Meeting documents

Policy and Resources Scrutiny Committee
Thursday, 10th October, 2013 6.30 pm

Place:
Civic Suite, Civic Centre, Southend-on-Sea
 

Attendance Details

ItemDescriptionResolution
Part I
357 Apologies and substitutions.
 Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Burdett (no substitute), Councillor D Garston (no substitute).
358 Declarations of interest.
 The following interests were declared at the meeting:

(a) Councillors Holdcroft, Moring and Salter - interest in the pre-Cabinet scrutiny/referred/called-in items; attended pursuant to the dispensation agreed at Council on 19th June 2012, under S.33 of the Localism Act 2011;
(b) Councillor Ayling - agenda item relating to Core client housing responsibilities, including commissioning & procurement - non-pecuniary - Board member SEH;
(c) Councillor Assenheim - agenda item relating to Core client housing responsibilities, including commissioning & procurement - non-pecuniary - Board member SEH;
(d) Councillor Longley - agenda item relating to Southend Skills Strategy - non-pecuniary - Governor
(e) Councillor Holland - agenda item relating to Redevelopment of St Stephen's Church and Audleys Close Garage Site - son worked on aspects of the report (withdrew);
(f) Councillor Hadley - agenda item relating to SEAL - non-pecuniary - private landlord;
(g) Councillor Habermel - agenda item relating to SEAL - non-pecuniary - private landlord;
(h) Councillor Gilbert- agenda item relating to SEAL - non-pecuniary - rent a property through a SEAL landlord;
(i) Councillor Salter - agenda item relating to SEAL - non-pecuniary - private landlord;
(j) Councillor Borton - agenda item relating to In depth scrutiny project - Impact of Welfare Reform Changes - non-pecuniary - DWP / JobCentre Plus mentioned - work for DWP at the Basildon BDC.
359 Questions from Members of the Public.
 There were no questions from members of the public.
360 Minutes of the Meeting held on Thursday, 11th July, 2013
 Resolved:-

That the Minutes of the meeting held on Thursday, 11th July, 2013 be confirmed and signed.
361 Core client housing responsibilities, including commissioning & procurement
Business for item 361
Resolved:-

That the presentation be noted.
362 Southend Skills Strategy
Business for item 362
Resolved:-

That the draft report be noted and endorsed for submission to Cabinet for consideration at its meeting on 5th November 2013.

Note:- This is an Executive Function.
Executive Councillors:- Courtenay and Lamb.
363 Redevelopment of St Stephen's Church and Audleys Close Garage Site
Business for item 363
Resolved:-

That the draft report be noted and endorsed for submission to Cabinet for consideration at its meeting on 5th November 2013.

Note:- This is an Executive Function.
Executive Councillor:- Salter.
364 Monthly Performance Report
Business for item 364
Resolved:-

That the report be noted.

Note:- This is an Executive Function.
Executive Councillor:- As appropriate to the item.
365 Item called in from The Cabinet minutes of Tuesday, 17th September, 2013.
 
In depth scrutiny report - How we plan to meet the growing demand for social rented housing in the current economic climate
Scrutiny Comment for item 365
Business for item 365
Resolved:-

That the following decisions of Cabinet be noted:

"1. That the report and recommendations from the in depth scrutiny project "How we plan to meet the growing demand for social rented housing in the current economic climate", be approved.

2. That it be noted that approval of the recommendations with budget implications will require consideration as part of future years' budget processes prior to implementation."

Note:-This is an Executive Function.
Executive Councillor:- Salter.
366 Item called in from The Cabinet minutes of Tuesday, 17th September, 2013.
 
Council Debtors Position 2013/14
Scrutiny Comment for item 366
Business for item 366
Resolved:-

That the following decisions of Cabinet be noted:

"1. That the current outstanding debt position as at 31st July 2013 and the list of debts written off to date in 2013/14, as set out in Appendices A and B to the submitted report, be noted.

2. That the individual write-off's greater than £25,000, as set out in Appendix B, to the submitted report, be approved.

3. That the revisions to the submitted Corporate Debt Management Strategy, as set out in Appendix C, to the submitted report, be approved.

