Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room 2, at the Council Offices, Southfields, Loughborough. View directions

Contact: Nadia ex 4502 

Items
No. Item

14.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 109 KB

To approve the minutes of the meeting of the Commission.

Minutes:

The Commission noted that their changes to the Scrutiny Work Programme at the last meeting had not been fully recorded. Items that had been included in the previous Scrutiny Work Programme that had been outlined from the new work programme had not been recorded in the minutes.

 

The minutes of the meeting of the Commission held on 3rd June 2019 were approved.

15.

Declarations of Pecuniary and Personal Interests

No declarations were made.

Minutes:

Councillor Hunt declared an interest in item 8a as she worked for the right honourable Nicky Morgan MP and was due to attend a conference relating to Dog Control.

 

Councillor Snartt declared an interest in item 6 as the instigator of the Five Year Housing Land Supply Scrutiny Panel and as a subsequent member.

 

 

16.

Declarations of the Party Whip

Minutes:

No declarations were made.

17.

Questions under Scrutiny Committee Procedures 11.16 pdf icon PDF 83 KB

To deal with the following question on notice, submitted under Scrutiny Committee procedure 11.16:

 

4.1 Councillor allocation of funding during 2018/19.

Minutes:

The Commission considered the question asked by the member of public and the response received from the Lead Member for Communities, Safety and Wellbeing and the Head of Neighbourhood Services.

 

The Commission was satisfied with the information provided by the Lead Member and felt no further scrutiny was needed.

 

The Commission recorded its thanks to the member of the public for their question and asked that the response be provided to them.

 

18.

5 Year Housing Land Supply Scrutiny Panel Recommendation update pdf icon PDF 60 KB

A report of the Head of Strategic Support detailing the implementation of the Five Year Housing Land Supply Scrutiny Panel recommendations approved by Cabinet in November 2018.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Commission received the six-month implementation update on the recommendations agreed by Cabinet in November last year regarding the Five Year Housing Land Supply Scrutiny Panel.

 

The Chief Executive assisted with consideration of the item and advised the Commission how the recommendations had been implemented.

 

The Commission raised a query regarding a specific section 106 agreement which the Chief Executive advised would be answered outside the meeting.

 

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

 

Reason

 

To acknowledge the Commission’s consideration of the matter and that they had no areas of concern.

19.

Pre-decision Scrutiny of any specific financial matters to be considered by Cabinet

There are no items of this nature on the Cabinet agenda for the Commission to consider.

Minutes:

There were no items of this nature on the Cabinet agenda for the Commission to consider.

20.

Charnwood Dog Control Public Spaces Protection Order 2019 pdf icon PDF 322 KB

A report of the Head of Regulatory Services to approve the formal Notice of Intention to renew the Borough wide Public Spaces Protection Order for Dog Control (dog fouling, dogs on leads and dogs under control) under Section 59 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 willbeconsideredfor pre-decisionscrutiny in orderto makerecommendations as appropriateto the Cabinet.

 

 

Minutes:

A report of the Head of Regulatory Services to approve the formal Notice of Intention to renew the Borough wide Dog Control Public Spaces Protection Order 2019 was considered by the Commission (item 08a on the agenda filed with these minutes).

 

The Lead Member for Regulatory Services, Enforcement and Licensing and the Enviro-Crime and Dog Control Manager attended the meeting to assist with consideration of the item and gave the following responses:

 

(i)            Residents had been consulted through a variety of ways and the total response had been 322 which was deemed to be positive.

(ii)          The list of dog exclusion zones in Loughborough had been drawn up with the Environmental Services Team and the list was up to date but the locations with a dog exclusion zone had to be enclosed with a boundary on all 4 sides which may exclude some of the children’s play areas. Members were advised they could request for areas to be added if they felt they met the criteria.

(iii)         It was felt that the current mechanisms in place for controls dogs were working. The difference between dogs on lead and dogs on lead by direction was explained to the committee and they were advised that there had been a decrease in incidents since the last Public Spaces Protection Order was implemented in 2017.

(iv)         It was hoped that renewing the order would increase awareness of dog control in general, produce a decrease in dog fouling and to offer clarity of expectations for dog owners.

 

RESOLVED that the Cabinet be informed that the Commission supports the recommendations as set out in the report of the Head of Regulatory Services.

 

Reason

 

The Commission, having carefully considered and asked questions on the report felt the Cabinet should approve the recommendations set out.

 

21.

Bulky Waste Collections pdf icon PDF 268 KB

A report of the Head of Cleansing and Open Spaces to consider the introduction of charges for all bulky waste collections will beconsidered for pre- decisionscrutiny in orderto makerecommendations as appropriateto the Cabinet.

 

Minutes:

A report of the Head of Cleansing and Open Spaces to consider the introduction of charges for all bulky waste collections was submitted to the Commission for scrutiny (item 08b on the agenda filed with these minutes).

 

The Lead Member for Performance of Major Contracts and the Head of Cleansing and Open Spaces attended the meeting to assist with consideration of the item and gave the following responses:

 

(i)            The last two years of fly tipping data had been collated which showed an increase in the number of cases which followed the national trend but also showed that even under the current free system fly tipping still occurred.

(ii)          There was some discussion about the £20 charge proposed for collections. There was concern that residents on lower incomes would find it difficult to pay for collections and this might result in further fly tipping occurring.

(iii)         The Commission felt that more could be done to promote recycling and reuse of items in the Borough and suggested that a promotional a campaign be undertaken alongside the new collection scheme to raise awareness of local charities and places where residents could take items for recycling.

(iv)         The option of a means tested charging scheme was discussed but it was felt that it would be too labour intensive to administer, and a single charge would be easier.

