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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Severn

Contact: Democratic Services Tel: 01684 272021  Email:  democraticservices@tewkesbury.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

39.

Announcements

When the continuous alarm sounds you must evacuate the building by the nearest available fire exit. Members and visitors should proceed to the visitors’ car park at the front of the building and await further instructions (during office hours staff should proceed to their usual assembly point; outside of office hours proceed to the visitors’ car park). Please do not re-enter the building unless instructed to do so.

 

In the event of a fire any person with a disability should be assisted in leaving the building.

Minutes:

39.1          The evacuation procedure, as noted on the Agenda, was taken as read.

39.2          The Chair welcomed the representatives from the Gloucestershire Joint Waste Team to the meeting and advised that he would be taking Agenda Item 10 – Gloucestershire Joint Waste Committee Update after Agenda Item 7 – Gloucestershire Police and Crime Panel Update; he indicated that the Council’s representative on the Police and Crime Panel was in attendance to give the update.  It was noted that the Lead Member for Organisational Development was also present as an observer.

40.

Apologies for Absence and Substitutions

To receive apologies for absence and advise of any substitutions. 

Minutes:

40.1          Apologies for absence were received from Councillors J E Day, D T Foyle, T A Spencer and P D Surman.  There were no substitutions for the meeting. 

41.

Declarations of Interest

Pursuant to the adoption by the Council on 26 June 2012 of the Tewkesbury Borough Council Code of Conduct, effective from 1 July 2012, as set out in Minute No. CL.34, Members are invited to declare any interest they may have in the business set out on the Agenda to which the approved Code applies.

Minutes:

41.1           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.

41.2          There were no declarations made on this occasion.

42.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 247 KB

To approve the Minutes of the meeting held on 4 September 2018.

Minutes:

42.1          The Minutes of the meeting held on 4 September 2018, copies of which had been circulated, were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair. 

43.

Executive Committee Forward Plan pdf icon PDF 236 KB

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.

Minutes:

43.1          Attention was drawn to the Executive Committee Forward Plan, circulated at Pages No. 14-19.  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.

43.2          It was

RESOLVED          That the Executive Committee Forward Plan be NOTED

44.

Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme 2018/19 pdf icon PDF 318 KB

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

Minutes:

44.1          Attention was drawn to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme 2018/19, circulated at Pages No. 20-27, which Members were asked to consider.

44.2          In response to a query regarding the grass cutting improvement plan, the Head of Community Services suggested it might be worthwhile to establish a small Working Group of Members to assist officers with its delivery.  Members welcomed this proposal and it was subsequently agreed that a report be brought back to the next meeting to agree the Terms of Reference for the Group.  The Head of Community Services went on to advise that the Safeguarding Policy and Procedure had been identified for review in the Corporate Policies and Strategies Report which had been agreed at the last Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting.  Since that time, it had become apparent that the new ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ guidance that had been published by central government would have a significant impact on how the safeguarding committee would work at County Council level.  The work in relation to this would need to be completed by June 2019 and it would be necessary for Tewkesbury Borough Council to review its own policy once the details had been published in September 2019; on that basis, he felt it may be prudent to put the review on hold until that time.  A brief debate ensued as to whether it would be possible to work on the policy in the interim and Members were advised that, whilst it was unclear what the extent of the changes would be, Tewkesbury Borough Council’s current Safeguarding Policy was fit for purpose so there was no urgent need to start the work.  As such, Members agreed that this item should be moved to the 2019/20 Work Programme.

44.3          It was

RESOLVED          That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme 2018/19 be updated with the following amendments:

-         Additional Item - 27 November 2018 – Grass Cutting Improvement Working Group Report – to establish a Working Group to oversee delivery of the Grass Cutting Improvement Plan and to approve its Terms of Reference.

-        Review of Safeguarding Policy and Procedure to be moved from pending items to 2019/20 Work Programme.

45.

Gloucestershire Police and Crime Panel Update

To receive an update from the Council’s representative on matters considered at the last meeting. 

Minutes:

45.1          Members received an update from the Council’s representative on the Gloucestershire Police and Crime Panel, on matters discussed at the last meeting of the Panel held on 14 September 2018.

