Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor D Bigby.

Under the Code of Conduct members are reminded that in declaring interests you should make clear the nature of that interest and whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest, registerable interest or other interest.

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive questions from members of the public under rule no.10 of the Council Procedure Rules. The procedure rule provides that members of the public may ask any question on any matter in relation to which the Council has powers or duties which affect the District, provided that three clear days’ notice in writing has been given to the Head of Legal and Support Services.

There were no questions received.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 4 April 2024

Consideration was given to the minutes of the meeting held on 4 April 2024.

It was moved by Councillor M Blair Park, seconded by Councillor S Lambeth and

RESOLVED THAT:

The minutes of the meeting held on 4 April 2024 be approved as an accurate record of proceedings.

The report of the Strategic Director of Place

The Strategic Director of Place introduced the report to Members and then handed over to the Chair to present.

An extensive discussion was had about the accessibility of the document. Some Members suggested that more public facing language could be used, as part of wider efforts to encourage residents to engage with the work of the Scrutiny Committees. Alternatively, other Members felt that the necessarily somewhat technical language used in the report was appropriate and intelligible for residents. Members broadly agreed that the document should be scoped with an ideal-type reader in mind.

The Strategic Director of Place noted that the recommendation of the report was to delegate the power to amend the final document to the Committee Chairs, so all comments made by Committee would be considered and reflected on in the final draft. He would also liaise with Officers in the Communications Team.

Members discussed the prospect and value of quantifying how many residents had viewed the document once it was published, though other Members suggested that this would give no indication as to the comprehensibility of the document.

A Member suggested that the issues some Members had with the document also frequently occurred in other reports which went to the Scrutiny Committees.

It was moved by Councillor T Eynon, seconded by Councillor M Blair-Park, and

RESOLVED THAT:

1)    The report be received ahead of its submission to Council

2)    Authority be delegated to the Scrutiny Committee Chairs to make any amendments to the report following consideration by both Scrutiny Committees prior to consideration by Council.

To consider any items to be included in the work programme. The plan of forthcoming Cabinet decisions and the current work programme are attached for information.

Consideration was given to any items on the Work Programme.

An extensive discussion was had. Members discussed the District Wide Regeneration Framework Report, the Leisure Centres Annual Review and the slippage of the Future of Waste Services Review to September and the Community Asset Transfer report to December. Members also posited further topics for discussion, including a report on Corporate Communications, and whether some planned reports, such as the Annual S106 Agreement Update, might be better presented as information papers. The Strategic Director of Place said that he would present the suggestions of the Committee to the Scrutiny Work Programming Group for consideration, as per agreed processes.