Agenda item

To consider the forthcoming work of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the actions arising from previous meetings.

71.1          Attention was drawn to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme 2021/22, circulated at Pages No. 20-47, which Members were asked to consider.

71.2          The Head of Corporate Services drew attention to the Agenda for the meeting on 8 February 2022 which included the annual Growth Hub report.  He indicated that it was proposed to remove this item on the basis that an update on Growth Hub activities had been included within the Economic Development and Tourism Strategy report that had been considered at the last Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting.  At the recent workshop on maximising the value of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Members had expressed the view that a standalone annual report was no longer necessary, therefore, it was proposed to remove this item from future Work Programmes and only bring a report to the Committee if any particular issues arose.  With regard to the Agenda for 8 February 2022, a Member noted that an Overview and Scrutiny Committee workshop had been due to be arranged in November 2021 in relation to the Housing Strategy and the Chair confirmed that the workshop had taken place.

71.3          In terms of the action list which covered the period 18 June 2019-12 October 2021, the Chair advised that, of the 52 actions, only 13 remained outstanding.  A Member drew attention to Page No. 27, and the actions in relation to the Warm and Well Scheme Update which had been considered by the Committee in October 2019.  Given the fuel crisis and rising energy costs, he expressed the view that it would be timely to hold the fuel poverty session which was due to be arranged.  The Head of Community Services indicated that he would need to consider Officer resources and whether it would be appropriate to hold a training session in person under the current COVID guidelines; in any case, he would be happy to send the relevant information to Members by email.  The Member suggested the training session could be delivered online, if necessary; he felt that now was the time to make the information available in order to assist residents with reducing the cost of heating their homes and accessing grants and subsidies available.  With regard to Page No. 41 and the item in relation to the Carbon Reduction Action Plan considered by the Committee on 13 July 2021, the Member asked whether the Carbon Reduction Programme Officer job description could be circulated following the meeting as this seemed a fairly simple action.  The Head of Finance and Asset Management undertook to do this and confirmed that the Carbon Reduction Programme Officer had been appointed and would take up his post at the end of February.

71.4          It was

RESOLVED          1. That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme 2021/22 and action list be NOTED.

2.That the Annual Growth Hub Report be removed from the Agenda on 8 February 2022, and from future Work Programmes, as a standalone annual report was no longer felt to be necessary.