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.   

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

71.2           In accordance with Procedure Rule 1.2 of the Council’s Constitution, the Chair indicated that he had exercised his discretion to vary the order of business so that Agenda Item 9 – Housing and Homelessness Strategy Action Plan Monitoring Report would be taken after Agenda Item 10 – Customer Care Strategy Action Plan Update.

72.1          Apologies for absence were received from Councillors C Agg, N D Adcock, T J Budge and C E Mills.  Councillor J P Mills would be a substitute for the meeting.

Pursuant to the adoption by the Council on 24 January 2023 of the Tewkesbury Borough Council Code of Conduct, effective from 1 February 2023, as set out in Minute No. CL.72, Members are invited to declare any interest they may have in the business set out on the Agenda to which the approved Code applies.

73.1          The Committee’s attention was drawn to the Tewkesbury Borough Code of Conduct which was adopted by the Council on 24 January 2023 and took effect on 1 February 2023. 

73.2          There were no declarations made on this occasion.

To approve the Minutes of the meeting held on 13 February 2024.

74.1          The Minutes of the meeting held on 13 February 2024, 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.

75.1           Attention was drawn to the Executive Committee Forward Plan, circulated at Pages No. 21-34.  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. 

75.2          Members were advised that the Executive Committee Forward Plan would be informed by the policies and strategies which would be part of the Council Plan as well as actions arising from service plans which were currently being updated.  As such, there would be a lot of changes over the coming weeks and months and the plan would be more populated when it was brought to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in June.

75.3          A Member asked how the Waste Depot project was progressing and was advised that an update had recently been provided to the Depot Services Working Group.  Whilst progress to date had been slow, there was now a possibility of another partner coming on board which meant that costs could be more reasonable.  It was hoped that a report would be taken to the Executive Committee in the first quarter of 2024/25.

75.4          It was

RESOLVED          That the Executive Committee Forward Plan be NOTED.

To consider the actions arising from previous meetings. 

76.1          Attention was drawn to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee action list setting out the outstanding actions arising from meetings of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee between 17 January 2023 and 16 January 2024, circulated at Pages No. 35-54.  Members were asked to consider the action list.  

76.2           The Director: Corporate Services advised that of the 50 actions, 20 were yet to be implemented, three of which were more than six months old – they related to the strategic project around in-cab technology and the GIS system, the Ubico sweeper schedule and what was planned for the annual workforce development strategy review.  In terms of Page No. 43 and the action in relation to reporting short and medium term delivery of employment land via the Strategic Local Plan (SLP), he was not aware that anything had been received by the Committee in relation to that and asked if Members were satisfied this could be signed off.  The Chair indicated that he would write to the Associate Director: Planning to seek clarification on how that action had been completed.

76.3          A Member drew attention to Page No. 47 of the report and the outstanding action around Section 106 which now had a target date of June 2024.  She found the delay worrying given there had been significant issues with the Section 106 process.  The Director: Corporate Services advised that the Section 106 action plan was being considered by the Audit and Governance Committee the following day and a Member session was also being arranged so he would speak to the relevant Officer to confirm the date following the meeting.

76.4           It was

RESOLVED          That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee action list be NOTED.

To consider and approve the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme 2024/25.

77.1          Attention was drawn to the report of the Director: Corporate Resources, circulated at Pages No. 55-70, which attached, at Appendix 1, the draft Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme 2024/25.  Members were asked to approve the Work Programme.

77.2          The Chair advised that the Work Programme was relatively light at this stage for the same reasons as the Executive Committee Forward Plan considered earlier in the meeting and, following the adoption of the new Council Plan, there would be an opportunity for the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to look at the key strategies, policies and services to inform its Work Programme.  Between now and June, Members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee would meet informally with Officers and Lead Members to discuss how to achieve the right level of scrutiny in those three areas.  In addition, the Committee was interested in understanding the finances of the Council and conversations had begun around the types of thing which the Overview and Scrutiny Committee could look at in relation to the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS).  He hoped Members would approve the draft Work Programme with the knowledge it was a base to build upon over the coming months.

