Please contact: Emma Denny
Please email: emma.denny@north-norfolk.gov.uk Please direct dial on: 01263 516010
11 June 2013
A meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee of North Norfolk District Council will be held
in the Council Chamber at the Council Offices, Holt Road, Cromer on Wednesday 19th June
2013 at 9.30a.m.
At the discretion of the Chairman, a short break will be taken after the meeting has been running
for approximately one and a half hours. Coffee will be available in the staff restaurant at 9.30 a.m.
and at the break.
Members of the public who wish to ask a question or speak on an agenda item are requested to
arrive at least 15 minutes before the start of the meeting. It will not always be possible to
accommodate requests after that time. This is to allow time for the Committee Chair to rearrange
the order of items on the agenda for the convenience of members of the public. Further information
on the procedure for public speaking can be obtained from Democratic Services, Tel: 01263
516010, Email: democraticservices@north-norfolk.gov.uk
Sheila Oxtoby
Chief Executive
To: Mrs A Claussen-Reynolds, Ms V R Gay, Mrs A Green, Mr B Jarvis, Mrs B McGoun, Mr P
Moore, Mr J H Perry-Warnes, Mr R Reynolds, Mr E Seward, Mr R Shepherd, Mr N Smith, and Mr P
Terrington.
All other Members of the Council for information.
Members of the Management Team, appropriate Officers, Press and Public.
If you have any special requirements in order to attend this
meeting, please let us know in advance
If you would like any document in large print, audio, Braille, alternative
format or in a different language please contact us.
Chief Executive: Sheila Oxtoby Corporate Directors: Nick Baker & Steve Blatch
Tel 01263 513811 Fax 01263 515042 Minicom 01263 516005
Email districtcouncil@north-norfolk.gov.uk Web site northnorfolk.org
AGENDA
1.
TO RECEIVE APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
2.
SUBSTITUTES
3.
PUBLIC QUESTIONS
To receive questions from the public, if any
4.
(Page 1)
(9.30 – 9.35)
MINUTES
To approve as correct records, the minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny
Committee held on 21 May 2013.
5.
ITEMS OF URGENT BUSINESS
To determine any other items of business which the Chairman decides should be
considered as a matter of urgency pursuant to Section 100B(4)(b) of the Local Government
Act 1972.
6.
DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Members are asked at this stage to declare any interests that they may have in any of the
following items on the agenda. The Code of Conduct for Members requires that
declarations include the nature of the interest and whether it is a disclosable pecuniary
interest.
7.
PETITIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
To consider any petitions received from members of the public.
8.
CONSIDERATION OF ANY MATTER REFERRED TO THE COMMITTEE BY A MEMBER
To consider any requests made by non-executive Members of the Council, and notified to
the Monitoring Officer with seven clear working days notice, to include an item on the
agenda of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
9.
RESPONSES OF THE COUNCIL OR THE CABINET TO THE COMMITTEE’S REPORTS
OR RECOMMENDATIONS
To consider any responses of the Council or the Cabinet to the Committee’s reports or
recommendations.
10.
THE CABINET WORK PROGRAMME
(Page 11)
(9.35 – 9.40)
To discuss the Cabinet Work Programme and to consider the programme of business for
Cabinet, Overview and Scrutiny, and Full Council.
11.
2012/13 OUTTURN REPORT
(Cabinet Agenda 10 June 2013, p.7)
(Appendix A – Cabinet Agenda p.21) (Appendix B – Cabinet Agenda p. 22)
(Appendix C – Cabinet Agenda p.48) (Appendix D – Cabinet Agenda p. 51)
(Appendix E – Cabinet Agenda p.56)
(9.40 – 10.15)
Summary:
This report presents the outturn position for the revenue
account and capital programme for the 2012/13
financial year. Details are included within the report of
the more significant year-end variances compared to
the revised budget for 2012/13. The report also makes
recommendations for contributions to earmarked
reserves for future spending commitments. An update
to the current capital programme is also included within
the report and accompanying appendices.
Options considered:
The report essentially provides a final budget
monitoring position for the 2012/13 financial year, whilst
there are options available for earmarking the
underspend in the year or transferring the underspend
to the general reserve, the report makes
recommendations that provide funding for ongoing
commitments and earmarks funding for future projects.
Conclusions:
The outturn position on the revenue account as at 31
March 2013 shows an underspend for the year of
£185,662 which is being recommended to be
transferred to the Invest to Save earmarked reserve.
The final position allows for a number of underspends
to be rolled forward within earmarked reserves to fund
ongoing and identified commitments. The general fund
balance remains within the current recommended level.
Recommendations:
To consider the report
following to Council:
COUNCIL
DECISION
and recommend
the
a) The final accounts position for the general fund
revenue account for 2012/13;
b) The transfers to and from reserves as detailed
within the report (and appendix C) along with the
corresponding updates to the 2013/14 budget;
c)
Transfer the surplus of £185,662 to the
Restructuring and Invest to Save Reserve;
d) The financing of the 2012/13 capital programme
as detailed within the report and at Appendix D;
e) The balance on the general reserve of £1,745,452
at 31 March 2013;
f) The updated capital programme for 2013/14 to
2014/15 and the associated financing of the
schemes as outlined within the report and detailed
at Appendix E.
Reasons for
Recommendations:
To approve the outturn position on the revenue and
capital accounts for 2012/13 that will be used to
produce the statutory accounts for 2012/13. To provide
funding for ongoing projects and commitments within
earmarked reserves as detailed in the main body of the
report and to earmark funding for one-off costs in
relation to business transformation in respect of ICT
and Customer strategies.
Cabinet Member(s)
Ward(s) affected
Contact Officer:
Telephone no:
Email:
12.
Cllr W Northam
All
Karen Sly
01263 516243
Karen.sly@north-norfolk.gov.uk
TREASURY MANAGEMENT ANNUAL REPORT
(Cabinet Agenda 10 June 2013, p. 63)
(Appendix F – Cabinet Agenda p. 68) (Appendix G – Cabinet Agenda – p. 69)
(Appendix H – Cabinet Agenda p. 70)
(10.15 – 10.30)
Summary:
This report sets out the Treasury Management
activities actually undertaken during 2012/13 compared
with the Treasury Management Strategy for the year.
Options Considered:
This report must be prepared to ensure the Council
complies with the CIPFA Treasury Management and
Prudential Codes.
Treasury activities for the year have been carried out in
accordance with the CIPFA Code and the Council’s
Treasury Strategy.
Conclusions:
Recommendation:
That Council approves the Treasury Management
Annual Report and Prudential Indicators for
2012/13.
COUNCIL
DECISION
13.
Reasons for
Recommendation:
Approval by Council demonstrates compliance with the
Codes.
