Agenda item

Reporting Person: Councillor D Hughes

The Chairman introduced the Annual Report of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee that outlined the activities of the Committee over the municipal year, noting that the information presented in tonight’s meeting was not included.

The error in paragraph 1.2 was corrected to say that the Corporate Peer Review Report was not outstanding and had been received in June 2020. Pre-scrutiny had been conducted on the Corporate Peer Review Report, and the paper highlighted the LGA recommendations.

The key points highlighted in the report was the scrutiny work undertaken on Woking Football Club and Associated Developments, Council approved the recommendations set out before them at their meeting on 30 July 2020 which focused on the decision making process around the development.  The independent review provided further recommendations and were listed in the report.  There are still some redactions on the  Task Group report due to commercial sensitivity, a request via our legal team for clearance to disclose is outstanding.

The Housing Scrutiny Topic Review provided a detailed three meeting update from Housing colleagues on affordable housing provision, a review of case studies of viability assessments in planning applications, projects and future aspirations. Praise was given to the Viability Case Study Group and the Housing officers involved with the work. The recommendations to Council from this review included circulation of the recommendations to the Planning department as not purely housing department related.

Other areas covered throughout the year included the Joint Waste Solutions update, play area maintenance and AMEY contract review in 2019/20.  Cllr Davis advised that the JWS Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) reported in the Green Book were accurate however not always useful to councillors, after discussions it was believed that the reporting would remain the same but councillors were steered to the Surrey Environmental Partnership report which included further statistic that would be useful for members.  The Chairman would share the Quarterly Report with the Committee.

The Community Infrastructure Levy was also reviewed by the Committee, and a paper went to the Joint Committee recommending more frequent review of the proposals for decision which was approved.  Further scrutiny was conducted on the annual topics of the committee such as FOI and Complaints review and the Treasury Management Mid-Year Review 2020/21.

The Report also included the work undertaken by the three Task Groups in the 20/21 municipal year – Finance Task Group, Economic Development Task Group and Housing Task Group.  Thanks was voiced to the Chairs and Members of the Task Groups.  The Chairman thanked the guests that had participated in the Committee’s tasks, including Surrey Police, Surrey County Council and ROC Representative.  The Chairman then took the opportunity to thank Officers for their contribution and support to the Committee. 

Cllr Whitehand, Deputy Vice-Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee thanked the Chairman for guidance provided and the work undertaken.  Committee members echoed thanks to the Chair.

The Chairman then read out the following statement:

‘We have just received the annual report of this Committee: in which was highlighted an issue with a pre scrutiny report undertaken by this Committee on the Local Government Association Corporate Peer Challenge Review on Woking Borough Council, that despite a specific request from the CEO for it to go to the Executive and despite it being on that meeting’s agenda in July 2020 it was not permitted to be heard or discussed at that Executive. This was a gross discourtesy to this O&S Committee.

Despite representations to various people and the chair of the Executive no apology has been forthcoming. O&S is a statutory body, the Council is required to have this committee by law and its reports have a legal right to be heard.

So as no resolution has been forthcoming as chair of this O&S committee I will tell you now that I did submit a complaint regarding this omission and the way in which our report was handled in this Executive meeting. What has happened raises serious questions on the way in which complaints are managed.

The member on member complaints process in this council seems shrouded in secrecy and seeming threats of breaching confidentiality.  I completely agree that a complaint that has not been fully and independently investigated should be kept confidential until the findings are known. , as there may be no case to answer, or the complaint may be shown to be vexatious, and no one would wish any member to undergo the stress of this being disclosed.  

But when the complaint is upheld, especially when upheld by an external independent investigator, as in this case, this should be disclosed and it is in the public interest for it to be so.  If not, how will we as a Council learn, and how will we improve our ways of working and interactions? How will misdemeanors be properly addressed? How will there be any resolution? And how will the public we represent know that such failings are properly managed?

At this point the Standards and Audit meeting in March had been cancelled. The last meeting of the municipal year of O&S is tonight. As a final attempt for closure I asked for local resolution via a public apology prior to or at this meeting to this committee.

This has now been forthcoming, long overdue, and as the apology is to the committee and to myself for how we were treated at this eleventh hour this acknowledgement of fault is accepted. 

The independent investigator’s report upholds the complaints stating that they find evidence to show breaches of the Council’s code of Conduct and a failure to maintain high standards of conduct as set out in paragraph 1.3 of the Code in relation to Integrity and Leadership.

The committee deserved recognition and respect by the Executive and its chairman,

But this committee’s work was slighted and its voice gagged in July, and unless something is said now you will never know that those insults to this Committee during that Executive meeting have been deemed by an independent detailed investigation to be in breach of the Council’s code of conduct.

The inability to properly disclose the outcome of an independent investigation when a complaint has been upheld shows that the Council complaint process needs review as soon as possible.’

RESOLVED that

The report be submitted to the next meeting of Council subject to any comments made by Members of the Committee.