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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

90.

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:

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

91.

Apologies for Absence and Substitutions

To receive apologies for absence and advise of any substitutions. 

Minutes:

91.1          Apologies for absence were received from Councillors H C McLain, J K Smith and C Softley.  There were no substitutes for the meeting. 

92.

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:

92.1          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

92.2          The following declaration was made:

Councillor

Application No./Item

Nature of Interest (where disclosed)

Declared Action in respect of Disclosure

K J Cromwell

Agenda Item 7 – Council Plan Performance Tracker – Quarter Three 2022/23

Related to a person with an interest in the Garden Town.

Would leave the meeting if required.

92.3          Councillor Cromwell sought advice as to whether he would need to leave the meeting for the item on the Council Plan Performance Tracker as he had an interest in the Garden Town which was included in the tracker.  The Head of Democratic Services advised that this was a discussion in public that involved scrutinising the Performance Tracker and was not a matter which involved any decision-making.  Depending upon the questions raised in relation to the Garden Town the Member would be advised whether it was necessary to leave the meeting.

92.4          There were no further declarations made on this occasion.

93.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 165 KB

To approve the Minutes of the meeting held on 7 February 2023.

Minutes:

93.1          The Minutes of the meeting held on 7 February 2023, copies of which had been circulated, were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair. 

94.

Executive Committee Forward Plan pdf icon PDF 414 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:

94.1          Attention was drawn to the Executive Committee Forward Plan, circulated at Pages No.12-20.  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. 

94.2          The Head of Corporate Services reminded Members the Forward Plan was a fluid document but there were several items in the pending section which would need to be brought forward ahead of the new Committee being formed following the elections in May.  Accordingly, it was

RESOLVED           That the Executive Committee Forward Plan be NOTED.

95.

Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme 2022/23 pdf icon PDF 120 KB

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

Minutes:

95.1          Attention was drawn to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme, circulated at Pages No. 21-24.  Members were asked to consider the Work Programme.

95.2          The Head of Corporate Services advised there was one Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting remaining in the current Council term on Tuesday 28 March 2023 and an Agenda Item for that meeting would be the approval of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme for 2023/24.  A Member sought assurance that the report on the use of mobile surveillance equipment for fly-tipping investigations would be taken to the meeting and this was confirmed by the Head of Community Services.

95.3          It was

RESOLVED          That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme 2023/24 be NOTED.

96.

Council Plan Performance Tracker - Quarter Three 2022/23 pdf icon PDF 235 KB

To review and scrutinise the performance management information and, where appropriate, to require response or action from the Executive Committee. 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

96.1          The report of the Head of Corporate Services, circulated at Pages No. 25-90, attached the performance management information for quarter three of 2022/23.  The Overview and Scrutiny Committee was asked to review and scrutinise the information and, where appropriate, identify any issues to refer to the Executive Committee for clarification or further action to be taken.

96.2          Members were informed this was the third quarterly monitoring report for 2022/23 and represented the latest information in terms of the status of the actions set out in the Council Plan which had been refreshed and adopted by Council on 26 July 2022.  Progress against delivering the objectives and actions for each of the six Council Plan priorities was reported through the performance tracker, attached at Appendix 1 to the report, which was a combined document that also included a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).  Key financial information was also reported alongside the tracker documents with a revenue budget statement attached at Appendix 2 to the report, a capital monitoring statement attached at Appendix 3, a reserves position summary attached at Appendix 4 and Finance KPIs attached at Appendix 5.

96.3          Key actions for the quarter were highlighted at Paragraph 2.3 of the report and included approval of the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) and budget proposal by Council, receipt of 45 live premises applications and approval of three grants as part of the High Street Heritage Action Zone; approval of the Empty Property Strategy and Electric Vehicle Charging Strategy by the Executive Committee; the new Web Developer taking up their post allowing work to recommence on reviewing the corporate website; and the Business Transformation Team being nominated as finalists in Netcall’s App of the Year for the planning application tracker which was soon to go live.  Members were reminded that, due to the complex nature of the actions being delivered, it was inevitable that some would not progress as smoothly or as quickly as envisaged and the details of those actions were set out at Paragraph 2.4 of the report.  It was noted that several were strategic actions relating to the Joint Strategic Plan and Community Infrastructure Levy as well as the work regarding the Ashchurch and Northway Bridge Over Rail and the Garden Town.  It was important to recognise that a lot of the actions would be delivered over a number of years so there would be natural slippage.  In terms of KPIs, the status of each indicator was set out at Paragraph 3.3 of the report and KPIs where direction of travel was down and/or not on target, were set out at Paragraph 3.4. of the report.  Particular reference was made to KPIs 21, 22, 23 and 24 in relation to Planning Enforcement with the majority of categories reaching 100% for the second quarter running; KPI 36 relating to food establishment hygiene ratings remaining good; KPI 37 which showed that the percentage of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests answered on time had improved with 90% being achieved, which  ...  view the full minutes text for item 96.