Cabinet Member(s)
Ward(s) affected
Contact Officer:
Telephone no:
Email:
Cllr W Northam
All
Tony Brown
01263 516126
tony.brown@north-norfolk.gov.uk
DEBT RECOVERY 2012/13
Summary:
Recommendations:
COUNCIL
DECISION
(Cabinet Agenda 10 June p. 74)
(10.30 – 10.45)
This is an annual report detailing the council’s collection
performance and debt management arrangements for 2012/13
The report includes a:
 A summary of debts written off in each debt area
showing the reasons for write-off and values.
 Collection performance for Council Tax and NonDomestic Rates.
 Level of arrears outstanding
 Level of provision for bad and doubtful debts
That COUNCIL approves the annual report giving details of
the Council’s write-offs in accordance with the Council’s
Debt Write-Off Policy and performance in relation to
revenues collection.
Cabinet Member(s)
Ward(s) affected
Contact Officer:
Telephone no:
Email:
14.
Cllr W Northam
All
Louise Wolsey
01263 516081
Louise.wolsey@north-norfolk.gov.uk
ANNUAL REPORT AND AMENDMENT TO ANNUAL ACTION PLAN 2013-14
(Cabinet Agenda 10 June 2013, p. 81)
(Appendix I – Cabinet Agenda p. 85)
(11.00 – 11.30)
Summary:
This report outlines the key elements of the Annual Report
2012/13 to be published in July 2013 for discussion and
eventual approval and presents the key contents of the report.
The Annual Report will present the delivery of the Annual Action
Plan 2012/13 and show achievement against targets.
Options considered:
Publish a text only version of the Annual Report.
Publish a version of the report suitable for a public audience.
Conclusions:
The Annual Report 2012/13 concludes that North Norfolk District
Council continues to deliver good performance.
Recommendations:
1) That Cabinet receives and notes the content of the report
CABINET
DECISION
2) That Cabinet give authority to the Leader of the Council
and the Chief Executive to approve the final public version
of the report.
3) That Cabinet give authority to the Leader of the Council
and the Chief Executive to approve the communications
plan for the Annual Report 2012/13.
4) That Cabinet approve the addition of an activity to the
Annual Action Plan 2013/14 as shown in paragraph 5.2
Reasons for
Recommendations:
Cabinet Member(s)
Ward(s) affected
Contact Officer:
Telephone no:
Email:
15.
To comply with the provisions of the Council Performance
Management Framework and local government best practice.
All
All
Helen Thomas
01263 516214
Helen.thomas@north-norfolk.gov.uk
RENEWABLE ENERGY – AN OVERVIEW OF THE SECTOR
(11.30 – 12.00)
PLEASE NOTE – THIS ITEM IS TO FOLLOW.
The report will be circulated within 24 hours of the Agenda despatch.
(Source: Steve Blatch, Corporate Director, 01263 516232, steve.blatch@northnorfolk.gov.uk)
16.
OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY UPDATE
Summary:
Conclusions:
(Page 14)
(Appendix A – p.16) (Appendix B –p.17) (Appendix C – p.19)
(Appendix D – p. 21) (Appendix E – p. 25)
(12.00 – 12.15)
This report updates the Committee on progress with topics in
its agreed work programme (attached at Appendix D) and
invites Members to identify any arising items for future
meetings. The Scrutiny Committee’s working style and role is
attached at Appendix E.
That progress is being made in some areas, others need to be
monitored and opportunities for scrutiny should be discussed.
Recommendations: That Members should consider any follow-up actions
required on these topics.
Cabinet Member(s):
Ward(s) affected
Contact Officer
telephone number
and email:
17.
Mr R Oliver
All
Emma Denny
01263 516010
emma.denny@north-norfolk.gov.uk
EXCLUSION OF THE PRESS AND PUBLIC
To pass the following resolution, if necessary:
“That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public be
excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they
involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph _ of Part I of
Schedule 12A (as amended) to the Act.”
18.
TO CONSIDER ANY EXEMPT MATTERS ARISING FROM CONSIDERATION OF THE
PUBLIC BUSINESS OF THE AGENDA
Agenda item no._______4_______
OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY
Minutes of a meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 21 May 2013 in
the Council Chamber, Council Offices, Holt Road, Cromer at 9.30 am.
Members Present:
Committee:
Mr E Seward (Chairman)
Mrs A Claussen-Reynolds
Mr B Jarvis
Mr P W Moore
Mr R Reynolds
Mr N Smith
Mr P Terrington
Officers in
Attendance:
The Corporate Directors, the Head of Finance, the Community Liaison
Officer, the Team Leader – Housing Strategy and the Scrutiny Officer.
Members in
Attendance:
Mrs L Brettle, Mrs P Grove-Jones, Mr P W High, Mrs A Moore, Mr W
Northam, Mr R Oliver, Miss B Palmer, Mr R Shepherd, Mrs A Sweeney and
Mr A Yiasimi.
Democratic Services Team Leader (ED)
1.
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Ms V Gay, Mrs A Green, Mr J H Perry-Warnes, Mr B Smith and Mr R Smith
2.
SUBSTITUTES
Miss B Palmer for Mr B Smith
Mr D Young for Ms V Gay
Mr R Shepherd for Mr J H Perry-Warnes.
3.
PUBLIC QUESTIONS
None received.
4.
MINUTES
The minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 20 March 2013 were approved as
a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
5.
ITEMS OF URGENT BUSINESS
None received.
6.
DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Overview and Scrutiny Committee
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21 May 2013
None received.
7.
PETITIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
None received.
8.
CONSIDERATION OF ANY MATTER REFERRED TO THE COMMITTEE BY A
MEMBER
None received.
9.
RESPONSES OF THE COUNCIL OR THE CABINET TO THE COMMITTEE’S
REPORTS OR RECOMMENDATIONS
None received.
10. THE CABINET WORK PROGRAMME
RESOLVED
That the report be noted.
11. OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY UPDATE
Community Transport
The Coast and Community Partnerships Manager had provided an update on the
funding situation for community transport operators. Discussions had taken place with
the County Council, Norfolk Community Transport Association and Victory Housing
Trust which had resulted in agreement that a wider review of community transport
services was required. The relevant parties would undertake studies in an attempt to
map transport provision across the District, identifying any gaps in service provision and
any development opportunities. As the work would take place during 2013/14, funding
for the current community transport operators that had been previously supported by
NNDC would continue as before. Members would be updated as the review progressed.
Health Update
The Health Co-ordinator had provided an overview of training provision on the use of
defibrillators. In response to a question from Mr P W Moore as to whether there was a
defibrillator at the Council Offices, the Scrutiny officer said that she would check and
report back to the next committee meeting.
At the meeting on 20th March 2013, Mr R Reynolds had requested further information on
training for care providers. In response to the information that had been provided, he
said that it would be helpful to have additional information on the way care provision was
organised across the District, particularly the management system that was in operation.
The Chairman agreed and requested further details on the care providers themselves,
whether they were private or Council run and how they were organised.
