Please contact: Emma Denny
Please email: emma.denny@north-norfolk.gov.uk Please direct dial on: 01263 516010
09 July 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 17th July 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.
MINUTES
(Page 1)
(9.30 – 9.35)
To approve as correct records, the minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny
Committee held on 19 June 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.
PRESENTATION ON MUNHAVEN, MUNDESLEY
(9.40 – 10.00)
Karen Knight, Managing Director of Norsecare Ltd will be giving a presentation on dementia
care at the Munhaven Care Home in Mundesley.
12.
MATERIAL RECYCLING FACILITY
(Cabinet Agenda 15 July 2013, p.12)
(Appendix 1 – Cabinet Agenda p.28) (Appendix 2 – Cabinet Agenda p. 30)
(10.00 – 10.15)
Summary:
This report outlines the process, outcome and implications of the
procurement which has been undertaken by the eight Norfolk
Councils for the future processing of dry recyclable material collected
at the across Norfolk. The process has been undertaken in
accordance with EU procurement rules to select the most
economically advantageous bidder.
The report also seeks authority to complete the final negotiations
and to enter into a 10 year contract with Norse Commercial Services
Ltd and for this to be then delivered via a Teckal-compliant Joint
Venture Company (JVC) which will be formed involving the company
and all local authorities. (Note: “Teckal”- compliant is a term used in
procurement for certain types of company owned or controlled by
public bodies.)
Conclusions:
The procurement process for the contract to deliver sorting, bulking
and sale of the household recycling material collected across Norfolk
has tested the market and returned a result which provides greater
benefits for residents and the consortium authorities.
The closer ties between the Councils, which have been forged during
the procurement and evaluation process, will be further enhanced
through the operation of the new JVC. This should provide additional
benefits going forward, through closer cooperation and future sharing
of information, experience and best-practice.
The proposed contractual arrangements will deliver reduced costs to
the Council through better service and ease of use to our residents,
along with environmental benefits from increased recycling
Reasons for
recommendations
Recommendations
CABINET
DECISION
To ensure that arrangements are put into place to process the dry
recyclates collected in the Council’s area from 1 April 2014.
To achieve an increase in recycling rates.
Cabinet RESOLVES to inform Council of the following
resolutions:
a) to award to Norse Commercial Services Ltd (“Norse”) a
ten year contract for the recycling of dry recyclable
material (being the enhanced contract with glass) pursuant
to the procurement process carried out, on the basis that
such contract be entered into between the District Councils
of the Norfolk Waste Partnership and the JVC (as defined
below);
b) to approve the entry into a joint venture shareholders’
agreement between the District Councils and Norse on the
basis of the Memorandum of Understanding attached at
Appendix 1 for the purposes of establishing a JVC to be the
contractor under the recycling contract; and
c) to approve the entry into such ancillary documents and
the taking of any further actions as shall be necessary or
appropriate pursuant to the establishment of the JVC and
the award of the recycling contract to the JVC.
d) to grant delegated authority to the Chief Executive
Officer in consultation with the relevant Portfolio Holder to
conclude those agreements and ancillary documents on
behalf of the Council, including any minor changes to
approve the final terms of the Memorandum of
Understanding and Contract with Norse and to conclude
such arrangements between the start date of the new
contract and the commissioning date of the new equipment
to be installed as are appropriate to enable the extended
range of materials to be efficiently and cost effectively
recycled
Cabinet Member(s)
Ward(s) affected
Contact Officer:
Telephone no:
Email:
13.
Cllr J Lee
All
Nick Baker
01263 516221
Nick.baker@north-norfolk.gov.uk
WASTE UPDATE
(page 15)
(10.15 – 10.30)
The report provides an update on the provision of services under the waste and related
services contract between the Council and Kier. The report reviews recent service levels
and provides an update on the progress which has been made in delivering the objectives of
the Council and provides details of the Improvement Plan for the year. Two significant
pieces of work are currently being undertaken relating to income growth and cost reduction.
Cabinet Member(s)
Ward(s) affected
Contact Officer:
Telephone no:
Email:
14.
Cllr J Lee
All
Nick Baker
01263 516221
nick.baker@north-norfolk.gov.uk
CIVIL CONTINGENCIES UPDATE
(page 20)
(Appendix A – p. 26)
(10.30 – 10.40)
Summary:
Six monthly update on Civil Contingencies and Business
Continuity Planning, the progress made to date, ability to
respond to any disruptive events that have recently occurred
and the outline of future objectives.
Recommendations:
That members note the contents of the report.
Cabinet member(s):
All
Contact Officer,
Telephone number,
and e-mail:
Ward(s) affected:
All
Richard Cook
01263 516269
richard.cook@north-norfolk.gov.uk
15.
16.
CUSTOMER COMPLIMENTS AND COMPLAINTS MONITORING REPORT
(Please note this report is to follow)
(10.40 – 10.50)
Summary:
The report provides Members with an overview of
compliments and complaints received by the
organisation during the period 1 April 2012 and 31
March 2013 along with an overview of recent and
forthcoming activities.
Recommendations:
It is recommended that Members note the contents
of this report.
Cabinet Member(s)
Ward(s) affected
Contact Officer:
Telephone no:
Email:
Cllr R Wright
All
Jane Wisson
01263 516096
jane.wisson@north-norfolk.gov.uk
OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY UPDATE
(page 29)
(10.50 – 11.00)
(Appendix B – p.31) (Appendix C – p.35) (Appendix D – p.36)
17.
Summary:
This report updates the Committee on progress with topics in its
agreed work programme (attached at Appendix B) and invites
Members to identify any arising items for future meetings. The
Scrutiny Committee’s working style and role is attached at
Appendix C
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 and suggest any amendments to
the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Annual Review 2012
– 2013 (Appendix D)
Cabinet Member(s):
Ward(s) affected
Contact Officer
telephone number
and email:
Mr R Oliver
All
Emma Denny
01263 516010
emma.denny@north-norfolk.gov.uk
COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE LEVY
(Cabinet Agenda 15 July 2013, p. 31)
(Appendix A – Cabinet Agenda p. 47)
(11.15 – 11.30)
Summary:
Options considered:
Conclusions:
This report explains the Community Infrastructure Levy, how it
relates to the process of securing planning obligations through
Section 106 Agreements as part of the planning process, and
assesses if it is appropriate at this time to introduce a levy in
North Norfolk.
Whether to introduce or not introduce CIL in North Norfolk.
The evidence indicates that infrastructure is required, that there
is unlikely to be sufficient funding available, and that a system
which requires developer contributions towards funding is
justified.
The growth which is planned in the district can be delivered with
or without CIL. Market conditions remain uncertain and delivery
rates of development are already below required targets. Many
large scale proposals are unable to deliver fully policy compliant
development whilst remaining commercially viable.
On balance it is considered that the introduction of CIL at this
time represents a risk to the development strategy and it is
recommended that consideration of CIL should be suspended
and reconsidered at a future date when there are clearer signs
of economic recovery.
Recommendations:
Members are asked to consider and RECOMMEND TO
COUNCIL:
That consideration of the potential introduction of CIL is
suspended.
COUNCIL
DECISION
Reasons for
Recommendations:
To encourage the delivery of development in the District.
LIST OF BACKGROUND PAPERS AS REQUIRED BY LAW
(Papers relied on to write the report, which do not contain exempt information and which are not published
elsewhere)
Draft Consultant’s reports on Viability and Infrastructure needs.
Cabinet Member(s)
Ward(s) affected
Contact Officer:
Telephone no:
Email:
18.
Cllr B Cabbell Manners
Cllr T Ivory
All
Mark Ashwell
01263 516325
Mark.ashwell@north-norfolk.gov.uk
HOUSING INCENTIVES
(Cabinet Agenda 15 July 2013, p. 38)
(Appendix A – Cabinet Agenda p. 47) (Appendix B – Cabinet Agenda p. 55)
(11.30 – 12.00)
Summary:
This report outlines the slowdown in housing delivery as a
result of the recession and recommends temporary measures
related to evidence on affordable housing components of
planning applications and additionally the introduction of an
incentive scheme for a trial period to incentivise housing
delivery in the district.
Options considered:
Alternative figures for the affordable housing thresholds could
be considered but these would not be based on the viability
evidence.
Conclusions:
Work undertaken in the context of the Community
Infrastructure Levy (CIL) on development viability has
suggested that the Core Strategy policy site size threshold
and affordable housing percentage requirements are not
viable for many locations across the district particularly when
combined with other policy requirements.
This evidence can be taken into account as a material
consideration in the determination of individual planning
applications. As a result, it is suggested that for a temporary
period the Council indicates that the CIL viability evidence will
be regarded as sufficiently material to justify the higher site
size thresholds and lower percentage requirements outlined
in this report and that such proposals need not be subject to
site specific viability assessment.
Furthermore, the evidence in relation to below target housing
completions in the district justifies the introduction of
measures to further incentivise housing development.
Overall, these measures represent a reasonable and
proportionate response to the current down turn in the
housing market. If adopted they should encourage
development in North Norfolk whilst ensuring that the quality
of developments remain acceptable.
Recommendations:
Members are asked to consider and RECOMMEND TO
COUNCIL:
1. That the provisions of the National Planning Policy
Framework, slow housing delivery rates, and the CIL
housing viability evidence are sufficiently material to
justify the revised affordable housing site size
thresholds and percentage requirements outlined in
part 4 of this report in the determination of individual
residential planning applications.
2. That the incentive scheme set out in part 4 is
approved
3. That the measures outlined in the report are widely
advertised within communities and the development
industry.
COUNCIL
DECISION
To encourage higher levels of house building in the District
and help address the identified shortfall in new house
completions.
Reasons for
Recommendations:
LIST OF BACKGROUND PAPERS AS REQUIRED BY LAW
(Papers relied on to write the report, which do not contain exempt information and which are not published
elsewhere)
Consultant’s report on Viability
Cabinet Member(s)
Ward(s) affected
Contact Officer:
Telephone no:
Email:
Cllr B Cabbell Manners
Cllr T Ivory
All
Mark Ashwell
01263 516325
Mark.ashwell@north-norfolk.gov.uk
19.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
(Page 43)
(Appendix E– p. 46)
(12.00 – 12.15)
Summary:
This report provides information on expected affordable
housing delivery for 2013/14 and 2014/15. It also sets
out how many affordable dwellings have been agreed to
be provided on market sites. Finally it provides an
explanation of the Help to Buy scheme which assists
purchasers to buy a newly built home with a minimum
5% deposit.
Conclusions:
It is expected that 80 affordable dwellings will be
completed in 2013/14 and a further 143 are expected to
be completed in 2014/15. To date 205 affordable
dwellings have been agreed to be provided on 5 market
sites across the district.
Recommendation: That the content of this report is noted.
Cabinet Member(s):
Ward(s) affected
Contact Officer
telephone number
and email:
20.
Cllr T Ivory
All
Nicola Turner
01263 516222
Nicola.turner@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.”
21.
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 19 June 2013 in
the Council Chamber, Council Offices, Holt Road, Cromer at 9.30 am.
Members Present:
Committee:
Mr N Smith (Chairman)
Ms V Gay
Mrs A Green
Mr B Jarvis
Mrs B McGoun
Mr P W Moore
Mr R Reynolds
Mr R Shepherd
Mr P Terrington
Mr G Williams
Officers in
Attendance:
The Chief Executive, the Corporate Director (SB), the Head of Finance, the
Technical Accountant, the Policy & Performance Management Officer and
the Scrutiny Officer.
Members in
Attendance:
Mrs L Brettle, Mr N Dixon, Mr T FitzPatrick, Mrs A Moore, Mr W Northam,
Miss B Palmer, Mrs V Uprichard and Mr D Young
Democratic Services Team Leader (ED)
16. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Mrs A Claussen-Reynolds, Mr J H Perry-Warnes and Mr E Seward.
17. SUBSTITUTES
Mr G Williams for Mrs A Claussen-Reynolds
18. PUBLIC QUESTIONS
None received.
19. MINUTES
The minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 21 May 2013 were approved as a
correct record and signed by the Chairman.
20. ITEMS OF URGENT BUSINESS
None received.
21. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Overview and Scrutiny Committee
1
1
19 June 2013
None received.
22. PETITIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
None received.
23. CONSIDERATION OF ANY MATTER REFERRED TO THE COMMITTEE BY A
MEMBER
None received.
24. RESPONSES OF THE COUNCIL OR THE CABINET TO THE COMMITTEE’S
REPORTS OR RECOMMENDATIONS
None received.
25. THE CABINET WORK PROGRAMME
RESOLVED
That the report be noted.
26. 2012/13 OUTTURN REPORT
Mr W Northam, Portfolio Holder for Finance, presented this item. He explained that the
report presented the outturn position for the revenue account and capital programme for
the 2012/13 financial year. It showed an underspend of £185,662 which was being
recommended for transfer to the Invest to Save earmarked reserve. Mr Northam said
that the outturn position reflected prudent financial planning and management.
The Chairman invited Members to ask questions:
1. Mr P W Moore queried why the reserves were much higher than they had been in
previous years. The Head of Finance referred to the Budget report that went to the
Committee in February 2013. She said that the reserves were increased to £1.6m to
enable the Council to respond to significant changes and risks – such as the council
tax support scheme. The decision to include the New Homes Bonus (NHB) within the
base budget improved the Council’s financial position but there was a risk that the
NHB could be withdrawn by the Government in the future as it was essentially a
grant. Consequently it was recommended that that minimum balance for the general
reserve should be reviewed. Mr Moore replied that he was concerned that the
Council seemed to be putting money aside just in case central government did not
continue with certain funding streams. He said that it might be beneficial for the
Council to put pressure on local MPs to challenge any potential changes.
2. Ms V Gay commented on the large underspend within the Community, Economic
Development and Coast service and said that she was concerned that projects that
had been approved by members had not come to fruition. Mr Northam replied said
that in this case the resources were not available to take action and so the budget
was rolled forward. The Head of Finance added this service area included coast
protection and the Pathfinder scheme and these projects had been delayed due to
bad weather. It also included the Big Society Fund money which had been
transferred to a reserve. In response to a further question as to whether the delayed
coastal projects would be completed during the next financial year instead, the Head
of Finance confirmed that they would.
Overview and Scrutiny Committee
2
2
19 June 2013
3. Mrs A Green, local Member for Great Ryburgh, said that she had received many
letters from residents asking for details of the cost of the appeal against the Judicial
Review decision. The Leader, Mr T FitzPatrick replied that the Corporate Director
(SB) had sent a letter to all members providing details and that any future
correspondence on this matter would be dealt with by him.
4. Mr D Young sought clarification on the purpose of the Invest to Save reserve. The
Head of Finance explained that it was for specific projects that were aimed at
