Issue - meetings

This report presents the Committee with its annual Work Programme.

The Committee received a report presenting its annual Work Programme.

The following matters were considered:

a)            Scrutiny items. A Member of the Committee asked for clarification as to which items have been raised for potential scrutiny work. The Chair informed the Committee that any Councillor can get an item put forward for consideration to go on the A&S Agenda, under the process set out in the Constitution. The Chair raised that there is an opportunity for items to be brought forward and discussed, for it to be agreed what members are looking to get out of a scrutiny review. The Chair also highlighted that the current work programme items need to be considered when a potential scrutiny item is raised.

b)            IT security concerns. A Member of the Committee explained they have suggested a scrutiny item focusing on IT Security, due to the issue being an urgent and high-risk area of concern. The Chair noted the comments and agreed they would be picked up.

c)            Contracts and Waivers. A Member of the Committee mentioned that they had raised a scrutiny item about contracts and waivers, due to the increase in price of the Harrier Roof Contract. The Member detailed their concerns around the project and reasoning given as to why the costs increased. The Member continued to explain their concerns regarding the use of waivers and suggested that the process be scrutinised. The Chair responded to confirm that questions about the specific project would be passed on to relevant officers and answered. The Chair continued to explain that an audit item was done on this specific project and reported back to Strategy and Resources Committee, but if there are still concerns, then they can be raised and a scrutiny item on the contract can be discussed and looked into.

d)            Procurement. A Member of the Committee raised that a Contract Standing Orders report is due to go to Strategy and Resources Committee on 12 November 2024 and would be covering procurement and waivers. The Member raised it might be helpful to wait for that report to go to Committee and see if that addresses any concerns with the current procurement and waiver system before scrutinising that area. The Chair noted the comments. The Member who raised the scrutiny item agreed that they would look at the Contract and Standing Orders report when it is published but explained that they would like to work on producing a waivers policy through scrutinising the performance of that area.

e)            Quotation prices. A Member of the Committee raised a concern that quotations provided to the Council are inflated by companies. The Chair invited the Member to share any specific concerns or questions, and they would be answered be the relevant officers.

Following consideration, the Committee unanimously resolved to:

(1)      Note and agree the ongoing Work Programme as presented in Section 2.