Slippage on housing schemes
The Team Leader – Housing Strategy was in attendance to answer questions. The
Chairman began by seeking clarification on the enabling budget. The Team Leader –
Housing Strategy said that it was funded from housing capital receipts - preserved right
to buy income and a percentage of VAT on Victory Housing Trust‟s capital spend to
Overview and Scrutiny Committee
2
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21 May 2013
improve their stock as required by the transfer agreement.. The amount of money from
right to buy sales has reduced, although there has been a slight increase recently but no
new tenants had the right to buy their homes.
She explained that the Council identified schemes that they wanted to fund and
encouraged housing associations to bid for funding from the Homes and Communities
Agency (HCA). This has resulted in previous underspends of the enabling budget as
schemes the Council has committed to funding have instead been funded by the HCA.
The enabling budget was committed to a number of schemes and there would not be
any further money for this budget. There had been some slippage on the following
schemes which are funded from the enabling budget:




Hempton – the contractor had gone into receivership before the scheme was
completed. It is now expected to complete in July 2013.
Fulmodeston and Barney – the site at Barney had been completed but as the
expenditure funded two sites, they counted as one scheme. It was anticipated that
the site at Fulmodeston would complete in July 2013.
Upper Sheringham – access to the site was via a privately owned road. It had been
agreed that vehicles could access the site but not services. This issue was now being
resolved but progress was slow. The scheme could not start until there was access in
place for utilities. It was now likely to slip to 2014-15 for completion.
Fakenham – there had been a delay due to bad weather. Completion had taken
place on 1 May 2013.
Members were invited to ask questions:
i) Mr P W Moore asked whether the Council was entitled to a percentage of any
disposals made by Victory Housing Trust. The Chairman said that he believed that
the receipts from these were invested in building new properties. The Team Leader –
Housing Strategy said that the HCA required that more homes were built with
reduced public funding. Disposals combined with the grants from the HCA funded
new homes enabled Victory to build more affordable housing.
ii) Mr R Reynolds said that he was very pleased to see the 24 dwellings at Fakenham
and the 7 at Hempton.
iii) Mrs P Grove-Jones said that the building of homes was down to the availability of
land and whether it was economic to build and that Housing Associations would not
commit to replacing disposals in a specific area. The Chairman agreed. He said that
the decision-making process at Victory Housing Trust was not public and not subject
to Freedom of Information requests. The Government was looking into changing this.
iv) Mr D Young asked about rural exception schemes and whether there was any activity
in the Salthouse and Weybourne area. The Team Leader – Housing Strategy
explained that a reduction in her team meant that she had lost the capacity to support
the delivery of exception housing schemes. From early June there was a new
temporary post in place and this would ensure that such schemes were moving
forward again.
Car Parking charges review
The Portfolio Holder for assets, Mr R Oliver was in attendance for this item. He
explained that the intention was to undertake a review once 12 months data had been
received. A consultation would take place with the town and parish councils and the
chambers of trade to discuss any issues and concerns. In North Walsham there was
the possibility of introducing a £1 charge for two hours parking. The over-arching aim
Overview and Scrutiny Committee
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21 May 2013
was to achieve a higher income but to ensure that it was more palatable for local
communities.
i)
The Chairman asked when the consultation would start. Mr Oliver said that there
was an initial meeting shortly and they would have 4 -6 weeks to respond. Any
proposed changes would then be built into the budget process. In response to a
further question from Mr P Moore regarding putting pressure on the town and
parish councils to respond, Mr Oliver said that he hoped they would respond
quickly but they would consider all input if it was not too late.
ii) Mr P Terrington said that a lot had happened since the increased charges were
introduced. He asked that the impact of new supermarkets on town centres could
be considered and that car parking income could be used to support struggling
town centres. Mr Oliver said that it was unlikely that car parking revenue would
be used to provide such support as the income went into the base budget. He
added that the Council would be wary of making a direct link to a particular town.
iii) Mr W Northam, the previous Portfolio Holder for assets said that any anger about
car parking charges had been galvanised by the press. There had been very few
complaints from the town and parish councils. The main issue had been about
the free car parks in North Walsham.
iv) The Chairman said that the construction of another large supermarket in North
Walsham could have an impact on car parking income. Mr Oliver replied that the
supermarket would be responsible for any mitigation.
Internal Boards
The Scrutiny officer had provided the committee with a list of all the internal boards with
details of attendees and meeting dates.
i)
Mr P W Moore asked why the Environmental Sustainability Board was listed as
inactive. The Scrutiny Officer replied that there were currently no meetings
scheduled for this board but that she would find out further information regarding
its future.
ii) Mrs A Moore asked why there were no members appointed to the Enforcement
Board. Mr R Oliver said that this would change shortly. The Scrutiny Officer
added that regular updates from the Enforcement Board went to Cabinet and
Overview and Scrutiny committee.
iii) Mr P Terrington asked about the appointment process for the Boards. The
Scrutiny Officer explained that they were internal bodies that were put in place to
support the work of the Executive and senior management. They were not
formally constituted and there was no standard appointment procedure in place.
Some boards had a flexible attendance process, with local members and the
relevant portfolio holder attending depending on the items to be discussed. She
said that it was likely that the terms of reference for the Boards would be
reviewed and standardised over the coming months. The Chairman requested a
further report to the Committee to update them on any developments.
iv) Mr P W Moore asked if the board meetings were minuted. The Scrutiny officer
confirmed that the corporate PA‟s minuted the meetings.
Changes to Work Programme and Future Topics
The Scrutiny Officer informed Members about the outcome of the Workshop held on 17
April to set the work programme for the ensuing year. A programme had been agreed
but some items had been moved to ensure that some months were not overloaded.
AGREED
Overview and Scrutiny Committee
4
4
21 May 2013
To approve the work programme for 2013/14
12. NEW HOMES BONUS
The Portfolio Holder for Financial Services, Mr W Northam, introduced this item. He
explained that the New Homes Bonus (NHB) was not ring-fenced and that trying to
allocate the funding to specific parishes would be very difficult from an administrative
point of view. It was important that all areas of the district should benefit and therefore
the over-riding principles of allocating the NHB funding needed to balance the loss of
core funding, the delivery of council services and the promotion of growth through
rewards or targeted funding.
i) Mr P Terrington asked why 50% of the NHB was allocated to the general reserve. He
felt that it should all go to new homes. Mr Northam replied that the funding gap would
increase over the next 3 years and the NHB would help fill some of this gap. It was
not possible to keep cutting back on staff or increasing council tax. He felt that it
would be more beneficial to use the funding to benefit everyone across the district. In
response to a further comment from Mr Terrington that there was currently a crisis in
affordable housing, Mr Northam said that the Council had done everything that it
could to encourage development, any further progress was now in the hands of
developers.
ii) Mr P W Moore said that he had sympathy with the argument that the books needed
to be balanced but new homes must be built for the council to receive the New
Homes Bonus. It was important that the planning system worked as effectively as
possible to encourage more people to build. He added that he believed general
housing was as important as affordable housing and that there was scope to allow an
easier regime on a temporary basis to free-up the system.
iii) The Chairman commented that although there was a target for affordable housing
this was subject to viability. Larger, expensive homes brought in more funding and
therefore played an important role. He added that he felt the target of 100 new homes
a year seemed very low. Mr Northam replied that bringing empty homes back into
use also generated NHB funding.
iv) Mr D Young said that the New Homes Bonus funding indicated how important
housing was to the Council‟s income. He added that he was concerned about slow
progress on recruitment to the housing team.
v) The Chairman commented that the NHB was only paid once houses were actually
built. The main problem seemed to be the gap for rural exception sites funding. Mr D
Young added that it would be beneficial if market housing could be included in rural
exception schemes to make them more appealing.