improving efficiency and that required a one-off investment upfront, such as the work
of the Business Transformation Board which was looking at future IT projects. Mr
Young then queried why the £35,000 reserve for carbon reduction had been
withdrawn. The Head of Finance said that this work had now been completed and it
was no longer necessary to have a reserve in place. In response to Mr Young’s final
question regarding the assumption of the cost for council tax support in future years,
the Head of Finance said that a decision had yet to be taken regarding the costs of
this scheme for 2014/15 but the amount in the Budget had been based on the
previous year. Mr Northam added that the Council Tax Support Working Party would
be meeting shortly to consider next years scheme, however, the Government had
made it clear that there would be no additional money available.
5. Mrs B McGoun asked why there was no projection given for carbon management yet
there were for other areas. The Head of Finance explained that this because it was a
reserve and the figures showed the movement during 2013/14. The Budget showed
the re-allocation to the general reserve as the carbon management reserve was no
longer needed for the reasons outlined previously. In response to a further question
regarding the definition of ‘other sports’ and what this included, the Head of Finance
said that she believed that it included smaller areas such as the mobile gym but she
would confirm this following the meeting.
6. Mr P Terrington said that it was very important that reserves were brought forward to
invest in new housing. He referred to specific schemes in his ward and asked that
urgent consideration was given to such investment. Mr Moore agreed with him and
said that the housing market was very important to the local economy. Mr Northam
acknowledged his concerns and said the Council was fully supportive of the building
of new homes in the District but that they were reliant on developers to some extent.
The Scrutiny Officer added that a report on affordable housing would be coming to
the Committee in July and requested that Members should notify her if there were
any specific issues on this area that they would like to see covered. Mr T FitzPatrick
informed members that himself and the Chief Executive had recently met with the
Victory Housing Trust and exceptions housing was one of the areas they were
particularly keen to bring forward. He added that they were aware of the issues and
they were talking to developers to see if they could progress schemes more quickly.
Mr R Reynolds said that it was not just housing associations – all house building
should be encouraged.
It was proposed by Mr R Reynolds, seconded by Mr P Terrington and
RESOLVED to support the following recommendations made by Cabinet:
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) The transfer of 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;
Overview and Scrutiny Committee
3
3
19 June 2013
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.
Ms V Gay, Mrs B McGoun an, Mr P Moore abstained.
27. TREASURY MANAGEMENT ANNUAL REPORT 2012-13
The Portfolio Holder for Financial Services, Mr W Northam, introduced this item. He said
the report had been prepared to ensure that the Council complied with the CIPFA
Treasury Management and Prudential Codes. He drew Members attention to the decline
in interest rates which had resulted in a much lower investment income - £206,481
compared to over £1m three years ago. Mr Northam explained that the Council had
joined the LAMIT scheme in March 2013 and it was hoped that a return of 5% would be
achieved. He concluded by saying that the Council continued to take a cautious
approach with its investments and thanked the Technical Accountant and his team for
their hard work
The Chairman invited Members to ask questions:
1. Mr P W Moore said that having been the previous Portfolio Holder for Financial
Services, he fully supported the report and its recommendations.
2. Mrs B McGoun commented that the recent situation regarding the Cooperative Bank
showed that there was a risk to having a high level of reserves and that it might be
more beneficial to spend the money on local projects and schemes.
3. Mr D Young said that it might be useful to include a footnote in future Treasury
Management reports highlighting that LAMIT had a permanent life. He then queried
why it had taken so long to invest in LAMIT and whether the Council had to combine
its £5m investment with other funds. He also said that he felt that the LAMIT fund was
so il-liquid that it could compromise investments elsewhere. The Technical
Accountant confirmed that the LAMIT Fund Manager had waited for all the other
authorities who were investing to be ready and this was why there had been a delay.
He said the Council had joined the fund at a very good price and there had been no
need for the fund to sell any properties. He concluded by saying that the Council
could apply to withdraw its money at the end of each month but this would be at the
Fund Manager’s discretion.
4. Mr R Reynolds commented that the fact that the Council had no long-term debt
should be recognised and commended as it had put them in a strong position.
5. Mrs B McGoun asked what the penalty would be if the Council pulled out of the
LAMIT fund. The Technical Accountant said that there was no penalty but it would
depend on the value of the fund at the time of the withdrawal. In response to a
question from Mr D Young as to whether the Council could pull out of LAMIT without
the other investors, the Technical Accountant confirmed this was the case.
The Scrutiny Officer asked the Committee whether they wished to continue to receive
the Treasury Management reports. There had been previous discussions that they
should go to the Audit Committee instead. She pointed out that responsibility for
scrutinising treasury management was currently within the Committee’s terms of
reference and ensured that a robust process was in place. Members agreed that the
committee should continue to receive the reports in future.
It was proposed by Mr P W Moore, seconded by Mr P Terrington and
RESOLVED
Overview and Scrutiny Committee
4
4
19 June 2013
To recommend to Council:
That the Treasury Management Annual Report and Prudential Indicators for 2012/13 be
approved.
28. DEBT RECOVERY 2012-13
Mr W Northam, Portfolio Holder for Financial Services introduced this item. He said that
the target for debt recovery was very high given the economic downturn and he praised
staff for achieving 97.9% - particularly as there had been problems within the service
due to software issues. He said that the Council never stopped trying to recover money
owed to them and the staff should be commended for their excellent work.
Members were invited to ask questions:
1. Mrs B McGoun referred to the 26 debtors mentioned within the report and asked
whether they recurring debtors. Mr Northam replied that they were usually slow
payers – particularly where business rates were concerned and confirmed that some
of them were recurring debtors.
2. Mr P W Moore acknowledged the problems that the staff faced and said that that
they all worked hard in very challenging circumstances.
3. Ms V Gay said that it was important that the Council’s success in debt recovery
should be acknowledged and perhaps something could be put on the website
highlighting the success in this area. Mr T FitzPatrick agreed, he said the Council had
the best collection rates in the country and welcomed additional publicity. Mr W
Northam added that he had met with the local press when the report was published
and he was disappointed not to see the achievements mentioned in the press.
RESOLVED
To recommend to Council:
To approve 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.
29. OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY UPDATE
The Scrutiny Officer introduced this item.
Health update
Mr R Reynolds said that although the information that had been provided on the way
care provision was organised across the District was helpful, it would be beneficial to
have more detail on what carers actually did – the timing of their visits, how long they
spent with each patient and the quality of the service. The Scrutiny Officer suggested
that a full report was brought to the Committee, together with a presentation from a care
provider or a related organisation so that Members could have the opportunity to ask
questions and scrutinise care provision more closely. The Chairman agreed. He said
that had been concerned for some time about the standard of training given to carers.
Mr W Northam commented on the excellent care provision at a dementia home in his
ward, Mundesley. The centre he referred to was run by Norse and they had recently
Overview and Scrutiny Committee
5
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19 June 2013
received an award for their work. Mrs B McGoun said that it might useful for them to
give a presentation to the Committee so that they could see best practice in the sector.
Internal Boards
The Scrutiny Officer informed the Committee that she had been advised that the
Environmental Sustainability Board was likely to commence meeting again. Ms V Gay
said that it was important that this Board continued as it would be able to give
consideration to technological advances in the sector and the benefits that these could
offer to the District. Mr P Terrington requested that the Committee was kept updated on
any changes to the Boards.
Your Voice
The Committee confirmed that they would like to receive a brief demonstration of the
Your Voice scheme at a future meeting.
30. ANNUAL REPORT AND AMENDMENT TO ANNUAL ACTION PLAN 2013-14
The Leader, Mr T FitzPatrick, introduced this item. He said that the Annual Report for
2012/13 demonstrated that the Council continued to deliver good performance. It was
the first Annual Report against the service priorities as set out in the Corporate Plan
2012-2015 and the activities and targets set out in the Annual Action Plan for 2012/13.
Mr FitzPatrick drew members attention to section 5 of the report which proposed that the
following activity be added to the action plan under the Localism theme – ‘We will work
with Town and Parish Councils, local organisations and community and voluntary
groups to improve health and wellbeing consistent with the aims of the Health and
Wellbeing Board’. He explained that this increased focus on engaging with the town and
parish councils was a result of recent visits that he and the Chief Executive had made to
several town and parish councils. There had been considerable interest from over 50
parish councils in receiving a similar visit in the coming months.
Mr FitzPatrick concluded by saying that the document before Members was a draft
version. The decision had been taken to circulate it at this stage because the Cabinet
wanted views and comments from members which would inform the final version. He
said that the introduction would be amended to include references to the wider economy
and the impact on the Council.
Members were invited to ask questions:
1. Mrs B McGoun said that she was disappointed not to see the environment referred to
specifically within the Council’s priorities. She said that the Council had done a lot of
work to support this sector and that should be recognised. Mr T FitzPatrick replied
that the environment was a cross-cutting issue which underpinned everything that the
Council did. He did not feel that it was necessary to single it out as a specific issue.
The Chief Executive agreed and said that support for the environment was
embedded within many of the priorities. She added that the priorities were set out in
the Corporate Plan and this was approved in 2011.
2. Ms V Gay said that although she had a lot of sympathy with the health and wellbeing
aspect of s5.2 of the report, it should be acknowledged that many local parish and
town councils were not the embodiment of democracy that they should be. She said
that it was important to recognise their contribution but that the Council also had a
duty to increase their role. The Chairman agreed, saying that many parish councils
co-opted new members rather than electing them. Mr FitzPatrick said that one of the
reasons that he had suggested visiting the parish councils was so that the Council
Overview and Scrutiny Committee
6
6
19 June 2013
3.
4.
5.
6.
could work more closely with them in the future and hopefully make them more
visible. He stressed the importance of all three tiers of local government in the region
working together and increasing their role and visibility.
Mr P W Moore said that he continued to have concerns about planning issues at
parish and town council level. He said that he was often asked to call in planning
applications for the Committee to consider and on many occasions this was not
appropriate. He then said that he was disappointed not to see any references to
young people within the report. Mr T FitzPatrick replied that this issue had been
discussed previously when the Corporate Plan was considered by the Committee. He
said that he felt it was not necessary to single young people out as a separate group.
Several of the priorities outlined in the Corporate Plan were aimed at helping young
people and the recent focus on apprenticeships demonstrated that the Council was
working at a practical level to support this age group. The Chief Executive added that
the Corporate Plan was not the item that was being discussed and that it had
previously been agreed that it would not be beneficial to list specific groups that the
Council wanted to prioritise. She said that the Council was undertaking some
targeted work looking at the Census figures for the District which may provide more
information on this sector.
Mr B Jarvis said that his own parish council had been democratically elected but no
longer reflected the needs of the community. They rejected any requests for cooption and did not appear to be accountable to anyone. Mr T FitzPatrick said that
parish councils in this situation should be encouraged to call an election. The Chief
Executive added that the Standards Committee was looking to engage with the
parish and town councils and improve their standard of conduct.
Mr R Reynolds commented that he felt the five Corporate Plan themes could tie-in
more with tourism which was of vital importance to the District.
Mr G Williams had several points to make. He began by saying that there seemed to
be some confusion about the difference between the Corporate Plan, the Annual
Action Plan and performance indicators. He said that an annual report was a record
of what had been done. All of the facts were in the draft version of the report but they
were not always easy to find and some statements didn’t lie well together. He
stressed that the Annual Report was an aid to transparency and the Council shouldn’t
be afraid of listing what hadn’t gone well and the areas where they needed to work
harder – recognising this would build trust with the reader. Finally he said that the
appendix with the performance indicators could be improved to make it more userfriendly. The Chief Executive thanked him for his comments and said that she would
look at refining some of the information so that there was not just a statement but
additional, relevant information – for example the County Council’s work on improving
Broadband across the region. She said that the performance indicators would be
looked at again to see if they could be presented more effectively. Mr G Williams
replied that an electronic version could include hyperlinks that would enable the
reader to expand on specific points.
RESOLVED
To support the Cabinet decision:
1) To note the contents of this report.
2) To give authority to the Leader of the Council and the Chief Executive to approve the
final public version of the report.
3) To give authority to the Leader of the Council and the Chief Executive to approve the
communications plan for the Annual Report 2012/13.
Overview and Scrutiny Committee
7
7
19 June 2013
4) To approve the addition of an activity to the Annual Action Plan 2013/14 as shown in
paragraph 5.2
30. DEVELOPMENT OF THE OFFSHORE WIND ENERGY SECTOR OFF THE NORTH
NORFOLK COAST – A REPORT ON THE COUNCIL’S ACTIVITY IN SUPPORT OF
THE SECTOR SINCE APRIL 2012
The Committee had requested this report. It was presented by the Corporate Director
(SB). He started by explaining that the offshore wind energy sector off the North Norfolk
coast presented a significant opportunity to broaden the district’s economy through the
attraction of new investment, skilled employment and supply chain opportunities. He
outlined three offshore wind energy schemes which had been granted consent off the
North Norfolk coast:



