Issue - meetings

The Committee received a report from the Chief Executive which explored a workable scheme for politically balanced scrutiny by City Council members of decisions taken by its representative on the Combined Authority might be achieved.

Councillor Cantrill suggested that the authority was in a very different shape compared to the past as in recent years there had been an increase in joint ventures/partnerships. Therefore, the City Council’s approach to scrutiny needed to reflect this without the principles changing. He proposed that a review of the scrutiny structure took place.

The Leader agreed in principle with the idea of a review. He accepted the Chief Executive’s assertion that this needed to be cost and resource neutral. Councillor Cantrill agreed to a review within existing resources. The Leader also said that opportunities for joint scrutiny with South Cambridgeshire District Council should be explored.

The committee agreed to an additional recommendation to set up a working party.

Resolved (unanimously) to

     i.        Recognise that pre-scrutiny of each decision made by the Council’s representative to the Combined Authority was unlikely to be achievable.

    ii.        Agree that the Council’s representative on the Combined Authority should be scrutinised at Strategy and Resources Scrutiny Committee meetings.

   iii.        Agree that this should be pre-scrutiny where this can be achieved within planned meetings but may be post-scrutiny where timescales did not align.

  iv.        Agree that Group Leaders and members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee should be provided with copies of the Combined Authority’s forward plan and agendas as a matter of course so they have the opportunity to feedback to the Council’s representative in between meetings and that briefings to discuss issues of concern could be arranged at their request.

   v.        Agree that a procedure reflecting the arrangements is reported to Committee in May 2017 for approval.

  vi.        Note the arrangements for scrutiny of the Combined Authority, set out in section 4.

 vii.        Agree to a review of the Council’s scrutiny structure and function convened by the chair of the Civic Affairs Committee.