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Epping Forest District Councillors met on Tuesday 16 July at an Overview and Scrutiny meeting to oversee key Cabinet decisions and allocate roles for a new task and finish panel on waste and recycling. They also discussed the annual report and proposed subjects for scrutiny for the year 2019 – 2020.
Key Cabinet decisions
Councillors took the opportunity to review the current programme of key Cabinet decisions and identify appropriate matters for the Overview and Scrutiny work programme for the coming year.
Waste and Recycling scrutiny
A Waste Management Task and Finish Panel has been set up to support a review of the Council’s waste and recycling service this year.
The panel will explore the possibility of introducing a third wheelie bin to replace recycling sacks, improving provision of waste and recycling containers on our high streets and the future of food and garden waste collection among other matters.
A number of appointments were made to the panel. Conservative Councillors Les Burrows and Sheree Rackham were named Chairman and Vice-Chairman respectively.
Councillor Cherry McCredie (Conservative), Councillor Steven Neville (Green Party), Councillor Janet Whitehouse (Liberal Democrats) and Councillor David Wixley and Councillor Caroline Pond (LRA) were appointed as members of the panel.
Annual report
The committee agreed the annual report that provided a retrospective look at the Overview and Scrutiny committee’s work over the past year.
The report, covering diverse topics such as local bus services, the ‘Diz’ (West Essex and Eastern Hertfordshire Digital Innovation Zone), Super-fast broadband, Epping Forest District Council’s Youth Council, the Council’s People Strategy and Citizens’ Advice services, will be presented to full council on 30 July 2019.
The year ahead
The Overview and Scrutiny Committee will scrutinise the provision of local mental health services in the district this year – this is particularly poignant for the Council following a briefing to front line staff by Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust on 16 July about Mental Health Services in West Essex.
The future of our local high streets and adult social care also feature on the agenda for the coming year, with hopes for Essex County Council’s Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care to attend a future meeting.