The 317MW Sheringham Shoal development
The 560MW Dudgeon wind energy scheme
The 580MW Race Bank scheme
As the Council was a small organisation, it was important that it was able to work closely
with partners to ensure engagement with local communities. To help achieve this,
NNDC had become a member of the Norfolk and Suffolk Energy Alliance, alongside
Norfolk and Suffolk County Councils, Great Yarmouth Borough Council and Waveney
District Council. The Alliance recognised that the energy sector in its widest sense
formed a significant element of the economies of Norfolk and Suffolk and was working to
develop links with the East of England Energy Group (EEEGr) and the New Anglia Local
Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to present a strong case to both Government and energy
sector companies that Norfolk and Suffolk had particular strengths in terms of
established companies, skills and sites to support future investment and development in
the energy sector.
The Corporate Director then outlined how the Council had worked with local partners,
the Wells Harbour Commissioners and the Holkham and Walsingham Estates under the
umbrella of the North Norfolk Renewables Group to promote the facilities at the Port of
Wells and the land and premises opportunities to businesses involved in the offshore
energy sector. Key outcomes achieved by the Group over the last year included:




Development of the proposal to establish a Local Development Order (LDO) at
Egmere
Development and launch of the North Norfolk Renewables website
Having a stand at the EEEGr Soutern North Sea Conference event in March 2013
Raising the profile of the Wells/North Norfolk offer to offshore wind companies and
their suppliers through engagement with partners to the Norfolk and Suffolk Energy
Alliance, so that the complimentary nature of the services available through the port
of Wells are clearly understood in the context of the port facilities at Great Yarmouth
and Lowestoft.
The Corporate Director concluded by saying that for a relatively modest cost the Council
had taken forward a positive programme of activity in promoting the potential of the
District as a place for investment by offshore wind energy companies and their suppliers
and contractors.
Members were invited to ask questions:
Overview and Scrutiny Committee
8
8
19 June 2013
1. Mr P W Moore commented that one of the objectives of the North Norfolk
Renewables Group, as outlined in the terms of reference, seemed to contradict the
feelings and attitudes of local communities regarding renewable energy technology.
He referred to recent planning decisions which had rejected applications for onshore
wind turbines and solar panels. The Corporate Director agreed and said that Cabinet
had requested that an energy strategy report was prepared at corporate level to
clarify the Council’s position on this.
2. Mrs B McGoun said that tide and wave energy had not been mentioned and she
asked whether there had been any interest in this sector. The Corporate Director
replied that there had not been any interest locally but it was anticipated that this
would change.
3. Mrs V Uprichard commented that renewable energy encompassed much more than
wind power and yet this was not reflected in the report. The Corporate Director said
that there was no commercial interest beyond the wind energy sector at present,
although there was interest in solar PV energy nationally and it was possible that this
sector would grow in the future.
4. Ms V Gay commented on the confidential status of the minutes of the North Norfolk
Renewables Group. She had concerns that this could put local members who were
able to see the minutes on a false footing as it prevented open discussion with
constituents. The Corporate Director replied that the minutes were confidential as
commercial investments were discussed during the Group’s meetings. He
acknowledged that there was concern in Wells regarding the use of the harbour for
commercial purposes. He explained that small boats accessing the sites from Wells
harbour were suitable at the present time but this could change in the future as the
schemes moved further offshore following Government pressure for a significant
reduction in the operating costs over the lifetime of offshore wind schemes. So, Wells
currently had a locational advantage but this may be short-lived.
5. Mr P Terrington, local member for Wells, said that he also had concerns about the
openness and transparency of the North Norfolk Renewables Group. He said that he
did receive the minutes of the meetings and acknowledged that their confidential
status put him in a difficult position. He said that he didn’t feel the content warranted
confidentiality and that the minutes should be in the public domain. He went on to say
that he had been persuaded about the merits of the Local Development Order and
his concerns were now mainly about the role of the North Norfolk Renewables Group.
The fact that the website made no mention of protecting the heritage coastline
indicated that its remit was simply to attract investment. He concluded by saying that
he was also concerned that SCIRA contributed less than 1% of their income to
supporting local communities. He felt that this should be much higher but
acknowledged that operators should not be deterred from bringing their schemes to
the District. The Chief Executive replied to Mr Terrington’s point regarding the North
Norfolk Renewable Group’s minutes. She said that generally minutes would not be
confidential, they could be redacted but they would still be subject to a Freedom of
Information request. The Leader, Mr T FitzPatrick, added that he was also affected
by the confidentiality issue and he sympathised with Mr Terrington’s concerns but
that it should be appreciated that there needed to be some confidentiality to ensure
commercial advantage. He concluded by saying that he agreed with the comments
regarding the level of contributions from the wind energy companies and said that the
Council would continue to fight for a share of the benefits.
6. Mr G Williams said that the report showed that the Council had been very effective in
gaining investment from the renewable energy sector. He asked the Corporate
Director to give the Committee an indication of where the Council was currently
focussing its efforts. The Corporate Director said that he had met with
representatives of the Dudgeon scheme recently and they were hoping to discharge
all their planning conditions to start the onshore cable route from October 2014. It
was anticipated this would take about 2 years. They were also considering whether to
Overview and Scrutiny Committee
9
9
19 June 2013
use mono-pile or suction cup technology to reduce the damage to the chalk-bed
when the turbines were installed. He added that the Government’s demand for a
reduction in costs for such schemes meant that turbines would be larger in the future
and probably fewer in number. The Dudgeon scheme would be the main focus for the
next 12-24 months and it was possible that they would need suitable sites for office
accommodation in the District. The Centrica scheme was about 6-12 months behind
Dudgeon and would have less of an impact on the district as the cable would make
landfall in the Fens. He concluded by saying there would be ongoing engagement
with the statutory marine bodies.
7. Mrs V Uprichard said that the Continent seemed to be moving away from wind farms
and she wondered whether this had any long-term implications for the sector. The
Corporate Director replied that renewable energy was part of a national policy
debate. There was no security around energy production and the only way this could
be achieved was through a better mix of energy production. Gas production was still
a viable option but there had been a loss of confidence in this sector following
changes to the tax regime. He acknowledged that offshore wind schemes were more
acceptable than onshore due to the impact on the landscape. As the offshore wind
energy sector was already up and running it was important that the Council
positioned itself to capture the benefits. Looking to the future, various proposals for
anaerobic digesters and Solar PV farms would probably be coming forward. Mr T
FitzPatrick added that on the Continent there were more onshore wind turbines but it
was widely agreed that the coast was preferable to land and 60% of the capacity for
wind production in Europe was around the UK and Ireland. It was acknowledged that
the UK had failed to become involved in the production of turbines and consequently
there was now a commitment that the UK would increase its production of turbine
parts. He concluded by saying that all the servicing for the turbines could be done
from Europe so it was important to ensure that the bases for supporting wind energy
schemes were sited in North Norfolk.
The Chairman said that he was pleased to see young people attending the meeting. He
requested that in future it might be beneficial if advance notice was given of such visits
so that the agenda could be re-arranged to ensure that it was suitable.
Members thanked the Chairman for handling the meeting so well.
The meeting concluded at 12.1 0 pm.
____________________
Chairman
Overview and Scrutiny Committee
10
10
19 June 2013
North Norfolk District Council
Cabinet Work Programme
For the Period 01 July 2013 to 31 October 2013
Decision Maker(s)
Meeting
Date
Subject &
Summary
Cabinet
Member(s)
June 2013
Cabinet
10 Jun 2013
Out-turn report
Scrutiny
19 Jun 2013
Full Council
24 July 2013
Cabinet
10 Jun 2013
Scrutiny
19 Jun 2013
Council
24 Jul 2013
Cabinet
10 Jun 2013
Scrutiny
19 Jun 2013
Council
24 July 2013
July 2013
Cabinet
15 July 2013
Scrutiny
17 July 2013
Council
24 July 2013
Corporate
Plan Priority`
Lead Officer
Status
Wyndham
Northam
Karen Sly
Head of Finance
01263 516243
Annual
Debt Management
Annual Report
Wyndham
Northam
Louise Wolsey
Revenues & Benefits
Services Manager
01263 516081
Annual
Treasury
Management
Annual Report
Wyndham
Northam
Karen Sly
Head of Finance
01263 516243
Annual
Community
Infrastructure Levy
Trevor Ivory
Mark Ashwell
Planning Policy &
Property Information
Manager
01263 516325
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
North Norfolk District Council
Cabinet Work Programme
For the Period 01 July 2013 to 31 October 2013
Decision Maker(s)
Meeting
Date
Subject &
Summary
Cabinet
Member(s)
Corporate
Plan Priority`
Lead Officer
Status
Cabinet
15 July 2013
Housing Incentives
Trevor Ivory
Mark Ashwell
Planning Policy &
Property Information
Manager
01263 516325
Nick Baker
Corporate Director
01263 516221
Scrutiny
17 July 2013
Council
Cabinet
24 July 2013
15 July 2013
MRF Contract
John Lee
Referred to
Council for
Information
Scrutiny
17 July 2013
Council
September 2013
24 July 2013
Cabinet
2 Sept 2013
Wyndham
Northam
Scrutiny
11 Sep 2013
Half Yearly Treasury
Management report
for 2012/13
Tony Brown
Technical Accountant
01263 516126
Council
18 Sep 2013
Cabinet
2 Sept 2013
Budget Monitoring
Period 4
Wyndham
Northam
Scrutiny
11 Sept 2013
Karen Sly
Head of Finance
01263 516243
Cabinet
2 Sept 2013
Local Investment
Strategy
Wyndham
Northam
Scrutiny
11 Sept 2013
Council
18 Sept 2013
Jill Fisher
Head of Economic &
Community
Development
01263 516080
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
North Norfolk District Council
Cabinet Work Programme
For the Period 01 July 2013 to 31 October 2013
Decision Maker(s)
Meeting
Date
Subject &
Summary
Cabinet
Member(s)
Cabinet
2 Sept 2013
Cabbell Park
Trevor Ivory
Cabinet
2 Sept 2013
Financial Strategy
2014/15
Wyndham
Northam
Cabinet
2 Sept 2013
Benjie Cabbell
Manners
Cabinet
2 Sept 2013