97.

Housing and Homelessness Strategy Action Plan Monitoring Report pdf icon PDF 122 KB

To consider the progress made against the Housing and Homelessness Strategy Action Plan. 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

97.1          The report of the Housing Services Manager, circulated at Pages No. 91-118, set out the progress which had been made against the Housing and Homelessness Strategy Action Plan.  Members were asked to consider the report.

97.2          The Housing Services Manager indicated that, with regard to Priority 1, good progress had been made with two schemes being delivered by registered providers and a wider developer-led scheme which had increased the amount of social rented properties the authority was able to secure so Members should see those coming to the Planning Committee shortly.  With regard to Page No. 92, Paragraph 2.2.2 of the report, it was noted that a particular focus for year one was around assisting customers with the impact of inflation and the schemes would deliver 47 new units which would have high efficiency standards.  The social rented properties were being delivered by registered providers at Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ‘A’ rating to ensure properties were better quality, as well as being more affordable, to improve the experience for tenants in terms lower energy bills etc.  With regard to Priority 2, as set out at Page No. 92, Paragraph 2.3.1 of the report, the stock condition survey would be moved from year one to year two as the survey was being carried out across the county and Tewkesbury Borough was further down the list than had been anticipated.  Paragraph 2.3.2 explained that discussions had taken place with registered providers in relation to the condition of their stock and the Housing Services Manager was pleased to report that the Council’s main partners had processes in place for dealing with condensation, damp and mould.  Paragraph 2.4.1 of the report gave an update on Priority 3 and Members were advised that training was being sourced for the Housing Services team on reform procedures which would help them to understand the experience of domestic abuse, mental ill health etc. in terms of why people made, on the face of it, seemingly strange decisions.

97.3          A Member drew attention to Page No. 115 of the report and, with regard to action e) work with partners to establish arrangements for management of empty homes that are brought into use through management orders, he asked how many empty homes had been identified and how many had been brought back into use.  In response, the Head of Community Services advised that none had been brought back into use as the first phase of the Empty Homes Strategy was to identify all empty homes in the borough and undertake assessments to establish the cause before targeting those which could be brought more easily back into use.  There were approximately 510 empty homes across the borough and it was not expected it would be possible for all of those to be brought back into use as some would be uninhabitable.  He stressed it was a four to five year plan and this project was still very much in the first stage.  The Member went on to comment that issues  ...  view the full minutes text for item 97.

98.

Customer Care Strategy pdf icon PDF 88 KB

To consider the progress made against the actions within the Customer Care Strategy during 2022/23 and to endorse the action plan for 2023/24.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

98.1          The report of the Head of Corporate Services, circulated at Pages No. 119-138, set out the progress made against the actions within the Customer Care Strategy during 2022/23.  Members were asked to consider the report and to endorse the action plan for 2023/24.

98.2          The Customer Services Team Leader advised that some of the key points included the Customer Services team being the first point of contact for Licensing and Planning queries so they could answer frequently asked questions freeing up the specialist teams to deal with more complex enquiries; this had been working well and Licensing, in particular, were very happy with the results.  The Customer Services team had also been working with the Business Transformation team to enhance online services offered to customers e.g. bulky waste service.  In 2023/24, it was intended to look at a new telephone system for the authority as the current system did not work with other platforms such as Teams.  Customers were still being encouraged online where possible, freeing up staff to assist those who were not able to access services in that way.  When letters were sent out in bulk at particular times, this resulted in a high number of calls so it helped if people could self-serve, for instance, garden waste renewals had recently gone out so this was generating a lot of customer contact.  The Head of Corporate Services drew attention to Page No. 124 of the report and indicated there was a sentence missing in relation to the action around implementing improvements as a result of the residents’ satisfaction survey and he clarified that the residents’ satisfaction survey had been completed and a report had been presented to Council.  With regard to the telephone system, this was coming to the end of its life and would be a major project for the Business Transformation team over the next 12 months.  It was thought there was better technology available such as intuitive software which would assist the customer experience, for instance, using voice recognition to request a service or Officer rather than listening to a list of options.

98.3          A Member was pleased to note that the telephone system was being reviewed and he asked whether the Customer Services team was aware of what happened when they transferred calls to Officers and they did not pick up.  The Customer Services Team Leader advised that if they knew an Officer was unavailable they would not put the call through and if Officers did not answer they should have a voicemail stating where they were, when they would be back and who they could contact instead.  The Member expressed the view that the system was very clunky and some Officers had voicemails whilst others did not.  The Customer Services Team Leader indicated that Officers could be away from their desks and telephones for a number of reasons ranging from annual leave to being out on site or in a meeting.  If Customer Services could not get through, the only option was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 98.

99.

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:

99.1          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. 

100.

Separate Minutes

To approve the separate Minutes of the meeting held on 7 February 2023.  

Minutes:

100.1        The separate Minutes of the meeting held on 7 February 2023, copies of which had been circulated, were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.