Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

There were no apologies for absence.

To confirm the Minutes of the Meeting held on 17 July 2024.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 17 July 2024 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair, subject to the addition of a new resolution 5) in Item 9 – Quarter 4 23/24 Performance Monitoring Report:

“5) officers be requested to consider a KPI relating to the impact on demand for school places following changes in legislation from the new Government”.

To receive any declarations of interest.

There were no declarations of interest.

To answer any public questions. A period of 30 minutes will be allowed for members of the public to ask questions submitted under notice.

The Council welcomes questions from members of the public about the work of this Committee.

Subject to meeting certain timescales, questions can relate to general issues concerned with the work of the Committee or an item which is on the Agenda for this meeting.  For full details of the procedure for submitting questions please contact the Democratic Services Section on the numbers given below or go to www.wokingham.gov.uk/publicquestions

There were no public questions.

To answer any Member questions.

There were no Member questions.

To scrutinise progress in development of the new Council Plan.

The Committee considered a report, set out at Agenda pages 13 to 20, which gave details of progress relating to the development of a new WBC Council Plan for 2025/30.

Councillor Prue Bray (Deputy Leader of the Council), supported by officers, attended the meeting to provide an update and answer Member questions.

The Committee were informed that the Council Plan was a key strategic document which set out the Council’s mission and its delivery plans in support of the new Community Vision. The Council’s Budget (Medium Term Financial Plan - MTFP) would be set in line with the Council Plan priorities and, conversely, the ambitions in the plan would be set within the constraints of the MTFP. The Council Plan would provide key information for staff and would inform residents and partners about the Council’s aims and priorities.

The Council Plan had been developed using data and insight from a range of sources and engagement with key stakeholders. This had helped to understand the wants and needs of local communities, businesses, community groups, Town and Parish Councils and partner organisations. The Plan was outcome-focussed which meant that it aimed to make a positive difference to the lives of residents across the Borough. 

To support the aims of the new Community Vision, the Council’s ambition was to work towards a Better Wokingham Borough” which was:

·       Fairer – everyone in the Borough had equitable access to good life and health opportunities, regardless of their background.

·       Thriving – people in the Borough had the opportunity to acquire the skills they needed for good quality jobs, with businesses supported to succeed.

·       Connected – strong communities brought people together, enabled by affordable travel and good digital connection.

·       Safer – people who live, work and visit the Borough feel safe and are supported to live independently.

·       Greener – the environment in the Borough is cleaner, more sustainable and has plenty of green spaces for all to enjoy.

Following comments from the Committee, an updated version of the Council Plan would be prepared for further consideration by the Executive and key stakeholders. The updated version would then be submitted to the Committee in January 2025 before formal consultation in January and February 2025. The aim was to seek final approval by the Council at its meeting in July 2025. Once the Plan was approved an underpinning Annual Delivery Plan would be published with supporting SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-bound) Key Performance Indicators.

In the ensuing discussion, members of the Committee raised the following points.

As the Council was spending public money it was important that the Council Plan had a focus on quality and value for money. This included identifying activities to cease if they were not valued by residents. It was confirmed that the Plan’s guiding principles included the delivery of value for money and effective partnership working.

A key consideration was to question why the Council was providing a specific service or activity, what benefit we were providing for residents and how we were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

To consider the current published versions of the Executive and Individual Executive Member Decision Forward Programmes, in order to identify potential Scrutiny items.

The Committee considered a copy of the Executive Forward Programme and the Individual Executive Member Forward Programme as set out on Agenda pages 21 to 31.

The following points were noted:

·       The Playing Pitch Strategy item had been deferred from the September Executive.

·       Confirmation of the date of the IEMD meeting on reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework be circulated to Members.

RESOLVED That:

1)    the Executive and IEMD Forward Programmes be noted;

2)    the forward programme tables be amended to include a column setting out when items had been considered by the relevant Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

To discuss the work programmes of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee and Overview and Scrutiny Committees.

The Committee considered its forward work programme and the work programmes of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees as set out on Agenda pages 33 to 56.

RESOLVED That:

1)    the O&S Committee work programmes be noted;

2)    an update be requested on progress relating to the revised governance arrangements for the Council’s housing companies;

3)    the Community & Corporate O&S Committee work programme be updated to include the dates of Budget Scrutiny meetings.

To consider the regular Action Tracker report.

The Committee considered the regular Action Tracker report.

RESOLVED: That the Action Tracker report be noted.