61.1           The evacuation procedure, as noted on the Agenda, was advised to those present.

61.2           The Chair welcomed Steve Maginn from Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service to the meeting and indicated that he would be giving a presentation at Agenda Item 7.  It was noted that Councillor D M M Davies, Lead Member for Built Environment, would be introducing the Housing Strategy Review report at Agenda Item 8 as Chair of the Working Group which had undertaken the review.  Councillor R E Allen, Lead Member for Health and Wellbeing, was also present for Item 8 and Councillor Mrs E J MacTiernan was in attendance as an observer in her role as Lead Member for Organisational Development. The Chair also welcomed the new Deputy Chief Executive, Robert Weaver, to the meeting.

62.1           Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Mrs G F Blackwell (Vice-Chair) and Mrs H C McLain.  Councillor Mrs J Greening would be acting as a substitute for the meeting. 

63.1           The Committee’s attention was drawn to the Tewkesbury Borough Council Code of Conduct which was adopted by the Council on 26 June 2012 and took effect from 1 July 2012.

63.2           There were no declarations of interest made on this occasion.

To approve the Minutes of the meeting held on 29 November 2016.

64.1           The Minutes of the meeting held on 29 November 2016, copies of which had been circulated, were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair. 

To determine whether there are any questions for the relevant Lead Members and what support the Overview and Scrutiny Committee can give to work contained within the Plan.

65.1           Attention was drawn to the Executive Committee Forward Plan, circulated at Pages No. 15-18.  Members were asked to determine whether there were any questions for the relevant Lead Members and what support the Overview and Scrutiny Committee could give to the work contained within the Plan.

65.2           A Member noted that some of the Agenda looked very light; this was an issue which had been raised by the Committee on several occasions.  In response, the Chief Executive explained that there were fluctuations with all Committee Agenda; however, he recognised that they needed to be planned as far as possible, particularly from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s point of view in terms of keeping abreast of forthcoming items to be considered by the Executive Committee and the support which it may be able to offer.  He had recently sent a reminder to Officers to ensure that items were placed on the Forward Plan in a timely manner and he provided assurance that this was something he would be monitoring.

65.3           With regard to the confidential item in respect of the transfer of sports facilities at Cold Pool Lane, due to be considered by the Committee at its meeting on 26 April 2017, a Member questioned whether this could be agreed before the new financial year.  The Chief Executive explained that the transfer of facilities was a long process and there were a series of actions still to be taken, including identifying the sports clubs which may be likely to take on the facilities, therefore 26 April was the earliest that this item was likely to come forward.  He clarified that it was not essential for this matter to be resolved within the current financial year. 

65.4           It was

RESOLVED          That the Executive Committee Forward Plan be NOTED.

To consider the forthcoming work of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

66.1           Attention was drawn to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme, 2016/17, circulated at Pages No. 19-22, which Members were asked to consider.

66.2           The Head of Corporate Services explained that an update on the Community Safety Partnership had been removed from the Agenda for the present meeting as it had been suspended pending a countywide review of Community Safety Partnerships.  This work had now been completed and a report would be brought to the next meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 7 February 2017.  Members were also informed that the Economic Development and Tourism Strategy Review Working Group had not yet concluded its findings and a report would not be ready to bring to the next meeting of the Committee.  As such, this item would now be brought to the meeting on 21 March 2017.  A Member raised concern that this review had been ongoing for some time and he questioned whether the new deadline was achievable.  In response, Members were advised that the Officers involved had provided assurance that the work would be concluded in time for the March meeting. 

66.3           It was noted that David Steels had now left his post as Environmental Health Manager and the Work Programme would need to be updated to reflect that.  The Chief Executive indicated that Tewkesbury Borough Council had entered into an arrangement with Cheltenham Borough Council through which their Environmental Health Manager, Yvonne Hope, would run the Environmental Health and Licensing services whilst the potential for further collaboration with Cheltenham Borough Council was explored in respect of those services.  In response to a Member query, he advised that Yvonne would be working four days per week and she was already in post.  As part of the same arrangement, Cheltenham Borough Council was providing extra support within the Licensing team.  Alastair Low from the Environmental Health team had also picked up some additional work including taking on the role of District Emergency Planning Liaison Officer (DEPLO) where he was supported by Adrian Goode as Deputy DEPLO.  The new Head of Community Services, Peter Tonge, would be joining the team at the end of the month at which time Richard Kirk, the Interim Head of Service, would leave the authority.

