Agenda item

Report of the Governance Committee attached (subject to approval by Governance Committee).

Note: The deadline for receipt of amendments is midnight, Monday 20 October.

Amendment to report by Residents’ Group NOT CARRIED by 29 votes to 17; amendment to report by Independent Residents’ Group NOT CARRIED by 32 votes to 12; Administration motion CARRIED as substantive motion without division; Councillor Ford ELECTED as Chairman of Overview & Scrutiny Board by 28 votes to 18; Councillor Webb ELECTED as Vice-Chairman of Overview and Scrutiny Board by 35 votes to 11.

A report of the Governance Committee asked Council to adopt some changes to the structure of Overview and Scrutiny in Havering. Following a review of arrangements in other boroughs, it was proposed that a single Overview and Scrutiny Board be established to undertake all call-in functions and to coordinate the work of six sub-committees. The existing Value Overview and Scrutiny Committee would be replaced by the Board with the remaining six Overview and Committees (OSCs) becoming Sub-Committees of the new Board with the existing Committee Chairs becoming Chairs of the new Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Committees.

            In order to comply with political balance requirements, it was recommended that the Board comprise 16 Members as follows:

            7 Conservative

            3 RAs (the current Chairmen of Environment, Individuals and Health OSCs)

            2 UKIP (including the current Chairmen of Towns and Communities OSC)

            2 EHRG (including the current Chairman of Children’s OSC)

            2 IRG (including the current Chairman of Crime & Disorder Committee)

            Following debate, an amendment by the Residents’ Group as follows:

            Scrutiny aims to ensure that residents of Havering receive high quality services and that the executive is rightly held to account. This council believes that in order to maximise the chances of both aims being achieved, and to adopt both the spirit of the Local Government Acts, as well as the Acts themselves, scrutiny should not be constrained or directed under any system by members of the administration.

            was LOST by 29 votes to 17 (see division 3) and an amendment by the Independent Residents’ Group as follows:

            The creation of a new committee will require a costly bureaucratic reorganisation during a period of cuts! Worse still the proposed reorganisation to ‘establish a single O&S Board to undertake all call-in functions’ [Page 3 – 1.6] will undermine the O&S process, because the new 16 member Board will have a Con/EHR majority.

Instead the proposed reorganisation should be rejected and the existing structure retained.

was LOST by 32 votes to 12 (see division 4).

            The motion by the Administration that the recommendations of the Governance Committee be approved was AGREED without division and it was RESOLVED that:

1)                       An overarching Overview & Scrutiny Board be established in accordance with the political balance rules

2)           The following Overview and Scrutiny committees be converted to sub-committees of the overarching Overview & Scrutiny Board:

·         Towns & Communities

·         Health

·         Individuals

·         Environment

·         Crime and Disorder

·         Children & Learning

3)           That Council nominate one of the chairs of the Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Committees to Chair the Overview & Scrutiny Board

4)           The Overview & Scrutiny Board will comprise all of the chairs of the Overview and Scrutiny sub-committees together with such other members nominated to the Board to meet the political balance requirements.

5)           The Council’s Monitoring Officer, using her delegated powers make the necessary changes to the Council’s Constitution in respect of the proposed revisions to Overview and Scrutiny.

6)           That Council receive nominations for the appointment of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Board.

In accordance with recommendation 6, nominations to the position of Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Board were received from the East Havering Residents’ Group (Councillor Gillian Ford) and from the Residents’ Group (Councillor Ray Morgon). Councillor Ford was ELECTED by 28 votes to 18 (see division 5) and it was RESOLVED that:

Councillor Gillian Ford be appointed as Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Board.

In accordance with recommendation 6, nominations to the position of Vice-Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Board had been received from the United Kingdom Independence Party Group (Councillor Lawrence Webb) and from the Residents’ Group (Councillor Nic Dodin). Councillor Webb was ELECTED by 35 votes to 11 (see division 6) and it was RESOLVED that:

Councillor Lawrence Webb be appointed as Vice-Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Board.