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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room 1

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

Items
No. Item

91.

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:

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

91.2           The Chair welcomed the Lead Member for Organisational Development – which included scrutiny – to the meeting and indicated that she was present as an observer.  He went on to thank the Committee for participating in the hearing in respect of the Scrutiny Review of Water Supply Outage which had taken place the previous week.  He felt it had been a very good piece of work and he had been particularly pleased with the quality of the supplementary questions.  He also wished to thank the partner organisations for their attendance and the Officer team for their support.

92.

Apologies for Absence and Substitutions

To receive apologies for absence and advise of any substitutions. 

Minutes:

92.1           Apologies for absence were received from Councillors J E Day, P D Surman and M J Williams.  There were no substitutions for the meeting. 

93.

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:

93.1           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.

93.2           There were no declarations made on this occasion.

94.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 170 KB

To approve the Minutes of the meeting held on 20 March 2018.

Minutes:

94.1           The Minutes of the meeting held on 20 March 2018, copies of which had been circulated, were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair. 

95.

Consideration of the Executive Committee Forward Plan pdf icon PDF 244 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:

95.1           Attention was drawn to the Executive Committee Forward Plan, circulated at Pages No. 13-19.  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.

95.2           A Member noted that the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) Consultation Response had been added to the Agenda for the Executive Committee meeting that had taken place on 25 April 2018.  He raised concern that this had not been on the Forward Plan previously and the decision taken by the Executive Committee was not subject to call-in.  The consultation response had not been referred to the wider membership at any point and therefore Members had not had the opportunity to express their views.   The consultation period ran from 5 March until 11 May and, in his opinion, it seemed to have been left until the last minute and then rushed through.  In response, the Deputy Chief Executive advised that the approved draft response would be used as the basis for discussion at a Member seminar which had been arranged for 3 May 2018.  Members were encouraged to raise any questions or comments at the seminar and, at the conclusion of the discussion, a summary of any amendments or additions agreed would be incorporated into the response prior to final submission on 11 May.  This was in accordance with the delegation to the Head of Development Services, in consultation with the Lead Member for Built Environment, to add further comments to the response prior to its submission on behalf of the Council.  A copy of the draft response would be circulated to Members following the meeting.

95.3           It was

RESOLVED          That the Executive Committee Forward Plan be NOTED.

96.

Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme 2018/19 pdf icon PDF 123 KB

To approve the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme for the forthcoming year.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

96.1           Attention was drawn to the report of the Head of Corporate Services, circulated at Pages No. 20-33, which attached, at Appendix 1, the draft Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme 2018/19.  Members were asked to approve the Work Programme.

96.2           A Member indicated that the Healthwatch Gloucestershire contract had recently been taken over.  The Committee had previously received a presentation on Healthwatch and he felt it would be appropriate to invite a representative to a future meeting in order to explain the changes that were being made and how they would impact on Tewkesbury Borough.  It was agreed that this be added to the ‘pending items’ section of the Work Programme in order for Officers to agree a suitable date with the relevant person.

96.3           It was

RESOLVED          That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme 2018/19 be APPROVED.

97.

Housing Strategy Monitoring Report pdf icon PDF 334 KB

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

Additional documents:

Minutes:

97.1           The report of the Head of Community Services provided a summary of the key activities for the first three months of year two of the Housing Strategy Action Plan (January-March 2018).  Members were asked to consider the progress made to date in respect of the outcomes identified in the Action Plan.

97.2           The Head of Community Services advised that the Housing Team had been peer reviewed in 2017 with a view to ultimately reaching the gold standard of the homelessness prevention programme.  The team had recently achieved the bronze award and been invited to the national awards ceremony in July.  In terms of other highlights, with regard to Priority 1, it was noted that an additional member of staff had been employed using new burdens funding associated with the Homelessness Reduction Act.  As well as helping to meet the demands of the new statutory duties, the Officer would be working on a private sector landlord scheme to increase the accommodation available to residents.  In respect of Priority 2, the new extended homeless duties within the Homelessness Reduction Bill had taken effect from 1 April 2018 and this had been a primary focus for the housing service within the last few months.  There had been a slight increase in applications to date but this would need to be monitored over the course of the year.  In terms of the action to stop use of bed and breakfast accommodation, Members were informed that, whilst there had been an increase in the length of time people were staying in bed and breakfast accommodation, the number of people being accommodated had reduced.  The Head of Community Services provided assurance that Officers were looking at alternative ways to assist those people.  It was also noted that the standard methodology for calculating housing had now been confirmed through the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and the county was in a position to progress the Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) in accordance with Action P3.1.

97.3           A Member noted that the average number of days spent in bed and breakfast accommodation had increased and this had been attributed to the reluctance of landlords to take on high risk tenants.  She felt it would be hard to encourage private landlords to take on these tenants due to genuine concerns about whether they would receive their rent on time etc.  The Housing Services Manager clarified that the Housing team was currently having problems persuading registered providers to accept tenants who had previously had difficulties.  It was intended to work with social landlords – as opposed to private landlords – to take on lower risk tenants in order to cultivate a relationship and build trust to encourage them to come to the local authority for tenants.  A Member questioned why the costs of bed and breakfast accommodation in 2017/18 were yet to be confirmed and was advised that this was because there was no average cost; it was down to supply and demand i.e. the less rooms available, the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 97.

