Issue - meetings
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COUNCIL'S SCRUTINY COMMITTEE 2019/20
Meeting: 02/10/2020 - Democratic Services Committee (Item 6)
6 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COUNCIL'S SCRUTINY COMMITTEE 2019/20 PDF 234 KB
To
receive the
Scrutiny Committees’ annual report on their activities during 2019/20.
Additional documents:
Decision:
Agreement on the recommendation
was by consensus. No formal vote was taken. All Committee members indicated
they were in favour of the recommendation, no one indicated they were against
it. It was;
RESOLVED :- That the Democratic Service Committee not the Annual Report of the Scrutiny Committees for 2019/20.
Minutes:
The Chair of the Scrutiny Chairs and Vice-Chairs Group
(CSCVC), Councillor Graham Timms introduced the report (previously circulated),
to seek members’ comments prior to its submission to Annual Council.
It was noted that previous annual
reports had highlighted key areas of Scrutiny work. It was highlighted this
annual report had included concise information on the work of each Scrutiny.
Members were informed of a new
feature within the report. This section had focused on the work Scrutiny had
done linked to the Corporate Plan. The CSCVC stated this had been received well
with the group and showed the important work done by Scrutiny.
Particular reference to the late
Councillor Huw Jones had been made within the report, paying tribute to his
commitment to his Council work. Thanks to Councillor Hugh Irving for chairing
the Performance Scrutiny Committee during the past year had also been noted.
A report on the Joint Overview
and Scrutiny Committee had been included which emphasised the difficulty
observed arranging these meetings. It was hoped these meetings would continue
and develop over the next year. The CSCVC explained brief reports on the task
and finish groups and their findings, the scrutiny of Audit Wales Reports and
community engagement had been included in the overall report.
Members wanted to offer thanks to
the Scrutiny Co-ordinator for the time, dedication and hard work that had been
put into the report and the ongoing Scrutiny arrangements.
The Scrutiny Co-ordinator (SC)
emphasised the difficulty of arranging the Joint Overview Scrutiny. It was
confirmed that a meeting had been scheduled for November to be held remotely.
It was hoped that this delivery method may be easier for members to attend.
During discussion members were
reminded that the role of Scrutiny was to assist and challenge Cabinet and the
decisions Cabinet and officers made. Members felt the work of Scrutiny to be
very valuable. The SC emphasised the Task and Finish Groups had influenced
policies and procedures within the Council.
It was explained that the formal
meetings prior to the Covid-19 pandemic had an obligation to publish agendas
and papers before the meeting. Those formal meetings had to be made accessible
to the public. The committee was reminded that Denbighshire’s Welsh Language
Standards required public meetings to facilitate bilingual contributions
through the use of an interpreter. Until the council was in a position to hold
public meetings again the local democracy reporter was being invited to attend
Council and committee meetings.
Confirmation was provided by the
SC that the Chairs and Vice Chairs group had reviewed the Forward Work
Programmes of scheduled reports. Confirmation was given that no reports had been
removed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Members were pleased to hear that
as familiarity with remote meetings grew the pre-meeting briefings for Scrutiny
members would recommence.
RESOLVED, that
the Democratic Service Committee note the Annual Report of the Scrutiny
Committees for 2019/20.