 

RESOLVED

 

1.    That the review period for the implementation of the charge be undertaken in 6 months instead of 12 months’ time.

 

2.    That the first collection for all residents be free of charge.

 

3.    That the Cabinet be informed that the Commission supports the recommendations as set out in the report of the Head of Cleansing and Open Spaces subject to the above amendments.

 

Reasons

 

1.    To shorten the review period in case any changes need to be made to the scheme.

 

2.    To help alleviate concerns over the cost implications for residents.

 

3.    The Commission, having carefully considered and asked questions on the report felt the Cabinet should approve the recommendations set out.

 

 

22.

Scrutiny Commission Pre-decision Scrutiny - Cabinet Response pdf icon PDF 64 KB

A report of the Cabinet setting out its responses to recommendations of the Committee on pre-decision scrutiny items.

Minutes:

A report of the Cabinet was considered setting out its responses to the recommendations of the Commission on pre-decision scrutiny items (item 7 on the agenda filed with these minutes).    

 

RESOLVED that the Cabinet’s responses to the Commission’s recommendations be noted.

 

Reason

 

The Commission was satisfied that it added value where appropriate and welcomed the Cabinet’s consideration of the Commission’s views and recommendations as part of its decision making process.

 

23.

Progress with Panel work

At present there are no panels in operation.

 

Minutes:

There were no active Scrutiny Panels for the Commission to review at this time.

24.

Scrutiny Work Programme pdf icon PDF 59 KB

A report of the Head of Strategic Support providing the Commission with a progress update on their Scrutiny Panel suggestions made at the last meeting.

 

Any actions agreed will be added to the Scrutiny Work Programme.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Commission received a report detailing the progress made since the last meeting to their suggestions for Scrutiny Panels.

The Chair explained that following the last meeting they had met with the Vice-Chair, Lead Officer and the Democratic Services Manager to discuss all the topics suggested and agree on relevant actions.

 

The Commission discussed all the topics and how best to progress the suggestions.

 

RESOLVED

 

1.         That the Chair and Vice-chair of the Scrutiny Commission would meet in good time before the next meeting to set out the scope for each topic suggestion, the type of Scrutiny Panel to take place and the timeframe for each potential Scrutiny Panel to begin.

2.         That following its completion the topic selection table be sent to the Scrutiny Commission members to consider and comment on the actions suggested, before the next meeting.

3          That the revised topic selection table be presented at the Scrutiny Commission’s next meeting for approval.

 

Reasons

 

1. To provide the Chair and Vice-Chair delegated authority to develop the scoping information for the Scrutiny Panel suggestions.

2. To give the Scrutiny Commission members time to input into the Scrutiny Panel topic selections.

3. To enable the Scrutiny Commission to agree on their priorities for Scrutiny Panels which can then be disseminated to the three service based Scrutiny Committees.

25.

Scrutiny Commission Work Programme pdf icon PDF 49 KB

A report of the Head of Strategic Support setting out the list of forthcoming Executive Key Decisions and the Group’s Work Programme for consideration, in order to identify items for future scrutiny.

 

                                                                       

Additional documents:

Minutes:

A report of the Head of Strategic Support was considered, to enable the Commission to consider its work programme and forthcoming Key Decisions and decisions to be taken in private by the Cabinet in order to schedule items for pre-decision scrutiny (item 12 on the agenda filed with these minutes).

 

RESOLVED

 

1.            that forthcoming Executive Key Decisions or decisions to be taken in private by the Executive, set out in Appendix 2 to the report, and scheduled scrutiny of those matters, be noted, and that further items be scheduled for scrutiny at the point the Democratic Services Officer sends out the list of Cabinet reports for selection by the Scrutiny Commission.

 

2.            that the Group’s current work programme be noted and updated following this meeting, in accordance with the decisions taken during consideration of this item and at this meeting and any items of pre-decision scrutiny that require changing due to their reprogramming by the Cabinet.

 

Reasons

 

1.            To ensure timely and effective scrutiny.

 

2.            To ensure effective and timely scrutiny, either to provide Cabinet with advice prior to it taking a decision or to ensure that the Council and external public service providers and partners were operating effectively for the benefit of the Borough

26.

Exempt Information

It is recommended that members of the public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the following item on the grounds that it will involve the likely disclosureof exemptinformation asdefined inParagraph 3of Part1 ofSchedule 12A tothe LocalGovernment Act1972 andit isconsidered thatthe publicinterest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

 

 

Minutes:

RESOLVED that members of the public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the following item on the grounds that it would involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 and it is considered that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

 

27.

Disposal of Charnwood Campus Option and Sale of Adjoining Land

An exempt report of the Strategic Director for Corporate Services to consider the disposal of the Council's option in land at Charnwood Campus and an adjoining piece of land will beconsidered for pre- decisionscrutiny inorderto makerecommendations as appropriateto the Cabinet.

 

 

Minutes:

An exemptreport of theStrategic Director of Corporate Serviceswasconsideredregardingthe disposal of the Council’s option in land at Charnwood Campus and an adjoining piece of land(item14on the agendafiledwith theseminutes).

 

The Strategic Director for Corporate Servicesattendedthemeeting toassistwith consideration of theitem.

 

AsummaryoftheGroup’sdiscussiononthismatteris providedin theexempt minute(Scrutiny Commission 27E 2019/20).

 

RESOLVEDthat theCabinetbeinformedthat theCommission supportsthe recommendations as set out in the report of the Strategic Director for Corporate Services, but some members of the committee were of the opinion that there were other potential commercial uses possible for the land and that these should be fully considered as alternatives to the proposed sale.

 

Reason

 

The Commission, having carefully considered and asked questions on the report felt Cabinet should approve the recommendations set out in the report subject to the alternatives identified by some members.