98.

Disabled Facilities Grants Review Monitoring Report pdf icon PDF 224 KB

To consider progress against the recommendations arising from the Disabled Facilities Grants review.  

Additional documents:

Minutes:

98.1           The report of the Environmental Health Manager, circulated at Pages No, 56-63, provided an update on progress against actions contained within the Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs) report.  Members were asked to consider the report.

98.2           Members were reminded that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee had reviewed the way in which DFGs were undertaken in 2015/16 and the Committee received six monthly updates on the progress made against the actions arising from that review.  The figures set out at Page No. 62 of Appendix 1 to the report demonstrated the spend against the DFG allocation for the last four years.  The Head of Community Services indicated that it was a routine and restrictive process so there was little that could be done to improve it; however, the Council was getting better at taking advantage of opportunities to do things which were slightly outside of the process.  He explained that, in January 2018, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government had allocated additional funding to local authorities that committed to spend it before 1 April 2018.  The extra funding was available for DFG adaptations and to be used more broadly on other social care capital projects.  Tewkesbury Borough Council had taken advantage of the funding and had been allocated £112,304 – it had worked closely with Severn Vale Housing Society and had spent 80% of its allocation on residents with the remaining money going back into the countywide pot.

98.3           A Member noted that there was an underspend of approximately £500,000 for 2017/18 and he questioned why this was the case.  The Head of Community Services explained that the Council had not spent its full allocation since 2014/15 and he reiterated that the money had to be spent on adaptations.  Whilst people could be encouraged to apply for DFGs, the level of demand in the borough did not correspond to the allocated money.  He clarified that the additional funding which the Council had applied for was completely separate and there had been more freedom to spend that.  Any unspent money had to be given back.  In response to a query, he indicated that Severn Vale Housing Society carried out a lot of adaptations for its tenants via the DFG process and he was not aware of any registered providers carrying out works outside of that process.  The Deputy Chief Executive advised that every application had to be referred by an Occupational Therapist and he understood there was a waiting list for these assessments which was outside of the Council’s control.  In response to a query as to whether anything was being done differently now compared to 2014/15 when the amount spent had exceeded that which was available, the Head of Community Services advised that the regime itself had not changed other than the allocation being significantly increased in 2014/15.  The money came from the Better Care Fund - which had changed in recent years with the reform of public health - and the government had given a lot more money  ...  view the full minutes text for item 98.

99.

Customer Care Strategy pdf icon PDF 123 KB

To consider the progress made in relation to the actions contained within the Customer Care Strategy Action Plan 2017/18 and to endorse the action plan for 2018/19.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

99.1           The report of the Corporate Services Manager, circulated at Pages No. 64-74, provided an overview of the progress made in delivering the actions contained within the Customer Care Strategy 2017/18.  Members were asked to consider the progress made and to endorse the action plan for 2018/19.

99.2           The Corporate Services Manager advised that the Council Plan stressed the importance of putting customers first and, as a result, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee had undertaken a workshop in January 2016 to put in place a number of Customer Care Standards.  As Members would appreciate, customer service did not have a destination - it was ongoing and something which the Council was continually looking to improve.  The action plan held Officers accountable to a number of key actions for a specific year and the majority of actions within the 2017/18 plan had been completed with a small number of actions being moved forward to the 2018/19 plan.  There had been significant successes throughout the year in terms of the action to implement online forms which had seen huge uplift and improvement in online and self-service functions.

99.3           A Member noted that the target date for the action to review the Advice and Information Centre (AIC) buildings had been changed from July 2017 to March 2019 and he questioned why this had slipped so much.  The Head of Corporate Services advised that this was largely due to capacity within the team and the change in the Corporate Services Manager.  There were four AICs in the borough in Brockworth, Churchdown, Bishop’s Cleeve and Winchcombe and they had not been reviewed for a number of years.  It was important to ensure they were being used to their full potential and it had been intended to carry out a review during 2017/18; however, this would be a significant piece of work and his team had been tied up with other work, such as the garden waste project.  The Deputy Chief Executive felt that the AICs had potential to deliver a lot more to customers and the review would provide an opportunity to consider how their use could be maximised, as part of the options appraisal. He indicated that the Revenues and Benefits team had been looking at their working practices to see how they could get more people out to the AICs at certain times of day.  A Member felt that the AICs were extremely valuable and she would not welcome a proposal to close them.  The Head of Corporate Services felt that it was necessary to undertake some data analysis to establish who was currently using them and why.  The Corporate Services Manager would be going to visit Bishop’s Cleeve Library - which Tewkesbury Borough Council worked out of - to see if there could be more effective partnership working.  This data would be collated over the coming months and could potentially feed-in to a Scrutiny Review going forward.

99.4           The Member went on to query why the action to introduce a method of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 99.

100.

Annual Overview and Scrutiny Report 2017/18 pdf icon PDF 135 KB

To approve the annual report as required by the Council’s Constitution to ensure that the activities of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee are promoted both internally and publicly to reinforce transparency and accountability in the democratic process.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

100.1         Attention was drawn to the report of the Head of Corporate Services, circulated at Pages No. 75-91.  Members were asked to approve the Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report 2017/18 attached at Appendix 1 to the report.

100.2         It was

RESOLVED          That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Annual Report 2017/18 be APPROVED.