4. That the Recovery Policy, as set out in Appendix D, to the submitted report, be approved."

Note:- This is an Executive Function.
Executive Councillor:- Holdcroft.
367 Item called in from The Cabinet minutes of Tuesday, 17th September, 2013.
 
Annual Report - Comments, Compliments and Complaints
Scrutiny Comment for item 367
Business for item 367
Resolved:-

That the following decision of Cabinet be noted:

"That the performance in respect of compliments, comments and complaints for 2012/13 be noted, which continues to result in the delivery of service improvements as a consequence of effective complaints handling."

Note:- This is an Executive Function.
Executive Councillor:- Courtenay, Moring and Salter.
368 Item called in from The Cabinet minutes of Tuesday, 17th September, 2013.
 
Council Procedure Rule 46
Scrutiny Comment for item 368
Business for item 368
Resolved:-

That the following decision of Cabinet be noted:-

"That the report be noted."

Note:- This is an Executive Function.
Executive Councillor:- Moring.
369 SEAL - update on progress
Business for item 369
Resolved:-

That Mr Ransom and colleagues be thanked for the detailed and informative presentation.

Note:- This is a Scrutiny Function.
370 Update on Southend Crime Statistics
Business for item 370
Resolved:-

1. That Chief Inspector Bennett be thanked for the helpful update.
2. That a copy of the presentation be circulated to Members of the Committee.

Note:- This is a Scrutiny Function.
371 Minutes of the Meeting of Chairmen's Scrutiny Forum held on Monday, 15th July, 2013
 Resolved:-

That the Minutes of the meeting of Chairmen's Scrutiny Forum held on Monday, 15th July, 2013, be received and noted and the recommendations therein endorsed.

Note: This is a Scrutiny Function.
372 In depth scrutiny project - Impact of Welfare Reform Changes
Business for item 372
Resolved:-

That the project plan be agreed.

Note:- This is a Scrutiny Function.
18.30 / 21.45

Attendance Details

Present:
Councillor Woodley (Chairman),
Councillors Ayling, Borton, Brown, Byford, Collins, Evans, Godwin, Gilbert, Habermel, Hadley, Holland, Longley, Robertson and Stafford
In attendance:
Councillors Holdcroft, Moring and Salter (Executive Councillors)
Councillors Assenheim, Terry and Ware-Lane.
R Tinlin, J K Williams, F Abbott, J Chesterton, L Everard, J Ruffle, J Lansley and D Coleman

Scrutiny Comment

ItemComment
365 Called in by Councillors P Collins and G Longley.
Final call on 24/09/2013 at 14:30
Supported by M Terry, A M Chalk
Resolved:-

That the following decisions of Cabinet be noted:

"1. That the report and recommendations from the in depth scrutiny project "How we plan to meet the growing demand for social rented housing in the current economic climate", be approved.

2. That it be noted that approval of the recommendations with budget implications will require consideration as part of future years' budget processes prior to implementation."

Note:-This is an Executive Function.
Executive Councillor:- Salter.
366 Called in by Councillors P Collins and G Longley.
Final call on 24/09/2013 at 14:30
Resolved:-

That the following decisions of Cabinet be noted:

"1. That the current outstanding debt position as at 31st July 2013 and the list of debts written off to date in 2013/14, as set out in Appendices A and B to the submitted report, be noted.

2. That the individual write-off's greater than £25,000, as set out in Appendix B, to the submitted report, be approved.

3. That the revisions to the submitted Corporate Debt Management Strategy, as set out in Appendix C, to the submitted report, be approved.

4. That the Recovery Policy, as set out in Appendix D, to the submitted report, be approved."

Note:- This is an Executive Function.
Executive Councillor:- Holdcroft.
367 Called in by Councillors P Collins and G Longley.
Final call on 25/09/2013 at 16:19
Resolved:-

That the following decision of Cabinet be noted:

"That the performance in respect of compliments, comments and complaints for 2012/13 be noted, which continues to result in the delivery of service improvements as a consequence of effective complaints handling."

Note:- This is an Executive Function.
Executive Councillor:- Courtenay, Moring and Salter.
368 Called in by Councillors P Collins and G Longley.
Final call on 25/09/2013 at 16:20
Resolved:-

That the following decision of Cabinet be noted:-

"That the report be noted."

