Agenda and minutes

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.   

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

76.1          Apologies for absence were received from Councillors G J Bocking, H C McLain and H S Munro.  There were no substitutions for the meeting.

77.1          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.

77.2          There were no declarations made on this occasion.

To approve the Minutes of the meeting held on 11 January 2022.

78.1          The Minutes of the meeting held on 11 January 2022, 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.

79.1          Attention was drawn to the Executive Committee Forward Plan, circulated at Pages No.12-15.  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.

79.2          The Head of Corporate Services indicated that the Agenda for the meeting on 2 March 2022 was quite heavy so Officers may need to review the items being taken forward and push some back to the meeting on 30 March 2022.  With regard to the Parking Strategy Review which was currently included in the items for the June 2022 meeting, this was not due to be considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee until 5 April 2022 where Members would be asked to approve the draft strategy for public consultation.  The consultation responses would then go back to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for consideration; this was not likely to be until the meeting on 6 September 2022, therefore, it would not be taken to the Executive Committee for approval until 5 October 2022.

79.3          A Member noted that Action for Affordable Warmth 2013-18 had been removed from the Forward Plan as it was not a matter for the Executive Committee and he was interested to know how this would now be considered given that it was very topical.  The Head of Community Services undertook to check and report back to Members following the meeting.

79.4          It was

RESOLVED           That the Executive Committee Forward Plan be NOTED. 

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

80.1          Attention was drawn to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme, circulated at Pages No. 16-19, which Members were asked to consider.

80.2          The Head of Corporate Services advised that the Update on Local Policing Arrangements, due to be considered at the meeting on 8 March 2022, would now be taken to the meeting on 7 June 2022 at the earliest as an Inspector had not yet been appointed for Tewkesbury Borough.  In response to a query regarding the arrangements, the Chief Executive clarified that the normal rank for the Tewkesbury Borough Police Commander was Inspector; there was a Community Superintendent, who had just been promoted from Chief Inspector and had covered Tewkesbury Borough for a period, but there was currently no local commander in post.  The Community Superintendent could be invited to give an update to the Committee but Officers considered it would be best to wait until an appointment had been made as that was expected in the near future.

80.3          A Member sought an update on the progress of the six month trial of mobile surveillance equipment for fly-tipping investigations, currently in the pending items section of the work programme.  The Head of Community Services advised that the equipment was yet to be purchased due to some General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) issues which needed to be resolved.  As Members would be aware, there had also been some changes to personnel within the Environmental Health team with the Interim Environmental Health Manager leaving the authority in December and the new Manager taking up his post; however, he provided assurance that, once the GDPR issues had been appropriately addressed and the equipment purchased, it would be deployed straight away with the six month trial commencing at that point.

80.4          The Head of Democratic Services explained that, at its annual meeting, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee appointed two Members to represent Tewkesbury Borough Council on the Gloucestershire Economic Growth Scrutiny Committee and the Gloucestershire Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee; at the meeting in May 2021, Councillors John Murphy and Jill Smith had been appointed respectively.  At that time, Members had been asked to nominate reserves to both Committees but nobody had come forward which meant there was nobody to deputise for either Member should they be unable to attend any meetings.  Councillor Murphy was not able to go to the Gloucestershire Economic Growth Scrutiny Committee on 31 March and Councillor Berliner had kindly offered to take on the role of reserve in order to represent Tewkesbury Borough Council at that meeting so the Committee was asked to formally approve the appointment.  Councillor Berliner indicated that she was happy to take on the role of reserve for the Gloucestershire Economic Growth Scrutiny Committee and also the Gloucestershire Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee should no other Member wish to put themselves forward.

80.5          It was proposed, seconded and

RESOLVED          1. That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme 2021/22 be NOTED.

2.That Councillor K Berliner be appointed as the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 80.

To receive an update from the Council’s representative on matters considered at the last meeting (4 February 2022). 

81.1          Attention was drawn to the report from the Council’s representative on the Gloucestershire Police and Crime Panel, circulated separately, which gave an update on matters discussed at the last meeting of the Panel held on 4 February 2022.

