THE CORPORATE GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE has recommended a new structure for the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committees.

The committee met on Monday (Feb 8), and had a lengthy debate on a number of possible options to take forward.

Council Leader Jamie Adams suggested that the committee should recommend four options to the council labelled C, D, E & F.

The first of those (C) is to introduce a Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee to look at the roles of the Leader and Chief Executive and others.

Secondly, (D) there will be a new Service Scrutiny Committee/s, thirdly (E) a new policy scrutiny committee and finally (F) a new partnership committee.

Other councillors also said that there should be a committee to look at School performance and that was added to the recommendations.

Council Leader Jamie Adams said: “If we keep doing what we are doing would add no value to the way the council is having to move because of financial and organisational pressures.

“There are four elements that stick out for me and those are C, D, E & F but that forms the basis of a sensible way forward in the authority.

“There is currently no scrutiny holding myself, the chief executive, finance, HR, IT to account and there should be.

“D is a one committee role but I believe that we should have a standing committee for School performance and anybody who looks over that will recognise the need to maintain focus.

“E, as Cabinet we would find that enormously helpful in terms of some of the challenging situations we have to grapple with currently.

“F, more and more we are being asked to deliver things on a regional basis or in conjunction with other authorities and there is plenty of scope to improve that working within the county as well but there has to be a framework of holding that process to account.

“There is some ongoing work in scrutiny that needs to be brought to conclusion and we could begin this work in September.”

Cllr Michael Williams said that education was of such importance that it should be a stand-alone matter.

Cllr Guy Woodham said: “It is difficult to be asked to make a decision. I don’t feel there is enough information. It has got to be the right change and I wouldn’t like to see the council going down a particular route because it is too early at the moment. There needs to be much more member involvement.”

Cllr Jacob Williams suggested that councillors could be given free passes to speak at certain committees so that they could give their views on a topic that interests them.

Cllr Bob Kilmister said: “The current model doesn’t work. There is absolutely no pre-scrutiny work and that is completely wrong. All we are doing is looking at what’s already happened. We need to start this pre-scrutiny work in the new municipal year.

“The worst thing we could do now is to take the long grass option.” Cllr Keith Lewis said: “The existing system has performed very well over the last four years.

Cllr Michael Williams has continually made a valuable point that there is too much overview and not enough scrutiny within the existing set up. I think this is a very common sense approach. There is a need for radical change.

“In the last economy meeting there was a very good example of pre-decision scrutiny on Scolton Manor where Cabinet referred and out of that will come a recommendation on its future and that is the level of scrutiny that needs to be in place.”

Cllr Mike Stoddart felt that the new structure was very light on scrutiny performance and also said: “People say scrutiny is good but what I am told is that on certain committees, half of the members turn up month after month and never say a word and that is the problem.

“There is not enough robust scrutiny. Until you’ve overcome that problem I’m afraid moving the deckchairs around will not solve the problem.”

The Leader said that there was an awful lot of work that would now be done and the four options suggested and a school performance committee were approved with ten voting in favour and two abstaining.