Agenda and minutes

Venue: This will be an informal, virtual meeting of scrutiny members.

Contact: Candida Mckelvey, Democratic Services Officer  07895 213830, Email: candida.mckelvey@southandvale.gov.uk

Note: This is a virtual meeting - you can watch it here - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTj2pCic8vzucpzIaSWE3UQ 

Items
No. Item

Sc113

Apologies for absence

To record apologies for absence and the attendance of substitute members. 

Minutes:

None.

Sc114

Declarations of interest

To receive any declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests in respect of items on the agenda for this meeting.  

Minutes:

None.

Sc115

Urgent business and chair's announcements

To receive notification of any matters which the chair determines should be considered as urgent business and the special circumstances which have made the matters urgent, and to receive any announcements from the chair. 

Minutes:

The chair welcomed councillors Eric de la Harpe and Ben Mabbett to the Scrutiny Committee.

Sc116

Public participation

To receive any questions or statements from members of the public that have registered to speak. 

Minutes:

None.

Sc117

Work schedule and dates for all South and Vale scrutiny meetings pdf icon PDF 181 KB

To review the attached scrutiny work schedule. Please note, although the dates are confirmed, the items under consideration are subject to being withdrawn, added to or rearranged without further notice.

 

Minutes:

The chair informed the committee that the work schedule had been reviewed in consultation with the South Oxfordshire District Council Chair, the Head of Corporate Services, and Democratic Services. It had been agreed that meetings would be marked formal or informal dependent on the items on the agenda. It was also noted that any statutory items or those with major feedback or public interest would be done at a formal meeting of the committee. The chair clarified that all other meeting items would be conducted at an informal meeting.

 

It was also noted that the item relating to the A34 diversion would be reviewed before the 9th October 2021 by the committee.

Sc118

Performance management framework and year 1 corporate delivery plan pdf icon PDF 228 KB

For committee to review a Cabinet paper regarding the performance management framework and the year 1 corporate delivery plan. Committee to provide any comments to Cabinet.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members of the Scrutiny Committee met informally to review the Cabinet report on the proposed performance management framework and year one corporate delivery plan. Members were reminded that this was an opportunity to provide general feedback to the cabinet member for corporate services and transformation who would present this feedback to Cabinet.

 

The Cabinet member for corporate services and transformation repeated the statement from the leader of the council which highlighted the achievements made for the new corporate plan and how they would measure performance. The Cabinet member welcomed feedback from the Scrutiny Committee members and were eager to receive comments and recommendations regarding the framework and plan.

 

Questions were received from the committee members. One question requested clarification on the Service and Team Plan and whether individual teams would set their own goals, and also requested clarification on where the goals would be recorded for transparency purposes. The head of policy and programmes explained that goals would be recorded in key documents and would be displayed in a transparent manner.

 

Feedback from the committee members was received during the question period regarding Appendix 2 – the corporate delivery plan (year 1). The committee members asked that quantitative measures be shown where possible rather than just qualitative information. The head of policy and programmes confirmed this could be provided where possible and that the reports would be as informative as could be when produced. Additionally, it was asked how much officer time would be required to complete the reports and how much information would be included for each report. The response was that the reports would be detailed but concise and that they would be update.

 

A request was made that where no progress has been made, this should be provided in a written document with an explanation on what barriers there had been and a new timescale for expected action. The member for corporate services and transformation was supportive of this in their response and confirmed that this would be beneficial in providing an accurate up to date summary.

 

A comment was made that Appendix 3 – the Interim Performance Report be numbered so that paragraphs could be referred to during discussions more easily.

 

A number of questions from members related to service specific matters.  With regards to recycled waste, it was suggested this be measured as a percentage of the overall waste of the district. A suggestion was made that the measure be analysed from what waste went to landfill and using this as the basis for comparison. The Cabinet member responded that this would be a positive measure to incorporate. The head of policy and programmes added that it would be unwise to limit the measure to this specifically but that if possible, it could be beneficial to use this as one of the measurements.  A further query regarding the environmental issue related to the climate emergency. It was noted that this year had reduced emissions which had been partly achieved due to the Covid pandemic. There  ...  view the full minutes text for item Sc118

 

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Vale of White Horse District Council
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