Issue - meetings

Stage 1

The Stage 1 report details recommendations that have been developed from the Scrutiny and Overview Committee and its Sub-Committees since the last Cabinet meeting and these are provided in Appendix A.

The Council’s Constitution requires that an interim or full response is provided within two months of this Cabinet meeting.

Stage 2

This report invites the Cabinet to approve the full response reports arising from the Stage 1 reports presented to the Cabinet meeting held on 21 September 2022, including:

-      Action plans for the implementation of agreed recommendations, or

-      Reasons for partially accepting or rejecting the recommendations

and that these be reported to the Scrutiny and Overview Committee or relevant Sub-Committees.

The Executive Mayor in Cabinet is asked to:

1.     Receive the recommendations arising from the meeting of the Scrutiny & Overview Committee held on 11 October (Appendix A).

2.     To provide a substantive response to the recommendations (a Scrutiny Stage 2 Report) within two months (i.e. at the next available Cabinet meeting on 25 January 2023).

Cabinet considered two reports.  The Stage 1 report detailed recommendations that had been developed from the Scrutiny and Overview Committee and its Sub-Committees since the last Cabinet meeting and these were provided in Appendix A to the report.

                               It was noted that the Council’s Constitution required that an interim or full response be provided within two months of this Cabinet meeting.

                               The Stage 2 report invited the Cabinet to approve the full response reports arising from the Stage 1 reports presented to the Cabinet meeting held on 21 September 2022, which included action plans for the implementation of agreed recommendations, or reasons for partially accepting or rejecting the recommendations and that these be reported to the Scrutiny and Overview Committee or relevant Sub-Committees.

                               At the invitation of the Executive Mayor, the Chair of the Council’s Scrutiny and Overview Committee, Councillor Rowenna Davis, addressed Cabinet.

Councillor Davis said that, regarding the Council Tax Support Scheme, the Committee had recognised that by maintaining free legal advice, the Council had saved money and had also helped residents manage their debt.

She also said that the Committee had welcomed the Executive Mayor’s decision to action the Opening the Books, which had laid bare the Council’s finances over recent years.

Councillor Davis said that, regarding the proposed non-award of the Veolia Contract renewal, the Committee had shared concerns that Veolia had not improved.  She asked the Executive Mayor to consider the establishment of cross-party working group to consider alternative options available to the Council and its residents.

Regarding Regina Road, Councillor Davis said that the recent death of a two-year old boy in Greater Manchester yesterday had raised concerns over the timescales to be applied to the project which, she said, was likely to be one of the biggest for the Council and looked forward to scrutinising the Council’s Risk Register and to receive regular updates in respect of the project moving forward.

In conclusion, Councillor Davis said that the Committee had welcomed some of the proposals within the Executive Mayor’s Business Plan, however, she did query the redirection of funding from lower priority services, what these were and what would the effect of these be.

In response, Councillor Cummings (Cabinet Member for Finance) said that the Budget timescales had been set to manage expectations and while the Administration wanted the Scrutiny and Overview Committee on board early, it had not been normal to have that level of detail at this stage, which tended to come later but he gave an assurance that it would be made available as soon as it had been received.

Councillor Hale (Deputy (Statutory) Executive Mayor and Cabinet Member for Homes) said that the Council would ensure that it undertook its responsibilities as these related to Regina Road.

Having listened to the contributions and considered the detail in the reports, the Executive Mayor, in Cabinet RESOLVED that:

1.            The recommendations in the Stage 1 report, arising from the meeting of the Scrutiny and Overview Committee held on 11 October (Appendix  ...  view the full minutes text for item 80