In response to a question regarding the future of the NHB, The Head of Finance
confirmed that it would continue. There was talk about its future as it was unequal
across local authorities, but for now it was within the Council‟s spending power.
RESOLVED
To recommend to Council:
1.
That the New Homes Bonus is allocated within the base budget from 2014/15
onwards (as detailed at section 4 within the report);
2.
That of the unallocated balance of New Homes Bonus (£1,201,097) 50% is
transferred to the general reserve and 50% remains earmarked within the New Homes
Bonus reserve for the delivery of the Council‟s Corporate objectives in respect of
housing.
Overview and Scrutiny Committee
5
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21 May 2013
13. ENFORCEMENT BOARD UPDATE
Mr N Baker, Corporate Director, presented this item. He said that the Enforcement
Board had been established to deal with long-term empty properties and to ensure that
all the enforcement powers available to the Council across its services were used to full
effect. This had two benefits - a social benefit in maximising the use of housing stock
and reducing blight and a financial benefit through the New Homes Bonus (NHB). In
addition, the Board was charged with looking at a number of difficult enforcement
issues, which were multidisciplinary in nature. Significant progress had been made in
the first six months with some long term problems being resolved.
The Chairman asked whether empty land and empty shops were included and whether
the same enforcement powers applied. The Corporate Director (NB) replied that for land
the powers were wide-ranging. For commercial property it wasn‟t possible to use
housing legislation but other powers of enforcement were available. In response to a
further question as to whether the process would be reviewed at all, he said that
sufficient powers had always been available to the Council but they had not previously
been used effectively and in conjunction with one another. In some cases, it was a
completely new way of working and progress was continually being assessed to make
sure it was working effectively. One result had been a better use of Council information
held on databases with cross-referencing between them, Use of the electoral database
had now been allowed for wider investigations and the work of the Board had raised
issues with the land gazetteer.
The Chairman then asked if it was helpful for Members to get involved and report any
empty properties to the Board. The Corporate Director (NB) confirmed this was crucial
and was a very effective way of providing local information on both empty properties and
other enforcement issues.
Members were invited to ask questions:
1. Mrs Pauline Grove-Jones sought clarification on the armed forces community
covenant and why no further action would be taken on properties where this applied.
The Corporate Director said that the Council signed up to the covenant 18 months
ago. It ensured that armed service personnel serving overseas would not be subject
to a heavy-handed approach. Instead they would be contacted informally and notified
that there was a concern. The important issue was that such personnel were not
disadvantaged by being absent whilst serving their country.
2. The Chairman asked whether there were different powers for dealing with empty
social housing. The Corporate Director confirmed that some powers did apply but
that the Council were working closely with Victory Housing Trust to ensure any
issues and concerns were being dealt with constructively.
3. Mr P Terrington asked if there was any progress on an industrial site in his ward,
Wells next the Sea. The Corporate Director said that he could not discuss this
individual case but that there were a few places where people were using the system
to remove properties from business rates or Council tax banding. Officers were trying
to work with the Valuation Office so that they would notify them before any such
properties were removed from banding. Historically there had been less incentive for
the Council to chase certain debts but officers were now considering using far
stronger powers such as putting a charge on properties, freezing business assets
and the use of injunctions. Buildings would also be more regularly checked to ensure
that they were actually empty and not being used for storage purposes.
Overview and Scrutiny Committee
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21 May 2013
4. Mrs A Claussen-Reynolds queried why some empty properties that were currently for
sale were on the list for the Enforcement Board to tackle. She referred specifically to
two properties in Fakenham that were adjacent and in a similar state but only one
was on the list. The Corporate Director replied that properties came forward for
different reasons – sometimes they were in legal „limbo‟ as far as ownership was
concerned. Also, people occasionally used probate as a reason for not taking action.
Consequently the Council was now checking every case to see if probate had been
granted.
5. Mr P W Moore praised the work of the Enforcement Board and said they were doing
an excellent job. He said that he would like to see them chasing some of the „big
boys‟ rather than aiming for small quick wins. The Corporate Director replied that
some of the individual properties being dealt with by the Board were owned by large
companies. There were also some big cases coming up that were not in the public
domain as they needed to retain an element of surprise.
6. Mr D Young asked about the resources situation for planning enforcement. The
Corporate Director said that an empty post had been filled and the team was back to
its full quota now.
7. Mr B Jarvis asked for a clearer definition of “dilapidated” property. The Corporate
Director said that it was rather subjective and wide ranging but that generally, it was
where the state of the property would cause blight or detriment to the amenity of the
area. In response to a further question regarding the ownership of several properties
on Beeston Common, he said that there were long-term historical issues there with
some old tenancies in place. He said that a strong approach was now being taken in
relation to these properties with both landlords and agents.
The Chairman commented that he was keen to see the response in the next update to
the introduction on 150% council tax for long-term empty properties.
RESOLVED
That the contents of the report be noted.
14. ANNUAL EQUALITY REPORT
The Community Liaison Officer introduced this item. She explained that the Council was
required under the Equality Act 2010 to publish data on an annual basis, demonstrating
how it fulfilled the Public Sector Equality Duty. The report highlighted areas of work that
were needed to ensure full compliance with the Act.
Members were invited to ask questions:
1. The Chairman referred to data gaps for creative industries and leisure. The
Community Liaison Officer said that the Council did not collect data around across all
the protected characteristics but that one opportunity to address this was though the
leisure contract which was due to be re let / extended in 2014. In response to a
further question about data for non-British people on the waiting list for housing, she
said that she would find out and provide the information.
2. Mr R Oliver asked why the data gaps identified in the 2012 publication had not been
addressed. The Community Liaison Officer replied that she had been on maternity
leave during that period and returned to work mid January 2013..