Note:- This is an Executive Function.
Executive Councillor:- Moring.

Business

ItemBusiness
361Further to Minute 154 of the meeting held on 11th July 2013, the Head of Procurement, Commissioning & Housing provided an outline of her role, covering strategic & community housing, core client housing responsibilities, commissioning / corporate procurement.
362(This is a pre-Cabinet Scrutiny item to all three Scrutiny Committees).

The Committee received a joint report of the Corporate Director for People and Corporate Director for Place, by way of pre-Cabinet Scrutiny. This provided an update on the delivery of skills, education and training in Southend for young people and adults and detailed the strengths of the current position and proposed significant actions to further improve the development of opportunities for local residents for discussion.

The Committee discussed the report in detail and there was general consensus and support for the proposed actions and about the content of the report.
363(This is a pre-Cabinet Scrutiny item).

The Committee considered a report by the Corporate Director for People by way of pre-Cabinet Scrutiny. This updated the Committee on the proposed redevelopment of St Stephen's Church and adjacent playground site to deliver a new church, up to 36 units of affordable housing and a replacement playground site with new facilities and outlined the requirement for the Council to supply a small garage site as part of the overall development, on which a new rectory would be built, for a nominal sum. In exchange the Council will receive 100% nomination rights to the affordable housing in perpetuity and the freehold interest in a replacement newly equipped playground site.

The Committee discussed the report in detail and there was general consensus and support for the proposed actions and about the content of the report.
364The Committee considered Minute 259 of Cabinet held on 17th September, 2013, together with the Monthly Performance Report (MPR) covering the period to the end of August 2013, which had been circulated on 2nd October 2013.

With regard to key service variances, detailed in the Revenue Budget Monitoring 2013 / 14 Period 5, Portfolio Summary, the Executive Councillor for Corporate Support Services said that he would provide a written response after the meeting on the property management figures. He also said that he would ask the relevant officers to provide a written response after the meeting providing further detail on service variation relating to increase in landfill tax.
365The Committee considered Minute 262 of Cabinet held on 17th September, 2013, which had been called in to Scrutiny, together with a report of the Corporate Director for Corporate Services. This concerned the final report on the in depth scrutiny project "How we plan to meet the growing demand for social rented housing in the current economic climate".
366The Committee considered Minute 266 of Cabinet held on 17th September, 2013, which had been called in to Scrutiny, together with a report of the Corporate Director for Corporate Services on the Council Debtors position 2013/14 and set out revisions to the Corporate Management Strategy and a proposed Recovery Policy.

In response to the questions from Members of the Committee, the Council's Head of Finance and Resources undertook to provide a written response after the meeting providing some further details on the information in Appendix A, which is the outstanding debt pre 1st April 2013 (arrears) - total figures / number / accounts of categories.
367The Committee considered Minute 268 of Cabinet held on 17th September, 2013 which had been called in to all 3 Scrutiny Committees, together with the Report of the Corporate Director for Corporate Services which had been prepared in response to the Local Authority's statutory duty to produce an annual report on compliments and complaints received about its Children and Adults' Social Care functions.
368The Committee considered Minute 279 of Cabinet held on 17th September, 2013, which had been called in to Scrutiny. This concerned the item relating to - Demolition of Leigh Youth Centre (Item 3.2 refers).
369On behalf of the Committee the Chairman welcomed Mr Ransom, spokesperson for South East Alliance of Landlords, Agents and Residents (SEAL) and colleagues to the meeting. Mr Ransom provided an update on joint working and cooperation between the Council and private sector landlords under the formal agreement with SEAL.

The Committee asked a number of questions which were fully responded to by Mr Ransom. In response to a question, Mr Ransom said that he would be happy to look into producing a business card for Councillors, including key contact numbers.
370The Committee received a presentation from Chief Inspector Matt Bennett who provided an update on Southend Crime Statistics, looking at the period 2012/ 2013 and the year to date, providing a detailed breakdown for all crime and categories of crime. The Committee asked a number of questions which were fully responded to.
372Further to Minute 161 of the meeting held on 11th July 2013, the Committee considered the project plan in relation to the Committee's agreed in depth scrutiny project for 20013/14, which is - ‘Impact of Welfare Changes'.

 

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