66.4           Having considered the information provided, it was

RESOLVED          That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme 2016/17 be NOTED.

To receive a presentation from the Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service. 

67.1           The Chair introduced Steve Maginn, Local Risk Manager from the Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service, and indicated that he would be giving a presentation about the impact of fire prevention and protection.

67.2           Members were advised that, when Stewart Edgar had been appointed as the Chief Fire Officer and Operations Director in 2014, he had a clear remit in terms of making efficiency savings and a new service delivery model had been introduced as a result.  At the time there had been 33 pumping appliances across 22 stations with a budget of £18.25M and it had been necessary to reduce that by £3.4M.  This had resulted in an unparalleled strategic review of all aspects of service delivery and support with the main outcomes being the reduction in demand on response and the creation of capacity to implement a greater prevention strategy.  Prevention and protection was now at the heart of all of the work carried out by the Fire and Rescue Service.  The catalyst for change was a piece of work carried out by Severn Park Fire and Rescue Service in the south-west which had looked at a range of 100 fires and highlighted seven ‘at risk’ groups within communities.  Once these groups had been established, links had been made with the Police, health services and other agencies to identify where those people were located.  Historically the Fire Service had undertaken a lot of home safety visits and, given that people felt comfortable with allowing Fire Officers into their homes, this had evolved from offering basic fundamental fire safety advice to ‘Safe and Well’ checks and had helped to identify vulnerable people.  It was now possible to map where the most vulnerable groups were located and to plan resources and develop the prevention strategy accordingly. 

67.3           As part of the Safe and Well visits, a pilot scheme had been run with Public Health England regarding winter-related illnesses.  The scheme had involved five stations over a three month period during winter 2015/16 and 6,304 visits had been conducted during that time.  It had been targeted at the over 65’s and had focused on four main contributors to winter-related illness including the prevention of falls; the prevention of cold homes; the prevention of social isolation; and ensuring that people received flu immunisation.  The project had included tackling the underlying causes of fire, fire fatalities and injuries whilst also improving the health and wellbeing of vulnerable adults.  Through the scheme, the Fire and Rescue Service had been able to signpost the most vulnerable people in the community and look at safeguarding.  It was hoped that the success of the scheme could be repeated this year with the addition of eye sight checks; this was one of the biggest issues with people aged over 65 and could cause problems in an emergency e.g. being able to get out of a property quickly.

67.4           With regard to telecare, the remote monitoring of an individual’s condition or lifestyle, Members were informed that, under the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 67.

To consider the achievements made to date in respect of the outcomes identified in the Housing Renewal and Homelessness Strategy 2012-16; to endorse the Housing Strategy 2017-21 and first year action plan and to refer it to Council for adoption; and to endorse the arrangements in respect of future action plans arising from the strategy and monitoring.

68.1           Attention was drawn to the report of the Housing Strategy Review Working Group, circulated at Pages No. 23-213.  Members were asked to consider the achievements to date in respect of the outcomes identified in the Housing, Renewal and Homelessness Strategy 2012-16 Action Plan; to endorse the Housing Strategy 2017-21 and the first year action plan and recommend to Council that it be adopted with effect from 1 January 2017; and to endorse the arrangements in respect of future action plans arising from the strategy and monitoring as set out at Paragraph 4 of the report.  Members noted that there was an error in the final recommendation which should refer to Paragraph 5 of the report.

