Agenda and minutes

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Contact: Democratic Services  Email: committee@uttlesford.gov.uk

Note: This meeting has been scheduled as the Corporate Plan Delivery Plan has been called in by the Scrutiny Committee 

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for Absence and Declarations of Interest

To receive any apologies for absence and declarations of interest.

Minutes:

The Chair noted that Councillor Reeve was no longer a member of the Committee since his promotion to the Cabinet. He thanked Councillor Reeve for his service to the Committee and welcomed Councillor Storah as the nominated substitute for this meeting.

 

2.

Call-in: Corporate Plan Delivery Plan for 2020/21 pdf icon PDF 126 KB

The Corporate Plan Delivery Plan which was approved by Cabinet on Wednesday, 27 May has been called in by the Scrutiny Committee.

 

Councillors Criscione, Dean and Sell have called in the item for the following reason:

 

"The reason for calling in this decision is because the Corporate Delivery Plan is insufficient insofar that it is, inter alia, not measurable, lacking in both quantified and timed outcomes. It therefore requires further development to meet these good governance standards. The plan should also demonstrate aspirational outcomes achievable in normal times and should not solely be downplayed by current uncertainties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Scrutiny committee needs the opportunity to scrutinise the Corporate Plan Delivery Plan, having been given qualified assurances from the executive that this would be the detailed follow on from the Corporate Plan."

 

The Committee are asked to consider the decision to approve the Corporate Plan Delivery Plan 2020/21.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair introduced the item and said Councillors Dean, Sell and Criscione had called in the Corporate Plan Delivery Plan (CPDP), approved by Cabinet on 27 May, for the following reasons:

 

"The reason for calling in this decision is because the Corporate Delivery Plan is insufficient insofar that it is, inter alia, not measurable, lacking in both quantified and timed outcomes. It therefore requires further development to meet these good governance standards. The plan should also demonstrate aspirational outcomes achievable in normal times and should not solely be downplayed by current uncertainties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Scrutiny committee needs the opportunity to scrutinise the Corporate Plan Delivery Plan, having been given qualified assurances from the executive that this would be the detailed follow on from the Corporate Plan."

 

The Chair said a late supplementary pack had been published earlier in the day containing Member submissions. He said an explanation should be given as to why the evidence was submitted on the day of the meeting.

 

In response to a Member question, the Democratic Services Manager said the Corporate Plan Delivery Plans of neighbouring local authorities could be tabled for consideration but it would be for the Members who had called in the decision to justify the documents inclusion.

 

Councillor Dean said the CPDP should be referred back to Cabinet for amendment, with a request to clearly identify the following:

 

  • Delivery outcomes
  • Delivery completion dates
  • The individual accountable for delivery
  • Prioritisation of objectives

 

Councillor Dean said the current CPDP lacked clarity and accountability and whilst he appreciated the unprecedented nature of the public health emergency, the Council needed direction that was lacking in the Plan.

 

He proposed the following,

 

“That the Scrutiny Committee refers the Corporate Plan Delivery Plan back to Cabinet with a request that it is amended to identify:

 

(i) delivery outcomes,

(ii) when the outcomes will be delivered,

(iii) who will be responsible for delivery of outcomes.

 

"The revised plan may show:

(a) clearly what the Cabinet wishes to deliver, but 

(b) may include uncertainties that could affect timely delivery resulting from the present Covid-19 pandemic."

 

Councillor Criscione said assurances in regard to the CPDP had been given by the Administration at this juncture last year; the Administration had not lived up to those promises. Furthermore, the ruling group had a strong mandate and this was their chance to prove they could deliver on promises made in the pre-election period. He said in his view they had failed to do so.

 

There were a number of serious flaws in the Plan, such as no costings, a lack of consistency in target setting and a general lack of detail. He said the lack of detail in the CPDP was intrinsically linked to the lack of progress made by the Administration in delivering its mandate. He said the Council required vision and ambition and praised the Corporate Plan which demonstrated that scrutiny could add value to the process. He said SMART objectives were required to spell  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.