Agenda and minutes

Any member who is substituting for another member should so indicate, together with the name of the relevant absent member.

The following substitution was declared:

Councillor Liz Smith substituting for Councillor Andrew Martin.

Councillor Tracy Whitehand substituting for Councillor Dawn Dicker.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Dawn Dicker and Andrew Martin.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 9 March 2023 (copy attached).

The minutes of the meeting held on 9 March 2023 were confirmed as correct record and signed by the Chair.

Members are reminded of their responsibility to declare any disclosable pecuniary interest or other registerable interest which they have in any item of business on the agenda, no later than when that item is reached and to leave the meeting prior to discussion and voting on the item.

Members’ declarations of interest are recorded under the item to which the declaration relates.

No announcements were made on this occasion regarding responses from the Cabinet to reports from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Members of the public who live or work in the district are welcome to speak and may ask one question or make a statement of not more than three minutes duration relating to items to be discussed in Part 1 of the agenda only.  If a question is asked and answered within three minutes, the person who asked the question may ask a supplementary question that arises from the reply.

In accordance with government guidance, the Council has developed general protocols on operating buildings safety in order to reduce the risk of the spread of coronavirus and will apply to members of the public registered to speak.  We would therefore strongly urge anyone who wishes to register to speak to notify Democratic Services by 9am on the day of the meeting so that advice can be given on the arrangements in place.

There is an overall limit of 15 minutes for public speaking, which may be extended at the Chair’s discretion.

There were no members of the public in attendance on this occasion.

Report number: OAS/WS/23/006

The Committee received report number OAS/WS/23/006, which was the last report prepared by Councillor Margaret Marks as the Council’s representative on the Suffolk County Council Health Scrutiny Committee, setting out what was considered at its meeting held on 19 April 2023.  The main focus of the meeting was on Childhood Obesity in Suffolk.  Councillor Marks also took the opportunity to provide updates on phlebotomy and dentistry.

The Committee considered the report and asked questions to which Councillor Marks provided comprehensive responses.  In particular discussions were held on school meals and their nutritional value; the childhood nutrition guidance provided for women during their pregnancy;  Abbeycroft Leisure’s initiative “learn to cook with families”; junk food advertising; the need for more emphasis on food portion control and the need for lifestyle changes.

The Committee acknowledged that health was a huge subject and questioned what the council’s remit for health was; what it could do to add value in West Suffolk and how best to feed back issues concerning West Suffolk to the Health Scrutiny Committee. 

At the conclusion of the discussions, the Committee noted the report and thanked Councillor Marks for the passion and effort she had put in as the Council’s representative on the Health Scrutiny Committee.

Report number: OAS/WS/23/007

[Councillor Beccy Hopfensperger left the meeting at 5.45pm, prior to the consideration of this item.]

The Committee received report number OAS/WS/23/007, which sought nominations for one full member and one substitute member to serve on the Suffolk County Council’s Health Scrutiny Committee for the term of the 2023 to 2027 administration.  

The Health Scrutiny Committee was responsible for scrutinising wellbeing and health services across the County and meets four times a year.  The Committee had 10 members in total: five county councillors and one co-opted representative from each of the district and borough councils in Suffolk.  Attached at Appendix 1 to the report was an extract from the SCC’s constitution, setting out the role of the Health Scrutiny Committee. 

The Committee considered the report for the position of the West Suffolk Council’s nominated representative on the Suffolk County Council Health Scrutiny Committee. 

One nomination was received from Councillor Tony Brown for Councillor Andrew Martin to be the full member on the Health Scrutiny Committee as he worked as a paramedic and had a good knowledge of how the NHS operated. As Councillor Andrew Martin was unable to attend the meeting it was taken that Councillor Andrew Martin accepted the nomination.

No further nominations were received.  With the vote being unanimous, it was,

Resolved

That Councillor Andrew Martin be appointed as the West Suffolk Council’s representative on the Suffolk County Council Health Scrutiny Committee for the term of the 2023 to 2027 administration.

The Committee then considered the substitute position on the Health Scrutiny Committee.  One nomination was received from Councillor Tony Brown for Councillor Sue Perry to be the substitute, as she works for the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.  Councillor Sue Perry was unable to attend the meeting and the Monitoring Officer advised that Councillor Sue Perry had emailed prior to the meeting to accept the nomination.

No further nominations were received.  With the vote being unanimous, it was,    

Resolved

That Councillor Sue Perry be appointed as the substitute representative on the Suffolk County Council Health Scrutiny Committee for the term of the 2023 to 2027 administration.

Report number: OAS/WS/23/008

The Committee received report number: OAS/WS/23/008, which informed members on forthcoming decisions to be considered by the Cabinet for the period 1 June 2023 to 31 May 2024.

The Committee considered the Decisions Plan and did not request any further information on items contained in the Plan.

There being no decision required, the Committee noted the contents of the 1 June 2023 to 31 May 2024 Decisions Plan.

Report number: OAS/WS/23/009

The Committee received report number: OAS/WS/23/009, which updated members on the current status of its rolling work programme of items for scrutiny during 2020-2021 (Appendix 1).

The Chair informed the Committee that she had attended a meeting with the Vice-Chair of the Committee and officers to discuss possible scrutiny topics, and proposed the following work areas to be looked at by the Committee during 2023 to 2024:

1)   To review the performance of Abbeycroft Leisure.  This was a piece of work which Cabinet and the Portfolio Holder were supportive for the Committee to carry out.  To enable this to be brought to the Committee, work would be carried out with officers to develop a scoping document setting out key lines of enquiry for the Committee to consider at its next meeting on 20 July 2023.

2)   The Chair also suggested that the Committee looked at something relating to the planning of transport and infrastructure.  This would need careful consideration so at to not complicate the local plan, which was at an advanced stage and the top priority.  The aim of the review instead would be to get upstream and help influence future local plans.  The Chair would be working with officers and other councillors to develop a scoping document setting out the key lines of enquiry that adds real value, for the Committee to consider at its meeting on 20 July 2023.

The Committee then considered other possible topics it might wish to scrutinise:

-      Environmental Health and Food Hygiene Inspections

-      Planning Enforcement

-      Grass Cutting

-      Taxi Buses

-      Flagship Housing

Members were advised of the requirement to complete the required Scrutiny Work Programme Suggestion form and to liaise with the relevant Portfolio Holder(s) prior to submitting their form.  Once the completed from had been submitted, relevant officers would work with the councillor to scope out the review and key lines of enquiry, before being added to the Committee’s agenda for consideration on whether to accept or reject the suggestion.

There being no decision required, the Committee noted the update.