Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 9th January 2018.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 9th January 2018 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive from Members declarations as to disclosable pecuniary and other interests in relation to any Agenda item.

Councillor L R Swain declared a non-statutory disclosable interest in relation to Minute Number 69, as he is acquainted with Dr Dungerwalla due to previous volunteer work carried out.

A copy of the current Notice of Key Executive Decisions is attached. Members are invited to note the Plan and to comment as appropriate on any items contained therein.

The Panel received and noted the current Notice of Key Executive Decisions (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) which has been prepared by the Executive Leader for the period 1st February 2018 to 31st May 2018.

The Head of Community gave the Panel an update of the feedback received regarding the Corporate Enforcement Policy.

The Panel are to receive a presentation on the work of Citizens Advice Rural Cambs.

Dr Batul Dungarwalla, Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Advice Rural Cambs and Trevor Evans, Trustee and Chair of the Citizens Advice Rural Cambs Board was in attendance to give a presentation on the work of the organisation to the Panel.

Before Dr Dungerwalla and Mr Evans spoke the Head of Community, with the aid of a briefing note (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) gave the Panel an update of the background on Citizens Advice Rural Cambs (CARC) and their working relationship with the Council.

The Panel was informed that, according to a survey by BritainThinks, Citizens Advice is the third most recognised brand in the UK after the BBC and the NHS. CARC have 30 members of staff equating to 13 full time equivalents and 115 trained volunteers of which half are based in Huntingdonshire.

In Huntingdonshire, for quarters 1 to 3 2017/18, CARC had helped 2587 unique clients, each requiring, on average, 4 hours of support. CARC provide a face to face service in Huntingdonshire’s four market towns and 80% of calls are resolved at the first point of contact, there is also contact with customers through the website via a web chat facility. In addition, CARC subcontract Disability Huntingdonshire (DISH) to carry out home visits on their behalf.

CARC has enable Huntingdonshire residents to claim an additional £71k and renegotiated £96k of debt. They have assisted many clients with financial skills and CARC now incorporates financial skills into every appointment. Dr Dungerwalla stated that two out of three clients have had their problems solved within six months. The Panel was provided with a case study.

Members were informed of the transformation journey CARC had undertaken. The service had found the most cost effective locations to operate from, to this extent CARC has mapped where their clients are located and what service they most need. CARC try to mobilise staff and deliver services to people, where they want, when they want and how they want.

In response to a question, the Panel was informed that CARC receives £115,700k per annum, of which £15k is paid to DISH, who are subcontracted to carry out home visits. In addition to this CARC receives funds from various Parish and Town Councils within the District. It was confirmed that the money CARC receives from the Council is spent in Huntingdonshire. Dr Dungerwalla added that the benefit of subcontracting home visits to DISH has been approximately £389k.

Members were informed of the opening times for CARC’s offices in Huntingdon and St Neots and were informed that CARC pays rent for both the office spaces.

The Panel was informed that CARC often discover vulnerable residents through GP surgeries. Currently CARC are piloting a scheme in Ramsey and if it is successful will then go to the Clinical Commissioning Group to request funding. A Member added that they thought the pilot was worthwhile as isolation is an issue and any scheme that enables CARC to interact with those who  ...  view the full minutes text for item 69.

The Panel will receive an update on the questions that were sent to Cambridgeshire County Council.

The Democratic Services Officer (Scrutiny) provided a verbal update on the questions that were sent to Cambridgeshire County Council following the meeting on 9th January 2018. In the update, the Panel was informed that no response was received. Members expressed disappointment at not receiving a response and requested that the questions are sent to Mr Hayward again but that his line manager is copied into the correspondence.

Members are to receive the work programmes for all Overview and Scrutiny Panels.

There will also be an update from Councillor Mrs J Tavener on the work of the Tree Group.

With the aid of a report by the Democratic Services Officer (Scrutiny) (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book), the Panel reviewed all Panels’ work programmes.

Councillor Mrs J Tavener gave the Panel an update on the work of the Tree Strategy Working Group. Members were informed that the Group has had three meetings with the last one taking place on 5th December 2017 and the next one on 22nd February 2018.

Councillor Tavener informed the Panel that at the Group’s last meeting, Members had met with the Head of Development and discussed the following: Conservation Area or Tree Preservation Orders, trees at new developments, planning for the inclusion of trees, Highways England and County Council Policy on planting trees, trees in industrial areas, trees used in gateway approaches, landscaping, training of tree wardens and networking of tree wardens.

Regarding training for Tree Wardens, the Panel was informed that the Tree Council is a national charity that provides training for prospective Tree Wardens.

In addition, the Panel was informed that the Executive Councillor for Community Resilience, Well-Being and Regulatory Services will devote some time, at the next Parish and Town Council Forum to discussing the work of tree wardens. Members were keen that the names of tree wardens are distributed to all Members.

Councillor Tavener added that the Executive Leader stated, via a written statement, that “the budget thereby released [by the removal of the Tree Warden post] will be redirected into the Landscape Officer post that we desperately need. This will happen later this year. On the more general point, support for the tree strategy, and liaison with the Town and Parish Councils, will continue as we now have a full time Tree Officer in Planning together with other tree officers in Operations”.

Upon request, the Democratic Services Officer (Scrutiny) gave Members an update on the work of the Strategic Review of Car Parking Task and Finish Group.