Further to minute 415 (19 March 2009) the Director of Law, HR and Asset Management reported that the proposal to move to five Overview and Scrutiny Committees had been referred to the three Party Leaders for their comments and he set out a number of suggestions that had been made by the Leader of the Conservative Group.

The Director set out the draft terms of reference for the five Overview and Scrutiny Committees, based on the existing Committees and for an over-arching Overview and Scrutiny Committee to perform a role in relation to programme co-ordination and call-ins.

He reported also that section 19 of the Police and Justice Act 2006 was being brought into force on 30 April 2009. This required every local authority to establish a crime and disorder scrutiny committee. He indicated that some local authorities had set up separate crime and disorder sub-committees, whilst others were incorporating the committee into an existing scrutiny committee, which he believed to be more in keeping with the Council’s aspiration of reducing the number of overview and scrutiny committees.

RECOMMENDED –

(1) That the Scrutiny Chairs Committee is titled the Scrutiny Programme Board and that additional to those duties set out in the appendix to the Director’s report, the Committee should also be responsible for -

·  the development and monitoring of an annual scrutiny work programme;

·  undertaking scrutiny in its own right with regard to cross-cutting or strategic issues not covered by other Overview and Scrutiny Committees;

·  identifying and sharing good scrutiny practice across all Overview and Scrutiny Committees.

(2) That each of the five other Overview and Scrutiny Committees be represented on the Scrutiny Programme Board.

(3) That the Excellent Council Committee is titled Council Excellence.

(4) That the role of the Crime and Disorder Committee is incorporated into the work and terms of reference of the Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee in accordance with the requirements of the Police and Justice Act 2006 as amended by the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007.

(5) That in the interests of accountability and transparency, all reports to Scrutiny should identify the relevant Cabinet Portfolio under which the item falls.