Agenda item

This report presents the Committee with its annual Work Programme.

The Committee received a report presenting the annual Work Programme.

The following matters were considered:

a)            Planning Enforcement. The Chair informed the Committee that a scrutiny item on Planning Enforcement has been raised by a Member. The Chair thanked the Member for the document they had provided. The Chair explained that the Council’s Planning Enforcement has been the subject of an Internal Audit, which detailed several follow up management actions which are being progressed by the Planning Enforcement Team. The Chair invited the Member to work with the Scrutiny Officer and Legal Officer, to determine exactly what they wish to get out of the scrutiny piece suggested. The Chair highlighted that there are questions that can be answered by the Internal Audit report and Officers, without need for a scrutiny piece to get that clarification. The Chair explained that there are resource constraints, which must be taken into account. The Member who raised the scrutiny item, expressed their frustration and disappointment that it would not be able to be added to the workplan at the Committee Meeting, and asked for a date to be provided as to when further scrutiny can take place on Planning Enforcement.

b)            Ongoing enforcement cases. A Member of the Committee raised that they have ongoing enforcement cases which they have not received updated information on. The Member raised their concerns over the length of time it has been since the issue was first raised with Officers, and the lack of resolution reached. The Chair noted the comments and agreed that clarification and answers would be sought following the meeting.

c)            Solution. A Member of the Committee raised that it is already known, due to the findings of the Internal Audit report, why there are issues with Planning Enforcement, and it is due to resource constraints. The Member continued to ask what the solution is to see an improvement in performance in Planning Enforcement, if it isn’t further scrutiny. The Chair responded to explain that the Committee receives performance and Internal Audit update reports, which provide regular updates and further answers for no assurance items. The Chair stated that one solution could be to allocate extra resource to Planning Enforcement. The Chair continued to explain that a scrutiny piece may not be necessary for answers to be provided, and progress to be made. The Chair committed to continuing conversations regarding Planning Enforcement and potential scrutiny with Members, outside of the Committee Meeting. The Chair informed the Committee that if all questions regarding Planning Enforcement could not be answered by Internal Audit or Officers, then the work programme will be looked at, to find an appropriate place, for a scrutiny piece to be added.

d)            Policy Committee. A Member of the Committee asked which Policy Committee could concerns and questions regarding the allocation of resources to Planning Enforcement be raised with. The Chair informed the Committee that it is the Licensing and Planning Policy Committee who will be responsible for the agreeing the Budget regarding Planning Enforcement at their January Meeting, and any changes to that will likely be referred to Strategy and Resources Committee. The Member who raised the scrutiny item on Planning Enforcement, highlighted that it is not just money which will fix or help the current performance problems. The Member continued to explain that the right questions must be asked first, so that the right areas can be targeted, if additional resource and funds needs to be requested.

e)            CPC Action Plan. The Chair informed the Committee that the Strategy and Resources Committee received an update on progress against the Corporate Peer Challenge Action Plan, which contained several actions regarding scrutiny, and how it operates at the Council. The Chair highlighted that one of the actions, includes potentially bringing in an external trainer, to help Members understand more clearly what scrutiny is.  The Chair proposed that any additional scrutiny items are paused until Members have had a training session on effective scrutiny. A Member of the Committee expressed their concern regarding the CPC recommendation to decouple scrutiny from the Audit and Scrutiny Committee and put it with the relevant policy committees. The Member cautioned the Committee from getting hung up on how scrutiny may change going forwards, and delaying scrutiny items as a result. The Chair expressed that it is important for there to be consensus and understanding on what scrutiny is within the Council.

f)             Scrutiny Function. A Member of the Committee raised that as a Committee System, scrutiny should already be taking place at all Committee Meetings, and if scrutiny was also to happen as part of a separate committee, the Council could be seen to be employing a hybrid executive-committee style system. The Member explained that this difficulty was highlighted by the CPC review. The Chair noted the comments and informed the Committee that one of the first steps will be to explore how scrutiny is carried out in other Councils with a Committee system. Another Member of the Committee pointed out that Sutton Council is a Committee System and has a dedicated Scrutiny Committee.

g)            Online Resources. A Member of the Committee asked if there are any online resources on scrutiny which can be shared with Audit and Scrutiny Members. The Chair directed Members to look at the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny, which has several useful documents regarding scrutiny. The Vice Chair raised that the Local Government Association are holding an online event, which is an introduction to effective scrutiny, on the 12^th of December, and encouraged Members to attend.

h)            Planning Decisions. A Member of the Committee raised that scrutinising Planning decisions is a different process, that is set out in the Council’s Constitution. The Chair informed the Committee that there is not a process set out in the Council's Constitution for scrutinising Planning decisions, as the call-in process does not apply to decisions made by quasi-judicial or regulatory committees. The Member stated that a previous iteration of the Council’s Constitution set out a process for scrutinising Planning decisions. The Legal Officer agreed to look into this and provide a written response following the meeting.

i)             Performance. A Member of the Committee raised that the terms of reference for the Audit and Scrutiny Committee state, ‘to seek assurance of the existing and application of key policies and strategies, as well as undertaking scrutiny of performance monitoring to evaluate whether expected outcomes are being achieved in accordance with the Council's Corporate Plan,’ which justifies doing scrutiny on the performance of Planning Enforcement. The Chair noted the comments.

Following consideration, the Committee unanimously resolved to:

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