Present at the meeting
- Councillor Mrs S Loudon (Chairman)
- Councillor M Aldred (Vice Chairman)
- Councillor N D Ash
- Councillor Mrs J S Birch
- Councillor M A Dewhurst
- Councillor P R Franzen
- Councillor Mrs J Hurst
- Councillor M Klieve
- Councillor J Moodie
- Councillor C Rigby
- Councillor P Thompson
- Councillor P A Tushingham
- Councillor F B Walker
- Councillor Mrs M J Whiteside
- Councillor R Winkworth
Co-opted Member
136 Apologies for absence: Councillors R T Splaine (Vice-Chairman), Mrs B Bourne, G M Bretherton, H L Cadman, R J Derricutt, I A Franzen, N R Whittingham and G Wilkes and Mr D Barber and Rev R Buckley.
137 Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of this Committee held on 17 March 2008 were approved as a correct record.
138 Whipping declarations: The Deputy Director of Legal and Property Services reminded the Committee that government guidance expected Members of Overview and Scrutiny Committees not to act in accordance with party whipping and that, if they did, they were to declare it.
There were no declarations made.
139 Questions (if any) on the business of the Cabinet: There were none.
140 Questions (if any) on the business of the forward plan: The Committee considered the monthly update report to the forward plan.
Members again welcomed the much improved report.
Further information was requested in relation to:-
- introducing a fee policy for Adult Community Learning; and
- an update on affordable housing development and housing policy.
Further to minute 107, additional information had been requested on the dog warden service and the Director of Environmental Services was present to update on guidance which had been issued on how the Council could comply with the statutory out-of-hours and working hours stray dog service provision in the most efficient and effective way in accordance with the Clean Neighbourhood and Environment Act 2005 which transferred the statutory responsibility for providing an out of hours stray dog deposit service from the Police to each local authority in England.
Cabinet at minute 340 had considered three options and had:-
- approved option 1 – to enter into a shared services contract arrangement with the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) for both normal working hours and out of hours stray dog collection services; and
- approved option 3 – to deliver working day dog warden service through a shared AGMA-led contract arrangement.
Resolved: The Committee:
- notes the report and requests the Deputy Chief Executive to provide additional information for all Members of this Committee on the reports as requested;
- congratulates the Officers on a much improved report; and
- requests the Environment Panel to consider improved ways of advising dog owners that dog excrement can be placed in litter bins.
141 Requests for information regarding reports included on the Forward Plan of key decisions (minutes 107 and 121 refer): The Committee considered a report which provided additional information on reports which would be presented to Cabinet during the next three months. These included:-
- Leigh conservation area extension;
- future of waste disposal; and
- marketing income;
The Director of Environmental Services was present to update on the three areas.
He reported that Cabinet (Minute 349 refers) had considered a report on future waste disposal, which provided information about the current waste disposal arrangements and options for waste disposal arrangements from 2012 onwards.
In relation to the marketing income, an option appraisal would be undertaken prior to the report being submitted to Cabinet.
Resolved: The Committee:
- notes the additional information; and
- requests the Environment Panel to monitor the future waste disposal arrangements.
142 Select Committee No 1 minutes – 21 February 2008: The minutes of the meeting of Select Committee No 1 (Townships) held on 21 February 2008 were submitted for information.
Resolved: The Committee notes the minutes now submitted as referred to below:
Overview and Scrutiny Committee Select Committee No 1 – Townships 21 February 2008
Present at the Meeting:
- Councillor Mrs J S Birch (Chairman)
- Councillor Mrs B Bourne
- Councillor M Klieve
- Councillor Mrs S Loudon
- Councillor R T Splaine
142.1 Apologies for absence: Councillors P A Tushingham and H L Cadman.
142.2 Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of this Select Committee held on 6 February 2008 were approved as a correct record.
142.3 Townships: The Policy Officer circulated notes which gave an overview of the key issues that had been learned since the beginning of the Township review. The key issues included:
PACTS, participatory budgeting, interviewing of Township staff including managers and co-ordinators.
The Select Committee felt that they needed more clarity about the future role of Townships and who they should direct their recommendations to.
Resolved: The Select Committee:
- requests Mr Winterbottom and Mrs Roberts to speak to as many Joint Chairs of Township Forums as possible before the next meeting – to obtain their views.
- invites the Chief Executive to the next meeting.
142.4 Forward plan for future meetings: Resolved: The Select Committee:
- agrees to e-mail ideas for appropriate headings for the report to Mr J Winterbottom and to meet again to plan the report; and
- agrees that Mrs Roberts will book a room at Wigan Town Hall and inform all Members of the date as soon as possible.
