Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence received.

To be apprised of any changes to the membership of the Committee in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 4.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 4, the Committee noted the termination of Councillor R Cooper and the appointment of Councillor C Dereli for this meeting only, thereby giving effect to the wishes of the Political Groups.

Note:  No other business is permitted unless, by reason of special circumstances, which shall be specified at the meeting, the Chairman is of the opinion that the item(s) should be considered as a matter of urgency.

There were no items of urgent business.

If a member requires advice on Declarations of Interest, he/she is advised to contact the Legal and Democratic Services Manager in advance of the meeting.  (For the assistance of members a checklist for use in considering their position on any particular item is included at the end of this agenda sheet.)

Councillors Nixon, Owen and West (Tenant of a Council flat/house) declared disclosable pecuniary interests in relation to item 11 ‘HRA Revenue and Capital Mid-Year Review’ for the reasons indicated but were entitled to speak and vote by virtue of an exemption (nothing in this report relates particularly to their respective interests arising from the tenancy or lease).

In accordance with Overview and Scrutiny Committee Procedure Rule 16, Members must declare the existence of any Party Whip, and the nature of it, when considering any matter in the following categories:

-       The review of any decision of the Cabinet or

-       The performance of any Member of the Cabinet

N.B. The Secretary of State believes whipping is incompatible with Overview and Scrutiny.

There were no declarations of Party Whip.

To receive as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 24 September 2020.

RESOLVED:That the Minutes of the meeting held on 24 September 2020 be received as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Residents of West Lancashire on giving notice, may address the meeting to make representations on any item on the agenda except where the public and press are to be excluded during consideration of the item.  The deadline for submissions is 10.00am on Friday 20 November 2020.  A copy of the public speaking protocol and form to be completed is attached.

There were no items under this heading.

There are no items under this heading.

There were no items under this heading.

To scrutinise the following Minutes of Cabinet:

13 October 2020 (Extraordinary)

10 November 2020

Consideration was given to the Minutes of Extraordinary Cabinet held on 13 October 2020 and Cabinet held on 10 November 2020 as contained on pages 255 to 264 of the Book of Reports.

Consideration was given to the minutes of Extraordinary Cabinet held on 13 October 2020 as contained on pages 255 to 258 of the Book of Reports.

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of Extraordinary Cabinet held on 13 October 2020 be noted.

Consideration was given to the minutes of Cabinet held on 10 November 2020 as contained on pages 259 to 264 of the Book of Reports.

A comment was raised in respect of Minute 43 - CIL Funding Programme 2021/22, in respect of (D) That, previously saved CIL monies be allocated to the delivery of the following project in 2021/22 - £385,000 – Parbold-Appley Bridge towpath improvements. 

"Had the implications of the LCC decision on landfill at Parbold Hill and the impact on the towpath whilst this work is undertaken been considered".

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of Cabinet held on 10 November 2020 and comment raised in respect of Minute 43 be noted.

To consider the minutes of the Member Development Commission held on 30 September 2020.

Consideration was given to the Minutes of the Member Development Commission held on 30 September 2020 as contained on pages 265 to 266 of the Book of Reports.

A question was raised as to when  the Minutes of the Member Development Commission held 17 November 2020 would be  presented to the Committee and also when the recommendations arising from the Commission would be considered. 

The Member Services Officer explained that the Minutes of the Member Development Commission held on 17 November 2020 would be presented to the next meeting of Executive Overview & Scrutiny Committee, together with the recommendations arising from the Scrutiny review undertaken by the Commission. 

A Member of the Committee requested that the report and recommendations be submitted to the Committee prior to any consideration by Cabinet, which was noted.

The Committee was advised that the 'Members Items/Councillor Call for Action' and the 'Members Update Item' Protocols would be considered by Corporate & Environmental Overview & Scrutiny Committee on 10 December 2020.

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the Member Development Commission held on 30 September 2020 be noted.

To consider the report of the Corporate Director of Place & Community.

Consideration was given to the report of the Corporate Director of Place and Community as contained on pages 267 to 280 of the Book of Reports, which provided a summary of the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and Housing capital programme positions for the 2020/21 financial year.  The report had previously been considered by Cabinet on 10 November 2020.

The Finance and Audit Manager provided an overview of the report referring to details set down in the report and appendices. The Head of Housing and Regulatory Services also provided information in respect of the current position and challenges faced in relation to the Covid Pandemic.

RESOLVED: That the 2020/21 HRA and Housing capital programme positions be noted.

It is recommended that members of the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item of business in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1,2,3 & 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act and as, in all the circumstances of the case the public interest in maintaining the exemption under Schedule 12A outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

RESOLVED: That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 (financial /business affairs) of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of that Act and as, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption under Schedule 12A outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

To consider the report of the Corporate Director of Transformation and Resources.

Consideration was given to the report of the Corporate Director of Transformation and Resources as contained on pages 281 to 298 of the Book of Reports, which provided an update on the proposals outlined in the report presented 21 November 2019 regarding Payroll, Revenues and Benefits and ICT Provision.

Comments and questions were raised and addressed by Officers. In discussion, details were given in respect of a recent ICT Survey that had been circulated to Members and were encouraged to give a response to this.

RESOLVED:That the proposals are considered and agreed for consideration by Council on 16 December 2020.