Agenda and minutes

None.

Members will disclose any pecuniary and any other significant interests they may have in relation to the matters to be considered at this meeting.

Councillor Ibison declared an interest in Agenda Item 7 (Local Plan) because a member of his family had submitted a substantial planning application.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 12 September 2016.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the committee held on 12 September 2016 be confirmed as a correct record.

Marianne Hesketh, Service Director Performance and Innovation, has submitted a report.  The Leader of the Council, Councillor Peter Gibson, and the Chief Executive, Garry Payne, will attend to introduce the council’s Strategic Narrative ‘Together we make a difference’ and to answer questions from the committee.

Councillor Peter Gibson, Leader of the Council, introduced the Strategic Narrative, describing it as one of the best reports that he had read since joining the council.

The report described how the council would deliver its strategic goals, which included the essential element of increased commerciality, an approach into which officers were now buying. 

Garry Payne, Chief Executive, said that it was important to develop a culture whereby the new approach would become embedded.  Management Board took the view that all councillors should be involved in the culture change, hence the decision to bring the new vision document to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee before it went to the Full Council.  This approach was consistent with the core value ‘one team one council’.

The point was made that in order to improve the lives of people in the borough improvements also needed to be made to transport, green infrastructure and health and wellbeing, matters that went beyond the direct responsibility of the council.  Mr Payne responded by saying that it was important for the council to work in partnership, quoting Healthy Fleetwood as an example.  Councillor Gibson referred to the improvements to the A585 proposed by Highways England.  He suggested that the better the infrastructure the more developers who wanted to come to Wyre, so it was always important to get the balance right.

The comment was made that reference to a change of culture was very significant, and required the commitment of all officers and elected members in order to have the desired outcomes for the residents of Wyre.  Councillor Gibson concurred with the point made, saying that the role of councillors in bringing about the change of culture was vitally important. 

Mr Payne, in response to a further question, said that there were likely to be increased opportunities for the co-location of workers, perhaps with the police or with adult and children’s services, and a flexible approach was necessary in order to reach as many members of the community as possible.

RESOLVED

(i)            That Councillor Gibson and Mr Payne be thanked for attending the meeting and for their presentation and comments, and

(ii)          That the report be noted.

Rosie Green, Policy and Engagement Manager, will be invited to comment on the implementation of the recommendations of the Engaging with Communities task group, as agreed by the Cabinet on 29 July 2015, within the context of the previous item on this agenda.

The Chairman proposed and the committee agreed that Items 5 and 6 on the agenda be considered together, because of significant overlap between the two.

Rosie Green, Policy and Engagement Manager, had submitted two reports, the first which detailed the findings and recommendations of a review of the council’s ‘Shaping Your Neighbourhood’ (SYN) approach, the second which summarised how the recommendations of the ‘Engaging with Communities’ task group had been implemented.

On the basis of the first report, the Cabinet had agreed

• to disestablish the SYN programme including all grant functions and the Lead member role

• to a new approach to neighbourhood engagement in Wyre, as outlined in the report, to provide sustainable, cohesive and place-based solutions to resolve identified community priorities

• that community development and engagement technique training be provided for all Elected members.

There would be an emphasis on working together with partners to make things better for Wyre’s residents.  The role of ward members was very important and would be brought more clearly into focus by the new proposals. 

Councillor McKay, who chaired the ‘Engaging with Communities’ task group, welcomed the new approach that had been outlined by Ms Green, which she said has been very much in line with the  task group’s thinking.  At the time, however, the task group had to tailor its recommendations in order to bring them into line with the Business Plan, a point confirmed by Councillor Jones.

Ms Green went on to explain that councillors would be encouraged to bring forward higher level projects which would be scoped and costed by members of the engagement team.

RESOLVED

(i)            that Rosie Green be thanked for her report, and

(ii)          that the report be noted.

Rea Psillidou, Planning Policy and Economic Development Manager, has submitted a report updating the committee on the progress of the Local Plan.

Rea Psillidou, Planning Policy and Economic Development Manager, submitted a report.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

Peter Foulsham, Scrutiny Officer, will present a short verbal update, on the progress of the Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme 2016-17. 

Peter Foulsham updated the committee about the progress of three task groups on domestic abuse, food hygiene and Citizens Advice Services respectively.  The Chairmen of the three task groups (Councillors Reeves, Jones and Robinson) also commented, confirming that all three reviews were on course to be completed within the next two months.  It was likely that the domestic abuse review, which had been very active in the past month when meeting with a number of external organisations, would be completed early in the New Year. 

Councillor Michael Vincent encouraged members of the committee to identify any topics for review between January and April 2017 and to bring proposals to the next meeting on 5 December for the committee’s consideration. 

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

Monday 5 December 2016 at 6pm. 

RESOLVED that the next meeting of the committee be held at 6pm on Monday 5 December 2016 at the Civic Centre, Poulton-le-Fylde.