68.2           The Chair of the Housing Strategy Review Working Group, and Lead Member for Built Environment, indicated that he was happy to present the 2015/16 achievements of the Housing, Renewal and Homelessness Strategy 2012-16 and to draw that strategy to a close whilst presenting the Committee with a new five year Housing Strategy for 2017-21.  He explained that the Housing Advice team continued to provide advice and assistance via a drop-in service at the Public Services Centre to over 1,000 customers annually; in 2015/16 1,360 households had received support.  It was noted that the number of residents seeking advice had doubled since 2010.  The number of residents approaching the Council with serious housing difficulty, who were in need of in-depth assistance, had risen by 24% during the lifetime of the previous strategy to 229 households in the last financial year, which was in line with national homeless trends.  A renewed emphasis on homeless prevention during the lifetime of the strategy had resulted in a slight reduction in homeless applications.  On average, 120 households approached the Council as homeless each year, of which about half were accepted as homeless; although the figures did vary year on year.  The last financial year had seen a slight drop in the number of homelessness approaches but the figure year on year was relatively stable.  Of those approaches, the numbers accepted had slightly reduced but, similarly, remained stable.  Homelessness prevention figures had seen a significant increase in the last financial year to 172; on average the preventions had been at around 105 per year.  In the current financial year (April to December 2016), the number of preventions stood at 87 households.  Members were advised that the Housing Advice team focused on preventative services rather than dealing with customers in crisis having already reached a state of homelessness.  Officers sought to assist customers early and positively through landlord negotiations, family mediation or supporting them to find alternative accommodation, including access to private rented housing where appropriate.  The Anti-Social Behaviour Youth Diversion Worker had an essential role in homelessness prevention and worked with housing services, housing providers/landlords and the Police in order to prevent evictions where the household was likely to become homeless due to anti-social behaviour.  The countywide Sanctuary Scheme for households experiencing domestic violence had been remarkably successful.  Since  ...  view the full minutes text for item 68.

To consider the report on the effectiveness of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and to approve the recommendations set out at Paragraph 2.5. 

69.1           The report of the Head of Corporate Services, circulated at Pages No. 214-229, set out the findings of an assessment of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s effectiveness.  Members were asked to approve the recommendations identified at Paragraph 2.5 of the report.

69.2           The Head of Corporate Services explained that the Corporate Peer Challenge, completed in November 2014, had recognised how the Overview and Scrutiny Committee made an important contribution and had made recommendations to maximise its value and increase effectiveness.  Work had subsequently been undertaken by the Committee both in 2015 and in 2016, when the membership of the Committee had changed following Borough Council elections, to obtain Members’ views and ideas.  At the workshop held on 9 February 2016, Members had agreed to be critiqued by an independent assessor and Ann Reeder from Frontline Consulting had observed the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 14 June 2016.  Initial observations had been fed back to the Committee directly following the meeting and the formal report was attached at Appendix 1 of the Committee report. 

69.3           The Head of Corporate Services had summarised the main findings within Paragraph 2.0 of the Committee report.  Ann had highlighted numerous examples of good practice including the publication of the annual Overview and Scrutiny Committee report; commitment of the Committee and robust Chairmanship; strong Officer support; relevant and significant issues being included within the Work Programme; and the Committee’s understanding of ‘what mattered’ e.g. policy development and issues relating to the Borough.  Another area where the Committee really added value was when undertaking reviews in Working Group mode, for instance, the reviews of car parking, public participation at Planning Committee, the Housing Strategy and the emerging Economic Development and Tourism Strategy.  The report recommendations were very detailed and there were several statements of fact about what was already taking place.  For example, it was suggested that the Committee focus on RAG (Red, Amber, Green) ratings and direction of travel indicators – these were used within the performance tracker; the report had pointed out that Members could be reminded that they could make suggestions for the Agenda – Members were already aware that they could input into the Committee Work Programme as and when they felt appropriate; and, it was stated that the pre-meeting could usefully help the Committee as a whole to identify the overall areas for focus – the Head of Corporate Services tried to do this in the pre-briefings which were held immediately prior to the Committee meetings.

69.4           Following discussion between Officers, the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Committee and the Lead Member, it was felt that some of the recommendations would add no value to the effectiveness of the Committee and, in some cases the benefits would be disproportionate to the resources available to effectively implement the recommendation, for instance, Members sharing out responsibility for specific areas of performance; conducting preparation for pre-briefings via email in advance; and the introduction of a Select Committee style seating arrangement.  Three key  ...  view the full minutes text for item 69.