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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Tewkesbury Borough Council Offices, Severn Room

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

Items
No. Item

18.

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:

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

18.2          The Chair welcomed the representatives from NHS Gloucestershire and Ubico to the meeting and indicated they were in attendance for Agenda Item 7 – Fit for the Future 2 Presentation and Agenda Item 8 – Ubico Report 2021/22 respectively.

19.

Apologies for Absence and Substitutions

To receive apologies for absence and advise of any substitutions. 

Minutes:

19.1          Apologies for absence were received from Councillors H C McLain, P D McLain, C E Mills and P N Workman.  There were no substitutions for the meeting. 

20.

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:

20.1          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.

20.2          There were no declarations made on this occasion.

21.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 159 KB

To approve the Minutes of the meeting held on 7 June 2022.

Minutes:

21.1          The Minutes of the meeting held on 7 June 2022, copies of which had been circulated, were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair. 

22.

Executive Committee Forward Plan pdf icon PDF 79 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:

22.1          Attention was drawn to the Executive Committee Forward Plan, circulated at Pages No.19-42.  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. 

22.2          Accordingly, it was

RESOLVED           That the Executive Committee Forward Plan be NOTED.

23.

Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme 2022/23 pdf icon PDF 151 KB

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

Minutes:

23.1          Attention was drawn to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme, circulated at Pages No. 25-34.  Members were asked to consider the Work Programme.

23.2          The Head of Corporate Services advised that, following the last meeting of the Committee, a number of additional items had been identified for consideration at future meetings and these were now included in the pending items section of the Work Programme; he would work with relevant Officers to bring these items forward and include them at the appropriate point in the Work Programme.  A Member noted that the use of mobile surveillance equipment for fly-tipping investigations was still included in the pending items and he asked when the trial was due to commence.  In response, the Head of Community Services confirmed the cameras had been ordered and Officers were awaiting delivery.  He pointed out that Officers had to be trained in deployment as they were quite complex to operate but he would like to think the cameras would be out by September.  A Member questioned when Officers were likely to be trained and the Head of Community Services undertook to discuss this with the Environmental Health Manager and come back to Members with a response by the end of the week.

23.3          A Member noted that the Garden Town was not referenced in the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme and she asked who had oversight of that workstream and whether it was something which the Overview and Scrutiny Committee should have an awareness of.  She also indicated that, at Council on 12 April 2022, Members had been advised that a session would be arranged to update them on the Golden Valley Garden Community and she asked if any progress had been made in relation to that.  In response, the Head of Corporate Services advised that the Garden Town was a Council Plan priority and updates were provided to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on a quarterly basis as part of the performance tracker.  The Head of Democratic Services explained that the progress of the Garden Town was overseen by the Tewkesbury Garden Town Member Reference Panel which met frequently – these meetings were included on the Member Diary Sheet and any Member who wanted to attend could request an invitation.  In terms of the update on the Golden Valley Garden Community, she indicated that she had spoken with the Head of Development Services following the Council meeting who felt that September or October would be the earliest this could be delivered but she undertook to firm this up following the meeting.

23.4          It was                    

RESOLVED           That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme 2022/23 be NOTED.

24.

Fit for the Future 2 Presentation

To receive a presentation from the NHS on Fit for the Future 2. 

Minutes:

24.1          The Chair introduced the Associate Director Engagement and Experience and the Fit for the Future 2 Programme Director from NHS Gloucestershire.  The Associate Director Engagement and Experience advised that NHS Gloucestershire was currently engaging with the public as part of the consultation in respect of Fit for the Future 2 and all district councils in Gloucestershire had been offered the opportunity to start a dialogue in relation to the proposals.  Tewkesbury Borough Council had been quick to take up this offer and had invited them to today’s meeting to give a brief presentation and to answer any questions Members may have.