Options for the
future of the
Building Control
Service
Fraud Policy
Cabinet
2 Sep 2013
Business
Transformation – IT
Strategy and
Customer Services
Strategy
Tom FitzPatrick
Cabinet
2 Sept 2013
Tom FitzPatrick
Scrutiny
11 Sep 2013
Performance
Management update
– Q1
Wyndham
Northam
Corporate
Plan Priority`
Lead Officer
Status
Duncan Ellis
Head of Assets &
Leisure
01263 516330
Karen Sly
Head of Finance
01263 516243
Steve Blatch
Corporate Director
01263 516232
Louise Wolsey
Revenues & Benefits
Services Manager
01263 516081
Sheila Oxtoby
Chief Executive
01263 516000
Helen Thomas
Policy & Performance
Management Officer
01263 516214
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
North Norfolk District Council
Cabinet Work Programme
For the Period 01 July 2013 to 31 October 2013
Decision Maker(s)
Meeting
Date
Subject &
Summary
Cabinet
Member(s)
Corporate
Plan Priority`
Lead Officer
Cabinet
2 Sept 2013
Car Parking Review
– terms of reference
Rhodri Oliver
Duncan Ellis
Head of Assets &
Leisure
01263 516330
October 2013
Cabinet
7 Oct 2013
Rhodri Oliver
Council
23 Oct 2013
CCTV Working
Party –
final report &
recommendations
Nick Baker
Corporate Director
01263 516221
Cabinet
7 Oct 2013
Revenues &
Benefits Shared
Services
Wyndham
Northam
Louise Wolsey
Revenues & Benefits
Services Manager
01263 516081
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)
14
Waste Contract Update
Agenda Item 13
Summary
The report provides an update on the provision of services under the waste and related
services contract between the Council and Kier. The report reviews recent service levels
and provides an update on the progress which has been made in delivering the objectives of
the Council and provides details of the Improvement Plan for the year. Two significant
pieces of work are currently being undertaken relating to income growth and cost reduction.
Conclusion
Service delivery through the contract has been broadly acceptable, the number of errors in
service delivery has diminished and the management and supervision of the contract has
been strengthened by Kier to provide further improved results. The continued pressure on
the councils budget requires the contract performance standards to be reviewed to identify
opportunities for cost reduction and opportunities for revenue growth.
Recommendation
The Committee is not asked to make any specific recommendations but is asked to note the
report the provide comment on the scope and intentions of both the Council and Kier in
delivering the Improvement Plan.
Reason for recommendation
The review of the contract forms part of the Work Programme for the Committee
Introduction
The contract report in January outlined the performance of Kier in delivering the objectives of
the contract which commenced in April 2011. The contract was jointly procured with the
Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk. Kier have now commenced services in
that area and are stabilising the position of those services. Kier are now actively pursuing
the opportunities to deliver those elements of the service which can be delivered across the
boundaries of the two councils.
Street cleansing operations continue to be delivered across the area of the council and Kier
have responded positively to challenge from the Environmental Services Team over the
quality of some of the work undertaken. The consistent delivery of a high quality service in
areas such as Holt should be matched in all of the towns in North Norfolk. Through contract
monitoring by all members of the councils team working jointly with Kier staff recent
significant improvement has been achieved in Sheringham and North Walsham. Much of
this work has required manual cleansing of kerb lines and improved detail cleaning. The
thorough weed spraying by Norfolk County Council and the dry late spring has aided this
work. Work in preparation for the increased level of summer visitors is planned to be
completed before the start of the school holidays.
15
Agenda Item 13
Detail
The most significant immediate challenge facing Kier for waste collections is the imminent
closure of Edgefield Landfill Site. The landfill at Edgefield has received residual waste
collected in North Norfolk for a number of years. The closure will mean that the point where
waste collected in refuse collection vehicle is discharged will change. The effect of this on
schedules, routes and driving time can be significant but as yet unquantifiable. Kier working
with officers from the Council and Norfolk County Council have been assessing the options
and consequences in detail. Norfolk County Council has agreed to include an officer from
the Environmental Services Team in the contract evaluation team. Once final details are
know it is likely that Kier will have to implement new revised schedules which will also
require a lot of preparation. However, time is running short given the closure is anticipated
in late autumn.
Cleansing operations have been undertaken on revised schedules since the spring. The
change in mechanical sweepers has improved the quality of the work achieved. Concern
has been raised about the standard of cleansing in some residential areas and Kier have
responded appropriately. However, the failure to deliver the full contract standard has
resulted in the issue of both Rectification and Default Notices under the contract. Kier have
recently been operating with one less supervisor on the contract due to staff turnover. Kier
have appointed a replacement Supervisor with excellent knowledge of the services delivered
under this contract. This appointment will further strengthen their team.
The corporate target on the issuing of Default Notices under the contract is very stringent at
NIL for all periods and has not been achieved during the year. The performance overall
against the contract standard is acceptable. Performance against an output specification in
resort areas is difficult but the most significant failure in the period has been the failure to
ensure that remedial work in Sheringham was undertaken to the required standard and on
time. The failure to ensure that litter bins in Melton Constable were not overflowing was
responsible for the issue of three Default Notices. Rectifications were issued for street
cleansing in Stalham and on the coastal area east of Cromer to Walcott. Kier do have the
ability to perform well with particular instances of good performance being achieved in Holt,
North Walsham and Cromer. The performance in terms of keeping the major routes clear
litter on verges in the district is much improved compared to last year. Some of the failures
have been subject to a critical path analysis so that the cause of the problems can be
identified to prevent future recurrence. A brief analysis of the number and type of Defaults
issued is at Appendix 1.
The ability to communicate the outcome of monitoring by the Council and Kier and the
completion of tasks will be improved by the agreement to work towards the use of a joint IT
platform by the council and Kier.
The Council has enjoyed a strong and successful relationship with many businesses through
its trade waste service. The increase in competition through private operators has eroded
the business. Kier working with the Council are aware that the control of costs is significant
along with effective sales to stabilise and grow the business. The Council has a turnover of
in excess of £900,000, the service produces a surplus on its trading account. Growth of the
trade waste account can be used to negate the need to make cost reductions where the
growth is sustainable.
16
Agenda Item 13
Cost reductions have been achieved in grounds maintenance elements of the service by
revised specification. A reduction in formal bedding and the greater use of direct sown
summer flower mixes has reduced costs. The cooler dryer spring has delayed some growth
of these plants and reduced the need for mowing. The weather has also delayed fledging of
nesting birds and compared to seasonal norms we are upto three weeks behind where may
be expected. This means that some planting may not look as good as expected at this time
of year but it is expected to catch up quickly in warmer days.
Budget
The budget position for future years for the council requires that opportunities are taken to
control and reduce costs. Early identification and the reduction in the cost base for the
service will produce ongoing revenue savings. Such savings will result in the change of the
base service and officers and Kier are currently working up a range of opportunities for the
service and CLT to consider prior to fuller consultation.
Along with revenue reductions further opportunities for revenue growth through brown bin
sales and operating margin improvements through the trade recycling opportunities provided
by the new proposed MRF contract will be actively pursued.
Commentary
The work identified in the delivery of the improvement plan discussed in the previous report
has commenced and is making progress. Cost control and revenue growth are key as the
potential for further budgetary constraint is evident from central government. The reshaping
of services under this contract and related services are some of the biggest revenue costs
the council has.
Conclusion
The service provided by Kier has been broadly acceptable and has improved and stabilised.
Greater self monitoring is required from Kier to remove service errors. The Environmental
Services Team remain committed to effective and robust contract monitoring and
enforcement of contract standards.
Implication and Risk
There are no specific implications and risk associated with this report. Effective
management of the contract and the contracting relationship are required to ensure that the
requirements of the council are met fully in the future.
Financial Implications and Risk
The financial implications of this report are limited. The potential for sharing and upgrading
of IT links to provide a comprehensive waste management system will form part of a capital
plan for the service and their is an existing allocation which may be used for this purpose.
17
Agenda Item 13
Sustainability
Greater use of direct mixed summer flower mixes produces a greater mix and longevity of
pollinator friendly flowers which also require less direct watering to promote and sustain
growth. This reduces the environmental impacts of grounds maintenance operations.
Equality and Diversity
No impacts noted
Section 17 Crime and Disorder considerations
No issues currently identified
Appendix 1
Default Analysis February to June 2013
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Waste
Cleansing
Contract
Service Area Defaults February to June
18
Agenda Item 13
9
8
7
6
5
Waste
4
Cleansing
3
2
1
0
Feb
Mar
April
May
June
Monthly Default Analysis
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Sweeping
Toilets
Litter
Breakdown of Cleansing Defaults by Work Type February to June
19
Name of Committee
Date of Committee
Overview and Scrutiny
19/07/13
Agenda Item No____14_________
Emergency Planning
Summary:
Six monthly update on Civil Contingencies and Business Continuity
Planning, the progress made to date, ability to respond to any
disruptive events that have recently occurred and the outline of future
objectives.
Recommendations:
That members note the contents of the report.
Cabinet member(s):
Ward(s) affected:
All
All
Contact Officer, telephone number, Richard Cook
01263 516269
and e-mail:
richard.cook@north-norfolk.gov.uk
1.
Introduction
The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 places a statutory duty upon Local Authorities (as a
Category 1 Responder) to carry out the following duties:

