Issue - meetings

The Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OSC) presented an Annual Report highlighting the work of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in 2020/21.

The Chair of OSC advised that the year had again begun by meeting with Cabinet Members, directors and officers to find out more about their thoughts around key issues, which also helped to guide the Committee in developing a meaningful work programme. The Chair of OSC took the opportunity to personally thank Cabinet Members for allowing OSC to work so closely with them.

OSC covered a wide range of items during 2020/21, ranging from various reports on the impact of COVID-19 across the Council’s services, progress on previous scrutiny review recommendations such as the scrutiny review on Ambition 2020 and its early impact and the scrutiny review on Household Waste, Recycling and Street Cleansing, corporate parenting, working with residents affected by capital works and budget change proposals.

For the forthcoming municipal year, OSC had another wide-ranging programme and would be looking at how the Council was incorporating the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement into our schools’ education programmes.

The Chair of OSC thanked Masuma Ahmed, Claudia Wakefield, Mark Tyson and Fiona Taylor for their ongoing support.

The Chair of the Health Scrutiny Committee (HSC) then presented an annual report highlighting the work of the Committee in 2020/21.

Over the last year the work of the Committee had been predominately focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, with the support of the Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health Integration.  However, the Committee did fit into its busy work programme other areas of key importance such as NELFT’s Care Quality Commission Inspection.

Moving forward, the Health Scrutiny Committee would continue to oversee the Council’s and health partners’ response to Covid-19. There was a full and broad work programme for 2021/22, that among other items, would enable HSC to explore key topics such as how to manage the waiting lists for urgent and non-urgent health conditions, and priorities for the new Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

The Chair of HSC thanked Masuma Ahmed, Yusuf Olow, Claudia Wakefield, Matthew Cole and the Cabinet Member for Social Care and Health Integration for their support.