77.3          It was subsequently

RESOLVED          That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme 2024/25 be APPROVED.

To consider the financial update for quarter three 2023/24. 

78.1          The report of the Associate Director: Finance, circulated at Pages No. 71-102, outlined the financial performance information for the third quarter of 2023/24.  Members were asked to consider the report.

78.2          Members were advised that the overall position on the revenue budget position was a surplus of £201,522 which was the best estimate, at the end of December, as to the position at the end of 2023/24.  The main variances were unchanged from previous quarters with a significant increase in the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) gate fee which was £234,000 overbudget; cessation of the trade waste service which had made estimated savings of £94,000; increased licensing and planning income; and treasury activities performing above budget expectations.  The capital budget was showing an underspend of £232,000 which was largely in relation to the vehicle replacement programme due to longer lead times than anticipated; however, it was planned to acquire new vehicles by the end of the financial year. Reserves had been set aside from previous years to fund known future costs and expenditure incurred to date was shown at Appendix D to the report.  As part of the Financial Management Code, the report now included a number of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in relation to bad debt and variances and, to comply with the CIPFA Prudential Code and Treasury Management Code of Practice, the Prudential Indicators were reported quarterly as part of the financial update as set out at Appendices C and F to the report.

78.3          With regard to Appendix C, a Member sought clarification as to what the planned capital expenditure of £4.58m was for in 2024/25 and was advised the majority was for the new waste and recycling fleet replacement with the remainder for Disabled Facilities Grants (DFG), expenditure on ICT and some grant schemes such as the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).  A Member drew attention to Page No. 74, Paragraph 2.5 of the report which set out that only four pool cars were being used and he asked if there was a reason for that.  In response, the Associate Director: Finance advised that an assessment of usage had shown it was possible to operate with four pool cars rather than five.  In response to a query regarding how often investment properties were valued and their current valuation, Members were informed they were reviewed annually and always reported at market value within the accounts; she undertook to circulate the current figures following the meeting.

78.4          A Member queried whether revenue reserves was an annual allocation or open ended as the figures for climate change and flood support looked relatively small given these were two key areas for the authority.  In response, the Associate Director: Finance confirmed that revenue reserves were one-off amounts; managers put in requests at year end which were considered by the Chief Officer Group and allocated to specific projects before being approved by the Executive Committee in June/July.  The reserve for climate change was relatively small but around £500,000 had recently been put  ...  view the full minutes text for item 78.

To consider the progress made against the actions within the Customer Care Strategy 2023/24 action plan.

79.1          The report of the Director: Digital and Organisational Change, circulated at Pages No. 133-142, provided an update on the progress made against the actions within the Customer Care Strategy 2023/24 action plan.  Members were asked to consider the report.

79.2          The Communications and Customer Experience Manager explained that the Council Plan 2020-2024 included the promise to put the needs of customers at the heart of what the Council did and to listen to what they said, treating people fairly and without bias; there was also an ethos that whatever the Council did would be better for customers and business.  The Customer Care Strategy ran alongside the Council Plan and customer care was recognised as a Council-wide priority.  There was a dedicated Customer Services team which acted as the first point of contact and customer care was embedded across the organisation.  To help achieve the commitments set out in the Customer Care Strategy, it was supported by an annual action plan which was focused on the strategy themes and detailed how these would be delivered.  As set out at Appendix 1 to the report, 10 out of 14 actions in last year’s action plan had been achieved and it was important to note that this progress had been made during an unsettled period for the Customer Services team as a result of staff changes.  Highlights included a new structure for the Customer Services team with a new Communications and Customer Experience Manager and the replacement of a Customer Services Team Leader post with a Senior Customer Services Advisor post; investment in a new customer contact system that would allow use of multiple channels to interact with customers – this would completely reinvent the way the Council interacted with customers; and, the Customer Services team being instrumental in ensuring the customer experience was at the heart of the Council’s digital services as set out in the update in relation to Action 4c.  Four actions had not been achieved last year as detailed at Page No. 135, Paragraph 2.3 of the report.  Following the management restructure which brought together customer-focused services of digital, IT, communications and customer care, consideration was currently being given to how best ensure excellent customer care was provided through strategy delivery, and a suite of new strategies were set to be delivered following the launch of the new Council Plan.  One idea was to develop a new set of customer care standards to set out what customers could expect from the Council when they contacted the organisation.  In addition to this, the Council would be introducing its new omni-channel customer care portal from May which would provide meaningful insight and data in relation to customer demand which would help shape and inform the future approach.

