West Lancashire Borough Council wants you to contribute towards delivering improvements that can benefit the residents of West Lancashire.

The Council is inviting you to submit topic suggestions for consideration for inclusion in its Work Programme for 2019/20. Through its work, the Corporate and Environmental Overview and Scrutiny Committee will bring forward appropriate recommendations to Cabinet and Council which can influence future decisions on policy and important decisions the Council may make.

Cllr Vickie Cummins, Chair of the Corporate & Environmental Overview and Scrutiny Committee, said: “Scrutiny is an important part of our democratic duties and I am looking forward to hearing residents’ thoughts and suggestions for consideration by the Corporate and Environmental Overview and Scrutiny Committee to assist us in setting a work programme for scrutiny topics that can help make a real difference to the Borough.”

Topics can cover any area of the Borough Council’s work and in some cases the work of partner organisations that might have significance for the local community in West Lancashire. The reviews carried out by the Committee provide a valuable insight into issues facing local communities and can assist the work of the Council. This can lead to significant improvements for residents.

Reviews in previous years have covered a wide range of topics including; Cycling in West Lancashire; Healthy Schools; Alcohol and Associated Problems; Speeding Traffic; Climate Change; Affordable Housing; Neighbourhood Management; Older Peoples’ Services and more recently Litter Bin Policy, to name but a few.

If you have a suggestion that you think might be suitable then please let us know. Email your ideas to member.services@westlancs.gov.uk or call 01695 585065. The deadline for topic suggestions for the work programme is Monday 19 August 2019.

Corporate and Environmental Overview and Scrutiny Committee meetings take place at the Council offices, 52 Derby Street, Ormskirk. So please come along and hear the discussion and findings. Dates of future meetings are:

· Thursday 10 October 2019, 7pm
· Thursday 5 December 2019, 7pm
· Thursday 5 March 2020, 7pm

Residents who want to speak on an agenda item must submit their request by 10am the Friday before the relevant meeting. Agendas are published on www.westlancs.gov.uk/coins a week before the committee.

The request can be submitted by email to member.services@westlancs.gov.uk or by sending it to: Member Services, West Lancashire Borough Council, 52 Derby Street, Ormskirk, West Lancashire, L39 2DF. Full details of the arrangements are provided in the Council’s Public Speaking Protocol which can be found atwww.westlancs.gov.uk/speak.

For more information about the work of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees please visit www.westlancs.gov.uk/scrutiny.