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Agenda, decisions and minutes

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

Link: Click here to watch live broadcast

Items
No. Item

101.

Announcements

Minutes:

101.1        The Chair advised that the meeting was being held under the emergency provisions of the Coronavirus Act 2020 and, specifically, the Local Authorities and Police and Crime Panels (Coronavirus) (Flexibility of Local Authority and Police and Crime Panel Meetings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020.  The meeting was being broadcast live via the internet, it was not being recorded by the Council but, under the usual transparency rules, it may be being recorded by others.  

102.

Apologies for Absence and Substitutions

To receive apologies for absence and advise of any substitutions. 

Minutes:

102.1        Apologies for absence were received from Councillor G F Blackwell. There were no substitutions for the meeting.  

103.

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:

103.1        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.

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

104.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 228 KB

To approve the Minutes of the meeting held on 3 March 2021.

Minutes:

104.1        The Minutes of the meeting held on 3 March 2021, copies of which had been circulated, were approved as a correct record.  

105.

Items from Members of the Public

To receive any questions, deputations or petitions submitted under Rule of Procedure 12.

 

(The deadline for public participation submissions for this meeting is 25 March 2021)

Minutes:

105.1        There were no items from members of the public.  

106.

Executive Committee Forward Plan 2021/22 pdf icon PDF 250 KB

To consider the Committee’s Forward Plan for 2021/22.  

Subject To Call In:: No - Item to Note.

Decision:

That the Committee’s 2021/22 Forward Plan be NOTED.

Minutes:

106.1        Attention was drawn to the Committee’s Forward Plan 2021/22, circulated at Pages No.7-13. Members were asked to consider the Plan.

106.2        Accordingly, it was  

107.

Council Plan Performance Tracker and COVID-19 Recovery Tracker - Quarter Three 2020/21 pdf icon PDF 507 KB

To receive and respond to the findings of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee‘s review of the quarter three performance management and recovery information. 

Subject To Call In:: No - Item to Note.

Additional documents:

Decision:

That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s comments on the Council Plan Performance Tracker and COVID-19 Recovery Tracker for Quarter Three of 2020/21 be NOTED

Minutes:

107.1        The report of the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, circulated at Pages No. 14-115, asked Members to review and, if appropriate, take action on the observations of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee following its review of the Quarter Three 2020/21 Council Plan performance tracker and COVID-19 recovery tracker information.

107.2        Attention was drawn to the observations made by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, attached at Appendix 1 to the report, and the Council Plan performance tracker, attached to the report at Appendix 2. The COVID-19 corporate recovery plan performance tracker was attached to the report at Appendix 3 and the financial information for the quarter was attached at Appendices 4-7.

107.3        Members were advised that this was the Committee’s third review of the new Council Plan 2020-2024 and the new COVID-19 recovery plan. Similar to the quarter two position, at the time of writing the report, the national picture regarding COVID-19 could change very quickly. At the time of writing the report, the country remained in a lockdown situation, however, at the time of presenting the report the government had announced its roadmap for the lockdown exit and the Head of Corporate Services had briefly explained to the Committee that management team would be focussing the Council’s own recovery in alignment with the government’s roadmap. In terms of Council services, this meant there was still a complex picture of services working across either response, recovery or business as usual mode or a combination of all three. Similar to previous reviews of performance and recovery information, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee recognised that certain pieces of work had to be deferred or were not progressing as expected due to the significant challenges the Council faced. That aside, the Chair advised that he had issued a clear instruction at the Committee pre-brief that this should not stop Members from asking questions irrespective of whether or not they thought COVID-19 was impacting delivery. Some key areas that were discussed included the Tewkesbury 2021 project - the Overview and Scrutiny Committee had felt this project highlighted how the national picture could change things - at the time of writing the report, the 2021 Committee had agreed that many of the planned events would not go ahead as a result of the pandemic. However, the roadmap out of lockdown now provided an opportunity to re-evaluate the programme of events to see what would be possible and it was expected the £25,000, approved by Executive Committee to support the project, would be fully committed. In terms of developing a work programme with landlords, the Committee had been concerned that this action - relating to ensuring residents had a supply of rental properties to meet their needs - had slipped its milestone dates on numerous occasions. The Head of Community Services had assured Members that a report would be brought to Overview and Scrutiny in June to update on this piece of work. In terms of the Community Infrastructure Levy, it was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 107.

108.

