Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the previous meeting held on 2 February 2021. The draft minutes can be viewed at: http://modgov.southsomerset.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CId=141&Year=0

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 2 February 2021 were approved as a correct record and would be signed by the Chairman.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Nicola Clark, Robin Pailthorpe and Gerard Tucker.

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.

At the time the item was discussed, Councillor Jeny Snell declared a personal interest for item 10 on the District Executive agenda – Octagon Theatre Development – as she was a customer and her daughter also performed there.

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 advised members that due to the Elections in May, both the Scrutiny Committee and the District Executive meetings would be held one week later than usual.

The Chairman reminded members that at the last meeting a question had been raised about whether there would be any impact on Portfolio Holder roles as a result of the proposed changes to the senior management structure. We were informed at District Executive there wouldn’t be any, but had since been advised by the Leader of Council there were likely be a few minor changes just to make things easier for all, but they would not be significant changes.

Members considered the reports within the District Executive agenda for 4 March 2021 and raised comments as detailed below. Responses to questions and comments were provided at Scrutiny Committee by the relevant officers or Portfolio Holders.

District-wide Strategic Grants - funding arrangements with CASS and SPARK 2021/2022 (Agenda item 6)

·         A member questioned how this report links up with the agreed review of the Voluntary sector commissioning model as agreed at scrutiny committee Jan 2020. How can Scrutiny assist with the development of the core commissioning model going forward?

·         Members commended the work of CASS and SPARK and noted the increased demand for these organisations due to Covid-19 pandemic.

·         A member asked if there were any contingency plans in place, should CASS and or SPARK needed further funding as a result of the increase in complexity of cases due to Covid-19.

·         Page 19 Infographic page – 77% image section has a minor typo

·         Page 19 Infographic age - A member questioned the percentage figures for feelings of Confidence/Optimism from the voluntary sector. 42% confident for the future, 48% feeling about the same - what about the other 10%? Are these charities feeling less confident/optimistic about the future? Is there a risk these charities will be lost?

·          Members endorsed the recommendations.

The Martock Parish Neighbourhood Plan Referendum (Agenda item 7)

·         Members asked for indication of the date for the planned Neighbourhood Plan referendum. It was confirmed that this will be held on the 6^th May 2021.

·         Members questioned to what extent the unitary/re-organisation plans would impact the neighbourhood plan. Will the plan be automatically adopted by the shadow authority and new authority?

·          Similarly, to what extent will the proposed central government regulatory changes to the planning policy framework impact the neighbourhood plan?

Private Sector Housing Grant Policy (Agenda item 8)

·          A member expressed concern around the recommendations for discretionary decision making by officers. What protocols and safeguarding procedures are in place to protect officers when decisions are faced with criticisms in the event of refusals?

Investment Assets Quarterly Update Report (Agenda item 9)

·         Members commended officers for the good progress of the Investment Strategy to date, and the 95% rental collection rate for the portfolio during the Covid-19 pandemic which is very impressive.

·         One member expressed their disappointed at the Marlborough housing development project. Why did we agree to undertake a project with a projected profit margin of only 10%. This is very low for a development of this type. Have we considered marketing properties at a later date when property market could return to pre-pandemic levels to enable us to claw back some of the profit lost? Another member asked what valuable lessons we had learned from this and how will we rectify this going forward? Members agreed they would like to see more detail around this and asked for a briefing note.

·         One member asked how the issue of permitted development rights fitted into this strategy?

·         Members questioned why there was no mention of maintenance costs for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 242.

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

Productivity Analysis – work was ongoing and the group has reviewed fees and charges for pest control, and a similar process would start shortly regarding licensing fees.

SSDC Environment Strategy  - the group were starting to look at and review energy supplier contracts across our properties. This would be a large piece of work as there were multiple suppliers and contracts for the properties across the Council’s portfolio.

There were no updates on matters of interest.

The Specialist (Scrutiny & Member Development) reminded members that several items were still pending due to Covid restrictions. She advised that:

·         A further update would be provided at the next meeting regarding work on the Member Portal.

·         The Specialist (Performance) would be attending the next meeting to provide an update on performance reporting.

During discussion, members made some comments on items detailed in the work programme and also raised suggestions for future topics. Some of the points raised included:

·        It was sometimes difficult for members to identify which officer was dealing with a particular issue and was there a way that members could be kept informed. In response the Director (Strategy & Commissioning) explained that there was a different staffing structure in place to that historically. The Locality team were a first point of contact for local queries and issues from members, however everyone was encouraged to log queries via the website so that they could view the progress being made with the query and by who.

·        It was acknowledged that a Portfolio Holder briefing for members was due shortly regarding broadband – it will be interesting to see how the proposed Task and Finish group will dovetail in to any information from the briefing.

·        Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) – note that much development is taking place but have seen little CIL funding coming in, an update would useful.

·        A joint workshop on the role of Scrutiny and Audit was postponed due to Covid – feel the workshop could be arranged for a date soon.

·        Listed buildings – feel members need comprehensive information and understanding of buildings which may be at risk in our district and any actions being taken. In response the Director (Strategy & Commissioning) noted she would forward the concern to the relevant Director).

The Specialist (Scrutiny & Member Development) noted the comments made, and members noted the work programme.

Members noted that the next meeting of the Scrutiny Committee was scheduled for 10.30am on Tuesday 30 March 2021, and would be held as a virtual meeting using Zoom.