24.2          The following key points were raised during the presentation:

·     What is Fit for the Future 2? – A part of the One Gloucestershire vision focusing on the medium to long term future of some of its health services; building on early engagement and consultation (Fit for the Future 1), it aimed to open up the conversation in relation to the continued development of the Centres of Excellence approach at Cheltenham General and Gloucestershire Royal Hospitals, including inpatient care and support for people in their own home, GP surgery or in the community.

·     Gloucestershire Health and Wellbeing Priorities – Using the learning from Fit for the Future 1 and the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the aim was to: provide the very best care for people at each stage of their illness or injury; explore opportunities to join-up care – improving communication and making care simpler and smoother across services and communities; reduce health inequalities – ensuring that health outcomes were improved for everyone, regardless of where they lived in the county and their social, environmental or economic circumstances.

·     Summary of Focus Areas and Proposed Ideas – The service areas being considered were very specific: Benign (non-cancerous) Gynaecology – Day-case - COVID-19 temporary change (majority of operations) made permanent at Cheltenham General Hospital; Diabetes and Endocrinology – Inpatients and Community – centralise inpatient service at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital; Frailty/Care of the Elderly – Inpatients and Community – improved assessment pathway at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, better integration of services and admission avoidance options; Non-interventional Cardiology – Inpatients – centralise remaining Cardiology inpatient beds at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, consultant referral service for Cheltenham General Hospital inpatients requiring Cardiology input; Respiratory – Inpatients – COVID-19 temporary change made permanent at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital alongside Respiratory High Care Unit, consultant referral service for Cheltenham General Hospital inpatients requiring Respiratory input; Stroke – Inpatients – COVID-19 temporary change made permanent at Cheltenham General Hospital, Hyper-Acute and Acute Stroke Units both at Cheltenham General Hospital.

·     Benign Gynaecology: Our ideas – Following changes due to COVID-19, continue to deliver the majority of Benign Gynaecology Day Case surgery at Cheltenham General Hospital; continued choice of outpatient appointments across hospital sites, in the community and virtually as appropriate; potential benefits – Centre of Excellence approach with a greater focus on planned care in Cheltenham General Hospital; improved environment once new unit opens at Cheltenham General Hospital in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.

25.

Ubico Report 2021/22 pdf icon PDF 105 KB

To consider the Ubico performance report for 2021/22. 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

25.1          Attention was drawn to the report of the Waste Contracts Manager, circulated at Pages No. 35-66, which provided the annual update on the Ubico contract for waste and recycling collections, street cleansing and grounds maintenance services during 2021/22.  Members were asked to consider the report.

25.2          The Head of Community Services advised that, at the end of the financial year 2021/22, there was an underspend of £23,573 on the Ubico contract which was really positive.  In terms of delivering frontline services, collection rates had increased slightly with Ubico achieving 99.96% which was above the very tough target of 99.95%.  The grounds maintenance service had seen widespread improvement and all planned winter works had been completed along with the backlog from previous year; this had been achieved mainly through different ways of working introduced by Ubico’s new Grounds Maintenance and Street Cleansing Supervisor.  It was his understanding that the grass cutting season had commenced and was being delivered on a four weekly cycle.  Fly-tipping and dead animal removal times continued to miss the required targets; however, improvements were planned as part of the street cleansing project which aimed to free up capacity within the team by bringing existing workload onto the PSS live system.  With regard to health and safety, there had been a significant reduction in overweight vehicles from 89 to 39; it was illegal for vehicles to be overweight but it did happen when crews were almost at the end of rounds and wanted to finish before tipping.  Looking ahead, there were a number of big projects coming up over the next two years including fleet procurement with the whole vehicle fleet due to be replaced in 2024/25 having last been replaced in 2017; a piece of work was currently underway to establish whether this could be smoothed out to replace vehicles more gradually and avoid significant financial outlay every seven to eight years.  Part of this project would involve looking at new technology and, whilst it was considered that it was not the right time to move to hydrogen or electric vehicles, this was being kept in mind for future.  The Head of Community Services explained that this was a very complex matter, for instance, hydrogen and biofuel seemed to be a good idea but it was important to recognise that this could result in using more global energy due to the amount of energy it took to convert them into useable product.

