Agenda and minutes

Venue: Conference Room, Parkside, Chart Way, Horsham

Contact: Email: CommitteeServices@horsham.gov.uk  Direct line: 01403 215465

Items
No. Item

SO/1

Election of Chairman

Minutes:

RESOLVED

 

That Councillor Tony Bevis be elected Chairman of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee for the ensuing municipal year.

SO/2

Appointment of Vice Chairman

Minutes:

            RESOLVED

 

Councillor Ian Stannard be appointed Vice-Chairman for the Overview & Scrutiny Committee for the ensuing municipal year.

SO/3

To Approve the time of meetings of the Committee for the next year

Meetings are currently scheduled for 18 July; 26 September; 21 November; 23 January 2023; 20 March.  All are proposed to commence at 17.30.

Minutes:

            RESOLVED

 

That meetings of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee be held at 5.30pm for the ensuing municipal year.

SO/4

Declarations of Members' Interests

To receive any declarations of interest from Members of the Committee

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

SO/5

Announcements

To receive any announcements from the Chairman of the Committee or the Chief Executive

Minutes:

There were no announcements.

SO/6

Minutes of the previous Meeting, 21 March 2022 pdf icon PDF 150 KB

To approve as correct the minutes of the meeting held on 21 March 2022

(Note: If any Member wishes to propose an amendment to the minutes they should submit this in writing to committeeservices@horsham.gov.uk at least 24 hours before the meeting. Where applicable, the audio recording of the meeting will be checked to ensure the accuracy of the proposed amendment.)

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 21 March 2022 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

SO/7

Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report pdf icon PDF 338 KB

To receive a report from the Chairman of the Committee

Minutes:

The Chairman presented a report providing a review of the work of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee during the municipal year 2021/22.

 

            RESOLVED

 

            To refer the report to Council for noting.

SO/8

Council Carbon Reduction Programme pdf icon PDF 588 KB

To receive a presentation from the Environmental Coordination Manager

Minutes:

The Environmental Coordination Manager and the Cabinet Member for Environment and Rural Affairs presented the Council Carbon Reduction Programme.

 

It was reported that HDC aspired to reach carbon neutrality for the emissions that are more directly within the Council’s Control by 2030. And reach carbon neutrality for indirect emissions by 2050.

 

The main changes between emissions in 2019/20 - 20/21 were summarised for the Committee.

 

Following the completion of a short term action plan carried out between 2020 and 2022 a three year action plan would be carried out from April 2022 to the end of March 2025 that was approved by Cabinet on 24 March 2022.

SO/9

Report on the Council's Finance and Performance in 2021/22 pdf icon PDF 282 KB

To receive a report from the Interim Director of Resources

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Interim Director of Resources reported on the Council’s Finance and Performance in 2021/22.

 

The Council delivered a £2.1m revenue surplus after allowing for budgets of £16,345 that will be carried over to 2022/23 relating to work in Economic Development that would take place in the first quarter of 2022/23.This surplus was in the context of performance recovering from Covid-19 faster than the cautious budget predicted when it was set in lockdown in January 2021.

 

The Council received one-off Covid-19 compensation grants from Government for some loss of income and non-ringfenced ‘expenditure’ grants totalling £1.13m, offsetting the operational budget deficit that was set. The Council’s non-operational income from Council tax and these grants meant that an overall surplus of £2.1m was generated in 2021/22.

 

Capital expenditure amounted to £4.7m which was 56% of the approved £8.3m capital programme.

 

The General Fund Reserve had not been completed and audited.

SO/10

Update on current Task & Finish Groups

To receive updates on current Task & Finish Group activity and outcomes, and to consider if any current issues might be suitable for new Task & Finish consideration.

Minutes:

The Chairman reported that there were no updates from Task & Finish Groups.

SO/11

Scrutiny Work Programme for 2022/23 pdf icon PDF 65 KB

To review the current scrutiny work programme for 2022.  The document attached reflects the typical annual pattern but also provides notes for consideration in relation to other emerging or immediate issues that may require the Committee’s attention. 

Minutes:

Members agreed that the Cabinet Member for Housing and Public Protection should be invited to the meeting in which the Crime and Disorder Annual update would be discussed. Following this, Members agreed that the Police and Crime Commissioner and the Local Police Operational Manager be invited to be interviewed.

 

Members agreed that training sessions for Members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee be scheduled throughout the year.

 

 

 

 

SO/12

Cabinet Forward Plan, Updated May 2022 pdf icon PDF 269 KB

To note the contents of the Cabinet Forward Plan

NB:  This is the current plan at the time of posting and current to May 2022.  However, by the time of the meeting there is expected to be an updated plan for June, which will be accessible here once published.

Minutes:

Members noted the contents of the Cabinet Forward Plan.

SO/13

Urgent Business

Items not on the agenda which the Chairman of the meeting is of the opinion should be considered as urgent because of the special circumstances

Minutes:

There was no urgent business.