Put in place:
o
emergency plans
o
business continuity management arrangements
o
arrangements to make information available to the public about civil
protection matters and maintain arrangements to warn, inform and advise
the public in the event of an emergency

Share information with other local responders to enhance co-ordination

Co-operate with other local responders to enhance co-ordination and efficiency

Provide advice and assistance to businesses and voluntary organisations about
business continuity management (Local Authorities only)
The Act introduces new requirements on authorities and other agencies to work
together to develop, maintain and implement effective arrangements to meet the
challenges of the 21st century. These include flooding, rail disasters, foot and mouth,
the impact of climate change and pandemics.
20
Name of Committee
Date of Committee
Overview and Scrutiny
19/07/13
In order to comply with this duty and to ensure an effective response is delivered to
lessen the impact or disruption on the district, it is essential for the Emergency Planning
Team to:

Carry out district wide risk/hazard assessments and ensure planning meets the
needs of the district

Prepare emergency plans. These plans are prepared in consultation with
emergency services, health service, voluntary organisations, utilities and other
partner organisations

Ensure Business/Service Continuity Management processes are in place to
maintain a reasonable level of service for the district no matter what disruptions
are faced. Advise local businesses on the same.

Test and exercise emergency plans.

Provide the public with information and advice before and during an incident.
1.
Emergency Planning
2.1
Plans
The Election Contingencies plan was revamped before the PCC elections last year and
plan was reviewed and amended for the NCC elections.
Emergency Response Plan is the plan that sets outs the Authorities response to an
emergency incident effecting NNDC, normally this plan will be implemented with other
agencies as appropriate, to protect life, property, etc. Historically, the higher level Plan
in this area has been poor but it is currently being reviewed to more accurately reflect
the current working arrangements within Norfolk and in particular for North Norfolk. It is
anticipated that this plan will be completed by the end of August.
NNDC Operation Flood Plan has become out-dated and was in need of an extensive
review. The plan has been sent to coastal parishes with flood warden teams for
consultation and once these have been returned the new 2013 plan will be issued at the
end of July.
Rest Centre plans were sent to the managers at the facilities (selected High Schools
and Holt Day Centre) for them to check the plan details. 6 out of 8 have been returned
so far and it is envisaged that this review will be completed by the end of July 2013.
21
Name of Committee
Date of Committee
Overview and Scrutiny
19/07/13
2.
Incidents/Events
3.1
The Civil Contingencies Team has continued, after the Sea Palling community
resilience event in January 2013, to spread the word about the benefits of Parishes and
Towns creating community resilience plans. The Civil Contingencies Manager has
made several presentations including to the annual general meeting of Norfolk Parish
Clerks and several more are booked with other parish Councils throughout the year.
Since the initial community resilience event in January the following locations have
expressed an interest in creating emergency teams and plans: Great Snoring,
Kettlestone, Smallborough, Happisburgh, Alymerton, Horning, Hoveton and Holkham.
Potter Heigham has created their plan and I am planning to get this published on the
NRF website and then present them with the first of the four DEFRA funded community
packs. NNDC has funded the purchase of pack contents similar to the DEFRA funded
ones to enable the continued promotion of town and parish plan development.
There have been no emergency planning incidents to report.
3.
Future Objectives
For the coming six months key objectives relating to Emergency Planning are;

Complete the review existing plans such as Rest Centre, Emergency Response
and the operational Flood plans.

Ongoing work to ensure the completion of the Disaster Recovery and Work
Action Recovery site.

