questions and managing the time afforded to public addresses.

10. Work Plan

10.1 The Scrutiny Panel will establish an annual forward Work Plan of matters to consider, which will be reviewed at each meeting.

10.2 The Work Plan should reflect a balance of issues from the Growth Board’s Forward Plan of decisions, and other matters that are relevant to the delivery of the agreed Oxfordshire Housing and Growth Deal and work of the Growth Board.

11. General principles

11.1 The Scrutiny Panel will operate independently from the Growth Board, but must have regard to any matters that the Growth Board refers to it for consideration.

11.2 The administration and functions of the Scrutiny Panel will be held to the same standards expected by the relevant legislation in relation to local authority overview and scrutiny committees.