45.2          The Council’s representative indicated that, when he had reported back to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in July, a Member had enquired about crime detection rates.  He had raised this with Gloucestershire Constabulary and this had resulted in a lengthy report which had been circulated to the Committee prior to the meeting.  He did not intend to go into the detail of the report but indicated that the local Police Inspector would be happy to attend the next meeting of the Committee to take Members through the challenges and give reassurance about what was being done to address them. 

45.3          Members were advised that the Panel had received the regular Chief Executive’s report which gave updates regarding complaints, crime figures and topics discussed with the Chief Constable etc.  Tewkesbury Borough Council remained second out of 15 Most Similar Groups (where one was good) and there was a reduction of 2% in crime figures compared with the same period last year.  The Council’s representative indicated that the www.police.co.uk website was useful for finding out more information about crime in specific parts of the borough.  It was noted that a new “all age, all gender” independent sexual violence adviser service was being set up; this was a seven year contract awarded by the Police and Crime Commissioner for Gloucestershire Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre.  A number of questions had also been raised in respect of the ongoing badger cull; rural policing; and how motorists with dash-cam footage may be able to submit this to the Police in future.

45.4           Members were advised the ‘Creating a Child Friendly Gloucestershire’ proposals had generated the most discussion at the meeting with five gaps having already been identified: true voice of young people; voluntary sector; intelligence gathering; involving communities and businesses; and, mapping of work undertaken in Gloucestershire.  A steering group had been established to help move this project forward and would report back in early 2019; the group included the Chief Constable, Lord Lieutenant and the Director of Children’s Services as well as the Police and Crime Commissioner.  Members of the Panel had highlighted the good work already being carried out across the county and had spoken of the need to avoid duplication.  As part of the presentation, the Police and Crime Commissioner had highlighted funding issues for the Police and his intention to increase Council Tax by at least 4% in 2019. 

45.5          A briefing note had been provided to the Panel highlighting that the Police and Crime Commissioner now chaired the Gloucestershire Criminal Justice Board.  The role of the Police and Crime Commissioner in the “crime” part of his title continued to evolve as the Ministry of Justice devolved more powers down to a local level.  A review of the work of Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) – private sector companies which  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.

46.

Gloucestershire Joint Waste Committee Update pdf icon PDF 156 KB

To consider the progress made to date in relation to the 2018/19 Gloucestershire Joint Waste Committee Action Plan.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

46.1          Attention was drawn to the report of the Head of Community Services, circulated at Pages No. 28-65, which provided an update on progress against the Gloucestershire Joint Waste Committee Action Plan 2018/19.  Members were asked to consider the report.

46.2          Members were reminded that Tewkesbury Borough Council had joined the Joint Waste Committee in December 2014 and five of the local authorities within Gloucestershire were now members.  The Joint Waste Committee produced a three-year rolling business plan, and an annual action plan, and the Overview and Scrutiny Committee considered progress made against those plans.  The action plan for 2018/19 was attached in full at Appendix 2 to the report and progress against actions impacting on Tewkesbury Borough Council was set out at Page No. 30, Paragraph 3.1 of the report.  The Head of Community Services made particular reference to the direct delivery of all residual waste streams to the Javelin Park Energy from Waste facility from 2019.  He advised that good progress had been made in discussions with the Joint Waste Committee and Gloucestershire County Council in order to minimise disruption to Tewkesbury Borough residents; he undertook to update Members further once negotiations were complete. 

46.3           The Head of the Joint Waste Team explained that the Team provided support to the Joint Waste Committee and the waste management officers at each partner Council.  In highlighting some of the key areas of the action plan, he explained that Cotswold District Council’s vehicle fleet was coming to the end of its useful life and the Committee had supported a partnership-wide service benchmarking study with a view to inform wider service alignment across all partners.  He explained that refuse, food waste and garden waste collection was already fairly consistent across the county but recycling did tend to vary; whilst there were good reasons for this, there was scope to ensure that all authorities collected the same materials so that residents were clear on what could and could not be recycled, which was an ongoing problem – there were things that could be done to align services without making them identical.  A significant amount of time had been spent on monitoring the Javelin Park contract and it was noted that the construction project was on track so the facility could be operating by March 2019.  The discussions about how waste would be delivered were ongoing; this had highlighted the benefits of having a partnership in place as Gloucestershire County Council and Tewkesbury Borough Council had been able to get together and have an honest discussion about their objectives and desires in order to come up with a sensible outcome for both authorities. 