81.2          The Council’s representative on the Gloucestershire Police and Crime Panel advised that the Police and Crime Commissioner had presented the budget – his first since he had come into office in May 2021.  The meeting had been quite fractious as some Members had felt the proposals were not consistent with his manifesto. The Police and Crime Commissioner had indicated this was largely due to the need to address the outcomes of the recent review as a priority.   The results – which had not been known at the time the Police and Crime Commissioner was campaigning – highlighted issues in terms of timescales and consistency in recording public reports of crime, as he had reported to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in November.  The conclusion for Gloucestershire was investment in additional resources for the recording of crime in order to meet the appropriate standards and achieve the 95% target within a certain period.  The Police and Crime Commissioner remained committed to recruiting an additional 300 officers over the course of his tenure and the budget allowed for 58 officers, 76 staff and 87 special constables as well as 15 volunteer police community support officers who would be visible in the community and act as a deterrent.  The Panel had the ability to reject the budget with a two thirds majority; however, following much debate, the Panel had unanimously approved the budget recognising the additional funds being put into the force based on the maximum precept uplift allowed without a referendum.  It was noted that the money coming into the Police force would be a 50/50 split between central government funding and the £10 uplift in the precept.  Gloucestershire had been slightly disadvantaged in terms of the allocation of certain funds, something which the Police and Crime Commissioner continued to lobby on.

81.3          At the last meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, a Member had queried whether the Police and Crime Commissioner was happy that lessons had been learnt from the performance of the force over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic in order to be better prepared for future emergencies.  The Council’s representative on the Gloucestershire Police and Crime Panel had followed this up with the Police and Crime Commissioner and his staff and was advised that the Police had undertaken a review and prepared a 120 page document - based on extensive interviews and surveys with staff, partners and the public - which had captured the positives and negatives from how they had worked during the pandemic.  A Consequences Management Group had been established to embed that learning.  The work had been shared with Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary which had praised the document and response.

81.4          A Member noted there had recently been a drive to encourage members  ...  view the full minutes text for item 81.

To receive an update from the Council’s representative on matters considered at the last meeting (19 January 2022). 

82.1          Attention was drawn to the report from the Council’s representative on the Gloucestershire Economic Growth Scrutiny Committee, circulated at Pages No. 20-21, which gave an update on matters considered at the meeting held on 19 January 2022.

82.2          The Council’s representative on the Gloucestershire Economic Growth Scrutiny Committee advised that the meeting had focused on the Gloucestershire Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) which provided gap funding to large private projects; usually a loan provider required an asset as security, however, there were some viable projects that did not have such an asset which was where the GIIF came in.  Applicants needed to demonstrate that the project would not go ahead without such a loan.  An overview of projects that had recently benefitted from the GIIF had been provided to the Committee and included the M5 southbound motorway services at Gloucester which had received £3m from the fund.  This was a £40m project which currently employed 400 people, mainly from the local area.  The services were regularly voted Britain’s best and had become a destination in their own right whilst supporting significant growth in numerous local food and produce businesses.  The second item on the Agenda related to strategic planning in Gloucestershire and Tewkesbury Borough Council’s Chief Executive had introduced a report compiled by Officers across the county which had been presented at the last meeting of the Gloucestershire Economic Growth Joint Committee and was intended as a reference point for Members.  The strategic plan for Cheltenham Borough, Gloucester City and Tewkesbury Borough Councils was the Joint Core Strategy which was adopted in December 2017 covering the period 2011-2031 and had identified growth requirements for 35,175 homes, 192 hectares of employment land and 39,500 jobs.  The Chief Executive indicated that, if any Members had a wider interest in the work going on around strategic planning outside of the borough and the Joint Core Strategy site, he would recommend looking at the link provided at Page No. 21 of the report which gave details of delivery of other plans around the county and major infrastructure delivery etc. 