25.3          A Member felt it was a very positive report but major savings were yet to be seen and he felt it was potentially time to take the next step in terms of achieving the economies of scale which had been promised when Ubico had been established.  He recognised there were difficulties in that other areas ran different types of collections etc. but he felt it was necessary to look at cross-boundary collections in order to become more economical, both in terms of refuse and recycling and grounds maintenance – this may also mean  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25.

26.

Financial Outturn Report 2021/22 pdf icon PDF 202 KB

To consider the financial outturn report for 2021/22.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

26.1          Attention was drawn to the report of the Head of Finance and Asset Management, circulated at Pages No. 67-78, which provided financial information for 2021/22 which would usually be included in the performance report that had been considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee at its last meeting. Members were asked to consider the general fund outturn for 2021/22, the reserves position and the financing of the capital programme.

26.2          The Head of Finance and Asset Management advised that the quarter three outturn position was reported with an estimated year end surplus of £3.6m; this had increased by £600,000 with the final general revenue fund outturn position for the full year showing a £4.2m surplus.  The table at Page No. 68, Paragraph 2.3 of the report summarised the service performance which had generated the reported surplus and a number of items showed significant variance against the budget.  Employee costs showed a saving of £700,000 largely due to staff turnover and vacancies in a number of service groupings; payments to third parties was overspent by £280,000 which was mainly due to planning appeals and there were £300,000 of gross costs against various activities which were supported by external grant funding and shown as part of the surplus on income.  In terms of offsetting the expenditure, there was a £215,000 saving on the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) gate fee due to changing provider.  COVID-19 expenditure amounted to £807,000 in total and the report included a breakdown as to where that had been spent.  A line was included to highlight projects funded externally such as the Joint Core Strategy, Garden Town and Heritage Action Zone and this supplemented income by £1.6m, mainly through transport modelling for the Joint Core Strategy.  Additional income of £1.4m had been generated during the year by service areas exceeding their budget, in particular, within Development Management, planning fees had exceeded budget by £434,000 and £277,000 grant funding had also been received for a range of activities including the planning application tracker.  A full explanation of all variances exceeding £25,000 at a group subjective level was attached at Appendix A to the report.

26.3          In terms of corporate codes, the treasury outturn for 2021/22 was a £101,000 gain against budget as a result of increased investment income of £84,000 and savings of £17,000 on expected borrowing costs.  With regard to commercial activity, the Council’s property portfolio was performing well, although there had been a reduction in gross rental income circa £116,000 as a result of the re-letting of units at Clevedon at lower market rents and vacancies across the portfolio; however, all vacant units were now fully let and the commercial property reserve had been used to cover the shortfall.  With regard to business rates, there was a surplus of £415,000 against budget.  Members were advised that this was a volatile income stream – there was a gain of £290,000 from the Gloucestershire Business Rates Pool but there had also been a £2m refund to Virgin Media due  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.

27.

Carbon Reduction Action Plan pdf icon PDF 166 KB

To consider the progress achieved in year two of the Council’s Carbon Reduction Action Plan, and the recommended year three action plan. 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

27.1          Attention was drawn to the report of the Head of Finance and Asset Management, circulated at Pages No. 79-103, which outlined the progress made during the second year of the Council’s Carbon Reduction Action Plan and the recommended year three action plan.  Members were asked to consider the report.