Chairman
143 Select Committee No 1 minutes – 12 March 2008: The minutes of the meeting of Select Committee No 1 (Townships) held on 12 March 2008 were submitted for information.
Resolved: The Committee notes the minutes now submitted as referred to below:
Overview and Scrutiny Committee Select Committee No 1 – Townships 12 March 2008
Present at the Meeting:
- Councillor Mrs J S Birch (Chairman)
- Councillor Mrs B Bourne
- Councillor Mrs S Loudon
143.1 Apologies for absence: Councillors H L Cadman, M Klieve, R T Splaine and P A Tushingham.
143.2 Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of this Select Committee held on 21 February 2008 were approved as a correct record.
143.3 Discussion with Chief Executive: The Select Committee had invited the Chief Executive to the meeting to discuss concerns around the future of the Townships and the opportunity to talk through emerging themes for recommendations. The Chief Executive referred to the minutes of the last Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) board meeting, which stated that Townships will continue to be an important part of the overall approach. The Chief Executive also stated that she hoped that the Select Committee could put forward recommendations that would influence the debate for the future approach.
There was a general discussion around emerging thoughts and how these would fit in with other developments across the Council and within the LSP. It was agreed that in order to make the emerging recommendations work, there was a need to touch on other areas of development. The Select Committee identified the following three main areas:-
structure, systems and culture.
The Chief Executive encouraged the Select Committee to draw conclusions and recommendations together quickly to ensure that this could influence the ongoing discussions at the LSP.
Resolved: The Select Committee be requested to meet informally as soon as possible and begin drawing information together for the final report.
143.4 Date and time of next meeting: Resolved: (1) The next meeting of the Select Committee be held on Tuesday, 18 March 2008 at 2:00 p.m.
(2) Those Members who could not make it to a day time meeting will be contacted and given the opportunity to meet with the Policy Officer at a time convenient for them.
Chairman
144 Select Committee No 2 minutes (Reputation management): There were no minutes to report.
145 Select Committee No 3 minutes (Transport): There were no minutes to report. The Chairman (Councillor Mrs M J Whiteside) reported that the final report had been completed and would be sent to the Deputy Chief Executive and the Director of Environmental Services for factual checks.
Resolved: The Committee notes the report.
146 Select Committee No 4 minutes – 21 February 2008: The minutes of the meeting of Select Committee No 4 (Health) held on 21 February 2008 were submitted for information.
Resolved: The Committee notes the minutes now submitted as referred to below:
Overview and Scrutiny Committee Select Committee No 4 - Health 21 February 2008
Present at the meeting:
- Councillor G M Bretherton
- Councillor R J Derricutt
- Councillor I A Franzen
- Councillor Mrs J Hurst
- Councillor C Rigby
- Councillor M W Winstanley
146.1 Apologies for absence: Councillors Mrs S Loudon, N R Whittingham and R Winkworth.
146.2 Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of this Select Committee held on 10 January 2008 were approved as a correct record.
146.3 18 Weeks - end waiting, change lives: The Select Committee was given a presentation by Paul Carroll from Ashton, Leigh and Wigan PCT on ‘18 Weeks - end waiting, change lives.’ The presentation was followed by a question and answer session.
Resolved: The Select Committee:
- thanks Paul Carroll for his presentation; and
- agrees that additional questions about the presentation could be passed through D Taylor.
146.4 Update on topic: D Taylor gave an update on the health inequalities topic.
Resolved: The Select Committee thanks D Taylor for this update.
146.5 Developing Annual Health Check 2008 Consultation: D Taylor briefed the Select Committee about the consultation. This was followed by a discussion on the Select Committees response to the consultation.
Resolved: The Select Committee:
- thanks D Taylor for her briefing; and
- agrees that D Taylor was to send the response to the consultation on the Select Committee’s behalf.
146.6 Annual Report: Councillor G M Bretherton briefed members on what would be covered by the Select Committee’s annual report.
Resolved: The Select Committee:
- thanks Councillor G M Bretherton for this briefing; and
- agrees that D Taylor would draft the annual report and circulate this to Members for agreement.
146.7 Any other business:
(a) Annual Health Check: D Taylor briefed members on the Annual Health Check that the Select Committee responded to for the Primary Care Trust, the Acute Trust and the Mental Health Trust.
Resolved: The Select Committee:
- thanks D Taylor for her briefing; and
- agrees that there would be an additional meeting that the Primary Care Trust, the Acute Trust and Mental Health Trust would be invited to attend.
