Agenda item

The report provides the Committee with an update on its approved Work Programme for 2023/24 (including progress with enquiries set out in its Work Programme), feedback to the Committee on the decisions in respect of previous recommendations from the Committee in respect of enquiries undertaken and a list of forthcoming decisions for which notice has been given since publication of the agenda for the Committee’s last meeting.

The Committee had before it the report in the name of the Head of Democratic Services & Elections in respect of the work programme of the Committee (setting out its progress with enquiries scheduled for this year), the responses from the Cabinet to recommendations from this Committee on enquiries undertaken by it and on matters included in the Council’s list of forthcoming decisions since the publication of the agenda for the Committee’s last meeting.  The Cabinet’s response to the recommendations from the Committee (arising from an interim report of the Council Enforcement Arrangements Task and Finish Group concerning Planning Enforcement) from its meeting on 10 January 2024 (Minute 35 refers) would need to be submitted to the next meeting of this Committee.

The Chairman, in his role of Chairman of the Council Enforcement Arrangements Task and Finish Group, updated the Committee on the further progress of the enquiry being undertaken by that Task and Finish Group. He explained how the Task and Finish Group had met earlier that day and was now progressing with the element of the enquiry concerning fly tipping and mobile CCTV. He was pleased with the progress so far.

The Head of Democratic Services and Elections drew the Committee’s attention to an item in the Committee’s work programme “To consider particular services/functions of the Council that should or could be Self-Funding” and how this work had not yet taken place and it was unlikely to be carried out in the year to July 2024.  Ensuring that the financial position of the Council was fully subject to scrutiny was an important element of the role of this Committee.  As such, it was appropriate to commence thinking about the work programme for the Committee for 2025/26 and how that financial scrutiny could be appropriately delivered.  

The Committee was also informed that there was now a mandatory requirement for Members of this Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committees to undertake training in relation to “work programming and questioning skills”.  In this regard the Council was reminded of the Councillor Development session on 13 March 2024 on the matter of “work programming and questioning skills” for overview and scrutiny.

The Members attention was drawn to the responses from Cabinet to the Committee’s recommendations in relation to Budget Scrutiny and Jaywick Sands Sunspot.

The Head of Democratic Services and Elections spoke of the forthcoming decisions recorded in the report to the Committee and how a further proposed decision had been published since the publication of the agenda for this meeting about the creation of a Town Board for Clacton on Sea (as part of the arrangements to access the Future of Towns government funding) and how this would be reported to be next meeting of the Committee.  He envisaged that prior to that meeting there would be further information on the Town Board and the plans for investing the funding to be provided under the Future of Towns government scheme that would be provided to Councillors. 

The Committee RESOLVED to receive and note the report and, as a possible provisional enquiry for the Work Programme for the Committee in 2024/25, the following be submitted:

Proposed PSPO (Nuisance Vehicles) - Brook Park, Clacton-on-Sea – on the basis that dispersal and displacement of issues following the adoption of such Orders was a matter that rightly should be monitored.