3. Mrs Pauline Grove-Jones said that there was a need to comply with the Public Sector
Equality Duty but it was not clear whether this was acted on. The Community Liaison
Officer confirmed that if there was no due regard to the duty then the Council would
be at risk of challenge for failing to comply. In response to a further question as to the
Overview and Scrutiny Committee
7
7
21 May 2013
practical use of the data, she said that services could use data that they already had
for business planning and other activity such as applying for funding..
4. Mr R Oliver sought further clarification on the possibility of challenge if the Council did
not comply with the requirements of the Act. The Community Liaison Officer said that
the Council should comply with the requirements but that she felt the risk was
moderate. The first year for producing the data was 2012 and the Equality and
Human Rights Commission (EHRC) had reviewed how well public bodies had
complied with their duty and prepared a series of recommendations for public bodies
to incorporate into their data gathering activity and that these were incorporated into
the Scrutiny report. She pointed out that the Council had previously been challenged
by the EHRC regarding gender equality and domestic violence and assumed the
EHRC would contact those bodies where it felt more could be done to resolve any
issues. The Corporate Director (SB) explained that the previous government had
placed a lot of emphasis on the equality duty through the Equality Act 2010, but that
the Coalition government had revised elements of the Act in line with their
commitment to reducing red-tape and bureaucracy. As with all public bodies, the
EHRC would review the Council‟s performance / position to ensure compliance with
the Act but the Council would need to take a view as to what it considered was a
reasonable and proportionate approach to meeting the requirements of the Act,
reflective of the needs of our communities. A number of upper tier authorities – ie
county and unitary councils which have social care responsibilities had found
themselves subject to challenge by the EHRC but there are clearly different issues
raised by the range of services provided by the District Council. The Council had
however previously been challenged under equalities legislation about the support it
provided to victims of domestic abuse / violence where much of the authority‟s work
involved partnership activity with a large number of partners and therefore required
evidence to be provided from or through partner organisations. In response to the
queries regarding data gaps, the Corporate Director said that a view had been taken
on the depth and detail that needed to be provided. He particularly acknowledged
that leisure services was a challenging sector to get data from – particularly around
the profiles of people using facilities such as local beaches and woodland sites;
although information gathered at sports and leisure centres could identify the profile
of users and whether there were gaps in provision which could be addressed through
changes to activity programmes – eg fitness courses aimed at women through
considering time of provision and the provision of childcare etc .
5. Mr P W Moore asked how you could obtain data on leisure usage without offending
people. The Community Liaison Officer explained that data could be collected via
monitoring of service users on an on-going basis but that a relatively quick and
affordable way to gain an instant insight into the profile of leisure service users was
through a survey but that participation would be optional.
15. PROPOSED DESIGNATION OF LOCAL DEVELOPMENT ORDER ON LAND AT
EGMERE – REPORT ON RESPONSES RECEIVED DURING THE CONSULTATION
PROCESS AND PROPOSED FURTHER ACTION
This item had come to the Committee at the request of a member. The Corporate
Director (SB) provided an overview of the report. He explained that the proposed
designation of land at Egmere was in response to the need for future development to
support offshore wind developments off the North Norfolk coast. The proposed site,
outside of the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty sought to protect the
tourist offering at Wells and avoid the cumulative impact of a number of developments
around the town of Wells and across the wider countryside. A formal consultation had
been undertaken on the proposals and this report summarised the responses and the
issues raised. These had been considered by Cabinet at their meeting on 13 May 2013.
Based on a number of comments received through the consultation process
Overview and Scrutiny Committee
8
8
21 May 2013
consideration was being given to revising the boundary and the commissioning of a
landscape visual impact assessment and habitat survey to ensure that any impact on
the local environment was fully assessed.
The Corporate Director concluded by informing members that the recent enactment of
the Growth and Infrastructure Bill meant that there was no longer a requirement for
Local Development Orders to be approved by the Secretary of State for Communities
and Local Government (CLG).
Members were invited to ask questions:
1. Mr P W Moore commented that the landscape impact study was very important as
opposition might grow as the project proceeded. Landscaping could alter the
character of an area so it must be right. He then referred to an issue over lighting in
the car park at the recently completed SCIRA development at Egmere and said that it
was imperative that any concerns were resolved quickly to avoid problems later on.
The Corporate Director (SB) agreed with the comments regarding landscaping. He
said that there had already been expressions of interest from companies looking for
sites to support the off-shore industry. In response to a further question regarding
enforcement issues once the development was underway, he said that all concerns
relating to lighting, fencing and landscaping would be addressed in the Design Guide
to be prepared in support of the Local Development Order. He acknowledged that
some of the existing development at Egmere was unsightly and said that there were
ongoing discussions to improve them.
2. Mr P Terrington, the local member for Wells, commended the Council for an
extensive consultation exercise. He said that he felt the site was ideal for industrial
development and that the road was adequate. He queried whether a Local
Development Order was necessary and whether normal planning procedures would
be more suitable. He also had a concern that the development was restricted to the
offshore industry and wondered where other industries fitted in. He felt that the
offshore industry only wanted to be adjacent to Wells so they could obtain access to
the harbour and that a traffic management plan of the road into Wells anticipating the
increase use of the harbour might be useful. In conclusion he wondered whether the
cost of the landscape impact assessment could be recouped via a s106 agreement.
The Corporate Director reiterated that the Local Development Order in support of the
offshore wind energy sector was seen as an opportunity for the District Council to
facilitate the diversification of the local economy and establish a skilled workforce. A
Local Development Order was more appropriate than the usual planning processes as it
was likely that there would be multiple applications and an LDO provided a single
mechanism to allocate a suitable area of land, simplifying the planning process for local
communities and investors through early consideration of issues involved in such
applications. In response to the concerns about Wells Harbour, he referred to Natural
England‟s response to the consultation which emphasised that the Council needed to
determine whether the development would have a significant impact on a marine
conservation site and that such consideration had previously been given to such matters
by the Harbour Commissioners in developing the outer harbour facilities. With respect to
the question asked by Cllr Terrington about whether Section 106 planning obligations
could be applied to the LDO, the Corporate Director said that the Council could seek
such contributions from developers towards any costs incurred in the provision of
enabling infrastructure (road access, utilities, structural landscaping etc) which were
specific to the site but that it might be more difficult to secure contributions for projects
being taken forward in the wider community eg contributions to affordable housing /
community infrastructure which were not directly related to the development. He
concluded by saying that the development at Egmere would not require smaller
Overview and Scrutiny Committee
9
9
21 May 2013
companies currently based on the site to relocate or that any other uses would
necessarily be excluded from investing at the Egmere location, only that such proposals
would require consideration through the normal statutory planning process.
The meeting concluded at 12.20 pm.
