Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the previous meeting held on 29 September 2020. The draft minutes can be viewed at: http://modgov.southsomerset.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CId=141&Year=0

The minutes of the meeting held on 29 September 2020 were approved as a correct record and would be signed by the Chairman.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Nicola Clark, Louise Clarke, Sue Osborne and Jeny Snell.

In accordance with the Council's current Code of Conduct (as amended 26 February 2015), which includes all the provisions relating to Disclosable Pecuniary Interests (DPI), personal and prejudicial interests, Members are asked to declare any DPI and also any personal interests (and whether or not such personal interests are also "prejudicial") in relation to any matter on the Agenda for this meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no members of public present at the meeting.

This is an opportunity for Members to question the progress on issues arising from previous meetings.  However, this does not allow for the re-opening of a debate on any item not forming part of this agenda.

There were no issues raised from previous meetings.

The Chairman welcomed Councillors Oliver Patrick and Linda Vijeh as new members on the Scrutiny Committee. He noted Councillor Louise Clarke was also a new member to the Committee but was unable to attend this meeting.

There were no verbal updates on reports considered by District Executive at the October meeting.

Members considered the reports within the District Executive agenda for 5 November 2020 and raised comments as detailed below. Responses to most questions and comments were provided at Scrutiny Committee by the relevant officers or Portfolio Holder – except those marked by an asterisk.

“Towards a Climate Resilient Somerset” – Somerset’s Climate Emergency Strategy (Agenda Item 6)

·        Members wished to thank all officers and councillors, both at South Somerset and the other Somerset authorities, for all their work in creating the comprehensive report and strategy, especially given the current circumstances.

·        Members acknowledged this would be a constantly evolving and working document and also noted it was an example of how all the Somerset local authorities had worked to together regarding a single issue.

·        Referring to behaviour change – a member asked how we would work with families and schools about changing travel habits for example – had any progress been made to date?

·        A member asked if further detail could be provided about the electric car charging points including the type (e.g. rapid) and the likely costs to be charged to customers for using the chargers.

·        *A member asked if the responsibilities for public footpaths (Public Rights of Way) had been looked at as part of the strategy? He noted that if encouraging increased use of footpaths that more maintenance may be required.

·        Members were content that the recommendations go forward.

Corporate Performance Report 2020-21 – 2^nd Quarter (Agenda Item 7)

·        Some members queried the statistics for planning (PCS 7-16) as it was felt some data was open to interpretation.

·        *PCS11 – it was felt the figures were misleading as the figure included applications with extensions of time and so was not a reflection of those applications actually determined within the 13 week timescale.

·        *PCS15 – members noted there was no detail to indicate how long extensions of time were for and the information would be of interest. They also noted that a breakdown of information to show differentiation of who had agreed / requested the extensions of time (eg, applicant or SSDC) would be useful.

·        Some members felt there needed to more recognition of there being some issues with the planning service.

·        *PCS14 – members noted the appeals lost figure was rising. A member queried if officers and the Portfolio Holder were comfortable that the matter could be addressed to a more acceptable level?

·        A member asked if it was possible for figures to be circulated to members regarding the number of major planning applications which had been approved but not yet come to fruition – especially any permissions which were now beyond the three-year time limit and hence expired?

2020/21 Capital Budget Monitoring Report for the Period Ending 30^th September 2020 (Agenda Item 8)

·        Members asked some points of detail regarding elements of the report:

o   Table 1, page 39 – Figure of 1,535 (£’000) is shown for Investment in Land, Property and Renewables – could a brief breakdown be provided?

o   *Appx A,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 192.

The Specialist (Scrutiny & Member Development) provided a brief verbal update on the progress of work of Task and Finish groups, including:

·        Council Tax Support – public consultation was due to end in the next few days. A report on proposals for a banded scheme would be made to Full Council in December.

·        Productivity Analysis – the group had reconvened and started to look at productivity analysis and the development of a fees and charges policy.

·        Environment Strategy – an informal meeting was being arranged for the end of the month to discuss deliverables.

There were no updates on matters of interest from the Chairman or Specialist (Scrutiny and Member Development).

During a brief discussion a member acknowledged that the majority of staff were currently working from home and expressed his concerns about staff welfare. He queried if a staff survey or similar had been undertaken.

In response, another member noted that staff well-being had also been discussed at Audit Committee, and Audit Committee members had been reassured that staff were being taken care of and able to access support where needed at any time. He asked that members were kept informed regarding staff welfare and the council’s financial situation.

The Specialist (Scrutiny and Member Development), confirmed that a staff survey had recently been completed and she would ask if a summary of the findings could be circulated to members for information.

The Director (Strategy & Commissioning) noted a short workshop had been held with Scrutiny members in order to make suggestions on content for the Transformation close down report due to Council in December.  Officers would be running more of these informal briefing/workshop type meetings, and she asked members to try and attend where possible. She acknowledged that Scrutiny Committee needed to be more involved in policy development from an earlier stage.

Members were content to note the work programme.

Members noted that the next meeting of the Scrutiny Committee was scheduled for 10.30am on Tuesday 1 December 2020, and would be held as a virtual meeting using Zoom.