Apologies for absence were received from Councillors John Kane, Joseph Ghayouba and Doug Wilson.

To receive declarations by Members and/ or co-optees of interests in respect of items on this Agenda.

Members are reminded that, in accordance with the revised Code of Conduct, they are required to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests or other registrable interests which have not already been declared in the Council’s Register of Interests. (It is a criminal offence not to declare a disclosable pecuniary interest either in the Register or at the meeting).

Members are advised however, in the interests of clarity and transparency, to declare at this point in the meeting, any such disclosable pecuniary interests which they have already declared in the Register, as well as any other interests.

Members are reminded that they may not, by law, participate or vote in any discussion in a meeting on a matter in which they have a disclosable pecuniary interest

Members are advised that they should leave the room during consideration of any items of business in which they have a disclosable pecuniary interest.

No Declarations of Interest were received.

The Scrutiny Officer informed the Committee of the responses from Councillor Andy Pratt regarding the requests made during the West Cumbria Safety Partnership verbal update. It was also noted that the request for OSC involvement with the Nuclear Team relating to the Sustainability Strategy and Climate Action plan was being organised.

[Councillors Gemma Dinsdale and Gwynneth Everett joined the meeting]

RESOLVED - That the minutes of the meeting held on 3 March 2022 be signed by the Chair as a correct record.

The Committee reviewed the Executive Forward Plan.

Councillor Meteer requested further information on the CMIQ Land Transaction, this was supported by Councillor Pollen.

RESOLVED: - That the Executive Forward Plan be noted.

The Director of Financial Resources introduced and presented the report before inviting the Committee to ask questions.

Councillor Meteer asked for further information regarding the Q3 report relating to December 2021 information. The Director noted that, yes, the Q3 report does relate to information from December, with the predictions for up to March 2022. The facts from that period will be available within the next quarterly report being brought to OSC.

Councillor Pollen asked for an update regarding the Capital Directives and if further support was needed. The Director highlighted that the 2021/22 capital directive has been approved following the CIPHA report and the 2022/23 capital directive, for the same amount of £1.5million, has been provisionally approved, subject to the recommendations being completed from the Section 24 report.

Councillor Foster asked for clarification regarding the minimum level of reserves and queried whether it had been higher previously. The Director noted that the level of general reserves is different for each local authority and is up to the Section 151 Officer to recommend. Copeland’s reserves had previously been higher but the Director believed that the current minimum level of £2million is right for the size of Copeland as an organisation.

RESOLVED: - That,

a)      OSC noted the 2021/22 revenue forecast outturn net underspend of (147k), (See Paragraph 1.4 and Appendix A);

b)      OSC noted the summary of the revenue outturn variances set out in paragraph 1.6.

The Performance Reporting and Policy Officer introduced and presented the report before inviting the Committee to ask questions.

Several of the Committee asked for further information to be collated and reported regarding Affordable Homes and Social Housing. The Officer noted all the questions asked and agreed to get the answers from the relevant Head of Service, for the response to either be included with the next quarterly report or within an email to the Committee.

Councillor Pollen asked if the Social Inclusion programme was running across Copeland, if the litter strategy was run across all four towns including Egremont, if there was an update regarding the Small Fleet Replacement and how the decision to change to recycling bins was made. The Officer agreed to ask the questions and report back to the Committee.

A request was made via Councillor Pollen, unanimously supported by the Committee, to have their thanks expressed to the Homeless and Housing Team for all their fantastic work.

The Chair asked for clarification as to the acronym STEAM and highlighted an error on page 25 of the agenda pack, noting that the Millom Health and Wellbeing Festival was run over a month and not a week as said in the report. The Officer noted the error and agreed to have it amended. The Officer also clarified that the acronym STEAM         had previously been STEM but was changed due to the inclusion of the arts.

RESOLVED: That the progress made against the Corporate Strategy Key Deliverables and Key Performance Indicators be noted.

The Scrutiny Officer presented the report to the Committee before inviting members to ask questions.

The Committee thanked the Scrutiny Officer for the report and also expressed their thanks to the Chair and Vice Chair for their hard work over the year.

Councillor Pollen asked for further information regarding the suggested “Tour of Copeland”. The Scrutiny Officer noted that it was an inherited recommendation from the previous year and had been suggested to help Councillors build knowledge and connections across Copeland. She noted that it could be open to all councillors, and while there would be some constraints, should it be requested the Scrutiny Officer would aim to organise it. Councillor Meteer suggested that adding notable developments that would be coming to Planning Panel would also be a positive addition to the tour for councillors.

RESOLVED: That the Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report for 2021/22 be noted.

The Scrutiny Officer presented the report to the Committee before highlighting the key areas the Committee needed to provide a response ahead of Full Council.

The Committee considered the responses made by Champions and member representatives and concluded that the following responses were required:

·         Who was the dedicated officer who worked with the Democracy and Engagement Champion, and would it be possible for them to restart their work over the next 11 months?

·         Clarity needed from the Section 151 Officer as to whether a member representative should attend the Pensions Forum. Should one need to attend, the Committee would consider requesting a new representative be appointed.

·         Further information to be provided regarding what the WCSSG members are tasked with doing to help address the gaps in knowledge, especially with the new Authority coming in. But the Committee would like to keep membership as is.

·         Councillor Dinsdale requested a review of her position on the Cumbria Police and Crime Panel. Noting that while it is beneficial for Copeland to retain a representative, that she may not be the best option. She is happy to remain the representative if there are no volunteers to replace her.

·         The Committee agreed to endorse the proposal for further importance placed on interaction with the LDNP and an increase in interaction.

The Chair sought clarification as to who made appointments to the Outside Bodies, with the Elections and Democratic Services Manager commenting that Full Council made the appointments.

RESOLVED: That,

a)      The Outside Bodies Annual Review reports received be noted and any recommendations to Full Council on the detail provided be considered,

b)      Any changes to the reporting process and feedback forms that could assist members in their role be identified and subsequent recommendations to Full Council be forwarded.

The Scrutiny Officer gave the Committee updates on both the Work Programme and the Task & Finish Groups.

Councillor Pollen voiced the need for the Committee to find meaningful topics for the Committee to scrutinise and possibly those that could highlight issued areas to the new Authority.

Councillors Dinsdale and Date noted a possible investigation into reviewing ways to improve access to the NHS for those who are unable to use the NHS App.

The next meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee will be held on Thursday 7th  July 2022 at 2:00pm in The Copeland Centre, Catherine Street, Whitehaven.

The Chair informed members that the next Overview and Scrutiny Committee will be held on Thursday 7^th July 2022 at 2:00pm in The Copeland Centre, Catherine Street, Whitehaven.