Minutes of the North West Scrutiny Support Officers’ Network

Friday, 19th November 2010

Blackpool Council

Present:

Blackburn with Darwen - Ben Aspinall and Diane Hill
Blackpool - Steve Sienkiewicz (Chair), Laura Latham, Mark Towers and Georgina Atkinson
Bolton - John Addison
Cheshire East - Mark Nedderman and Mark Grimshaw
Halton - Alex Villiers
Lancashire - Josh Mynott
Lancaster - Stephen Metcalfe and Jenny Kay
Manchester - Courtney Brightwell and Eleanor Fort
Oldham - Sewa Singh
Pendle - Kath Haydock
Preston - Steven Dugdale
Rossendale - Pat Couch and Carolyn Sharples
St Helens - Joanne Heron and James Morley
Salford - Peter Kidd
Tameside - Gina Murphy and David Berry
Trafford - Helen Mitchell and Elaine Fisher
Wyre - Sharon Marsh

Apologies:

CfPS - Ed Hammond
Cumbria
Eden - Gillian Kartach and Sam Bagshaw
Lancashire - Wendy Broadley
Manchester - Carolyn Whewell
Rochdale
St Helens - Rachel Bridge and Cath Fogarty
Stockport - Steve Callender and Amanda Carberry
Salford - Karen Lucas and Linda Sharples
Sefton - Ruth Harrison
West Lancashire - Jacky Denning
Wigan - Gary Finch
Wirral - Alan Veitch
Wyre - Peter Foulsham

1. Welcome and Introductions

Steve Sienkiewicz welcomed everyone to the meeting and everyone introduced themselves.

2. Notes of the Last Meeting

The notes of the previous meeting of the network, held on 16th July 2010 were agreed as a true and accurate record.

3. Death by 1000 Cuts

Josh Mynott (Lancashire County Council) gave a presentation on ‘Death by a thousand cuts: how can local scrutiny save itself in an increasingly cold climate?’ 48.02 KB .

Case studies 73.16 KB were distributed to the meeting and table discussions took place on which of the three authorities listed in the case studies was most at risk of cuts. All authorities were at risk in the current climate.

The presentation also outlined:

• The case against scrutiny
• The case for scrutiny
• Dealing with the decisions

Discussion took place on the different points above and how individual authorities were (or would) deal with any cuts proposed or implemented.

Some of the points made by those present included:

The Case Against Scrutiny:

• Scrutiny was not seen as part of the organisation, it was seen to work alongside it.
• Scrutiny cannot change things, it can only influence them.
• Other officers could take on the role of scrutiny.

The Case For Scrutiny:

• Self-preservation – it was not just about protecting ourselves but protecting scrutiny principles.
• Demonstrating accountability.
• Scrutiny can help defend and justify decisions being made, ie cuts and closures.
• Cross-party decisions make it more acceptable.
• Demonstrate how past scrutiny review recommendations have helped the organisation save money.
• Devolving services to a local level would surely mean more scrutiny, ie how public money is being spent.

Dealing with the Decisions:

• An opportunity to look at scrutiny and review the way things are done.
• Members need to take a more active role if officer’s responsibilities are increasing.
• Put forward positive suggestions for change/savings.
• Flexibility – go where needs scrutinising.
• It’s all about thinking differently!

4. Implications of New Government

Ed Hammond (CfPS) was unable to attend the meeting. He had prepared a report summarising the issues and ideas raised at the ‘Implications of New Government’ conference 2010 147.56 KB .

5. Localism Bill

Ed Hammond (CfPS) was due to present this item. However, in his absence, Steve Sienkiewicz informed the meeting that the Localism Bill was due out next week. Ed Hammond had indicated that he would prepare a briefing, which would be circulated to the Network at a later date.

Ed was also preparing briefings on the new Government Structure, the Policing Bill and the Health White Paper, all of which would be circulated to the Network when received.

6. AGMA Combined Authority Arrangements

Steve Callender was unable to attend the meeting to present this item. An update would be issued to AGMA Authorities next week and hopefully Steve would attend the next Network meeting in order to update members.

7. ADSO Update

Laura Latham began the presentation on the Association of Democratic Services Officers (ADSO) 111.45 KB by outlining where the Association was twelve months on and the benefits of being a member. She also detailed some of the highlights from the ADSO Conference which took place on 15th/16th November 2010, including brief details of who the Key Note Speakers were.

Georgina Atkinson outlined the proceedings of the Conference and topics covered:

• The increased role for scrutiny and for partners.
• Transparency.
• Adopting a changing role.
• Use of social media for effective scrutiny.
• Savings focussed/efficiency savings.
• The workshops.
• How community focus can be achieved.
• The use of resources.
• A presentation of the difficulties with hung Councils.

Mark Towers then went on to talk about how ADSO was moving forward and the new Professional Diploma in Local Democracy qualification. The qualification was broken down in stages:

Foundation Stage
This stage was made up of 3 modules and 1 underpinning module.

Pathway Stage
Completion of a research plan on one of the following pathways:

• Governance
• Overview and Scrutiny
• Regulatory Framework
• Ethnical Framework
• Member Support and Development
• Civic Support

Reflection Stage
Reflect and evaluate outcomes.

Distance learning via an e-learning portal was being developed and would be launched in the New Year.

A pilot training programme was being launched between December 2010 and March 2011, which would include training on the Localism Bill and its implications. Feedback would be used to put forward a workshop based programme, which would be delivered at a local level and practitioner based. The roll out would occur once the pilot programme was completed.

More information on ADSO; the qualifications, the conference and membership details can be found at www.adso.co.uk .

8. Items for Future Agendas

• Ed Hammond to attend the next meeting of the Network with an update from the CfPS.
• Steve Callender (Stockport) to attend the next meeting of the Network with an AGMA update.
• Standing item on all future agendas – Current Scrutiny Review Topics – which will allow authorities to share the topics that they are researching with all members of the Network. This can also cover any Joint Reviews being undertaken across regions or neighbouring authorities.
• Distribution and sharing of information from relevant Briefings, ie CfPS and ADSO.

9. Any Other Business

Steve Sienkiewicz reminded all attendees to sign the attendance sheet and thanked all the speakers for their presentations. He also thanked Gina Murphy for all the work that she did behind the scenes for the Network.

10. Arrangements for the Next Meeting

The next meeting of the Network will take place on Friday, 18th March 2011, from 10.00am (for a 10.30am start) – venue to be confirmed.

Manchester City Council indicated that they may be able to host the following meeting in July 2011.