Agenda and minutes

Venue: Virtual Meeting using Zoom meeting software. View directions

Contact: Becky Sanders,Case Officer - 01935 462596  Email: becky.sanders@southsomerset.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

167.

Apologies for absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Mike Lock and Rob Stickland. Councillor Dean Ruddle was present as substitute for Councillor Rob Stickland.

168.

Declarations of Interest

In accordance with the Council's current Code of Conduct (as amended 26 February 2015), which includes all the provisions relating to Disclosable Pecuniary Interests (DPI), personal and prejudicial interests, Members are asked to declare any DPI and also any personal interests (and whether or not such personal interests are also "prejudicial") in relation to any matter on the Agenda for this meeting.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

169.

Public question time

Minutes:

There were no members of the public present at the meeting.

170.

Chairman's Announcements

Minutes:

The Chairman reminded everyone that the purpose of the meeting was to consider and comment upon the Stronger Somerset business case, rather than to debate and compare the Stronger Somerset business case with the County’s One Somerset business case.

171.

Stronger Somerset Business Case pdf icon PDF 55 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Leader introduced the Stronger Somerset Business Case and conveyed her thanks to the officers involved. She acknowledged there were a number of ‘typos’ in the document and reassured members that the errors were currently being addressed and corrections would be made prior to submission to government.

 

The Chief Executive provided an overview and set the context for the districts’ case for the future of local government in Somerset. It was not only about financial savings, and it went beyond just setting up two unitary authorities. The districts’ proposal was different, and sought to be a more integrated and collaborative system of local government.

 

The Programme Director noted several questions had been raised at other meetings and briefings about why two unitaries would be better than one, and she provided members with an explanation and noted the benefits.

 

During discussion, members raised several comments and observations, including:

 

·         Members commended the work of the Stronger Somerset team for producing a very strong business case in such a short timescale, and during such challenging times. (Covid-19 pandemic)

·         Some members felt that the Executive Summary did not provide enough insight into the full contents of the business case.

·         Section 2.1 About Somerset - Some members felt that education was not featured enough throughout, specifically the issue of young people moving away from Somerset for higher education and better career opportunities.

·         Members sought clarity on the use of ‘combined authority’ terminology.

·         Members questioned the timing of the re-organisation given the current Covid-19 pandemic.

·         Section 3.3 Shortlisted options summary descriptions- A member questioned the difference between the current county/district structure and the two East/West councils for Somerset.

·         Members questioned the comparisons between East and West Somerset. i.e. economic. Are they fair?

·         A member highlighted some inconsistencies with area measurements throughout the report. Members suggested using either square miles or square kilometres but not both.

·         Some members felt the use of acronyms (i.e. PMO/RMO/SRO) and ‘management speak’ needed further explanation. Members suggested a glossary would be useful.

·         Members enquired as to if / when further engagement with ALL councillors would take place.

·         Section 4.2 Stronger Somerset cares - One member expressed concerns regarding The Children’s Trust, its numbers and complexity.

·         A member sought clarity on the recommendations around the role of public health in the new authority.

·         In general, some members found the document difficult to read and understand. Members felt some of the graphs (specifically Section 2.3 Drivers for Change) and scoring models (Section 3.4 critical success factors) were unclear and inconsistent.

·         One member commented on the font size, colour scheme and overall layout of the document, suggesting it was not particularly easy to read.

·         District Executive report Section 4 recommendation B- One member sought reassurance that this recommendation permitted the Leader or Chief Executive to make minor amendments only.

·         Some members felt that both councillors and the public were being asked to choose between the SCC One Somerset business case, and the Districts Stronger Somerset business case. Some members were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 171.

172.

Date of next meeting pdf icon PDF 26 KB

Minutes:

Members noted the next meeting of Scrutiny Committee was scheduled for Tuesday 29 September 2020 at 10.30am and would probably be held as a virtual meeting using Zoom.