____________________
Chairman
Overview and Scrutiny Committee
10
10
21 May 2013
Agenda Item 10
North Norfolk District Council
Cabinet Work Programme
For the Period 01 June 2013 to 30 September 2013
Decision Maker(s)
Meeting
Date
Subject &
Summary
Cabinet
Member(s)
June 2013
Cabinet
10 Jun 2013
Out-turn report
Wyndham
Northam
Overview & Scrutiny
19 Jun 2013
Full Council
24 July 2013
Cabinet
10 Jun 2013
Tom FitzPatrick
Overview & Scrutiny
19 Jun 2013
Performance
Management –
Annual Report
Cabinet
10 Jun 2013
Debt Management
Annual Report
Wyndham
Northam
Full Council
24 Jul 2013
Cabinet
10 Jun 2013
Wyndham
Northam
Overview & Scrutiny
19 Jun 2013
Treasury
Management
Annual Report
Full Council
Cabinet
24 July 2013
10 Jun 2013
Leisure options
John Lee
Corporate
Plan Priority`
Delivering the
Vision A-E
Lead Officer
Status
Karen Sly
Head of Finance
01263 516243
Annual
Helen Thomas
Policy & Performance
Management Officer
01263 516214
Annual
Louise Wolsey
Revenues & Benefits
Services Manager
01263 516081
Karen Sly
Head of Finance
01263 516243
Annual
Annual
Duncan Ellis
Head of Assets &
Leisure
01263 516330
Key Decision
* Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (As amended by the Local Authorities (Access to Information) (Exempt Information)
(England) Order 2006)
11
Agenda Item 10
North Norfolk District Council
Cabinet Work Programme
For the Period 01 June 2013 to 30 September 2013
Decision Maker(s)
Meeting
Date
Subject &
Summary
Cabinet
Member(s)
July 2013
Cabinet
8 July 2013
Cabbell Park
Trevor Ivory
Cabinet
8 Jul 2013
Cabinet
8 July 2013
Report on Voluntary
Norfolk
Financial Plan
update
Duncan Ellis
Head of Assets &
Leisure
01263 516330
Rob Young
Wyndham
Northam
Cabinet
8 July 2013
Karen Sly
Head of Finance
01263 516243
Steve Blatch
Corporate Director
01263 516232
Cabinet
8 July 2013
Options for the
future of the
Building Control
Service
Community
Infrastructure Levy
(inc. Housing
Incentive Scheme
and annual
monitoring report)
Benjie Cabbell
Manners
Trevor Ivory
Corporate
Plan Priority`
Lead Officer
Status
Mark Ashwell
Planning Policy &
Property Information
Manager
01263 516325
September 2013
Cabinet
2 Sept 2013
Overview & Scrutiny
11 Sep 2013
Full Council
18 Sep 2013
Half Yearly Treasury
Management report
for 2012/13
Key Decision
* Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (As amended by the Local Authorities (Access to Information) (Exempt Information)
(England) Order 2006)
12
Agenda Item 10
North Norfolk District Council
Cabinet Work Programme
For the Period 01 June 2013 to 30 September 2013
Decision Maker(s)
Meeting
Date
Subject &
Summary
Cabinet
Member(s)
Corporate
Plan Priority`
Lead Officer
Cabinet
2 Sept 2013
Budget Monitoring
Period 4
Wyndham
Northam
Karen Sly
Overview & Scrutiny
Cabinet
11 Sept 2013
2 Sept 2013
Local Investment
Strategy
Wyndham
Northam
Jill Fisher
Overview & Scrutiny
11 Sept 2013
Full Council
Cabinet
18 Sept 2013
2 Sept 2013
Fraud Policy
Wyndham
Northam
Louise Wolsey
October 2013
Cabinet
7 Oct 2013
Rhodri Oliver
Full Council
23 Oct 2013
CCTV Working
Party –
final report &
recommendations
Nick Baker
Corporate Director
01263 516221
Cabinet
7 Oct 2013
Financial Strategy
2014/15
Wyndham
Northam
Overview & Scrutiny
16 Oct 2013
Karen Sly
Head of Finance
01263 516243
Full Council
23 Oct 2013
Status
Key Decision
* Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (As amended by the Local Authorities (Access to Information) (Exempt Information)
(England) Order 2006)
13
Overview and Scrutiny Committee
19 June 2013
Agenda Item 16
OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY UPDATE
Summary:
This report updates the Committee on progress with
topics in its agreed work programme (attached at
Appendix D) and invites Members to identify any
arising items for future meetings. The Scrutiny
Committee’s working style and role is attached at
Appendix E.
Conclusions:
That progress is being made in some areas, others
need to be monitored and opportunities for scrutiny
should be discussed.
Recommendations:
That Members should consider any follow-up
actions required on these topics.
Cabinet Member(s):
Ward(s) affected
Mr R Oliver
All
Contact Officer:
Telephone number:
Email:
Emma Denny
01263 516010
emma.denny@north-norfolk.gov.uk
1.
Introduction
The Scrutiny Update report is a standing item on all Overview and Scrutiny
Committee agendas. The report updates Members on progress made with
topics on its agreed work programme and provides additional information
which Members may have requested at a previous meeting.
2.
Progress on topics since the last meeting
2.1
Health Update
Following the provision of some information on training for care providers at
the May meeting of the Committee, it was agreed that it would be beneficial to
have additional information on the way care provision was organised across
the District, particularly the management system that was in operation. A
summary of care provision is attached at Appendix A.
2.2
Building Regulations update
At the Workshop held on 17th April the issue of recent changes to the
Buildings Regulations was raised. It was agreed that it would be helpful if a
summary of the changes could be provided to the Committee and they would
decide if they needed any further information. The update is attached at
Appendix B.
14
Overview and Scrutiny Committee
2.3
19 June 2013
Internal Boards
Following a request for clarification about the future of the Environmental
Sustainability Board at the meeting of the Committee on 21 May, it has been
confirmed that this Board will start to meet again shortly.
Ongoing items of interest to the Committee:
3.
NHOSC
The May meeting of the Norfolk Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee
was cancelled following the County Council elections. The April update from
the Committee is attached at Appendix C.
4.
Police and Crime Plan 2013-15
The Police and Crime Plan for 2013-15 has been published. It is quite lengthy
so a copy is not attached to the agenda but Democratic Services can provide
a hard copy to members that would like one.
5.
Your Voice
NNDC staff were given a brief demonstration of Your Voice on 30 May. It is a
membership scheme for people and organisations who are interested in
shaping local services by getting involved and sharing views. The Community
Liaison Officer has offered to give a demonstration to the Committee so that
they can gain an insight into the potential benefits of the scheme
.
6.
Changes to the Work Programme and Future Topics
The updated work programme is attached at Appendix D. The workload for
July is currently quite heavy with cyclical, mainly annual updates and reports.
Members may want to move some of these items to the September meeting.
A report on the Planning Peer review was initially scheduled to come to the
Committee in June. With the appointment of a new Head of Planning
confirmed it is now proposed that this item comes in October or November so
that the new postholder can attend the Committee and respond to any
questions relating to the Peer Review or the planning service in general.