79.3          A Member asked how people were selected for the Citizens’ Panel and was advised that it had been set up so that anyone who wanted to be on the Panel was able to join; however, this approach was being reviewed to ensure  ...  view the full minutes text for item 79.

To consider progress against delivery of the actions in relation to the Housing and Homelessness Strategy. 

80.1          Attention was drawn to the report of the Head of Service: Housing, circulated at Pages No. 103-132, which asked Members to consider the progress made against delivery of the Housing and Homelessness Strategy Action Plan.

80.2          The Head of Service: Housing advised that Housing and Homelessness Strategy 2022-26 had been approved by Council in April 2022 and contained three key priorities.  The update report covered the six months since the last report to the Committee in September.  In terms of Priority 1, there was continued success in respect of the objective to prioritise delivery of social rented properties with 26 units delivered throughout quarters one to three of 2023/24.  Another focus for the second year of the strategy was in relation to utilising land in Tewkesbury Borough Council’s ownership to support the delivery of affordable housing and encouraging other public bodies to do the same; a few potential sites had been identified and a Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) provider would conduct site visits to establish their suitability.  With regard to Priority 2, the Council had changed its approach to provision of social rented units so they would have better energy efficiency and £1.7m commuted sums had been committed to support new build schemes.  Recent projects included the regeneration of Crown Close where poorly performing flats and a garage site would be replaced by housing with improved parking arrangements and green space.  There wee tight timescales to build units with Bromford and 12 social rented properties had been delivered through the Local Authority Housing Fund scheme which would support the response to international resettlement cases before being made available for general use.  Finally, in relation to Priority 3, work was being done to build on the customer experience through listening to customers and engaging staff with training to improve knowledge and working practices, and temporary accommodation options had been identified to further support those in need.  This would be the last update report on the current strategy which was being reviewed and refreshed to include more objectives and to better demonstrate the progress being made.

80.3          With regard to action a) utilise land in Tewkesbury Borough Council’s ownership to support the delivery of affordable housing and encourage other public bodies to do likewise, a Member sought clarification as to which public bodies this was referring to.  In response, the Head of Service: Housing advised this included the County Council and Town and Parish Councils, for instance, Tewkesbury Borough Council had proposed a land swap for an area of land owned by the County Council which was used as farmland to improve the land offer.  There was also engagement with diocese as they were one of the largest landowners in the country.  A Member noted that Page No. 112 of the report referred to 510 empty homes and he asked for the current figure and whether that would be impacted by the proposed Council Tax changes to encourage the owners of second properties to bring them back into full time  ...  view the full minutes text for item 80.

To consider the progress made by the Working Group in 2023/24. 

81.1          The report of the Head of Service: Waste and Recycling outlined the progress made by the Depot Services Working Group during 2023/24.  Members were asked to consider the report. 

81.2          The Lead Member for Clean and Green Environment advised that, in July 2019, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee agreed to establish the Depot Services Working Group in order to facilitate a better understanding of the operational, financial and governance aspects of Ubico and its relationship with the Council.  The Terms of Reference for the Working Group stated that it would continue to meet in line with the Ubico contract extension to March 2027.  Following the Ubico annual report at the 11 July 2023 Overview and Scrutiny meeting, several items were passed to the Depot Services Working Group for a more in depth assessment.  The Working Group had met on three occasions in 2023/24 and considered a wide range of subjects as set out within the report including the projects listed in section two.  The future of the Depot Services Working Group would be considered going forward as part of the discussions regarding the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme.