- agrees that the Primary Care Trust, the Acute Trust and Mental Health Trust would be asked to provide a briefing prior to their presentations at the meeting.
(b) Dentistry: There was a discussion about the Select Committee’s dentistry review and the safety issue of fluoridisation.
Resolved: The Select Committee agrees that D Taylor will contact the PCT for an update.
(c) Podiatry: There was a discussion about the changes that had been implemented for Podiatry Services.
Resolved: The Select Committee agrees that D Taylor should contact the PCT for an update.
146.8 Date and time of next meeting: Resolved: The next meeting of this Select Committee will be held on 13 March 2008 at 6.00 p m at Wigan Town Hall.
Chairman
147 Select Committee No 4 minutes – 13 March 2008: The minutes of the meeting of Select Committee No 4 (Health) held on 13 March 2008 were submitted for information.
Resolved: The Committee notes the minutes now submitted as referred to below:
Overview and Scrutiny Committee Select Committee No 4 - Health 13 March 2008
Present at the meeting:
- Councillor G M Bretherton (Chair)
- Councillor I A Franzen
- Councillor Mrs J Hurst
- Councillor Mrs S Loudon
- Councillor C Rigby
- Councillor N R Whittingham
147.1 Apologies for absence: Councillors R J Derricott, R Winkworth and M W Winstanley.
147.2 Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of this Select Committee held on 21 February 2008 were approved as a correct record.
147.3 Foundation Trust Status and the Future of Wrightington Hospital – A presentation was given by Mr A Foster, Chief Executive of Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust. The presentation was followed by a question and answer session.
Mr Foster also updated the Committee on the audiology review.
Resolved: The Select Committee:
- thanks Mr Foster for his presentation and the update on the audiology review.
- requests that the Trust take a more proactive approach in future.
147.4 Annual Report: D Taylor briefed the Committee on the content of the Annual Report.
Resolved: The Select Committee:
- thanks D Taylor for her work on this report; and
- asks that the report be circulated for comments.
147.5 Standards for Better Health – Self Assessment: D Taylor briefed the Select Committee on the draft responses to the Ashton, Leigh and Wigan PCT, Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust and 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Trust.
Resolved: The Select Committee:
thanks D Taylor for her briefing; and
agrees that the draft responses be circulated and comments given to D Taylor.
147.6 Any other business: (a) GM Ambulance NHS Trust: D Taylor briefed the Committee on a letter from the Trust requesting the Select Committee for their comments on the ‘Standards for Better Health.’
Resolved: The Select Committee agrees that D Taylor respond to the GM Ambulance Service NHS Trust on behalf of the Select Committee.
(b) Mental Health: There was a discussion about issues relating to Mental Health.
Resolved: The Select Committee agrees that any queries that they had would be passed to D Taylor to collate and forward to the 5 Borough’s NHS Trust.
147.7 Date and time of next meeting: Resolved: The Policy Officer be requested to make arrangements for the next meeting of the Select Committee.
Chairman
148 Highlight Report on the Joint Service Centre: The Committee considered a report on the development of the Joint Service Centre from November 2008 to date. The Service Director - Business Transformation reported that the planning application for the scheme would be submitted shortly.
Members asked questions on the report and received appropriate responses.
Resolved: The Committee notes the report.
149 Invasive Weeds (minute 109 refers): The Committee considered a report on the progress being made to develop a fully co-ordinated strategy for the management and eradication of Japanese knotweed on Council owned land and the implementation of the recommendations as set out at Cabinet (Minute 37 refers). A copy of the action plan to develop a ‘One Council’ approach to the management of Japanese knotweed was attached to the report.
Members asked questions on the report and received appropriate responses. Several Members referred to individual cases of Japanese knotweed in their area.
Resolved: The Committee:
- notes the progress being made in achieving the tasks set out in the Japanese knotweed action plan;
- requests the Director of Environmental Services to report back to this Committee in October 2008 following the completion of the action plan; and
- requests the Director of Environmental Services to take details of the individual cases of Japanese knotweed and report back to the Members concerned.
150 Half yearly report on work of Overview and Scrutiny Committee (minute 82 refers): The Committee considered a report of the progress of the work of this Committee, which had become more proactive, positive and had evolved in line with changes to legislation and Council policy.
Resolved: The Committee:
- notes the report;
- awaits the full draft annual report, prior to its submission to Council; and
- welcomes the introduction of a work plan for the next Municipal Year.
151 Vote of thanks: Resolved: The best thanks of this Committee are extended to the Chairman, Vice-Chairmen and the officers for the excellent services rendered by them during the past Municipal Year.
Chairman
