Agenda item

To receive a report from the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development presenting a request for scrutiny.

The Board received a report from the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development, advising Members of a request for scrutiny from Councillor John Procter in relation to the decision-making process for the proposed introduction of charges for Party in the Park.

The Board noted that this was the first occasion on which the constitutional mechanism for identifying decisions which appear to have been wrongly treated had been invoked. Members were informed that, if the Scrutiny Board determined that the decision should have been treated as a key decision, it had the right to require the Executive to submit a report to Council (within such reasonable time as the Scrutiny Board specifies) setting out particulars of the decision; the reasons for the decision; the individual or body making the decision; and if the Leader is of the opinion that it was not a key decision, the reasons for that opinion.

In attendance to address the Board and answer Members’ questions were:

-  Councillor John Procter

-  Councillor Lucinda Yeadon, Executive Member, Leisure and Skills

-  Martin Farrington, Director of City Development

-  Catherine Blanshard, Chief Libraries, Arts and Heritage Officer

-  Andy Hodson, Head of Governance Services

-  Kate Sadler, Principal Corporate Governance Officer

Councillor Procter outlined his request to the Board. He considered that this decision should have been treated as a ‘key decision’ as defined by the constitution, rather than a significant operational decision. He outlined his arguments in relation to both the financial criteria and the significance of the impact of the decision on local people. He stressed his view that the decision should have been available for scrutiny by councillors, and emphasised the importance of this element of the delegation scheme agreed by Council. He highlighted the responsibility of councillors to ensure that the delegation scheme they had agreed was properly implemented.

In response, the Director of City Development outlined the consideration given to the financial and significance issues by the Chief Libraries, Arts and Heritage Officer in coming to the conclusion that the decision did not meet the criteria for a key decision. He circulated an extract from Article 13 of the council’s constitution relevant to the decision-making process. He acknowledged that there was a degree of subjectivity involved with regard to assessing the significance of the effect on communities

The following key points were raised in discussion:

·  The significance of the event as one of the largest free concerts in the country;

·  The expected reduced size of the audience and the reasons why people might not buy tickets;

·  Discounted prices and the allocation of 2,000 free tickets for young people living the most challenging lives;

·  The financial choices facing the authority as a context to this decision;

·  Agreement that delegated decisions should continue to be subjected to close scrutiny;

·  A proposal from the executive Member that cross-party discussions take place to explore the future sustainability of events such as Party and Opera in the Park, either through the scrutiny process or by an alternative mechanism.

RESOLVED – That the decision in relation to the proposal to introduce charges for Party in the Park was correctly treated and therefore no further action is required by scrutiny on this occasion.