Agenda and minutes

It was noted that following receipt of the temporary resignation of Councillor Furnell from the Committee the Director of Legal and Business Services, acting under delegated powers, had appointed Councillor Savage to replace him for the purposes of this meeting. In addition, the Committee noted the apologies of Councillor Guthrie and Mr Rob Sanders.

To approve and sign as a correct record the Minutes of the meetings held on 13 October 2022 and to deal with any matters arising, attached.

RESOLVED: that the minutes for the Committee meeting on 13 October 2022 be approved and signed as a correct record.

The Committee considered the report of the Director, Legal and Business Services enabling the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee to examine the content of the Forward Plan and to discuss issues of interest or concern with the Executive.

Councillor Kaur – Leader of the Council and Mike Harris - Chief Executive of Southampton City Council were in attendance and with the consent of the Chair addressed the meeting.

RESOLVED:

On consideration of the briefing paper relating to the forthcoming Cabinet Decision “The Corporate Plan” the Committee made the following recommendations.

(i)  That to enable the Committee to scrutinise the delivery of the Plan, the Executive incorporates key actions and measures against the aims and objectives in the Corporate Plan;

(ii)  That consideration is given to ensuring that there is consistency between the key performance indicators to be reported through the Corporate Plan and the indicators reported to the Governance Committee;

(iii)  That, following the referenced Conditions Survey of private rented homes in Southampton, the Council seeks to ensure that standards against which private rental accommodation is measured is comparable with the standards against which Council housing is measured;

(iv)  That, linked to the support for the Southampton Pound and community wealth building, the Plan includes a commitment to the importance of social value; and

(v)  To ensure that the plan is coherent, the Executive reviews the actions outlined in the plan and checks that each action will contribute to delivering the objective against which it has been connected to.

The Committee considered and noted the report of the Cabinet Member for Economic Development inviting the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee to consider the attached Southampton City Vision Local Plan - 'Draft Plan with Options' and to provide feedback as part of the consultation process.

Councillor Bogle - Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Graham Tuck - Planning Policy Group Leader and Pete Boustred – Head of Transport and Planning were in attendance and addressed the Committee detailing a number of issues relating to the development of the new local plan, including:

·  The timescales for the publication of an approved new local plan;

·  The range of consultation opportunities available;

·  The overriding principles guiding the Local Plan;

·  Issues relating to the establishment of balanced communities in the City in particular in relation to the proliferation of Houses of Multiple Occupation. 

The Committee considered and noted the report of the Cabinet Member for Health, Adults and Leisure providing the Committee with an update on progress made delivering the approved recommendations generated by the Childhood Obesity Scrutiny Inquiry.

Councillor Fielker – Cabinet Member for Health, Adults and Leisure, Dr Debbie Chase - Director of Public Health and Ravita Taheem – Public Health Practitioner were present and with the consent of the Chair addressed the meeting in regard to a number of issues including:

·  Progress made so far against the Scrutiny Inquiry’s recommendations;

·  The effect of the pandemic on progressing approved actions;

·  The shifting into the second phase of the recommendations; and

·  The challenges and abilities of the Council as a whole to change and adapt behaviours.

The Committee considered and noted the report of the Director, Legal and Business Services, enabling the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee to monitor and track progress on recommendations made to the Executive at previous meetings.