The Overview and Scrutiny Committee were scheduled to meet on Thursday 11 September 2025 to discuss health contributions, the audio visual system at West Suffolk House, appointments to outside scrutiny bodies, the Cabinet's decisions plan, and the committee's work programme. Representatives from West Suffolk Alliance and NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board were expected to attend to discuss health contributions.

Suffolk's Primary Care Estate: Health Contributions

Representatives from West Suffolk Alliance and NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board were invited to attend the meeting to lead discussions on Suffolk's Primary Care Estate: Health Contributions.

West Suffolk House - Audio Visual System

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee were scheduled to review the audio-visual system at West Suffolk House, and a report was prepared to provide context for discussion.

The report, OAS/WS/25/014 WSH AV System Report, noted that in 2021, West Suffolk Council and Suffolk County Council commissioned a project to replace the AV system, sharing the cost equally. The previous system was 10 years old, had limited technology, required regular maintenance and had parts that were difficult to obtain.

The new system was required to adapt to the needs of the Conference Room at West Suffolk House, which is a flexible space used for training, hybrid meetings, workshops and public meetings. A wireless system was deemed most appropriate.

The requirements for the new system were listed as:

• Hybrid and webcasting using Open Broadcaster Software (OBS)
• Delegate units: 70 new wireless, battery-operated delegate units with integration to webcasting system and electronic voting
• Electronic Voting
• Management of meetings/events: Ability for the Chair/facilitator to see a list of delegates that which to speak and to control mics and audio from remote delegates.
• Support and Maintenance: A 5-year contract was required to include regular servicing, preventative maintenance and rectification of faults and technical issues within agreed timelines.

A pre-open market procurement was undertaken, and site visits were undertaken at South Cambridgeshire District Council, Norfolk County Council and West Northamptonshire District Council to view their AV systems. VP-AV was identified as the preferred supplier, and formal procurement protocols were followed using a framework agreement for AV services with Braintree Council.

The purchase cost for the system for West Suffolk House Conference Room was £161,000, which included reconfiguration of existing hardware, additional new hardware and software, and installation. The annual maintenance and support cost was quoted at £23,700 over 5 years.

A system at Mildenhall Hub was quoted at £70,000 plus annual maintenance, but a system was not procured because hiring AV equipment was identified as more cost effective.

An agreement with the supplier was signed on 10 February 2023 for the supply of the AV system at West Suffolk House, support and maintenance for a term of 5 years (until 9 February 2028).

The AV system was installed and first used in May 2023, and has been used for audio at all Council, Cabinet and Committee meetings. In December 2023, the system was used for the first time to livestream a meeting of Full Council, and Development Control Committee meetings have continued to be livestreamed since then.

Council officers engage with the supplier regarding the required maintenance of the system and to log faults for investigation and resolution. To date, over 25 faults have been logged and there have been more than ten site engineer visits to remedy issues and undertake maintenance checks.

The most common issue logged with the supplier since the installation was the intermittent interference with the audio during meetings. In June, the manufacturer issued a new updated software which included a fix to improve connectivity to its system.

Appointments to Outside Scrutiny Bodies – Suffolk Health Scrutiny Committee

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee were scheduled to consider the appointment of a full member to serve on the Suffolk Health Scrutiny Committee.

The Suffolk County Council Health Scrutiny Committee requires that representatives from the district/borough councils be drawn from their respective Overview and Scrutiny Committees. The report OAS/WS/25/015 Appointments to Outside Scrutiny Bodies Suffolk Health Scrutiny Committee stated that Councillor Andrew Martin had decided to step down as West Suffolk Council's full member representative.

The role of the Health Scrutiny Committee is to scrutinise wellbeing and health services across the county. The committee has 10 members in total, five county councillors and one co-opted representative from each of the District and Borough Councils in Suffolk.

The members appointed to the Health Scrutiny Committee must not also be members of the Suffolk Health and Wellbeing Board. The West Suffolk Council representatives on the Suffolk Health and Wellbeing Board are Councillor Rowena Lindberg and Councillor Margaret Marks.

The committee has also established a Joint Health Scrutiny Committee with Essex Health Overview Policy and Scrutiny Committee, meeting on an ad hoc basis, to scrutinise how NHS Suffolk and North-East Essex Integrated Care Board is meeting the needs of the local populations in Suffolk and North East Essex. The joint committee consists of four representatives from Suffolk and four representatives from Essex.

An extract from Suffolk County Council's Constitution, which sets out the terms of reference for the Health Scrutiny Committee, was attached to the report as an appendix.

Suffolk County Council Health Scrutiny Committee: Meeting of 1 July 2025

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee were scheduled to note the agenda pack from the Suffolk County Council Health Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 1 July 2025.

The report OAS/WS/25/016 SCC Health Scrutiny Committee Report noted that neither of West Suffolk Council's appointed representatives were able to attend the meeting.

The agenda included the election of a vice chairman, public questions, apologies for absence, declarations of interest, minutes of the previous meeting and the following items:

• NHS Transition Update
• Social Prescribing Initiatives in Suffolk
• Health Scrutiny Committee Appointments
• Standing Item – Reports from Board Observers
• Information Bulletin
• Forward Work Programme

Cabinet Decisions Plan: 1 September 2025 to 31 May 2026

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee were scheduled to review the Cabinet's Decisions Plan for the period 1 September 2025 to 31 May 2026.

The report OAS/WS/25/017 Decisions Plan Report stated that part of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee's role is to hold the Cabinet to account for the discharge of its functions.

The Committee were invited to identify items within the Decisions Plan on which they would like to receive further information, or which they feel might benefit from the Committee's involvement during the coming year.

The Decisions Plan was attached as an appendix to the report. Items listed in the plan included:

• Catering and Beverage Services at The Apex and the Athenaeum, Bury St Edmunds
• Olding Road, Bury St Edmunds
• Revenues Collection Performance and Write Offs
• Annual Treasury Management and Financial Resilience Report (2024 to 2025)
• Treasury Management Report - June 2025
• Local Government Reorganisation
• Council Tax Base for Tax Setting Purposes 2026 to 2027
• Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme 2026 to 2027
• Delivering a Sustainable Medium-Term Budget
• Treasury Management Report - September 2025
• Budget and Council Tax Setting 2026 to 2027 and Medium Term Financial Strategy 2026 to 2030
• Financial Resilience - Strategy Statement 2026 to 2027 and Treasury Management Code of Practice
• Treasury Management Report - December 2025
• Revenues Collection Performance and Write Offs

Scrutiny Work Programme Update

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee were scheduled to review and note the current status of topics currently scheduled in its rolling work programme for 2025.

The report OAS/WS/25/018 Work Programme Report included the committee's rolling work programme, with details of meeting dates, agenda items, and working groups.

The current position of the work programme, including any Task and Finish Group(s) or Review Group(s), and items currently agreed was attached to the report as an appendix.

Items listed in the work programme included:

• Suffolk County Council: Health Scrutiny Committee
• Suffolk County Council: Police and Crime Panel
• Decisions Plan
• Work Programme
• Transport & Infrastructure Task & Finish Group: Recommendations
• Mildenhall Hub
• Section 106 and Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) comparison study