46.4           In addition to the projects and tasks identified in the action plan, the Joint Waste Team carried out cyclical tasks and a client-side role for the waste, recycling and street cleansing contracts and provided a customer service interface for contract, policy and service-related queries and complaints which were highlighted at Page No. 31, Paragraph 4.1 of the report.  The current  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46.

47.

Gloucestershire Health and Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee Update.

To receive an update from the Council’s representative on matters considered at the last meeting. 

Minutes:

47.1           The Chair advised that, in the absence of the Council’s representative on the Gloucestershire Health and Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee who had given her apologies for today’s meeting, the update from the Gloucestershire Health and Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting on 11 September 2018 would be circulated to Members following the meeting.

47.2          It was

RESOLVED          That the update on the last meeting of the Gloucestershire Health and Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee be circulated to the Committee following the meeting.

48.

Gloucestershire Economic Growth Scrutiny Committee Update

To receive an update from the Council’s representative on matters considered at the last meeting. 

Minutes:

48.1          Members received an update from the Council’s representative on the Gloucestershire Economic Growth Scrutiny Committee on matters discussed at the last meeting held on 5 September 2018. 

48.2          The Committee had concluded that the arrangements for hosting locally-held meetings had been useful in gaining better understanding of some of the issues impacting on economic growth in local areas and had agreed to continue with these arrangements.  Members had also received an update on the initial findings from the Vision 2050 Big Conversation Consultation which had ended on 31 July 2018.  The representative from the University of Gloucestershire had agreed to explore some of the Committee’s comments as part of the detailed analysis of the outcomes from the consultation and had agreed to attend a future meeting of the Committee to report on progress and future activities.

48.3          With regard to the request from the Economic Growth Joint Committee to consider a proposal by the Cotswold Conservation Board to seek National Park status for the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Committee had received an update on the work being undertaken by Cotswold District Council in response to a Motion at its Council meeting in May 2018.  The Motion had requested officers to carry out an evaluation of the potential advantages and disadvantages of designating the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty as a National Park.  Cotswold District Council hoped to gain a better understanding of some of the implications the proposal might have on local residents, including the possibility of increased housing costs.  The outcome of the meeting was to undertake early preparatory work on issues relating to the Cotswold Conservation Board’s aspiration and the Cotswold Conservation Board was currently seeking to meet with Cotswold District Council to discuss the proposal.  The Committee had therefore agreed to await the outcomes of Cotswold District Council’s review before considering the request by the Economic Growth Joint Committee to consider the impact of the proposal and this had subsequently been deferred until the New Year.

48.4          In terms of the Committee’s Work Plan, the Committee would be receiving a briefing note to consider the implications of leaving the European Union post-Brexit and Members had requested periodic updates, as and when appropriate.  It had been agreed that a presentation from mobile telephone providers would be held in the New Year to consider issues affecting mobile telephone coverage and connectivity in rural areas, and a presentation from the Cotswold Water Park Trust had also been included on the Committee Work Plan.

48.5          The Vice-Chair of the Gloucestershire Economic Growth Scrutiny Committee indicated that a report had been provided by the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) which may be useful for Members to see in advance of the presentation which the LEP would be giving at Tewkesbury Borough Council in December and he undertook to circulate this following the meeting.

48.6          It was

RESOLVED          That the Gloucestershire Economic Growth Scrutiny Committee update be NOTED.

49.

Development Services Review Action Plan pdf icon PDF 141 KB

To consider progress against the Development Services Review Action Plan. 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

49.1          The report of the Head of Development Services, circulated at Pages No. 66-99, provided an update on progress against the Development Services Review Action Plan.  Members were asked to consider the report.