Civil Penalty, Rent Repayment Order and Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards in Privately Rented Homes Policies pdf icon PDF 260 KB

To approve the Civil Penalty Policy, Rent Repayment Order Policy and Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards in Privately Rented Homes Policy.

Subject To Call In:: Yes - No action to be taken prior to the expiry of the call-in period.

Additional documents:

Decision:

1.       That the three policies be ADOPTED:

·        Civil Penalty Policy.

·        Rent Repayment Order Policy.

·        Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards in Privately Rented Homes Policy.

2.       That authority be delegated to the Head of Community Services, in consultation with the Borough Solicitor, to issue financial penalties as set out within the policies.

Minutes:

108.1        The report of the Interim Environmental Health Manager, circulated at Pages No. 116-148, sought approval for three new policies relating to enforcement in the private rented housing sector which was undertaken by the Environmental Health team.

108.2        Members were advised that the Environmental Health team had an important role in ensuring that properties in the private rented sector were fit for purpose and that landlords adhered to the relevant legislation to ensure their properties were safe for the tenants; the majority of powers available to the team were contained in the Housing Act 2004. Changes to legislation in recent years had added a number of tools to the enforcement toolbox available to the Environmental Health team; specifically the Housing and Planning Act 2016 had introduced amendments to the Housing Act 2004 to allow local authorities to impose a financial penalty for certain offences under the Housing Act as an alternative to criminal prosecution. The same legislation had also introduced the ability for Councils to issue Rent Repayment Orders which could be used in circumstances like when a landlord had failed to comply with a legal Notice from the Council to undertake certain works or where the landlord had carried out an illegal eviction or had harassed their tenants. The third change in recent years had been the introduction of the Energy Efficiency Regulations 2015 which came into effect on 1 April 2018 and introduced minimum standards of energy efficiency for private rented properties. The report recommended the adoption of the three policies which would be incorporated within the Council’s Environmental Health Enforcement Policy 2017 and the Corporate Enforcement Policy.

108.3        It was also proposed that the Council included the option to impose financial penalties as an alternative to prosecution for the Regulation of Housing Standards and the licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation. In that regard, it was common practice to offer discounts to encourage the prompt payment of penalties and those were set out at Paragraph 2.3 of the report. Payments by instalments of up to 10 monthly direct debits was possible and any income received from a financial penalty could be retained by the Council provided it was used to further the local housing authority’s statutory functions in relation to its enforcement activities. However, income generation would never be a driving force for the use of enforcement powers as the most important thing was to raise standards in the private rented sector.

108.3        A Member questioned why the three case reviews had been included in the Financial Penalties for Housing Offences – Civil Penalty Policy without any information about them like whether they had gone through the Courts, whether fines had been issued etc. In response, the Interim Environmental Health Manager advised that the case reviews were examples rather than being actual cases which were being taken locally.

108.4        Accordingly, it was

Action By: HComS BS

109.

Treasury and Capital Management pdf icon PDF 157 KB

To accept the Section 31 grant for the replacement of the heating system at the Council Offices and to delegate authority to the Head of Finance and Asset Management to enter into any necessary documentation in respect of the grant award.

Subject To Call In:: No - Decision taken as urgent as defined in Scrutiny Rule of Procedure 15.1 because there would be insufficient time for the completion of the call-in process before the implementation of the decision.

Decision:

1.       That the grant award, as detailed within the report, be accepted.

2.       That authority be delegated to the Head of Finance and Asset Management to enter into any necessary documentation in respect of the grant award.  

Minutes:

109.1        The report of the Head of Finance and Asset Management, circulated at Pages No. 149-153, advised the Committee of a grant which had been awarded to the Council by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to deliver a replacement heating system. Members were asked to accept the grant award, as detailed within the report, and to delegate authority to the Head of Finance and Asset Management to enter into any necessary documentation in respect of the grant award.

109.2        The Head of Finance and Asset Management explained that the current heating system was past its best. Given the age and inefficiency of the current gas powered heating system at the Council Offices, the replacement of the system was given a high priority within the detailed Climate Change and Carbon Reduction Audit Action Plan and a target of replacement was set for 2022 - it was envisaged that the cost of replacement would be met by the Council’s Asset Management Reserve. The application to BEIS had assessed a reduction in the carbon tonnage consumed by the Council Offices of over 92 tonnes per year which represented a reduction of 78% on the current annual gas consumption and, to enable those works, a bid for £304,200 had been made to the fund. Given the high profile of climate change neutrality in public sector organisations, the £1 billion scheme was heavily oversubscribed and the Council’s initial application was frozen but, after further due diligence on the applications, BEIS had realigned some awards and the Council’s application had now been earmarked for funding. Subject to a final feasibility report, it was anticipated that the Council would tender for a works contract in April with installation completed by early autumn. In addition to the Council’s own Officers the project would be supported by project managers previously employed on the leisure centre construction and office refurbishment to ensure the project was delivered on time and within budget. Since writing the report, the initial consultant’s report on the preferred heating system had been completed and an air source heat pump, rather than ground source, had been recommended. Officers were currently in consultation with BEIS to ensure it would continue to support the Council’s project.

