Agenda item

To receive an update from the Committee Chairs and Vice Chairs on the work of their Committees and consider the workplan of the Scrutiny Leadership Board for the remainder of the 2023/2024 Municipal Year.

The Chair of the Board requested that for future meetings, the Committee Chairs in conjunction with the Vice- Chairs and members of the Committee provide a written statement for inclusion on the agenda setting out the progress of each Committee, learning of what had gone well and not so well and the identification of any barriers.

An update was provided on the work of the Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Committee and it was noted that an informal meeting had been held to discuss the potential for the provision of Council-owned Children’s homes. It was noted that Government research had indicated that often local authorities were not particularly good at running children’s homes and it was unlikely to be more financially efficient than utilising private sector accommodation, however, Members held felt it could be useful to consider the potential models that other local authorities were using.

The area of Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) had also been identified as of concern and this topic would be potentially included within the workplan with a review of previous work undertaken being considered. There was the potential for joint working with the Adult Social Care and Health Scrutiny Committee on this matter.

The Chair also highlighted that he intended to meet with each Committee Member to ascertain skills and explore the structure of the meetings.

In relation to the Climate Change and Environment Scrutiny Committee, the Chair advised that the previous meeting had been full of well-considered questions. A series of briefing sessions and reports had been received during the first six months of the Municipal Year which had provided a good information basis for Members.

The Chair of the Committee added that he also intended to speak with Committee Members to assess skills and determine whether it would be appropriate to appoint subject leads in certain areas.

With regards to the Adult Social Care and Health Scrutiny Committee it was noted that work continued to build the relationship with the Integrated Care Board with consistency in staff of all NHS organisations noted as a challenge for the Committee. Key areas of focus included dentistry, the Carers Strategy and also improving the relationship with Healthwatch who could be a good resource for the Committee.

The new Chair of the Levelling Up Scrutiny Committee advised that he had reviewed the workplan and wished for it to be as reflective and adaptive as possible with the regular verbal levelling up update now provided as an exceptions report. It was noted that the Oral Health Strategy as a Public Health strategy was on the workplan of the Committee and that an informal meeting would be sought with the Adult Social Care and Health Scrutiny Committee in due course to consider the matter as a cross-cutting issue.

An overview was also provided of the Audit Committee and it was noted that problems identified by scrutiny could be referred to Audit and vice versa, areas for potential improvement could be referred from Audit to scrutiny.

The Chairs were reminded of the ongoing work to improve communication with the public and were requested to highlight any good areas of work to be publicised.