27.2          The Head of Finance and Asset Management advised that this was the second annual report on the Council’s carbon reduction journey towards the 2030 target.  Appendix A to the report provided the detail of the progress made over the last 12 months and gave an update on the baseline emissions and activity for year two.  In terms of highlights, a lot of work had been done around funding and the Council had given generously to support the ambitions with a £100,000 delivery fund from its reserves as well as a contribution of £447,200 to support delivery of the solar canopy in the car park and ongoing funding to support the new Carbon Reduction Programme Officer post; the Officer had been in post since February and was delivering a number of actions.  Members were informed that construction of the solar canopy was complete and sign-off was awaited from the Distribution Network Operators (DNO).  As well as the achievements, there had been a lot of frustration with significant resource dedicated to an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to secure external funding for the replacement of the Council’s heating system.  Having secured funding in year one, the tender for its delivery in year two had seen a significant increase in cost of installation which resulted in funding being withdrawn.  The team had then taken the opportunity to bid for further external funding which had required a lot of work within a short space of time and, although the bid was technically sound and had passed the assessment criteria, the fund had run out of money so could not make an award to the Council.  This project remained a key target and it was hoped that a further round of Public Sector Decarbonisation Funding (PSDS) funding would be announced in due course so an early bid could be made using all of the information gathered in previous rounds. 

27.3          In terms of the annual emissions report, there was a significant reduction of 538 tonnes (33.5%) against the 2019 baseline; however, it was important to remember the impact of COVID on working practices and energy demand during the timeframe and that the quality of data supplied by outside bodies was not as expected and needed to be checked for accuracy.  There was effectively a new baseline for 2021 with just over 1,000 tonnes of carbon to be eliminated or offset over the next eight years.  The action plan for the next 12 months included a number of activities such as branding, communication and training for Officers and Members as well as rollout of electric vehicle charging points, provision of a fully electric vehicle fleet and decarbonisation of the domestic property portfolio.  The action plan also started  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

28.

Annual Workforce Development Strategy Review pdf icon PDF 93 KB

To consider progress made against delivery of the Workforce Development Strategy. 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

28.1          The report of the Head of Corporate Services, circulated at Pages No. 104-127, set out the progress made against delivery of the Workforce Development Strategy.  Members were asked to consider the report.

28.2          The HR and OD Manager advised that an update on the progress made against the 2021/22 actions and the proposed actions for 2022/23 were attached at Appendix 1 to the report.  The main points to note were set out at Page No. 105, Paragraph 3.1 of the report, and particular reference was made to the introduction of the new Eploy system; development of systems to allow reporting on equalities data; and the COVID-19 response in terms of development and adjustment of policies, provision of new training and welfare support for staff.   Appendix 2 to the report set out the key performance measures outturn and attention was drawn to Page No. 116 which showed voluntary staff turnover was up to 14.5% from 6%; whilst a third of this was attributed to retirement, which was in line with other organisations, there was still a considerable amount which was unrelated to that.  Alongside this, the Council continued to struggle to recruit to senior management roles.  The HR and OD Manager advised there was a plan to address this - pay was one of the most frequently cited reasons for leaving during exit interviews and review of job evaluation processes and pay structures was planned during 2022/23 along with a further action around developing a strategy for recruitment management and retention.

28.3          A Member expressed the view that any changes to the pay structure needed to be carefully considered and suggested that other incentives should be explored.  He pointed out that the local government pension scheme used to be a significant draw but that was no longer as enticing as it had once been.  He asked whether staff who undertook training as part of their employment with the authority were required to stay for a period of time following completion – the Council was often used as a training ground to gain experience and qualifications before progressing to more senior roles in the private sector.  In response, the HR and OD Manager confirmed there was a training agreement in place for that reason.  Whilst she agreed it was necessary to look at the whole picture, with turnover as high as it was currently and with pay being cited so frequently as a reason for leaving, that was something which needed to be addressed and there was a balance to be struck with development opportunities and career pathways.  A Member welcomed the Council’s commitment to apprenticeships and indicated that he was aware of apprentices within the IT department but asked if there were opportunities in planning.  In response, the HR and OD Manager advised there were now professional planning apprenticeships up to level four and level six/seven; however, there were not a lot of universities offering those currently and conversations were taking place with universities to identify what would best suit  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.

29.

