Agenda and minutes

The Committee to be notified of any substitute members.

The Committee was notified that Councillor Higgs was substituting for Councillor Russell for this meeting only.

Members are asked to declare an interest in matters for consideration at the meeting.

No declarations of interest were made.

                                                                                                            (Enclosure)

The action notes for the meeting held on 24 January 2012 were noted.

Reference was made to minute number 43 (South Road, Bourne). This was discussed in detail as part of agenda item 10 (work programme).

The Scrutiny Committee will consider its draft report.                    (Enclosure)

A draft copy of the Committee’s scrutiny review on the work of Procurement Lincolnshire (PL) was circulated with the agenda for the meeting. When it had been agreed by the Committee, it would be forwarded to Cabinet seeking their support and comment. Recommendation  6, which commended the report needed the reference to full Council removing.

Committee members noted developments PL were making, concentrating more on collaborative working and less on savings. A document was circulated by the Head of Legal and Democratic Services, which provided proposed savings targets for 2012/13. It was suggested that the Committee look at progress against target savings at a future meeting.

It was proposed that the Scrutiny Committee’s report on Procurement Lincolnshire be forwarded to the Cabinet for their support and comments, and, in the event of no unfavourable comments, to delegate the decision to the chairman to forward the report to the designated recipients: (the Procurement Advisory Board, Lincolnshire Finance Officers’ Association and the Joint Lincolnshire Scrutiny Panel working group). This was seconded and the Committee agreed to forward the finalised report.

The Chairman thanked Councillor King for his work in producing the report.

Recommendation:

The Committee’s report on Procurement Lincolnshire be forwarded to Cabinet for support and comments and, in the event of no unfavourable comment, to delegate authority the chairman to forward the report to the Procurement Advisory Board, Lincolnshire Finance Officers’ Association and the Joint Lincolnshire Scrutiny Panel working group.

A briefing note providing an update on the implementation of provisions within the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act.                                                                    (Enclosure)

A briefing paper providing an update on the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act was circulated with the agenda. This was noted. Committee members were given a brief summary of Community Safety Partnership (CSP) arrangements, priorities and projects. Funding arrangements for CSPs would change following the election of a Police and Crime Commissioner. A question was asked about the future provision of the mobile CCTV unit, which was funded by the CSP.

Action Point:

Report to the Scrutiny Committee on provision of the mobile CCTV unit.

                                                                                                                  (Enclosure)

Discussion ensued on the sale of land at South Road, Bourne. The opportunity to protect the land any form of bypass was available as part of planning policy processes, however the land was not protected. The unprotected land was sold unfettered to achieve best value for South Kesteven District Council. A majority of Councillors agreed that the Committee should not look further at the issue.

Committee members further discussed the selection of topics for consideration by scrutiny. The structure of overview and scrutiny at South Kesteven District Council saw the policy development groups carrying out the overview function, while the Scrutiny Committee carried out the scrutiny function. As one way through which the work programme could be populated, Committee members suggested asking Cabinet for any areas they thought could benefit from scrutiny.

Councillor Davidson advised that he would start attending Cabinet meetings and would suggest any areas of interest to the Chairman. Historically, Cabinet members had been invited to Scrutiny Committee to discuss their portfolios. Members agreed to try this again. It was also suggested that PDG chairmen could be invited to discuss their work with the Committee. The Committee agreed that the Economic Development Portfolio Holder should be invited to its next meeting.

Action Point

Invite the Economic Development Portfolio Holder to the Scrutiny Committee meeting on 10 April 2012 to discuss her portfolio.

Councillor Mrs Kaberry-Brown gave an update on recent meetings of the Lincolnshire Health Scrutiny Committee. Topics covered by the Committee included the closure of heart surgery units for children, day surgery in Lincoln Hospital, East Midlands Ambulance Service, the out of hours service and child obesity.

Councillors Cosham and Howard had attended a meeting of the Welland and Deeping Internal Drainage Board. Councillor Cosham reported that a wildlife and conservation committee had been formed, to which he was appointed.

The meeting was closed at 11:48am.