Dear Andy

I submit this written request for the following to be included in the Work Programme of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee pursuant to Chapter 3, Part 6.1 of the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules.

The Item.

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee examine and receive evidence on the procedures followed by the Council in respect of the Ivybridge Regeneration Project from its inception to the decision taken to cancel.

Following such examination and evidence gathering the committee submits recommendations to the Executive on policies and their implementation to be adopted in respect of similar projects to avoid any unnecessary costs and non-productive officer time.

Reason

The SHDC Constitution provides

 "The Principles of Scrutiny underpin the Council’s overview and scrutiny function. This means that scrutiny:  

•  Provides a critical challenge to Executive policy makers and decision makers; 

•  Enables the voice and concerns of the public to be heard; 

•  Is carried out by “independent minded governors” who lead and own the 
scrutiny role; and 

• Drives improvement in public services. 


The Overview and Scrutiny Committee is responsible for scrutinising decisions the Executive is planning to take, those it plans to implement, and those that have already been taken/implemented.Recommendations following scrutiny enable improvements to be made to policies and how they are implemented. The Committee is therefore to be seen as a “critical friend” rather than something that opposes the Executive" 

Emphasis added in bold to highlight those parts of O&S's function that are relevant to this request.

The costs of in the region of £500,000 arising from the Ivybridge project deserve scrutiny and in particular the procedures followed by the Council that gave rise to such expenditure. Such scrutiny will result in a recommendation to Executive on policies and their implementation to be adopted in respect of similar projects to avoid any unnecessary costs and non-productive officer time

Regards

Cllr John Birch SHDC Member for Totnes