Review of Capability Policy pdf icon PDF 81 KB

To approve the proposed Terms of Reference for the review of the Capability Policy. 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

29.1          The report of the Head of Corporate Services, circulated at Pages No. 128-131, provided Terms of Reference for a review of the Capability Policy.  Members were asked to approve the Terms of Reference as set out at Appendix 1 to the report.

29.2          The Head of Corporate Services advised that an annual report on policies and strategies due for review during 2022/23 was presented at the last Overview and Scrutiny Committee and Members had identified the Capability Policy for review by the Committee prior to consideration by the Executive Committee.  Terms of Reference had been drafted for the review and were attached at Appendix 1 to the report.  Due to the nature of the policy, a Task and Finish Working Group was not considered appropriate and it was instead proposed to conduct the review via a single workshop in August where Members would be given an overview of the policy, the proposed changes and would have an opportunity to ask questions.  Following consultation, the revised policy would be then be taken to Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 11 October 2022 and to Executive Committee for approval on 16 November 2022.

29.3          A Member indicated that August may not be the best time to hold the workshop given that it was traditionally a holiday period and the Head of Corporate Services advised that if an appropriate date could not be identified during August, the workshop, and subsequent dates in the timeline, would be pushed back.  Accordingly, it was

RESOLVED           That the Terms of Reference for the review of the Capability Policy be APPROVED as set out at Appendix1 to the report.

30.

Gloucestershire Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee Update

To receive an update from the Council’s representative on matters considered at the last meeting (12 July 2022). 

Minutes:

30.1          The Chair indicated that the Gloucestershire Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee had met earlier that day so the Council’s representative had not had time to produce a written report as usual; however, she would give a brief verbal update of the salient points and the written report would be circulated by email following the meeting.

30.2          The Council’s representative on the Gloucestershire Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee advised that an introduction had been provided on the Gloucestershire Integrated Care System which had been established on 1 July 2022.  This replaced the Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group and would be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day running of local NHS health and care services.  The Committee had also received an update on local screening and immunisation services and had been advised that uptake within the county was thought to be good at 75% of the population.  The South West Dental Commissioning Team had provided an update on NHS dentistry as there had been a 21.55% decrease in the number of patients being able to access NHS dental services.  NHS dentistry was priced in units of activity and contracts and pricing was determined nationally.  It was up to practices to decide if they wanted to provide NHS dentistry and a lot had opted not to due to the process being too complicated.  This was a significant national problem, particularly as a lot of practices had closed during the pandemic and chosen not to reopen.  It was reported that Gloucestershire had a shortage of 31 dentists and work was being done to attract students from the two dentistry schools in the south-west at Bristol and Plymouth.  The Committee had also received an update from the South West Ambulance Service Foundation Trust and it was noted that the service covered a population of 5.5 million in the south-west with 23 million visitors, mainly during the summer.  The key issues highlighted were the intense sustained pressure which meant that performance had not returned to pre-pandemic figures; difficulties with provision of the service commissioned; and massive handover delays at general hospitals - the service had lost 10,000 hours in handovers last week compared to an average of 350 hours in a previous year, 10% of which was attributed to hospitals in Gloucestershire.  Hospital Liaison Officers had been appointed to speed up the process with extra triage staff to answer phone calls and signpost to other services where possible.  In Gloucestershire, 37% had been redirected to other services.

30.3          A Member asked if it was intended to bring in more NHS dentists as minor issues could become more serious if left unseen, for instance, a sore throat could turn into an abscess, then septicaemia and a visit to Accident and Emergency which could have been avoided.  The Council representative on the Gloucestershire Health and Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee confirmed that was exactly what was trying to be achieved.  The Member went on to ask questions about the contracting arrangements and the Chair indicated that it may be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

31.

Separate Business

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.

Minutes:

31.1          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. 

32.

Trade Waste Project Update

(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 receive an update on the progress of the trade waste project. 

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))

 32.1         Members considered an update on the progress made in relation to the trade waste project and the next steps.