Agenda item

The Leader will attend the meeting in order to be held to account for matters within the remit of this committee. 

Discussion:

The Leader of the Council had given information in a report about achievements within his portfolio during the past year and the committee asked him questions about these, which included:

·        Thanks to staff in the Democratic Services team, especially those who assisted with in-depth reviews

·        A request for more support within the Democratic Services team to enable Members to hold more meetings and in-depth reviews

·        Police and Crime Commissioner election – what more could have been done to encourage voters to turn out for this election

·        Concern at the 5% decrease in the number of residents on the electoral register

·        The challenge of holding elections in 2015 with three different elections (general, local and parish) and whether work had started towards these, with consideration of best practice elsewhere

·        Individual Electoral Registration (IER) – concern at how National Insurance numbers would be checked and the information stored safely

·        The Leader/Cabinet model of governance – consultation with the public

·        Review of the role and costs of the Mayoralty in Medway, as the budget of £140,000 a year did not compare favourably with similar size authorities

·        Future scrutiny of the Health and Wellbeing Board and public health

·        Concern for the Electoral Services team, as it would be undergoing the Better for Less programme at a time when there were national changes in electoral registration and during the preparation for the 2015 elections.

The Leader, Councillor Rodney Chambers, responded to Member’s questions and comments as follows:

·        The in-depth reviews had been very successful and he congratulated overview and scrutiny on the reviews that had been carried out in the past year. The Cabinet had taken the reports seriously, as evidenced by the fact that most recommendations had been encompassed in the final outcomes. He advised that he would like to see more in-depth reviews and also that the council’s overview and scrutiny function assisted more with policy development in the future

·        Police and Crime Commissioner election – this might have been more effective if it had not been held in November. It was, in effect, a local election so it would have been better if it had been held in May. This would also have meant that the cost of holding the election would have been reduced considerably

·        The new IER was meant to cut down on electoral fraud but it would create a lot of additional work. It was estimated that 60-70% would match the records held by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) but the remaining 30-40% would require further checks against local information and beyond that it would be the responsibility of the individual to respond to an invitation to supply this information. The system would be implemented on a national basis and there remained some issues over how the data would be kept appropriately and safely

·        The council prepared for the cost of elections by reserving money in each budget towards elections held every four years. As 2015 also involved a general election, the Electoral Services team had already begun preparations for this, which included whether extra resources would be required

·        the Council had considered the Leader/Cabinet model of governance in 2012 with Members able to vote on this matter. The Council had agreed to retain the Leader and Cabinet model

·        The role and cost of the Mayoralty was likely to remain the same for 2013/2014 but it was for Full Council to decide the future of this budget

·        The role of the Health and Wellbeing Board was the delivery of good public health in Medway and the overview and scrutiny committee’s responsibility was to look at all aspects of health and social care, whether public or acute provision. The committee also had powers to request the attendance of any of the health trusts that ran acute provision for Medway residents and he urged the committee to do so, if it had any concerns

·        The Electoral Services team had a statutory duty to fulfil which would be met during the various projects and programmes leading up to the 2015 elections.

Decision:

The Leader of the Council was thanked for his attendance and the answers he had provided to the committee.