Agenda and minutes

It was noted that following receipt of the temporary resignations of Councillors Dr Paffey, Quadir, Rayment and Moulton from the Committee, the Director of Legal, Governance and HR, acting under delegated powers, had appointed Councillors Windle, Kenny, M Bunday and Fitzhenry to replace them for the purposes of this meeting.

To approve and sign as a correct record the Minutes of the meetings held on 8 June 2023 and to deal with any matters arising, attached.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Committee meeting held on 8^th June, 2023 be approved and signed as a correct record.

The Committee considered the report of the Executive Director, Corporate 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 Fielker, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Adults, Housing and Health, Mike Harris Chief Executive, Mel Creighton Executive Director, Corporate Services and Steve Harrison Head of Financial Planning and Management were in attendance and with the consent of the Chair addressed the Committee with regards to the Medium Term Financial Strategy Update report. 

RESOLVED:

i)  That the monthly budget report that was being prepared for Cabinet was shared with the OSMC Chair.

ii)  That, whilst recognising the requirement for timely action, the Executive commits to ensuring transparency and openness in the budget decision making process moving forward.

iii)  That this Committee coordinates activity with the Governance Committee to ensure effective oversight and reduce unnecessary duplication.

iv)  That, to support member oversight, local government finance training was offered to all councillors, and workshops were organised for members to discuss ongoing financial issues.

v)  That a visit was undertaken by the Executive to Portsmouth City Council to understand how they had managed to maintain spending levels at an affordable level.

vi)  That the revised CIPFA report was shared with the Committee when it was available.

vii)  That, to increase the sum of money owed to the Authority that was paid on time and in full, the Executive reviews the Council’s charging, collection and debt management processes.

viii)  That the Executive reviews the Council’s charging policy and that the review was informed by comparisons with Southampton’s statistical neighbour authorities.

ix)  That, to support the funding of essential transformation activity, the Executive ensured that the Council’s Asset Register was kept up to date to enable the efficient disposal of the most appropriate assets.

x)  That, reflecting the significant increase in the number of people employed by the City Council over recent years, the Committee was provided with a breakdown of staff numbers, by service area, over the past 5+ years, alongside relevant supporting information.

xi)  That, to improve outcomes and value from procurement activity, consideration was given to:

•  Identifying opportunities to streamline the Council’s procurement processes.

•  Extracting additional value by combining similar individual capital project procurement activity into larger, single tender processes.

•  Merging the Council’s two procurement teams into a single entity.

xii)  That the Deputy Leader circulates to the Committee the Labour Party’s 2023 Southampton City Council election manifesto to develop understanding of the Administration’s priorities.

The Committee considered the report of the Executive Director, Corporate Services detailing the Accessible Southampton Inquiry progress update. 

Councillor Keogh, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport and Wade Homes Service Manager Integrated Transport were present and with the consent of the Chair addressed the meeting. 

Ian Loynes, Chief Executive of Spectrum CIL was also in attendance. 

RESOLVED:

i)  That, to raise awareness amongst disabled people in Southampton, the Executive considers how the Council communicates the changes that had been made, or are planned, to enhance the accessibility of Southampton.

ii)  That, in lieu of an Access Officer being employed, consideration was given by the Executive to nominating an Accessibility Champion to promote and co-ordinate the Council’s accessibility ambitions.

iii)  That the Executive reviews the Outdoor Sports Centre investment project with a view to identifying funding to support the drive to improve the accessibility of Southampton’s built environment.

iv)  That, in recognition of the limited detail contained within the briefing paper on this issue, the Scrutiny Manager contacts the responsible officer and requests an update on the approved inquiry recommendations that relate to the Council’s communications and information standards.

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