Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Performance and Growth) meeting held on 1st October 2019.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 1st October 2019 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

(At 7.05pm, during the discussion of this item, Councillor S Wakeford entered the meeting.)

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

No declarations of interest were received.

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 has been appended in the Minute Book) which has been prepared by the Executive Leader for the period 1st November 2019 to 29th February 2020.

Following a query, it was confirmed that the Establishment of Employment Company report will be presented to Overview and Scrutiny before being presented to Cabinet.

The Panel are to consider the Integrated Performance Report 2019/20 - Quarter 2.

With the aid of a report by the Business Intelligence and Performance Manager and the Finance Manager (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) the Integrated Performance of the Council for Quarter 2 of 2019/20 was presented to the Panel.

Before introducing the report, the Chief Operating Officer introduced himself and explained the role and what services he will be responsible for. The Panel was given an overview of how well the Council are doing against the Key Actions and Performance Indicators. In addition to this the Panel was given further details of the projects that were delayed. These include the server room migration which is almost complete, Council Anywhere which is a time based slippage previously reported to Members and the IT Business System for Operations which the Council are making progress.

Councillor Gaskin asked if there could be a link between getting Council Anywhere up and running and reducing the heating costs. In reply it was explained that as more Officers are willing to work from home, it could be possible reduce heating costs.

A question was asked if Key Action 25 includes the backdated rental income from a tenant in Riverside Park. The Chief Operating Officer has stated he would find out whether it did or not. In relation to the same Key Action, Councillor Chapman asked what the process for the removal of restricted covenants was and are Parish and Town Councils notified. The Chief Operating Officer stated that he would clarify the process and respond.

Councillor Gulson asked why £285k was pulled out of reserves for Transformation but that no explanation was given in the report. In response, the Chief Operating Officer confirmed that the £285k was related to planned investment and that Transformation works on projects around the Council.

It was noted that there were some Performance Indicators where no update had been received but Members were informed that the reason for this was because a team had recently lost a key member of staff. Members were assured these indicators were forecast to be Green.

A question was asked about why had there been a higher than expected number of avoidable contacts, in response it was explained that there had been slippage in the delivery of a project which would allow customers to log a street scene request and track it themselves. This in turn has resulted a higher than forecast number of calls to log requests and more calls to track those requests. Once the project is complete it is hoped that avoidable contact will be reduced.

There was some confusion over the status of the One Leisure St Ives Changing Rooms project but it was clarified that the project is currently pending approval and this is down to the fact that there are other projects outstanding which require completing first. It was noted that the project has not been update since July and the Chief Operating Officer stated that he will seek a further update.

Concern was expressed that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40.

The Treasury Management Six Month Performance Review is to be presented to the Panel.

With the aid of a report by the Finance Manager (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) the Treasury Management Six Month Performance Review was presented to the Panel. For clarification, the Finance Manager confirmed that the total in table six is incorrect and informed Members of the correct total.

In response to a question on long term borrowing, the Executive Councillor for Resources stated that the borrow was predominantly for property purchases under the Commercial Investment Strategy (CIS). In addition, the Panel was informed that phase one of the CIS has drawn to a closed. Further discussion on the CIS continued and the Executive Councillor stated that the CIS has achieved what the Council set out to achieve in phase one and that the next phase is looking at what the Council can do beyond earning revenue for Council services. The Panel was interested to hear this and decided that this is an area of potential future investigation.

Members were informed that the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) interest rate has increased which will have an impact upon other projects the Council are considering.

When asked about loans to other organisations, it was confirmed to the Panel that loans have been made to Luminus and Huntingdon Town Council, as well as smaller loans to other organisations.

A discussion ensued on the current CIS property values. It was recognised that this is a technical accounting exercise and what is shown is the current property values before new leases are negotiated and in place.

The Executive Councillor for Resources thanked the Finance Manager and her team in the preparation of the Treasury Management Review.

The Panel are to receive the Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme. In addition to this the Panel will receive Cabinet feedback on the Accelerating the Delivery of Affordable Housing Task and Finish Group’s report.

With the aid of a report by the Democratic Services Officer (Scrutiny) (a copy of which has been appended in the Minute Book), the Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme was presented to the Panel. In addition to this, the Cabinet Feedback on the Accelerating the Delivery of Affordable Housing Task and Finish Group (a copy of which has been appended in the Minute Book) was presented to the Panel.

The Panel discussed the Cabinet Feedback on the Task and Finish Group study. Members queried the entry that stated that the Executive Councillor believed he should have been invited. The Chairman responded that the Executive Councillor should only be invited as an expert witness and not as a participant as it would compromise Overview and Scrutiny’s independence.

Councillor Wakeford stated that he believed that whilst Rural Exception sites have their place, they do not deserve the fanfare they have been given in the Local Plan.

Confusion was expressed by Members on the point of Housing Associations, as the report stated that the Council should collaborate with Housing Associations whereas the feedback suggested that Housing Associations should do more by themselves.

Community Land Trusts were discussed and although they had been dismissed by the Task and Finish Group in this study, the Panel agreed that they could revisit the issue at a future point.

A question was raised as to whether the Council should look at using unoccupied properties for affordable housing, however Members were informed that this is already be reviewed.

(At 8.41pm, during the discussion of this item, Councillor J A Gray left the meeting and did not return.)