15
Appendix A
Care Provision in North Norfolk
Information relates to care services for people living in nursing and residential care homes or
in their own home. Most care services support people who require care due to:
Old Age
Dementia
Mental Ill Health
Learning Disability
Physical Disability
In North Norfolk the majority of nursing, residential and domiciliary care services are
provided by private independent businesses, voluntary or charitable organisations. Norfolk
County Council transferred its residential care provision to Norse Care Ltd which is wholly
owned by Norfolk County Council.
Breakdown of care providers in North Norfolk (latest available figures)
Nursing
Residential
Housing with Care
Domiciliary based
in North Norfolk
Domiciliary
covering all or part
of North Norfolk
Norse
0
4
2
0
Independent / voluntary /Charity
8
54
0
3
0
21
All care providers are assessed by the Care Quality Commission for compliance with agreed
standards.
Norfolk Independent Care is an umbrella organisation representing the voice of the
independent care sector.
Norfolk and Suffolk Care Support provide support, advice and guidance to the sector
including workforce development.
Due to the increasing older age population with complex health and social care needs such
as dementia, demand for care provision for all sectors in North Norfolk is increasing. There
are a significant number of care staff vacancies of all types as people are not entering or
remaining in the care sector. There is a real concern as to the level of training people have
who provide care and the capacity of the sector to deal with the predicted increased
demand. This has resulted in a bid for funding which was written by NNDC but submitted
from Norfolk and Suffolk Care Support to the Coastal Communities Fund for £475,000 to
provide training hubs, support for the different sectors of care providers with the aim on
improving the sector, increasing recruitment, training and job opportunities.
16
Appendix B
Recent changes to the Building Regulations
The Building Regulations & c (Amendment) Regulations 2012 were laid before Parliament
on the 19 Dec 2012 and came into force, mainly, on the 6 April 2013.
These introduced changes in a number of areas and these are mainly minor in nature.
Dealing firstly with the technical aspects:
APPROVED DOCUMENTS
The Regulations themselves are supported by a number of Approved Documents which
indicate ways in which the Regulations can be met. These documents relate to specific
areas of control. For example Approved Document (AD) A relates to Structures, AD – B
relates to Fire Safety, etc.
Minor changes have been made to a number of these documents and these will have little
effect on our day to day operations. However there are two exceptions as follows.
Approved Document K – Protection from Falling, Collision and Impact, has been re-drafted
to incorporate matters relating to ramps and staircases specifically designed for disabled
people. These were formally contained in AD M which relates to all matters concerning
access for the disabled. Matters concerning glazing safety and formally contained in AD N
have also been transferred to Document K. It was considered that all matters relating to
protection from falling, collision and impact should be contained in one document eliminating
areas of conflict between documents, however, in essence the technical guidance has
changes very little as a result of this rationalisation.
Approved Document P – Electrical Safety in Dwellings. . This document has been slightly
amended to reduce areas of control where it was considered that the regulations were too
onerous and unnecessary on installers and their customers. It will also allow the Local
Authority to accept the work of unregistered installers where it can be proved that they have
the necessary expertise to install and commission their work or have it commissioned by
registered person or body.
ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS
Several changes have also been made to the administrative areas of our work and the more
important of these are as follows:
1. Amendments to the Energy Efficiency requirements.
These have been brought about by changes to European Parliament and Council
Directives and relate to major renovation of existing buildings, consideration of highefficiency alternative systems for new buildings, nearly zero-energy requirements for
new buildings and energy performance certificates. Once again it is unlikely that
these changes will have much effect on a small rural authority such as our own.
2. Amendments to Approved Inspector Building Control Arrangements.
Approved inspectors are our competitors in the building control field of work. If a
customer decides to use this alternative means of satisfying the Building Regulations
the controlling body (Approved Inspector) must notify the Local Authority (LA) that
they will be undertaking the function for that project. It does this by depositing an
Initial Notice with the LA together with other documents including evidence that they
have the required insurance to protect their customers. The amended arrangements
now require that insurance details and other documentation, which are consistent
17
Appendix B
with each submission made to a LA , are stored centrally and can be accessed and
checked without all the documents having to be deposited in a paper format.
3. Competent Person Self Certification Schemes.
These schemes allow certain suitably qualified and registered operatives to selfcertify the work they are undertaking without the need for the Building Control
provider to have any involvement. Prior to the introduction of these changes there
were 21 types of work which could be self-certified and include electrical installations,
boiler installations and replacement windows. The 2012 Amendment Regulations
extended these by three further categories which all relate to the installation of
insulation material to the internal and external surfaces of walls. The regulations also
require that the local authority store any notices and certificates given to them in a
retrievable form. As we already store these electronically or in paper copy we do not
need to amend our work practices in this regard.
4. Amendments to Local Authority Building Control site inspection arrangements.
When the Building Regulations were first introduced in 1965 they specified at which
stages of the construction process the Local Authority were to be notified so that site
inspections could be made. These ‘Statutory Notifications’ have remained
unchanged since that time and do not require us to visit the site between ground floor
stage and the completion of work. Obviously this is an unsatisfactory situation which
we recognised so time ago by introducing requests for notification at roof structure
level and insulation to roofs and walls before this is covered.
The amendment regulations remove the statutory notification regime and allow the
local authority to set out at which stages it wishes to be notified for the purpose of
site inspection on each individual project. However as the vast majority of the work
under our control is for domestic new build, extension and alterations we considered
that the current notification framework, with the additional notifications we have
already introduced, still holds good.
For the small amount of non-domestic applications we receive we will, where
necessary, inform the applicant and builder of the notifications we require having risk
assessed the situation and determined where the risk of non-compliance with the
building regulations is greatest and consequently the importance of our site
inspections is critical.
Mike Radley, Building Control & Access Manager
18
Appendix C
Outcomes and Actions
Norfolk Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee
11 April 2013
Agenda Report Title
Item
Number
Outcomes and Actions
Action By Whom
6.
The position regarding Suffolk County Council’s delegation of health
scrutiny powers to the Great Yarmouth and Waveney Health Scrutiny
Committee to be clarified before the next meeting of the joint
committee.
Maureen Orr
Members of NHOSC may wish to take part in an event organised by
the Centre for Public Scrutiny to bring together NHS England and
Public Health England regional and area staff with health scrutiny
members and officers. The CfPS has proposed holding such an event
in June 2013.
Maureen Orr
Include an update on the outcome of the Care Quality Commission’s
inspections of the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust and
the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in
the NHOSC Briefing in May 2013.
Maureen Orr
7.
New health scrutiny
regulations
Forward work programme
19
Appendix C
8.
Use of the Liverpool Care
NHOSC may wish to look at use of the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP)
Pathway at Norfolk’s hospitals again in 12 months time, when the results of the current national
review are known.