Dispose of Sand bag machine and remaining sand bag stocks.
4.
Business Continuity
4.1.
Business Continuity Working Group (BCWG)
This group has continued to meet and helped ensure that the business continuity is
embedded within the organisation and to refine and review the new top level Business
Continuity Plan.
22
Name of Committee
Date of Committee
Overview and Scrutiny
19/07/13
5.2.
Corporate and Team Business Continuity Plans
The top level BCP has now been signed off by the Chief Executive and the Leader and
has been published onto the intranet. In addition a briefing note has been added for all
staff to the latest Briefing release. The plan and the staff action cards have now been
simplified with flow diagrams.
The Civil Contingencies Manager has undertaken one to one training on all the action
cards with the relevant Managers and the critical members of staff. This has served as
the initial training requirement for the new plan. In addition a consultant has been
procured to deliver business continuity training in June. This will be aimed at service
managers so they will be able to deliver BC training to all their staff during their own
team briefings.
Below is a table that sets out the latest position of team BC plans:
The Column below shows teams
with BC Plans in place
The Column below
shows teams with no
BC plans
Planned
completion
dates
CLT
Benefits (draft) One to
one done
1st week
July13
Environmental Health (EP,
Comm, Licesing & CCT)
Electoral Services. One
to one done, event
contingency plan and
election plan in place.
19 July 2013
Finance
Payroll
HR
Housing (Strategy & Options)
Environmental Services (Waste)
IT
Property Services BIA & Plan
Customer Services
Web & Comms
Non Critical Services
Non Critical Services
Sustainability
Leisure (Draft) Now
linked to property Docs,
23
End July 13
Name of Committee
Date of Committee
Overview and Scrutiny
19/07/13
Reprographics
Economic Development
1st week July
One to one done
Policy and Performance
Legal (now in draft)
One to one done
Building Control
Democratic Service
End of June
13
BIA complete
will create a
BCP
Planning
5.
Disaster Recovery (DR)
The disaster recovery suite is nearing completion within the Fakenham Connect building
and work will continue on the final testing of the servers before it goes live. Planning
and work will continue with setting up the Work Action Recovery site once the IT work
load has reduced. It is anticipated that this work will be completed by September 2013
providing the funding has been secured. CCM is continuing to have meetings with the
IT manager and property services to drive this project on. A requested has been made
to Property service to ensure that a backup power switch is fitted to the facility, to
ensure it remains resilient. May need a capital bid to be submitted to provide new
equipment for the facility
Incidents
Severe Weather Event
On 18th January the Crisis Management Group (CMG) met to plan for the potential
disruptive weather predicated. The CMG put into place a strategy that ensured that we
were able to deliver the authorities critical services. This was the first use of the new
business continuity plan.
The CMG meeting was successful as it was attended by the key managers who were
able to make the decisions to control the event. The contingency plan put into place
allowed non-critical staff to travel home within day light hours, whilst ensuring that
critical service could still be maintained.
It should be noted that very good levels of staff flexibility helped with the management
and service delivery during this disrupted event.
24
Name of Committee
Date of Committee
Overview and Scrutiny
19/07/13
After the event the Civil Contingencies Manager conducted a structured reflective debrief exercise with service managers and the lesson identified have been investigated.
Any improvements and will be implemented to allow an enhanced BC response in the
future. The report can be seen as an appendix to this briefing note.
25
Appendix A
Business Continuity - Snow and Ice Friday 18th Jan 2013
Reflective Debrief Summary
Managers were asked to record three things that did not work well and need to be
reviewed/followed up, these are summarised here.










Messages about the weather were sent from 3 or more sources although helpful it
could have led to mixed messages being sent out.
Home working capabilities was underestimated.
Could have had issues if an emergency HHSRS or fire inspection was required.
Customer services phones were diverted to CEx’s PA.
Was the BCP evoked to late, if earlier this may have helped a more co-ordinated
approach
Enhanced car share scheme
Issues around reception phone, not equipment.
Fakenham DR/WAR could have helped if it was in place.
Not enough staff to cover Customer Services phones.
Kier stood down whilst Customer services at NNDC was still in.
Managers were asked to record three positive things relating to the response that worked
well, these are summarised here.












Team BC plans worked well
Liked travel and weather links that were put onto the intranet pages
Staff understood the importance to get into work
Internal communications was satisfactory
Staff were flexible and worked late if required
Good support from CMG
Senior management checked what staff had got into work
CMG meet and put in place a procedure to reduce the staffing levels to allow staff to
travel during daylight.
The Authority delivered its essential services.
BC plan for waste collection was put into place and the media and public information
worked well.
Members were kept informed.
Team plans worked well.
Managers were asked to record what three things they would change/implement to improve
the response to a flooding emergency in Wells, these are summarised here:




Home working Levels
Better internal staff communications
Work Action Recovery site would have helped
Better use of staff and cross training if required
 Despite good media coverage in the local media and on NNDC website a lot of
residents seemed unaware of the scale of disruption and how it would affect
26
Appendix A
them. I would like to look at technology solutions to enhance communications
abilities e.g Twitter/social networking and Text messaging
 Look at ways to improve real time communications with residents
 Run a similar de-brief exercise with Kier to look at ways to improve their
processes and response.
Positive Learning
Managers were asked to record what the most significant thing they have learnt from taking
part in the exercise and identify future use of that learning.
The most significant thing I have learnt from this
event is….
I can use this positively in the future
by….
Home working levels
To reduce save staff travelling levels.
Internal messages for all staff
To ensure a co-ordinated message being sent
out to all staff.
How the WAR/DR site could have helped to
improve service and staff safety
Staff living in the west of the district could
have worked out of the Fakenham office and
reduced travelling to the Cromer offices.
Flexibility to move staff to busy areas
During BC events some teams will become
busier and will need their staff levels to be
reinforced form less busy service areas.
Control and understanding of telephone systems
To allow phones to be transferred to staffed
work areas.
General Comments:
Overall the BC plan worked well and the Authority was able to deliver is critical functions.
Staff proved to be flexible and helpfully.
Civil Contingencies Manager Summary
Overall I think that the Authority coped well with the poor weather conditions that were
experienced on the 18th January 2013. The Business Continuity Plan was invoked and the
Crisis Management Group (CMG) met the day before the predicted disruption. CMG put into
place a strategy that ensured that we were able to deliver the authorities critical services.
This was the first use of the new business continuity plan and the correct managers were
available and able to make the decisions for the CMG meeting. The contingency plan also
allowed non-critical staff to travel home within day light hours. It should be noted that very
good levels of staff flexibility helped with the management and service delivery during this
disrupted event.
27
Appendix A
Below is a table detailing lessons learnt:
Action point
Ensure a co-ordinated approach
to messages being given to all
staff
Home working levels not at
expected levels
Issued with shortage of
correctly trained staff
Who
CMG/CLT and CCM
Customer Services phones
CCM/IT Manager & Customer
Service Manager
Enhanced car share scheme
All team managers and CCM
DR/WAR site could have helped
in this case
CCM/IT Manager and Property
Services Manager
Contractor staff stood down
without informing customer
services.
Not all members of the public
were aware of the disruption to
the waste collection service
Run structured debrief with
Kier the waste contractor
ES officer and CCM to discuss
CCM/IT Manager
All service managers/CCM
ES officer
Progress / Completed
Staff message will be put on the
intranet, this was implemented
during this disruption
On-going progress with CCm &
IT
Check that team BCP reflect
need for additionally trained
staff i.e. HHSRS ( speak to Hof
EH)
Arrange a meeting to discuss a
way forward. All managers to
be aware to inform CMG of
potential staff shortages.
Managers to look to make this
part of their team BC plan.
Corporately this could be
delivered via the intranet?
This project is underway and is
a priority task for the IT
manager. It will bring major
benefits to the authority with
all types of BC incidents
Will form part of the structured
de-brief with Kier staff
ES officer to discuss this issue
with media team. Possible use
or social Media
Arrange a date for CCM to
facilitate this with Kier and ES
team/ Customer services
ES officer and CCM
Richard Cook
Civil Contingencies Manager
28
Overview and Scrutiny Committee
17 July 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 B) and invites Members to identify any
arising items for future meetings. The Scrutiny
Committee’s working style and role is attached at
Appendix C.
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 and suggest any
amendments to the Overview and Scrutiny
Committee Annual Review 2012 – 2013 (Appendix D)
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
Publicising debt collection rates
At the last meeting of the Committee on 19 June, Ms V gay suggested that
the Council publicised its success regarding debt collection on the website.
The Scrutiny Officer has spoken to the Communication’s Manager about this
and he said that he will put that in place.
2.2
Your Voice
A brief presentation of the Your Voice scheme will take place at the
September committee meeting
29
Overview and Scrutiny Committee
2.3
17 July 2013
Review of home-based carers
Following a request from Mr R Reynolds for the Committee to undertake a
more in-depth review of home-based care, it has been agreed that the
Scrutiny Officer and the Health Co-ordinator will work with Mr Reynolds to
scope the review and report back to the Committee in the Autumn.
Items of interest to the Committee:
3.
External meetings
During September and October major building work will be taking place in the
reception area of the Council Offices. Consequently, there will be no disabled
access to the upstairs meeting rooms and so to ensure that the public can
attend committee meetings, they will be held at external venues during this
period. No venues have been booked as yet but the Scrutiny Officer has
enquired about the availability of the Atrium and also the meeting room at the
Fakenham Connect building. If Members wish to make suggestions regarding
the use of a suitable, large meeting room then please notify Democratic
Services as soon as possible.
4.
North Norfolk Clinical Commissioning Group
It was agreed in November 2012, that a representative from the NNCCG
would come back to the Committee to update Members on progress during
their first year of operation. It has been agreed that they will attend the
September meeting to provide an update and respond to questions.
5.
Changes to the Work Programme and Future Topics
The updated work programme is attached at Appendix C. Two reports for
July were removed from the work programme. The RIPA report was not
brought forward as there has been no activity to report and the update on
Shared Services has been withdrawn as there is no further information to
report on this.
30
Appendix B
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
July 17
2013
Overview &
Scrutiny Annual
Report
Emma Denny
Rhodri Oliver
Civil
Contingencies
and Business
Continuity
Update
Complaints,
Compliments
and
Suggestions
Affordable
Homes
- Summary of
progress,
numbers being
built, average
prices
Waste Contract
update
Links with
Corporate Plan
Notes
Annual
6 monthly update
Richard Cook
John Lee
Jane Wisson
Russell Wright
Delivering the
Vision B
6 monthly update
Nicola Turner
Trevor Ivory
Requested by the
committee
Nick Baker
John Lee
6 monthly update
MRF Contract
Nick Baker
John Lee
Cabinet Decision
Community
Infrastructure
Levy
Trevor Ivory
Mark Ashwell
Council Decision
31
Date of
Meeting
Sept 25
2013
Topic
Officer/
Responsible
Portfolio Holder
Housing
Incentives
Trevor Ivory
Mark Ashwell
Budget
Monitoring
Period 4 (April –
July)
Karen Sly
Wyndham Northam
Health Update
Sonia Shuter
Angie Fitch-Tillett
Nov 2013
Notes
Council Decision
Leisure Services Duncan Ellis
– overview on
John Lee
all the council’s
leisure facilities
to include usage
levels.
Oct 2013
Links with
Corporate Plan
Delivering the
Vision E
Cyclical
cyclical
Requested by the
Committee
Presentation by
the NNCCG
Sonia Shuter
Angie Fitch-Tillett
Performance
management
update Q1
Julie Cooke
Tom FitzPatrick
cyclical
CCTV Working
Party – final
report
Duncan Ellis
Rhodri Oliver
Council decision
Tourism
To include a
summary of the
season, stats on
visitors. Amount
spent on car
parking and
whether
increases have
had an impact.
Update from the
NNCCG – one
year on
Robin Smith
Russell Wright
Requested by the
committee
Sonia Shuter
Angie Fitch-Tillett
Requested by the
Committee
Your Voice
presentation
Kate Sullivan
Requested by the
Committee
Review of Car
Park charges
Duncan Ellis
Rhodri Oliver
Requested by the
committee
32
Date of
Meeting
Topic
Officer/
Responsible
Portfolio Holder
Police
Commissioner –
presentation
Dec 2013
Jan 2014
Feb 2014
Links with
Corporate Plan
Notes
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
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
33
cyclical
Date of
Meeting
Topic
Officer/
Responsible
Portfolio Holder
March
2014
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
34
Links with
Corporate Plan
Notes
Delivering the
Vision B
All
At Committee
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.
26
35
Overview and Scrutiny Annual Review 2012 – 2013
Chairman’s Introduction
This is the ninth report by North Norfolk District Council‟s Overview and
Scrutiny Committee, which gives an overview of the Committee‟s
activities over the past year and its plans for the future as well as
explaining the aims and functions of Overview and Scrutiny.
This report covers the second year of the Council that was elected in
2011. The committee has played a valuable role in reviewing and
discussing the Council's financial position and performance as well as
how the new waste and cleansing contract is operating. Of equal
importance has been the re-focussing of the Council's work to look at
issues of concern to local residents. In particular, the Committee has
looked at such issues as performance of the East of England
Ambulance Service in North Norfolk and the support being provided to
doctor's surgeries through the new North Norfolk Clinical
Commissioning Group. I would expect the Committee to again look at these issues in the next
twelve months.
I should like to thank my Vice Chairman Cllr Barry Smith and Democratic Services Officers Emma
Denny and Alison Argent for their help and support throughout the year. A particular thanks goes to
Mary Howard who retired as Democratic Services Team Leader in October 2012 and who over the
years was a devoted supporter of the work of the Scrutiny Committee.
Residents of the District are most welcome to attend any of the Committee's meeting so they can
learn more about the Council's work and how it is scrutinised. Members of the public are also
entitled to ask questions and make contributions. Several have done so during our meetings and I
hope this can be continued and developed in the future.
Councillor Eric Seward
Scrutiny Handbook and Annual Report
1
36
2012/2013
1. What is Scrutiny?
The Overview and Scrutiny Committee is the Council‟s watchdog, ensuring that the
Cabinet is held to account and is carrying out the Council‟s aims as well as getting the
best value for money as a result of its decisions. Originating from the Local
Government Act of 2000 Scrutiny Committees not only keep an eye on the Council but
can also review the work of other bodies such as the Police, our utility providers and
the voluntary sector.
The remit of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee also includes undertaking policy
review and development, monitoring performance management, promoting community
well-being and improving the quality of life in the District. Scrutiny is Member-led and
independent of political party arrangements. At North Norfolk District Council the
Overview and Scrutiny Committee is chaired by a member of the opposition. Scrutiny is
a function which belongs to, and benefits the whole council.
2. Who gets involved in Scrutiny?
a) The Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee take a
pro-active role throughout the process, attending pre-Agenda meetings and steering
and scoping the direction of questioning and investigation. They attend, when
appropriate, meetings with relevant officers at other authorities or with other bodies,
and participate in internal and external training.
b) The Overview and Scrutiny Committee Members – Scrutiny is different from other
committees and calls for Members with investigative and creative minds who are
prepared to “do their homework” out of the Council Chamber and to think outside of
the usual committee framework, tailoring the method of review to suit the topic.
c) Cabinet Portfolio Members are always invited to attend meetings of Overview and
Scrutiny which involve their portfolio. The aim is that the Portfolio Member, as well
as the officers, should respond to questions and, where appropriate, introduce the
topic.
d) All non-Executive Members are invited to attend, to ask questions or to suggest
topics for scrutiny.
e) Officers are involved in a number of ways – those directly involved in supporting the
Scrutiny process and those who are called to make reports to the Committee.
f) Invitees and Witnesses can be called not just from within the Council, but from
partners and utilities providers.
g) The public are always welcome to attend meetings of the Overview and Scrutiny
Committee and to suggest areas of public concern that they would like to see
tackled by the Committee. A pro forma to request scrutiny of a topic can be found
on page 6.
3. Overview and Scrutiny Activities
Scrutiny activities include:
a) Scrutiny of Decisions made by Cabinet – Call-ins. The Overview and Scrutiny
Committee can “call in” a decision which has been made by the Cabinet but not yet
implemented. This enables the Committee to consider if the decision is appropriate
and it may recommend that the Cabinet reconsiders the decision.
b) Commenting on Budget Proposals – Budget Monitoring and Draft Budget reports
are cyclical items on the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme.
Scrutiny Handbook and Annual Report
2
37
2012/2013
c) Pre - Scrutiny:
 Commenting on and making input into Corporate Priorities
 Contributing to the Development of Draft Policies
 Looking at key agenda items before they go to Cabinet.
Pre – Scrutiny enables greater co-ordination between the Cabinet and Scrutiny
work programmes ensuring Overview and Scrutiny Committee input into key
agenda items, thus reducing the likelihood of Call–ins.
d) Performance Monitoring – this is a regular cyclical item on the work programme.
Performance Monitoring reports are a useful tool in highlighting areas which may
require further investigation. They are equally important for showing areas of the
Council‟s work which are going particularly well!
e) Presentations – the Committee may request presentations from external bodies on
an item of interest. These are usually followed by a question answer session to gain
a further insight into the chosen subject.
f) Reviews – the Overview and Scrutiny Committee may choose to look at a topic in
depth and over a period of time. This could be undertaken by the whole Committee
or by a Task and Finish Group.
g) Petitions – the Committee considers any petitions received from members of the
public. These can be submitted electronically or in hard copy
4. The work of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee 2012 - 2013
There have been a number of areas of work carried out by the Overview and Scrutiny
Committee over the year:







