Thanks to Cllr Geoff Lumley for this report from last night’s first Overview & Scrutiny meeting. Ed
Perhaps I can follow this week’s Cabinet observer report with a summary of what happened at my own committee, Overview & Scrutiny (O&S), last evening?
Readers will perhaps be aware that the new Council leadership has reverted the O&S Committee to having a ‘reverse proportionality’ membership, also known as opposition control. We had this in the first two years of the previous Conservative administrations under ex-Cllr Sutton, but it was abandoned back in May 2007 probably because it was too good at what it did.
Balance of membership
Now we are back to that balance of membership, with four Independent councillors, four Conservatives and me (Labour if you didn’t know) in the Chair. We agreed that I will propose to the next Full Council that a further place be offered to the IW Association of Local Councils (IWALC).
Last night was mainly about preparing the ground for the ten months we will exist before a Committee-style Council is re-introduced.
6pm start in future
With only one member of the public present for the 5pm start we agreed to revert to 6pm starts and will make efforts to engage more fully with ordinary Islanders.
Look out for the adverts in the future.
Cllr Dave Stewart elected vice-chair
Conservative group leader, Cllr Dave Stewart, was then unanimously elected as my Vice Chair on my proposal.
I was very clear that our focus in ten months will have to be Budget, corporate centre performance review and the administration’s impending ‘root and branch’ review.
Council priorities covered by Scrutiny Panels
I stressed that issues regarding the other Council priorities – educational standards, children’s safeguarding, vulnerable adults, housing and homelessness, economic regeneration, the Highways PFI and waste strategy – will lie primarily with the relevant Scrutiny Panels, chaired by Cllrs Fuller, Howe and Warlow.
There was general agreement with that approach.
Deputy Leader Cllr Steve Stubbings confirmed that the Council’s priorities remain as they were under the previous administration, plus their root and branch review.
And that was essentially it, in a meeting that was over in 50 minutes – I’m a tough Chair!
Next meeting
Our next meeting is on Thursday 4th July, 6pm at County Hall.
On the agenda will be the strategy for undertaking the root and branch review before that goes to Full Council – scrutiny ahead of decision-making? Whatever next!
And our first look at the Budget situation for the next two financial years. It looks horrific!
It will be a much longer meeting than 50 minutes, but I can assure you this is a committee that I will endeavour to make worth getting along to.