Copied to:Chairman of Norfolk Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (NHOSC)
District Council Members of NHOSC
Member Support Officer - Christine Byles
CCG engagement contacts (x5)
Health and Wellbeing Board support officer – Linda Bainton
Healthwatch Norfolk – Chris MacDonald
20
Maureen Orr
Appendix D
OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE WORK PROGRAMME
2013/2014
GUIDANCE FOR REVIEWING THE WORK PROGRAMME
In setting future Scrutiny topics, the Committee is asked to:
a) Demonstrate the value any investigation would have to the Council’s Community
Leadership Role.
b) Consider the relationship any future topic may have with the work of the Cabinet’s Work
Programme and the Council’s Corporate Plan
c) Be mindful of the public’s priorities.
d) Provide reasons for the investigation (so that Officers/Witnesses can assist Members to
reach an outcome).
e) Consider the outcomes required before commencing an investigation.
f) Balance the need for new topics with existing items on the Scrutiny Work Programme.
g) Consider whether it would be helpful to time limit investigations or break down some topics
into smaller areas.
h) Provide sufficient notice, where possible, in order that the Cabinet Member with
responsibility for the subject, Officers and outside witnesses/attendees can fully assist the
Committee.
Date of
Meeting
Topic
Officer/
Responsible
Portfolio Holder
Links with
Corporate Plan
Notes
June 2013
(Outturn Report)
Final Accounts
2011/12
Karen Sly
Wyndham Northam
Delivering the
Vision A - E
Annual
Performance
Management –
Annual report
Julie Cooke
Tom FitzPatrick
Annual
Planning Peer
Review
Steve Blatch
Benjie CabbellManners
Steve Blatch
Russell Wright
Requested by the
Committee
Renewable
Energy – an
overview of the
sector
Treasury
management
July 17
2013
Overview &
Scrutiny Annual
Report
Civil
Contingencies
and Business
Continuity
Update
Requested by the
Committee
Annual
Emma Denny
Rhodri Oliver
Richard Cook
John Lee
21
Date of
Meeting
Sept 25
2013
Oct 2013
Topic
Officer/
Responsible
Portfolio Holder
Links with
Corporate Plan
Complaints,
Compliments
and
Suggestions
RIPA/
Surveillance
Jane Wisson
Russell Wright
Delivering the
Vision B
Nick Baker
John Lee
Annual
Affordable
Homes
- Summary of
progress,
numbers being
built, average
prices
Nicola Turner
Trevor Ivory
Requested by the
committee
Waste Contract
update
Nick Baker
John Lee
Shared Services
update
Wyndham Northam
Louise Wolsey
Budget
Monitoring
Period 4 (April –
July)
Karen Sly
Wyndham Northam
Health Update
Sonia Shuter
Angie Fitch-Tillett
Delivering the
Vision E
Notes
Cyclical
Leisure Services Duncan Ellis
– overview on
John Lee
all the council’s
leisure facilities
to include usage
levels.
Requested by the
Committee
Performance
management
update Q1
Julie Cooke
Tom FitzPatrick
cyclical
CCTV Working
Party – final
report
Duncan Ellis
Rhodri Oliver
Tourism
To include a
summary of the
22
Date of
Meeting
Topic
season, stats on
visitors. Amount
spent on car
parking and
whether
increases have
had an impact.
Update from the
NNCCG – one
year on
Nov 2013
Review of Car
Park charges
Officer/
Responsible
Portfolio Holder
Sonia Shuter
Angie Fitch-Tillett
Jan 2014
Notes
Requested by the
Committee
Duncan Ellis
Rhodri Oliver
Police
Commissioner –
presentation
Dec 2013
Links with
Corporate Plan
Requested by
Committee (date to be
confirmed)
Performance
management
update Q2
Julie Cooke
Tom FitzPatrick
cyclical
Enforcement
Board update
Big Society
Fund Grants
Panel – update
on how new
body is working.
Projects being
funded and
whether they
added value.
Nick Baker / Trevor
Ivory
Rob Young
Trevor Ivory
Requested by
members
Update Housing
Allocations
Scheme (tbc)
Trevor Ivory /
Nicola Turner
Update on
Empty Homes
Policy, to
include an
overview on
how the Council
is progressing
with reducing
empty homes.
Waste contract
update
Trevor Ivory/ Nicola
Turner
Nick Baker
John Lee
cyclical
23
Date of
Meeting
Feb 2014
March
2014
Topic
Officer/
Responsible
Portfolio Holder
Links with
Corporate Plan
Notes
Shared services
update
Wyndham Northam
Louise Wolsey
cyclical
Environmental
Sustainability
Update
Equalities Data
Annual report
Performance
management
update Q3
John Lee
Peter Lumb
Annual
Kate Sullivan
Tom FitzPatrick
Julie Cooke
Tom FitzPatrick
Annual
cyclical
Health Update
cyclical
Annual Action
Plan 2014/15
Annual
TBA
Customer
Access Strategy
Estelle Packham
Russell Wright
TBC
Housing
Renewal Policy
Karen Hill
Trevor Ivory
Item on
All
Scrutiny
agendas
Scrutiny
Committee
Work
Programme
Rhodri Oliver/
Scrutiny Officer
24
Delivering the
Vision B
All
At Committee
Appendix E
Appendix C
Working Style of the Scrutiny Committee
Independence
Members of the Scrutiny Committee will not be subject to whipping arrangements by party groups.
Member leadership
Members of the Committee will take the lead in selecting topics for scrutiny and in questioning
witnesses. The Committee will expect members of Cabinet, rather than officers, to take the main
responsibility for answering the Committee’s questions about topics, which relate mainly to the
Council’s activities.
A constructive atmosphere
Meetings of the Committee will be constructive, and not judgmental, accepting that effective
scrutiny is best achieved through challenging and constructive enquiry. People giving evidence at
the Committee should not feel under attack.
Respect and trust
Meetings will be conducted in a spirit of mutual respect and trust.
Openness and transparency
The Committee’s business will be open and transparent, except where there are sound reasons
for protecting confidentiality. In particular, the minutes of the Committee’s meetings will explain
the discussion and debate in a balanced style, so that they could be understood by those who
were not present.
Consensus
Members of the Committee will work together and, while recognizing political allegiances, will
attempt to achieve consensus and agreed recommendations.
Impartial and independent officer advice
Officers who advise and support the Committee will give impartial and independent advice,
recognizing the importance of the Scrutiny Committee in the Council’s arrangements for
governance, as set out in its Constitution.
Regular review
There will be regular reviews of how the scrutiny process is working, and a willingness to change
if it is not working well.
Programming and planning
The Committee will agree the topics to be included in its published work programme and the
extent of the investigation to be undertaken in relation to resources, and the witnesses to be
invited to give evidence.
Managing time
The Committee will attempt to conclude the business of each meeting in reasonable time. The
order of business will be arranged as far as possible to minimize the demands on the time of
witnesses.
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