Call-in and holding the Cabinet to account
Budget monitoring
Pre-scrutiny
Review work
Time limited task and finish review work
Joint Scrutiny
Petitions
Minutes and reports of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meetings can be found
on the Council‟s website via the link below:
http://www.northnorfolk.org/apps/committees/default.asp?pathh=Scrutiny%20Committee
a) Call-in
The Committee called-in one decision made by the Cabinet in 2012 – 2013. This
was in November 2012 and concerned the Cabinet‟s decision relating to the Dual
Use Sports Centre at North Walsham. The Committee made two recommendations
to Cabinet. These were considered at the next Cabinet meeting and they resolved
not to accept the recommendations of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee.
b) Budget Monitoring
Budget Monitoring reports were received in September and November 2012 and
February and March 2012. Reports have also been received on the Base Budget,
Final Accounts, Treasury Management and Debt Management.
Scrutiny Handbook and Annual Report
3
38
2012/2013
c) Pre-scrutiny
Pre-scrutiny in the year 2012/13 has included the Community Asset Transfer Policy
d) Review work
The Overview and Scrutiny Committee has continued to review specific areas of
service provision within the Council. Regular updates have been received on the
waste contract, environmental sustainability, customer services, shared services
(Revenues and Benefits), the Big Society Fund and the Council‟s health strategy.
A specific review was undertaken on the Council‟s links and appointments to
outside bodies. This resulted in the Committee considering the value of some of the
appointments and a recommendation that the number was reduced. This
recommendation was accepted by Council.
e) Joint scrutiny
In September 2011 the Committee embarked on a joint scrutiny of public transport
with Broadland District Council. The Members from NNDC were Mr T FitzPatrick,
Ms V R Gay, Mrs B A McGoun and Mr R Reynolds. The final recommendations
were considered by the Committee in October 2012, and the Leader endorsed a
joint letter from Broadland DC and NNDC to the County Council. The Committee
recommended that NNDC should continue to work on how the recommendations
could be implemented locally. In March 2013 it was agreed that the Council would
work with Victory Housing Association to undertake a „gap analysis‟ of community
transport provision across the District. Regular updates will be provided to the
Committee and the issue will be considered in depth when the grant funding for
community transport is reviewed at the end of the financial year.
f) Petitions
During 2012-13, one petition was presented to the Scrutiny Committee, opposing
the Council‟s proposal to remove the access steps at Happisburgh beach for safety
reasons. Two representatives from the local parish council attended the Committee
meeting and spoke in favour of removing the steps. The Chairman visited the site to
ensure that he had a good understanding of the issues. The Committee agreed to
monitor the situation over the coming months.
5. Successes and challenges
In 2012 - 13 the Overview and Scrutiny Committee refocused its efforts on looking at
issues of concern to local residents. Consequently several presentations were received
on a range of topics such as ambulance performance, the new North Norfolk Clinical
Commissioning Group (NNCCG), the Norfolk Credit Union and Learning 4 Everyone (a
programme aimed at getting people back into work). These sessions were well
attended by Members and enabled the Committee to ask some probing questions. It is
anticipated that the regular updates will be received during 2013/14 on the ambulance
service and the work of the NNCCG.
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2012/2013
The Overview and Scrutiny Committee has continued to review specific areas of
service provision within the Council (as outlined above) The health updates have led to
more detailed information being requested on a diverse range of topics such as training
in the use of defibrillators and the management of home-based care in the district.
Challenges for 2013/14 include:





