NORTH YORKSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

20 July 2022

STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN OF SCRUTINY BOARD

Scrutiny Board brings together the Chairs of the five thematic overview and scrutiny committees at the Council and the Older Peoples’ and Young People’s Champions.  It provides an opportunity for a whole council view of scrutiny activity, which avoids gaps and overlaps and helps establish a lead committee for areas of joint interest.  It also provides a forum in which the key performance issues for the Council can be reviewed and items for further scrutiny identified.

The scrutiny function was created to act as a check on and balance to the executive and it is a statutory requirement for all authorities operating executive arrangements.

Following the County Council elections on 5 May 2022 and the appointments to committees at the AGM on 18 May 2022, there were some changes to the membership of Scrutiny Board.  The Board membership is now as follows:

· Cllr Karin Sedgwick (Chair of the Care and Independence Overview and Scrutiny Committee)

· Cllr Andrew Lee (Chair of the Scrutiny of Health)

· Cllr David Ireton (Chair of the Corporate and Partnerships Overview and Scrutiny Committee)

· Cllr David Staveley (Chair of the Transport, Economy and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee)

· Cllr Alyson Baker (Young People’s Champion)

· Cllr Caroline Dickinson (Older People’s Champion).

The position of Chair of the Young People’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee had not been appointed to at the time of the meeting and will be considered at the County Council meeting on 20 July 2022.

As the first meeting of the Board in this Council, an election to the position of Chair was held and I was pleased to be elected by my peers to the position.  I look forward to working with colleagues on matters relating to the ongoing co-ordination of the overview and scrutiny role.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank former County Councillor Stanley Lumley for all of his hard work when he was both Chair of Scrutiny Board and Chair of the Transport Economy and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee and also former County Councillor John Ennis and County Councillors Andy Paraskos and Annabel Wilkinson for their contributions to the work of the Board.

There has been one meeting of Scrutiny Board since the last statement to Council.

The meeting of Scrutiny Board on 17 June 2022 focussed upon the scrutiny of the Q4 Performance and Finance Management Report, ahead of the members of the Board attending the meeting of the Executive on 21 June 2022.  Some of the issues raised at the Executive meeting by members of the Scrutiny Board are highlighted below:

· Is there a risk to the successful implementation of the new unitary authority posed by staff turnover in the district and borough councils over the next 9 months?

· What additional support will the Council be able to provide families experiencing economic hardship as a result of the cost of living crisis?

· What more can we do to ensure a supply of affordable housing for young people and young families in the county, particularly rural areas?  What opportunities does LGR create in this regard?

· What has been learned from the YorBus pilot and what are the next steps?

· Is the national hospital discharge framework creating unsustainable pressures upon social care as we have to put in place resources within 3 hours of a discharge?  If so, then how can this be managed over the longer term?

· Is the ‘Make Care Matter’ recruitment campaign having a positive impact upon staffing shortages across the care sector?

· What more can the Council do to support and promote more comprehensive health checks and screening through people’s life?

· What can the Council do to promote healthy lifestyles for children and families?  Establishing a healthy lifestyle at an early age will help longer term.

The annual report of overview and scrutiny for 2021-22, is included in the papers for the July meeting of the County Council.

Members of Scrutiny Board are next due meet at 2pm on 19 August 2022.  At that meeting, the Executive Q1 Performance and Finance Management Report will be scrutinised.

COUNTY COUNCILLOR KARIN SEDGWICK

28 June 2022