Agenda item

A report was submitted to invite the Overview and Scrutiny Board to consider its work programme for the 2024/25 Municipal Year and to suggest potential topics for the People and Places Scrutiny Panels.

 

Members were aware that at the Overview and Scrutiny Board meeting held on 7 May 2024, a new structure for scrutiny arrangements in Middlesbrough was agreed. Consequently, OSB would work with both the People and Place Scrutiny Panels to deliver scrutiny in Middlesbrough.  The following topics were placed on OSB’s work programme last year (2023/24) but were not progressed due to other emerging issues:-

 

·         Homelessness

·         Electoral Registration

·         Cyber Security

 

A review of Homelessness had initially been commenced by a previous Ad-Hoc Scrutiny Panel and was carried over to OSB last year.  The review had been partially scoped following the agreement of terms of reference to investigate what support is provided for those who find themselves homeless and how they could be helped out of homelessness.

 

No scoping exercises had been undertaken for either the electoral registration or cyber security topics. 

 

The submitted report also outlined a number of topic suggestions received as part of the scrutiny consultation exercise which sought suitable topic suggestions from Council Officers, Partner organisations, Members and members of the public.  Suggested topics had been allocated to the relevant Scrutiny Panel (People or Place) for consideration at their respective first meetings.  In addition, each of the Scrutiny Panels were also required to receive a number of statutory updates throughout the year and these were also listed in the report.

 

The Board was asked to consider whether it wished to continue with any of the three topics it had placed on its work programme last year; whether it wished to allocate any of them to the People or Place Scrutiny Panels; or whether it had any additional suggestions it wished to place on its own work programme or to put forward to the other scrutiny panels for consideration.

 

A discussion took place and the Chair expressed the view that the topic of homelessness would be best placed with the People Scrutiny Panel and proposed it should be put forward as a suggestion for consideration to be included within its work programme.  The Chair suggested that the topic of electoral registration be put to one side until after the general election on 4 July as the position on this may change depending on the Government elected to power and could always be revisited at a later date if appropriate.

 

With regard to cyber security, it was noted that this was being investigated by other Government organisations and it was considered that OSB should not duplicate the work already being done.

 

The Chair suggested that scrutiny should consider the issue of Home to School Transport and the Chair of the People Scrutiny Panel confirmed that he would discuss this with the Scrutiny Panel for inclusion on its work programme.

 

The Chair of the Place Scrutiny Panel advised that he would be suggesting the topic of environmental maintenance (including maintaining overhanging trees, grass, paving and rewilding areas) for inclusion in the Place Scrutiny Panel Work Programme. 

 

A Member of the Board referred to the suggestion of rubbish dumping for Place Scrutiny Panel to include fly tipping by businesses and landlords.

 

Members formed the view that if OSB were to scrutinise the Forward Work Programme more thoroughly, invite Executive Members to each meeting and also monitor developments in relation to the ward boundary review and Middlesbrough local plan, it would have little time to scrutinise review topics and decided against setting any review topics for its work programme but would look into emerging issues where necessary.

 

AGREED as follows:-

 

1.    That the Overview and Scrutiny Board’s Work Programme for 2024/25 would consist of:-

 

i.      Further enquiries in relation to items on the Executive Forward Work Programme, to be determined on a meeting-by-meeting basis by the Board.

ii.     A schedule of Executive Member attendance at OSB meetings.

iii.    The outstanding topic of Homelessness be forwarded to the People Scrutiny Panel for consideration for inclusion in its work programme.

iv.   The outstanding topic of Electoral Registration be put on hold until 2025/26 if appropriate.

v.     The outstanding topic of Cyber Security be discontinued as other organisations were scrutinising this.

vi.   That an additional topic of Environmental Maintenance be forwarded to the Place Scrutiny Panel for consideration for inclusion in its work programme.

vii.  That the issue of fly tipping by businesses and landlords be added to the suggestion of ‘Rubbish Dumping’ for the Place Scrutiny Panel.

 

2.    That the Overview and Scrutiny Board would investigate emerging issues as and when necessary.