82.3          The Council’s representative on the Gloucestershire Economic Growth Scrutiny Committee advised that the final item was the Executive Director’s report which had prompted a lengthy discussion about the merits and demerits of the Community Infrastructure Levy compared to Section 106 Agreements in monetary terms.  The Chief Executive explained that the Community Infrastructure Levy rates were set before the County Council had significantly increased requests for education funding.  There had been discussion about the Community Infrastructure Levy not being particularly good, but it was noted that the three Joint Core Strategy authorities were working with the County Council to review the tariff and that work was being commissioned by the County Council; however, it was not possible to simply increase the tariff as there was a process of obtaining evidence to support any increase and gaining agreement across all Joint Core Strategy Councils before going out to consultation and a further examination in public.  This  ...  view the full minutes text for item 82.

To conduct the annual review of the effectiveness of the Council’s involvement in the Gloucestershire Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee in order to authorise payment of the Council’s contribution to the running costs for the forthcoming year and to recommend to the Executive Committee that, subject to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee representative’s continued monitoring and regular reporting to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, that the specific consideration of the payment of the sum on an annual basis no longer be required.

83.1          Attention was drawn to the report of the Head of Corporate Services, circulated at Pages No. 22-25,  which asked Members to conduct the annual review of the effectiveness of the Council’s involvement in the Gloucestershire Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee in order to authorise payment of the Council’s contribution to the running costs for the forthcoming year and to recommend to the Executive Committee that, subject to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee representative’s continued monitoring and regular reporting to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, that the specific consideration of the payment of the sum on an annual basis no longer be required.

83.2          The Head of Corporate Services advised this was the annual report to the Committee seeking endorsement of the contribution of £2,500 towards the running costs of the Gloucestershire Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee which allowed Tewkesbury Borough Council to have a representative on the Committee.  Going forward, it was proposed that this report no longer be brought to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on an annual basis as the contribution was for a minimal amount which was included in the base budget and the Council’s representative would continue to attend meetings and report back to Members on a regular basis.

83.3          The Council’s representative on the Gloucestershire Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee advised that all Gloucestershire authorities were represented on the Committee and none had indicated they intended to stop their contributions.  She provided summary reports to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on matters discussed which included links to a wealth of more detailed reports which Members could read including performance reviews for different parts of the Trust.  In addition, regular press releases and documents were circulated by email which were often relevant to all Members and shared accordingly via Democratic Services.  In her opinion, representation on the Committee was needed and the contribution was value for money. 

83.4          During the debate which ensued, a Member indicated that, whilst he was happy to support authorising payment for the forthcoming year, he was of the view that it was appropriate for this to continue to be done by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on an annual basis.  The Chief Executive explained that the Council had a representative on the Gloucestershire Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee, and a reserve representative had been appointed by Members earlier in the meeting, so there was an expectation that those representatives would report back to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee if they felt it was not working as it should be, or if it no longer represented value for money, and the Committee could then decide whether to make further payments.  The Council’s representative provided both verbal and written reports so Members should be able to gauge from those whether Tewkesbury Borough Council’s continued membership was beneficial.  The Member expressed the view that it would be unfair to place this responsibility on the Council’s representative and he felt that decision on the Council’s finances should continue to be remain with the relevant  ...  view the full minutes text for item 83.

To consider the proposed Digital Approach Strategy and recommend to the Executive Committee that it be approved.

84.1          The report of the Head of Corporate Services, circulated at Pages No. 26-35, attached the Council’s Digital Approach Strategy.  Members were asked to consider the proposed strategy and recommend to the Executive Committee that it be approved. 