109.3        A number of Members expressed concern about the use of an air source heat pump; they had understood the preference had been for a ground source heat pump which, although more costly to install, cost less to run as they did not require as much maintenance as an air source heat pump. In response, they were advised that the feasibility study had shown that, taking account of the Council Offices building and its usage, an air source heat pump would be more efficient in this instance. The report was based on the actual location, rather than the previous desktop exercise, and the distance from the car park to the building meant there would be a lot of heat loss and therefore the overall efficiency would be less when  ...  view the full minutes text for item 109.

Action By: HF&AM

110.

Formal Complaints Policy pdf icon PDF 119 KB

To approve the revised Formal Complaints Policy and ‘Have your Say’ approach.  

Subject To Call In:: Yes - No action to be taken prior to the expiry of the call-in period.

Additional documents:

Decision:

That the proposed ‘Have your Say’ approach and formal complaints policy be APPROVED.  

Minutes:

110.1        The report of the Head of Corporate Services, circulated at Pages No. 154-157,  provided the Committee with details of the formal complaints review, the new ‘Have your Say’ approach and how the new digital platform would help the Council to ensure feedback from customers was responded to appropriately. The report and policy had been presented to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee which had endorsed the proposals and Members were asked to approve the ‘Have your Say’ approach and formal Complaints Policy.

110.2        The Corporate Services Manager advised that the current Complaints Policy had been introduced in 2016 and it was felt prudent to carry out a review at this stage. The Council received a low number of complaints each year which indicated that, on the whole, its customers were satisfied with how the Council ran its services; however, the complaints review now proposed new ways for customers to provide feedback to ensure all issues were being captured. The ‘Have your Say’ approach had been put forward following a discussion with Members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee when it had been agreed that introducing more ways for customers to feed back to the Council would provide a clear picture of residents’ satisfaction as well as preventing some issues which were currently logged as formal complaints being treated more as a service issue. One of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Members had put forward the suggestion of introducing the four Cs – compliments, comments, concerns and complaints – which was successfully used within the NHS. The four Cs were described in the document attached at Appendix 1 to the report and would support the ‘Have your Say’ approach information on the Council’s website. The only feedback channel that required a formal policy was complaints and the new policy was attached to the report at Appendix 2. This was largely based on the previous policy but had been updated for the new digital platform and set out what people could expect from the process once a formal complaint was made.

110.3        Referring to the Council’s new digital platform, the Corporate Services Manager explained that the flexibility offered within it would be extremely helpful to the Council. It would automate the complaint allocation process and allow access to a large number of reports about complaints so they could be properly analysed and information provided to Members more accurately about complaints within their Wards. She advised that the report had been presented to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in February where Members had endorsed the four C’s and welcomed the improvements that would come with the new digital platform. If the report was approved by the Executive Committee it would be implemented in May in line with the timescale for the new digital platform.

110.4        Members felt the new approach would be a great improvement, providing effective communication both for residents and Members. It was also noted that the digital platform would create a resource within the Customer Services team which would become  ...  view the full minutes text for item 110.

Action By: HCorS

111.

Separate Business

The Chairman will move the adoption of the following resolution:

 

That under Section 100(A)(4) Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

Minutes:

111.1        The Chair proposed, and it was

                 RESOLVED           That, under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act                         1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following                            items on the grounds that they involve the likely discussion of                                 exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the                              Act.

112.

Separate Minutes

To approve the separate Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 3 March 2021.

Minutes:

112.1        The separate Minutes of the meeting held on 3 March 2021, copies of which had been circulated, were approved as a correct record.  

113.

Trade / Commercial Waste Service Business Case

(Exempt –Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 –Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information))

 

To consider following a recommendation from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and agree the way forward for developing the trade/commercial waste service.

Minutes:

(Exempt –Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 –Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information))

113.1        The Committee considered the report and agreed the way forward for developing the trade/commercial waste service.