81.3          A Member drew attention to Page No. 145, Paragraph 2.8.3 of the report and asked if there was a timeframe for the decision in relation to whether Tewkesbury Borough Council continued to cut County Council owned land.  In response, the Head of Service: Waste and Recycling advised there had been a recent development with the County Council making clear it intended to take back responsibility for maintaining the highways land which Tewkesbury Borough Council currently cut on its behalf, although, formal notification was still awaited.  The Director: Communities explained that there would be a level of risk associated with this as Tewkesbury Borough Council currently cut the land 10-12 times per year, significantly more than the required two cuts per year – when this had been trialled in 2018 there had been considerable complaints from members of the public.  A Member indicated that part of the problem was the lack of clarity in terms of who owned the land and she asked if it was possible to create a map plotting ownership which included the County Council land.  In response, the Associate Director: IT, Cyber and Digital advised it may be possible to create an internal map for Councillors to look up land ownership but there was a discussion to be had as to whether that should be made publicly available.  In response to a query as to whether the map could include Parish Council owned land, he advised that parish data was not currently available to Tewkesbury Borough Council – it would be helpful to build a data set with Parish Councils but that would be a significant piece of work.

81.4          A Member noted that the report made no reference to street cleansing and advised that residents wanted to know which roads would be swept and when.  The Director: Communities advised that a sweeper schedule was being  ...  view the full minutes text for item 81.

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. 

82.1          The report of the Director: Corporate Resources, circulated at Pages No. 151-166, attached, at Appendix 1, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Annual Report 2023/24.  Members were asked to approve the report, as required by the Council’s Constitution, to ensure the activities of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee were promoted, both internally and externally, to reinforce transparency and accountability in the democratic process.

82.2          In response to a query regarding the flow chart at Page No. 165 of the report which set out how to select a potential scrutiny review, the Chair advised this was an indicative flow chart which had been included as a way of assisting the Committee in determining its work plan.  The Director: Corporate Resources indicated that some of the reports which the Committee received throughout the year would not have come forward for consideration had the flow chart been applied and it may be a helpful tool for Members to refer to when choosing scrutiny topics; however, that was not to say that topics which would otherwise not meet the criteria could not be brought forward if the Committee felt they had merit.  Another Member raised concern that the penultimate paragraph of the message from the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, as set out at Page No. 156 of the report, stated “…this will truly put the Committee at the heart of the decision-making process” but he personally did not feel the Committee made decisions.  The Chair agreed that the Committee was not a decision-making body, but it did have a role in scrutinising the decisions the Council had made and making recommendations in relation to those decisions.

82.3          It was

RESOLVED          That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Annual Report 2023/24 be APPROVED.

To receive an update from the Council’s representative on matters considered at the last meeting (22 March 2024). 

83.1          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 held on 22 March 2024.

83.2          A Member asked whether any explanation had been given for the downgrading of sex offenders classified as low risk for only six months to ‘reactive management’ and was advised this was due to a lack of resources to maintain active management of sex offenders.  Another Member was disappointed that the report was at odds with the picture that had been presented by the Police and Crime Commissioner at the Member seminar held in January.  The Council’s representative on the Gloucestershire Police and Crime Panel pointed out that Gloucestershire Constabulary was in special measures until recently so there had been some improvements, albeit not at the pace that was hoped for.  A Member asked if it was possible for the Police and Crime Commissioner to come back to address Members again in the future and the Chair indicated that the Committee could request regular all Member briefings.  A Member felt it would be beneficial for a report to be produced ahead of any such briefing.

83.3          It was

RESOLVED           1. That the Gloucestershire Police and Crime Panel update be NOTED.

2. That the Gloucestershire Police and Crime Commissioner be requested to attend regular all Member briefings with a report provided in advance if possible.

To receive an update from the Council’s representative on matters considered at the last meeting (12 March 2024).  

84.1          Attention was drawn to the report from the Council’s representative on the Gloucestershire Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee, circulated at Pages No. 167-168, which gave an update on matters considered at the meeting held on 12 March 2024.

84.2          A Member noted that the report stated that the General Medical Council recommendation was for 1,600 patients per person and she questioned if that was correct.  The Council’s representative on the Gloucestershire Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee advised this should read ‘per GP’ rather than ‘per person’.

84.3          Accordingly, it was

RESOLVED          That the Gloucestershire Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee update be NOTED.