To consider the forthcoming work of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

10.1           Attention was drawn to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme 2015/16, circulated at Pages No. 16-18, which Members were asked to consider.

10.2           A Member was of the opinion that it would be beneficial for the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to undertake a review of Ubico, following the transfer of waste services in April, given that this was a frontline service which also provided street cleansing and grounds maintenance for the Borough.  He felt that it would be appropriate to have an interim update in October with a 12 month update in April and Officers undertook to include this in the Work Programme.  A Member queried who was responsible for grass cutting and the Environmental and Housing Services Group Manager explained that this was dependent on who owned the land.  The Grounds Maintenance team cut the grass on land owned by Tewkesbury Borough Council and, whilst the Council did not contract out any work of this nature, there were other contractors who carried out grass cutting on behalf of Parish Councils and other agencies such as Severn Vale.  In terms of the recent complaints about grass cutting, she advised that the large gang mower had broken down and, due to its age, it had taken some time to obtain the parts which were required to fix it.  Unfortunately, this had meant that the grass cutting regime had fallen behind and it had not been possible to borrow a machine from Ubico due to the length of the grass.  The mower had been repaired and the grass had now been cut.  Officers were working hard to carry out missed cuts and to undertake second cuts where necessary.  In response to a query about carrying out grass cutting on behalf of Parish Councils, confirmation was provided that they were required to pay for this work.  A Member noted that the grass along the A38 had been cut earlier that day which had exposed a significant amount of litter and he felt that this would need to be addressed swiftly in order to avoid complaints.  The Environmental and Housing Services Group Manager undertook to contact the supervisor responsible.

10.3           The Corporate Services Group Manager drew attention to two new areas of work for the Committee: the Review of Disabled Facilities Grants which was due to be considered in July and would involve the formation of an Overview and Scrutiny Committee Working Group; and the monitoring of the Peer Review Action Plan in December.  The Democratic Services Group Manager went on to advise that, at its meeting on 26 May 2015, the Council had appointed Councillor Rob Garnham as its representative on the Gloucestershire Police and Crime Panel.  Whilst he was not a Member of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Councillor Garnham had indicated that he intended to report verbally to the Committee following each meeting of the Panel, and confirmation was provided that he would attend the next meeting on 21 July 2015.  On that basis it was felt that it would be appropriate to move this item to the start of the Agenda where relevant.

10.4           Having considered the information provided, it was

RESOLVED          That the following amendments be made to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme 2015/16:

i.      Review of Ubico to be added to the Agenda for meetings on 20 October 2015 (six month update) and 12 April 2016 (12 month update); and

ii.     Gloucestershire Police and Crime Panel Updates to be moved to the start of the Agenda for future meetings.