Minutes:
The Chair announced that Cllr Peter Ripon, who was a member of the Committee, sadly passed away on the 20 December 2020 after a short illness.
Peter served on Sheffield City Council for 17 years representing Shiregreen and Brightside ward and latterly the Richmond ward. He was also the 118th Lord Mayor of Sheffield between 2014 and 2015.
He had been a member of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee since 2018 and served right up to his final illness.
The Chair had known Peter over many years and regarded him as a colleague and friend, even though they were in different political parties. He was a truly respected gentleman right across the chamber in Sheffield and the other councils in South Yorkshire.
C Marriott gave an update on the South Yorkshire Scrutiny Officers Network.
It was explained that the network provided an open forum to share best practice and learning and development provision. The group had Terms of Reference which included the sharing of annual work programmes for Overview and Scrutiny Committees across South Yorkshire.
The group meet quarterly with additional meetings as appropriate, the Network includes officers from Barnsley, Doncaster Rotherham councils along with South Yorkshire Joint Authorities Governance Unit to represent the Fire and Rescue Authority, the Police and Crime Panel and South Yorkshire Pensions Authority.
C Marriott had advised members of the Network of the referral process to the MCA Overview and Scrutiny Committee as set out in Article 6 of the Authority’s Order. The Order stated that any member of an Overview and Scrutiny Committee could refer a matter, including any members of the Combined Authority and its constituent councils.
Network members had been signposted to the SCR website where further details could be found along with a referral form.
C Marriott had made a commitment to provide Scrutiny Officers with a briefing paper after each MCA meeting to keep officers across South Yorkshire up to speed. Any suggestions on how communications could be improved would be welcomed.
The Chair thanked C Marriott for the update and commented that it was important that the work of the MCA complemented the work of the local authorities and that everyone was kept up to date with MCA decisions and vice versa.
The Chair noted that, at its meeting on 25 January 2021, the MCA had approved the Strategic Economic Plan (SEP). As the Plan was the core economic plan for the region which focused on growth, inclusion and sustainability he requested that the final version of the SEP be circulated to all members of the Committee to decide if there were any items to be brought to future Scrutiny meetings.
Action: C Marriott to circulate the final version of the Strategic Economic Plan to all members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
Also, at the recent MCA meeting it was noted that the Transport Levy had been agreed and remained at existing levels.
The Assurance Framework 2021/22 and the Monitoring and Evaluation Framework2021/22 had also been discussed.
The Chair suggested that, as this was an important document in the way that the work of the MCA was monitored, a workshop should be arranged to discuss the implications of how it would affect the work of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. Members agreed to this.
Action: C Marriott to arrange a workshop in late February/early March.
The MCA approved proposals for renaming linked to wider rebranding work allowing for a decision on implementation to be taken after May’s local elections.
Members agreed with the suggestion as it was felt more inclusive and would be worth the cost of rebranding and endorsed the suggestion.
OSC Members noted that the Mayor’s renumeration had been considered and approved by an Independent Renumeration Panel by the MCA on 25 January 2020. The allowance payable for the role of Sheffield City Region Mayor is £79,000 which Mayor Jarvis personally wishes to donate to charities across South Yorkshire. No allowance will be paid to the Deputy Chair.