North West Scrutiny Support Officers' Network Meeting

Friday 18th February 2005 - Hosted by Stockport Council

Apologies:

• Helen Gale
• John Mallinson
• Paul Conlon
• Graham Canning
• Morgan Jones
• John Penfold
• Gordon Bankes
• Gillian Kartach
• Kath Haydock
• Jacky Denning
• Steven Dugdale

1. Welcome

Katy Master from the host authority welcomed everyone to the meeting, especially Rob Huntington from the Audit Commission speaking on Scrutiny and CPA.

2. Matters Arising

There were no matters arising that were not covered elsewhere in the agenda.

3. Website Development - Update from working group (enclosure)

Updates on website development were reported and a paper circulated illustrating the possible layout of a website for the Network.

Links include:

• Agendas and minutes of these meetings
• Guides as examples
• News
• Useful links
• Web Forum
• Training - This will be updated by NWEO

Vic Hewitt CE of the North West Employers Organisation has agreed that the NWEO site will host the Scrutiny Officer Network webpages. Their new site will be up and running by May/June. The network will need to provide a yet-to-be-named contact at NWEO with copy. NWEO will maintain the website in future. It will be up to the named contact at each authority to update content relating to their authority.

Further issues to consider include:

• A logo for the Network?
• Possibility of having a password protected "chatroom" or "web forum"

Comments included:

• The North West focus is good
• The site will need to be kept up to date if it is going to be useful
• Don't want to duplicate other websites, in particular CfPS

Action:

Database of contacts to be updated and circulated to check accuracy.
All minutes and agendas of previous meetings to be passed over to NWEO
(Katy Master, Howard Boots, Sue Collier)

4. Benchmarking Group Update

The benchmarking group has now met twice to consider two key functions of Scrutiny: "Holding the Executive to Account" and "Developing Review Programmes"

The draft good practice note, "Holding the Executive to Account" was circulated prior to the meeting for comment.

Agreed amendments:

• Recommend an optimum number of Councillors required to sign a call-in notice (between 3 and 5)
• Adding something about the usefulness of informal discussion with relevant officers and councillors when decisions are called in
• Highlight more explicitly the relationship between call-in and "lack of information"; the need to ensure that call-in is not used by councillors simply to get information and that access to information issues are addressed robustly
• Make some reference to "urgent decisions" and their use - i.e. that there should not be a high number of them, as it suggests an attempt to avoid call-in.
• Make reference to the fact that ad hoc recommendations arising from scrutiny committee meetings might not be charged at the Council's Executive
• Make reference to the fact that those recommendations must be SMART (in the same way that they would be in a scrutiny review report)
• Make mention of the fact that having standing items on Executive and Scrutiny agendas on "Matters arising from Scrutiny" and "Responses from Executive" could lead to lots of unnecessary reports.

Action

Revise draft good practice note and circulate/add to website
A second note following the "Developing Review Programmes" discussion will be drafted and circulated for comment.
(Katy Master)

Other comments/matters arising from discussion:

Data Form A"
Blackpool has had a fair number of returns, but not all authorities have filled it in - it would be useful to have as many as possible.

Andrew Coulson of INLOGOV has offered to analyse the data that we have collated and provide the Network with a report. There was some discussion regarding what the group were looking for from this information and that a clear brief should be given if we are to take this forward.

Action

It was agreed to invite Andrew to the next meeting of the benchmarking group to discuss this in more detail.
(Steve Sienkiewicz)

5. Rob Huntington, Audit Commission

Presentation regarding Scrutiny and CPA and a copy of the slides will be circulated with the minutes.

6. Presentation from Bob Fletcher - Blackpool Borough Council

Presentation concerning the contrast of Parliamentary and Local Authority Scrutiny.

A copy of the slides is also available

7. Group Discussion - Performance

Split into three groups to discuss "Scrutiny and Performance Management"
In brief:

Group 1
Good Practice - Performance Panels, poor performance taken up. Members don' wish to look at all indicators, but have an interest in certain KPI's

Group 2
Reports go to some committees which are full of performance information but nothing is done with it. Raw data information is available from performance management systems. Information that informs reviews is available its useful as an overview.
More training should be offered to councillors in engaging with performance information.

Group 3
Revisit the fundamental question of why Members stood for council in the first instance. What do they need to know to add value to their role?
It's important to make sure performance management is agreed council wide.

Katy summed up the discussion advising that these comments would be added to the performance note.

Action

Add the good practice identified to the Good Practice Note, "Holding the Executive to Account"
(Katy Master)

8. Date of Next Meeting

Thursday, 19th May - Venue to be confirmed