Agenda item

The Chairman introduced the item noting that the Committee would soon be embarking on its next major scrutiny review and Members were encouraged to shortlist a number of potential review topics that could be explored and scoped out further by officers. Final selection of a review topic would be brought to the Select Committee’s following meeting.

The Committee went on to discuss a number of prospective review topics. Members highlighted an interest in the Council’s built assets, specifically the reconfiguration of the Civic Centre in Uxbridge, as a cross cutting scrutiny topic that fell within the Select Committee’s remit. It was noted that a large planned project regarding this was underway and that the Committee’s position could be more appropriate in monitoring the project rather than conducting a review of the ongoing development. It was agreed that the Committee could receive an information item on this and possibly hold a site visit to see the reconfigurations first hand. The Committee also considered a prospective review looking at decarbonisation of the Council’s buildings as the Council owned a number of large buildings such as the Civic Centre and Hillingdon Sports and Leisure Centre, and the Committee were interested in exploring the moves being made to become a carbon neutral council.

The Committee also sought to explore the possibility of reviewing housing maintenance activities and refurbishment of the Council’s housing stock, with the possibility of drawing focus towards how the Council responds to maintenance needs mid-tenancy rather than when properties were voided and matters such a rainwater management in housing blocks.

Another prospective review topic discussed by Members was a possible review into the Council’s approach to road safety, it was noted that this was an area which had not been subject to any form of in-depth scrutiny from Councillors for some time. The Committee highlighted their specific interest in how road safety was being managed within the vicinity of the Borough’s schools and the impact on school children.

A further possible review topic suggested by members was bus routes and transportation, it was noted that there had been a recent impact on residents due to changes in bus routes and scheduling which had left some areas underserved. The Committee were also minded to explore the Council’s fleet strategy with an eye to ensuring the progress made within this area of work aligned with the Council’s zero carbon commitments.

The Committee discussed the possibility of conducting several concurrent small to mid-scale scrutiny reviews rather than one major review throughout the municipal year. Officers confirmed that they would explore this approach for feasibility and would report back to the Committee at the following meeting. It was also confirmed that the Committee had shortlisted a number of review topics and that these would be scoped further with the relevant teams, with the Committee’s formal decision on a review topic, or topics, coming at the next meeting.

RESOLVED: That the Property, Highways and Transport Select Committee developed a shortlist of potential scrutiny review topic ideas for officers to scope further and report back to the Committee on feasibility.