Agenda and minutes

To approve the minutes of the previous meetings, 8th August 2018 and 8th October 2018 (Call-in).

The minutes of the meetings held on 8th August 2018 and 8th October 2018 (Call-in) were confirmed as a correct record and signed.

The following disclosures were made:

(i)        by Councillors Miah and Seaton – personal interests in the discussion of whether to establish a scrutiny panel relating to the planned waste incinerator near Junction 23 of the M1 motorway as part of item 6 (Scrutiny Work Programme and Issues Arising from Scrutiny Groups and Panels) as members of Leicestershire County Council, which had made a financial investment in a waste incinerator.

No declarations were made.

No questions were submitted.

No questions had been submitted.

A report of the Head of Strategic Support to assist the Board in determining the Scrutiny Work Programme.

Considered a report and a supplementary report of the Head of Strategic Support to enable the Board to agree the Scrutiny Work Programme, including considering requests from other scrutiny bodies, a proposal to establish a new scrutiny panel and updates on the delivery of the Work Programme, to identify Key Decisions on which scrutiny could be undertaken, and to consider whether scrutiny of any procurement activity should be programmed (item 6 on the agenda filed with these minutes).

The Chief Executive assisted with consideration of the report.

RESOLVED

1.         that the comments made by the Performance Scrutiny Panel at its meeting on 21st August 2018 (Minute 16.1) in respect of the Zero Waste Strategy (set out on page 4 of the report of the Head of Strategic Support) be noted, and that scrutiny of the Zero Waste Strategy be added to the Work Programme of the Policy Scrutiny Group and scheduled for after the publication of the Government’s Resources and Waste Strategy;

2.         that the following recommendations made by the Policy Scrutiny Group at its meeting on 25th September 2018 (Minute 17.2) in respect of the Open Spaces Strategy be submitted to the Cabinet:

a)      that the Cabinet be asked to note that the fact that developers could choose not to offer open spaces for adoption by the Council and the increasing use of management companies to manage open space on developments as an alternative to adoption by the Council were of concern to the Policy Scrutiny Group;

b)      that the Cabinet be asked to also note that the Group identified the following particular issues with the operation of the management company model in addition to its general concerns:

·      the service charges that were levied by management companies could be significant for local residents affected by them;

·      there could be a lack of transparency in the way in which service charges were increased;

·      there was no consideration of ability to pay when service charges were levied;

·      there was evidence that maintenance work was of low quality in some cases;

c)      that the Cabinet be asked to draw the attention of local MPs and the Government to the issues identified above so that a change in the law could be considered to require developers to offer areas of open space to local authorities for adoption;

3.         that the Customer Services Strategy and the Housing Acquisition Policy be added to the Work Programme of the Policy Scrutiny Group;

4.         that, having considered the submitted scope document, set out in Appendix 4 to the report, no further action be taken in respect of establishing a scrutiny panel to consider the likely impacts of the planned waste incinerator near Junction 23 of the M1 motorway;

5.         that the forthcoming Executive Key Decisions or decisions to be taken in private by the Executive, set out in Appendix 1 submitted as a supplementary report, be noted, and that items be added to the Scrutiny Work Programme as follows:

·      Housing Development Company (Policy Scrutiny Group, 13th November  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.

A report of the Five Year Housing Supply Scrutiny Panel setting out its findings and recommendations.

Considered a report of the Five Year Housing Supply Scrutiny Panel setting out its findings and recommendations (item 7 on the agenda filed with these minutes).

The Chair of the Panel (Councillor Seaton) introduced the report and the Chief Executive and the Democratic Services Manager assisted with consideration of the report.

RESOLVED

1.            that the report be noted;

2.            that the conclusions, recommendations and reasons of the Panel be amended and confirmed as follows:

(i)        Recommendation to the Cabinet 1: That the Council’s Business Plan be amended to include the five year housing supply figure as one of the Council’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).  REASON: To ensure the figures are reported and monitored corporately and by the Performance Scrutiny Panel on a regular basis;

(ii)       Recommendation to the Cabinet 2: That the Council’s Business Plan be amended to include the various deadlines by which planning applications of different types should be determined as KPIs. REASON: To ensure that the figures are reported and monitored corporately and by the Performance Scrutiny Panel on a regular basis;

(iii)      Recommendation to the Cabinet 3: That the Chair of the Panel and the Lead Member for Planning to write a letter to Government reinforcing the need for enforcement sanctions for non-completion of developments. REASON: To reiterate the need for more powerful sanctions for non-completion and delayed developments;

(iv)      Recommendation to the Cabinet 4: That a best practice review of the Council’s processes for dealing with section 106 agreements, reserved matters applications and pre-commencement conditions be completed to identify any areas of improvement. REASON: To ensure that those processes are streamlined and speeded up, therefore enabling permitted developments to begin more quickly, and to reassure Members that the Council is following best practice in relation to its processes;

(v)       Recommendation to the Cabinet 5: That the current review of the Core Strategy be completed in accordance with the timetable set out in the Local Development Scheme agreed by the Cabinet most recently on 15th March 2018. REASON: To ensure that it remains the most relevant for the residents of Charnwood and that the review is completed in a timely manner;

(vi)      Recommendation to the Scrutiny Management Board 1: That, if the Council’s housing land supply falls below 5.5 years, a quarterly report is provided to the Performance Scrutiny Panel and the Lead Member attend Performance Scrutiny Panel to explain what actions are in place to return the five year housing supply to a satisfactory level. REASON: To ensure that the figures are scrutinised by the Panel on a regular basis and any action can be taken if required;

(vii)    Conclusion not requiring further action 1: That the Panel believes a robust exit strategy should be in place to alleviate confusion and minimise delays when a member of staff leaves. This refers to project handover and IT tasks such as deleting email accounts and communicating any staff changes to Members as well as officers.  The Head of Planning and Regeneration has been asked  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25.