49.2          The Head of Development Services explained that the Development Services Review was approved by Council in April 2018; the review was supported by an action plan to help improve the whole service, not only planning, and this was attached in full at Appendix 1 to the report.  One of the key actions related to the implementation of a new structure for Development Services and key appointments had been made, particularly in respect of the Growth Hub and the partnership with Gloucester City Council which had already been beneficial in terms of joint improvement projects.  The vast majority of the actions related to Development Management and would act as a platform for further improvement.  In terms of customer contact, officers would shortly be piloting an electronic method of notifying applicants and agents on the progress of their planning applications and she drew attention to the slide, displayed at the meeting, which showed what this would look like.  The new method would be more user-friendly and easier to understand which would make the process quicker.  It would initially be used for householder applications before being rolled out for larger applications.

49.3          The Business Transformation Manager introduced herself to the Committee and gave a brief overview of her background.  She felt that her role had created an opportunity to take a step back and think about how things could be done differently, something which was not always possible for officers to do when carrying out their day-to-day roles.  Delivery of the detailed action plan was a starting point for improvement and a number of projects were in progress – she was keen to involve members of the team and had built this into the timescales for delivery.  She felt it would be helpful to go through some key actions to give Members an idea of what was being done.  With regard to Action B.8 - Update validation checklist in line with Joint Core Strategy and investigate portal link to validation - she explained that there were various application types, some of which were quite complex, so it was intended to give customers the information they needed to self-serve.  The document was very interactive and told customers exactly what was needed to ensure their application was ‘valid’ and would include links to direct them to additional information on the website.  In terms of Action B.11 – Prepare a framework/protocol for undertaking Planning Performance Agreements and publicise – she explained that, on larger applications, it was sometimes necessary to agree a programme of work with the applicant and it was proposed to do this upfront, by working through the planning issues, for an additional fee.  As well as increasing planning income, it would ensure that both applicants and officers understood exactly what was needed and would enable officers to be more  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49.

50.

Housing Strategy Monitoring Report pdf icon PDF 339 KB

To consider the progress made in respect of the outcomes identified in the Housing Strategy Action Plan 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

50.1          The report of the Head of Community Services, circulated at Pages No. 100-125, provided a summary of the key activities for the first six months of year two of the Housing Strategy Action Plan.  Members were asked to consider the progress made to date in respect of the outcomes identified in the Action Plan.

50.2           Members were reminded that the strategy contained four key priorities to meet the housing needs of the borough: increasing the supply of housing; prevent homelessness; meet the housing needs of specific groups; and improving the health and wellbeing of local people.  The report summarised progress on each of these areas and highlighted significant actions.  In terms of increasing the supply of housing, the Strategic Housing and Enabling Officer explained that both Rooftop and Severn Vale Housing Society were considering modern methods of construction as their preferred option on the former garage sites at Winchcombe and Staverton.  Members had been impressed with their visit to the modular housing site in Nuneaton and the Parish Councils had also been supportive so this could be the start of an exciting project for Tewkesbury Borough with one of the sites planned for delivery in 2019.  In respect of empty homes, the Council Tax empty homes premium had been introduced from 1 April 2018 in respect of 88 properties within the borough that had been unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for more than two years.  The affected taxpayers had been contacted and encouraged to seek advice from Environmental Health on bringing their properties back into use; unfortunately, only six responses had been received to date.  Review of empty homes would continue under the forthcoming Empty Homes Strategy and part of that would involve further attempts to engage with empty home owners.  The Homelessness Reduction Act had created a significant amount of work for homelessness services across the county.  Central government was looking to introduce indicators on every client who approached as homeless and was collecting data for each person – this was currently anonymised before it was sent out, but the government may be able to collect it without being anonymised provided it complied with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Someone approaching the Council as homeless may have to wait for up to 112 days for a decision which gave the Housing team longer to try to resolve the issue.  The government was aiming to half the number of rough sleepers by 2021 and eradicate it completely by 2025.  The Housing Services Manager confirmed that the Council had accepted a statutory duty to 75 residents in the first quarter of 2018 and a full homeless statutory duty to two households.  There had not been a large rise in homelessness because of welfare reform itself, although it was difficult to find resolutions for some people who were affected by associated issues, for example, households in temporary accommodation may struggle to find work in an area they would not stay permanently.  With regard to priority three, around meeting the needs of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 50.