Taking scrutiny out into the community – during September and October 2013
the Committee will be holding its meetings at external venues – one in the east
of the District and one in the west. It is hoped that members of the public will
feel encouraged to attend these meetings.
Focussing on topics of interest to residents of the District. The committee has
contacted the Norfolk Association of Local Councils (NALC) and is planning to
work with them to bring forward items of local interest for the committee to
consider.
Pre-scrutiny will include a review of CCTV provision across the District.
Continuing to monitor performance against the Annual Action Plan.
Continuing to review areas of interest to committee members and local
residents including affordable housing, leisure and renewable energy.
6. Members of the Committee 2012 – 2013
Councillors: Eric Seward – Chair, Barry Smith – Vice Chair
Annie Claussen-Reynolds, Virginia Gay, Ann Green, Benjamin Jarvis, Peter Moore,
John Perry-Warnes, Roy Reynolds, Norman Smith, Richard Smith, Peter Terrington,
7. How to get in touch with the Overview and Scrutiny Committee
Members of the public wishing to find out more about the scrutiny process are
requested to contact Democratic Services at democraticservices@north-norfolk.gov.uk
If you have any topic suggestions for scrutiny please use the form attached at the end
of this document.
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40
2012/2013
If you would like this document in large print, audio, Braille, alternative
format or in a different language please contact democraticservices@northnorfolk.gov.uk
Request form to raise an item for Scrutiny Review
Councillors should be asked to carry out the following scrutiny review:
Please give your reasons (continue on a separate sheet if necessary)
Name:
Address:
Daytime Tel No
Email:
Signature
Date
Scrutiny Handbook and Annual Report
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2012/2013
Please return this form to Democratic Services, Council Offices, Holt Road, Cromer,
NR27 9JW
Tel 01263 516047
Email: democraticservices@north-norfolk.gov.uk
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2012/2013
Agenda Item 19
Affordable Housing Update
Summary:
This report provides information on expected
affordable housing delivery for 2013/14 and
2014/15. It also sets out how many affordable
dwellings have been agreed to be provided on
market sites. Finally it provides an explanation of
the Help to Buy scheme which assists
purchasers to buy a newly built home with a
minimum 5% deposit.
Conclusions:
It is expected that 80 affordable dwellings will be
completed in 2013/14 and a further 143 are
expected to be completed in 2014/15. To date
205 affordable dwellings have been agreed to be
provided on 5 market sites across the district.
Recommendation:
That the content of this report is noted.
Contact Officer: Nicola Turner, Housing Team Leader – Strategy
01263 516222, nicola.turner@north-norfolk.gov.uk
1.
Introduction
1.1
This paper provides an update on affordable housing in terms of
expected affordable housing completions for 2013/14 and 2014/15
and also affordable housing which has been secured through market
developments. Finally it provides information on the Help to Buy
scheme which enables purchasers to buy a new home with a
minimum of a 5% deposit.
2.
Expected Affordable Housing Completions
2.1
In 2013/14 it is predicted that 80 affordable dwellings will be
completed although 3 schemes which provide 41 affordable dwellings
have already been completed.
2.2
In 2014/15 it is expected that 143 affordable dwellings will be
provided, although there is potential for a further 18 affordable
dwellings to be provided subject to funding for these schemes
becoming available.
2.3
The tables at Appendix E provide detail on the affordable housing
schemes which are currently expected to complete in 2013/14 and
20145/15 in terms of the location and types of affordable housing to
be provided. The expected completion date of an affordable housing
43
Agenda Item 19
scheme can slip into a later financial year for a number of reasons,
such as adverse weather or delays in connection of services.
3.
Affordable Housing on Market Sites
3.1
Policy H02 of the Council’s Core Strategy requires the provision of
affordable housing on eligible sites, subject to viability. Since the
Core Strategy was adopted in 2008 and the Site Allocations
Document was adopted in 2010 (which allocated the first new housing
sites in North Norfolk in over 20 years), there have been a number of
full planning applications which will deliver affordable housing. A
number of outline applications, which establish the principal of
residential development have also been submitted, with the affordable
housing to be agreed at reserved matters stage.
3.2
In total at the end of June 2013, 205 affordable dwellings have been
agreed to be provided on the following 5 sites:

Norwich Road, Cromer – 16 rented dwellings which represents
32% of the total number of dwellings (50). This scheme is
onsite. The affordable housing is expected to be provided in 2
phases with the final phase completed in January 2014.

Stalham Road, Hoveton – 43 rented dwellings and 11 shared
ownership dwellings which represents 45% of the total number
of dwellings (120). This scheme is onsite. The affordable
housing is expected to be provided in 2 or 3 phases with the
final phase completed in March 2015.

Langham Road, Blakeney – 9 rented dwellings and 3 shared
ownership dwellings which represents 50% of the total number
of dwellings (24). This scheme is onsite with the affordable
dwellings expected to be provided in May 2014.

Ingham Road, Stalham – 51 rented dwellings and 17 for sale
on a shared equity basis which represents 45% of the total
number of dwellings (150).

Market Lane, Wells-next-the-Sea – 40 rented dwellings and 15
for sale on a shared equity basis which represents 45% of the
total number of dwellings (123)
4
Help to Buy
4.1
Prior to the current economic climate, mortgages of 95% of the value
of the property were common, as were mortgages of 100% or in some
cases more than 100%. Whilst deposit requirements have reduced
more recently, there is restricted availability of mortgages with a 5%
deposit. In order to access a mortgage with reasonable terms a
minimum deposit of 10% is required, although as the size of the
deposit increases so does the range of good value mortgages
available. The Help to Buy scheme therefore seeks to stimulate
house building by enabling more purchasers to buy a home even if
they only have a deposit of 5%.
4.2
The Help to Buy scheme is only available to purchasers
buying a newly built home. The scheme allows purchasers who have
a small deposit of at least 5% to buy a home on a more advantageous
44
Agenda Item 19
mortgage term, as the Government provides an equity loan of up to
20% of the value of the home being purchased. The purchaser then
has a mortgage for the remaining 75% of the purchase price. The
equity loan is free for the first 5 years, with interest being charged
from year 6, the rate of interest charged increases every year based
on a fixed formula. The purchaser can choose to repay the equity
loan in full or in installments prior to the deadline for repayment. The
loan must be repaid when the property is sold or after 25 years. To
be eligible the property being purchased must not cost more than
£600,000 and be purchased with a repayment mortgage.
4.3
From 1 January 2014 the government will also make available the
Help to Buy guarantee scheme. This scheme applies to existing as
well as new build homes. The full details of the scheme have yet to
be released.
4.4
Other schemes exist to help people become home owners:
5

Right to Buy for Council tenants (and preserved Right to Buy
for Housing Associations tenants who were Council tenants
and there home was transferred to a Housing Association.

Shared Ownership – allowing a purchaser to buy a share in
the property and the Housing Association owns the unsold
share. Rent is paid to the Housing Association.

Shared Equity/ Discount Sale – similar to shared ownership
but no rent is paid.

NewBuy – launched in partnership with developers is similar to
the Help to Buy and is industry led.
Conclusions
It is expected that 80 affordable dwellings will be completed in
2013/14 and a further 143 are expected to be completed in 2014/15.
To date 205 affordable dwellings have been agreed to be provided on
5 market sites across the district.
45
Appendix E
2013-14
Provider
Victory HT
Scheme
Honing, Fair View Exception Housing Scheme
(EHS)
Victory HT
North Walsham, Hall Lane
Victory HT
Affordable
Sale
Rent
Nil
Grant
Total
Scheme Mix
Notes
1 x 2bb
Complete
Compete
1
0
0
1
16
0
0
16
4 x 1bf, 8 x 2bf, 4 x 2bb
Hempton EHS
7
0
0
7
2 x 2bf, 4 x 2bh, 1 x 3bh
Broadland
Fulmodeston EHS
4
0
0
4
1 x 2 bb, 4 x 2 bh, 3 x 3 bh
Victory HT
Briston, Fakenham Rd, Phase 2
6
0
0
6
4 x 1 bf, 2 x 2 bb
Victory HT
Fakenham, Holt Road
19
5
0
24
2 x 1bf, 4 x 2bf, 1 x 2bb wc, 5 x
2bh, 5 x 3bh, 2 x 4bh for rent
plus 5 x 2bh s/o
Victory HT
North Walsham Mundesley Road
15
0
0
15
1 x 1 bh, 2 x 1bf, 12 x 2bf
Victory HT &
Orbit East
Total
dwellings
Hoveton, Stalham Road
7
0
0
7
75
5
0
80
Complete
7 x 2 Bed Houses
Early
completions
on this site
Scheme Mix
Notes
2014-15
Provider
Scheme
Orbit East
Felmingham, EHS
Victory HT
Affordable
Sale
Rent
8
Langham Road, Blakeney
9
46
0
3
Nil
Grant
Total
0
12
8
2 x 2 bf, 3 x 2 bh, 1 x 2 bb, 2 x
3bh
12
4 x 1 bf, 1 x 2bb, 1 x 2bbwc, 2
x 2bf, 1 x 4bh for rent plus 1 x
2bh, 2 x 3bh s/o
Appendix E
2014 -2015 Continued
Victory HT
North Walsham EHS
36
0
0
36
6 x 1bf, 4 x 2bf, 12 2bh, 5 x
2bb, 1 x 2bb wc, , 5 x 3bh, 3 x
4bh
Victory HT
Aylmerton EHS
10
0
0
10
3 x 3bh, 5 x 2bh & 2 x 2bf
Broadland
Upper Sheringham Blowlands Lane EHS
8
0
0
8
Victory HT &
Orbit East
Hoveton, Stalham Road
Victory HT
Cooper Road, North Walsham
Victory HT
Norwich Road, Cromer
36
11
47
47
4
0
0
4
16
0
16
16
2 x 2 bb, 2 x 2bf, 2 x 2 bh, 1 x
3bh, 1 x 4bh
6x 1bf, 6 x 2bf, 6 x2bb, 3 X
2bbwc, 13 x 2bh, 1 x 3bbwc, 4
X 3bh, 3 x 4bh, 1 x 5bh for rent
and 7 x 2bhm 4 x 3bh s/o
4 x 1bf
4 x 1bf, 2x2bf, 1 x 2bb, 5 x
2bh, 3 x 3bh, 1 x 4bh
Victory HT
Fakenham , Greenway Close
2
0
0
2
to be confirmed
Victory HT
Fakenham , Jubilee Avenue
2
0
0
2
2 x 1bf
Broadland
Total
dwellings
Bodham Phase 2 EHS
10
6
0
16
141
20
75
161
Key
b = bedrooms where 1b is a property with 1 bedroom
h = house
f = flat
b = bungalow (where 2bb is a 2 bed bungalow)
47
Remaining
completions
on this site
4 x 1bf, 2 x 2 bb, 2 x 2bh, 2 x
3bh for rent and 2 x 2bb, 3 x
2bh, 1 x 3bh s/o
Subject to
funding
confirmation
Subject to
funding
Appendix E
wc = a wheelchair standard property
s/o is shared ownership
48