Issue - meetings

Annual Scrutiny Report 2019/20

Meeting: 29/04/2021 - Council (Item 17)

17 Annual Scrutiny Reports 2019/20 and 2021/22 pdf icon PDF 168 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Wyllie presented the report to Council. He said that the reports provided an overview of the work of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in the years 2019-20 and 2020-21 and the reports were presented annually to Council as required in the Constitution.

 

Councillor Wyllie proposed and Councillor Pope seconded, a motion that the proposals be supported. A motion to support the recommendation having been proposed and seconded, was put to the meeting and a vote taken. The motion was declared CARRIED.

 

RESOLVED - That the Annual Scrutiny Reports covering the civic years 2019/20 and 2020/21 be agreed and published on the Council’s website. 

 

 


Meeting: 23/03/2021 - Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Item 442)

442 Annual Scrutiny Report 2019/20 pdf icon PDF 175 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Scrutiny Officer introduced the Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report for 2019-20, on behalf of the Chairman of the Committee. She said that this report summarised what Overview and Scrutiny had been looking at in the context of scrutiny during 2019/20 and Members were referred to the draft summary narrative at Appendix A.  The Scrutiny Officer explained that this report was usually presented to Members annually but had been delayed as a result of Covid-19 and a decision to undertake an independent review of scrutiny  to ensure best practice.

 

Members were advised that once supported by Overview and Scrutiny Committee, the report would be presented to Council for determination and it would then be uploaded to the Council’s website. The Scrutiny Officer referred to the introductory sections by the Leader and the Chairman of the Committee and said that the report explored the topics that the Committee had reviewed in 2019/20.

 

Members were advised that some matters were explored in depth by Task and Finish Groups whilst other topics were researched with no further action being taken due to a lack of evidence that further action was needed in terms of the use of resources.

 

The Scrutiny Officer emphasised that the report had highlighted that the function of Overview and Scrutiny was not meant to be confrontational or be seen to be deliberately set up to form an opposition to the Executive. She said that Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the Executive should and do complement each other in terms of working in tandem in respect of the development of the Council’s work. She concluded that Overview and Scrutiny Committee was there to enhance accountability and transparency of the decision making process. 

 

Councillor Curtis said that he believed that there might have been more that the Committee could have been doing over the last year. He hoped that Members of the Committee could look at topics and some policy areas in more depth in the coming year, either in formal meetings of the Committee or through the medium of Task and Finish Groups.

 

Councillor Curtis proposed and Councillor Drake seconded, a motion that the Annual Report on the work of the East Herts Scrutiny Committee during 2019/20 be received and recommended to Council for publication. After being put to the meeting and a vote taken, this motion was declared CARRIED.

 

RESOLVED – that the Annual Report on the work of the East Herts Scrutiny Committee during 2019/20 be received and recommended to Council for publication.