Agenda item

The Panel will consider issues arising from a Call-in request in relation to the decision taken by Cabinet on the 12^th October 2021, on the A62 to Cooper Bridge Corridor Improvement Scheme. 

Further clarifications in respect of the Areas of Focus will follow.

Contact:

Leigh Webb, Governance Manager

RESOLVED:

The recommendation of the Panel is to:

(1)      To refer the matter back to the Cabinet with recommendations for amendment as follows:

Relevant consideration

The scheme needs to demonstrate clearly how it fits with the Master Plan for the area and the wider issues for Bradley.

Clarity

Delegations and language within the report need to be clearer and reference that they relate specifically to the Outline Business Case as stated at the Scrutiny Panel meeting.

Officers recommendations need to be clearer in the cabinet paper to clearly set out that Cabinet were deciding on the Outline Business Case and that the Full Business Case would be coming back to Cabinet for approval.

Options

More clarity and awareness is required in explaining the stages and process of developing both the Outline Business Case and Full Business Case

A high-level summary or short narrative of the 30 options should be included within the Cabinet report for consideration.

The Panel recognises Councillor McBride’s commitment to future re-appraisal of contentious areas of the scheme

(2)    The Panel further recommends that the following Learning Points arising from the Call in meeting be considered by Cabinet.

a.    Clearer language needs to be used in reports to help people to understand the process of the different stages of this type of project

b.    Answers to the technical questions were provided at the Scrutiny Panel meeting, but these should have been answered at Cabinet prior to the decision being taken.

3. The Panel recognises the scheme has been an evolving process over many years and many areas have been addressed in informal processes and meetings but some areas, particularly in reference to the options available were not made clear in the formal report before Cabinet.
4. That future reports should be drafted using clear and simple language.

(3)                In In addition to the recommendations and Learning points relating to the Call in, the Panel requests a commitment that further regular reports be submitted to Pre-Decision scrutiny and the Economy and Neighbourhoods Panel as the scheme develops and progresses, to include issues around modal shift, air quality measures and community engagement.

The Scrutiny Panel considered the grounds of a call-in request, in respect of the final decision taken by Cabinet on 12 October 2021 in relation to the A62 to Cooper Bridge Corridor Improvement Scheme.

The three decision making areas which were the focus of the call-in review meeting were;

·       Relevant considerations – Issues relating to a number of unanswered technical questions

·       Clarity – In respect of the objectives and the measurable outcomes the scheme hopes to achieve

·       Options - No details of the alternatives considered were presented as part of the Cabinet report.

At the review meeting the Scrutiny Panel considered verbal submissions from councillors who were signatories to the call in and views from members of the public and ward councillors affected by the decision. The Panel also considered the response of the Cabinet Members and senior officers of Major Projects (Growth and Regeneration) to the areas of focus. 

The Panel considered everything that had been submitted in writing and verbally at the hearing. This included the background reports, information that had informed the Cabinet’s final decision and the responses the unanswered technical questions asked at the Cabinet meeting 12 October 2021.

The Panel considered the three decision options set out on the Council’s Constitution, that were available to it:

(1)  To take no further action and free the decision for implementation  

(2)  To refer it back to Cabinet with recommendations for amendment

(3)  To refer it back to the next Council, if the Panel considered that the decision was not made in accordance with the budget or policy framework

RESOLVED -

    The recommendation of the Panel was to refer the matter back to the Cabinet with recommendations for amendment as follows:

Relevant Considerations

The Panel concluded that the report and information provided at the Cabinet meeting held on 12 October 2021 should have been clearer in relation to what exactly the decision committed the Council to with regard to the Outline Business Case and what issues would return for further decision as part of the process for agreeing the Full Business Case.

The scheme also needed to demonstrate clearly how it fit with the Master Plan for the area and the wider issues for Bradley. 

Clarity

The Panel found that delegations and language within the report needed to be clearer and reference that they related specifically to the Outline Business Case as stated at the Scrutiny Panel meeting. Officers recommendations needed to be clearer in the Cabinet paper to clearly set out that Cabinet were deciding on the Outline Business Case and that the Full Business Case would be coming back to Cabinet for approval.

Options

More clarity and awareness was required in explaining the stages and process of developing both the Outline Business Case and Full Business Case

A high-level summary or short narrative of the 30 options should be included within the Cabinet report for consideration.

The Panel recognises Councillor McBride’s commitment to future re-appraisal of contentious areas of the scheme

The Panel further recommended that the following Learning Points arising from the Call-in meeting to be considered by the Cabinet:

·       Clarity of language was important and future reports should be drafted using simple and clear language to help people to understand the different stages of the process.

·       Answers to the technical questions were provided at the Scrutiny Panel meeting, but these should have been answered at Cabinet prior to the decision being taken.

·       The Panel recognised that the scheme was an evolving process over many years. As a result, some aspects of the scheme were addressed in informal processes and meetings but some important areas, particularly in reference to the options available, were not made clear in the formal report before Cabinet.

In addition to the recommendations and Learning points relating to the Call in, the Panel requested a commitment that further regular reports be submitted to Pre-Decision scrutiny and the Economy and Neighbourhoods Panel as the scheme develops and progresses. The reports should include issues around modal shift, air quality measures and community engagement.