84.2          The Corporate Services Manager explained that the Council’s previous Digital Strategy had done a brilliant job of identifying what the Council needed from a digital platform and that had informed the approach that needed to be taken to deliver an enormous amount over the course of the strategy.  The Business Transformation team would be instrumental in its delivery and the lifetime of the document had been shortened to two years as the nature of the team’s work was changing so regularly based on the demands and requirements of different services.  The strategy would be reviewed every two years but the focus remained on savings, efficiencies and, most importantly, the delivery of services being shaped around the needs of customers. A ‘digital by preference’ ethos was being promoted as this would free up Officer time to deliver a service for those who were not able to engage with the Council online.  Members were advised that, since the Business Transformation team went live in 2020, it had made a massive impact on the way services were being delivered and Page No. 33 of the strategy set out the key achievements. The digital priorities had been mapped out for the next two years, as set out at Page No. 34; whilst it was an ambitious programme, it was reviewed on a weekly basis and there were regular updates with the Lead Member and Management Team to ensure the pressures and demands on the team were being managed appropriately.  The work of the Business Transformation team had been recognised nationally and the priorities identified for 2022-2024 would continue that – Officers had been contacted by other Councils interested to find out what the team was doing so this was an exciting time for Tewkesbury Borough Council and its digital journey.

84.3          A Member thanked the Corporate Services Manager for the report and welcomed the changes that the Business Transformation team had introduced across various services, particularly the successful bid for £150,000 Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities funding for a planning application tracker and he asked whether that would be used on top of Liberty Create.  In response, the Lead Digital Officer explained that the purpose of the funding was to provide an open source which was useable by other Councils so, whilst Liberty Create would not be specified, whatever was built would be useable by Liberty Create.  The Member noted from the report that an IT and Digital Technical Board was due to be established in summer 2022 and he asked who would sit on the Board.  In response, the Corporate Services Manager advised it would be headed by the IT Manager and would also comprise herself and a member of Management Team – likely to be the Head of Corporate Services; other  ...  view the full minutes text for item 84.

To endorse the new Housing and Homelessness Strategy prior to consideration by Executive Committee and Council. 

85.1          The report of the Housing Services Manager, circulated at Pages No. 36-65, attached at Appendix 1 the new Housing and Homelessness Strategy 2022-26. Members were asked to endorse the strategy prior to consideration by Executive Committee and Council.

85.2          The Head of Community Services explained that there were many different strands and priorities in relation to housing and it was important to have an overarching strategy which pulled this together and provided a framework for Officers to work within.  Arc Consulting had been appointed to assist with development of the new strategy and a series of workshops had been held with partners and used to develop a draft document for public consultation.  The previous Housing and Homelessness Strategy was a lengthy document containing a lot of detail and, whilst it was important to have the background information as the priorities were based on evidence, it had been challenging to read.  With that in mind, a different approach had been taken and the new strategy, as attached at Appendix 1 to the report, was clear, concise and something members of the public would be able to engage with.  It was noted that the action plans which would ensure delivery of the strategy still needed to be developed by the Housing Services Manager and his team.  The Housing Services Manager pointed out that, as well as being an accessible document, the strategy had been informed by Members and stakeholders – Officers had no preconceived ideas about what it would include and had been directed by those who would be using the strategy and would support the authority in meeting its aims.

85.3          A Member drew attention to Page No. 43 of the report which stated there were 1,814 housing register applications as at the end of September 2021 and he asked how many of those were rehoused.  In response, the Housing Services Manager believed it was around 400 but he would need to check this following the meeting.  With regard to Page No. 44, the Member noted that 11,700 new homes and 6,900 new affordable homes were required in the period 2021 to 2024 and he asked how it was intended to drive planning decisions in terms of the type of homes that were built.  The Housing Services Manager explained that the Housing and Homelessness Strategy was not a policy document so, whilst it could highlight the direction of travel, the main opportunity to influence would be via the Joint Core Strategy review.  The Chief Executive advised that affordable homes were provided in a variety of ways.  In terms of housing need, this would be met through the planning policies in Joint Core Strategy 1 and Joint Core Strategy 2 – part of the review of Joint Core Strategy 2 would be to look at policies as they were developed.  Affordable housing may be provided via exemption sites or directly by registered social landlords; there was a tendency to look at the figures and think they were all new housing providers  ...  view the full minutes text for item 85.

The Chair 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.

86.1          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.  

To approve the separate Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 11 January 2022.

87.1          The separate Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 11 January 2022, copies of which had been circulated, were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.