Agenda item

Members considered the reports within the District Executive agenda for 13 May 2021 (Informal Consultative meeting) 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 with an asterisk.

Approval of Somerset Electric Vehicle (EV) Strategy (Agenda item 5)

·        A member asked who would be signing off this strategy, in light of the recruitment of a new CEO.

·        Para 8 – it was queried it if it was known how the 46% of carbon emissions had been derived and whether it was a figure we could directly influence. Was the emissions figure directly related to the M5 and A303 travel corridors? *

·        A member asked if there was a formula used as to where charging points were being, or would be, located and the quantity? *

·        Para 16 – when would the results of the Co-Cars study be known as the findings would be of interest to Scrutiny. *

·        A member queried whether rapid charging points for commercial vehicles would also be looked into for the future? *

·        Members sought clarification that we would be looking at the installation of a variety of chargers as there were different types depending on the vehicle. *

·        A member asked what the council is doing to encourage more ‘active travel’ in the district. i.e walking and cycling.

·        Members queried the use of ‘precious metals’ in the manufacturing of batteries. Has this been considered and are we looking at any alternatives? *

Corporate Performance Report 2020-21: 4^th Quarter and End of Year Achievements Report (Agenda item 6)

·        With reference to the Environment KPI’s and SWP in particular. One member raised a query about difficulties some customers had recently experienced regarding renewal of green bins including a long wait time on the phones and that online some postcodes were not being accepted. He had recollections of some similar issues last year.

·        Page 15 – key at bottom of page – red – a member queried what was deemed to be significant?

·        Page 17, PCS 7 - A member expressed concern about the timeframes for Housing Benefit claims. The response of the officer to the comment was acknowledged, and members asked if an explanatory sentence could be included about DWP lead times?

·        Page 17, PCS 9 – a member acknowledged that the process for Council Tax new claims had changed and queried if the process change was starting to have a positive impact on timeframes?

·        Page 18, PCS 14 – a member noted the target was 10% for the appeals. It was queried if the target should be slightly reduced so that we could react sooner should the need arise.*

·        Page 19, PCS 15 – some members noted the indicator was difficult to interpret as the target showed as 100% - and this could be read as wanting to have 100% of applications with extensions of time. *

·        A member asked the Performance Specialist when they would be reviewing these KPI’s, as the DX forward plan suggested this was going to come to committee in May 2021.

·        Some members suggested the KPI’s regarding planning and building control, which are largely positive, did not reflect the customer experiences within their wards.

·        A member noted there were no measures / indicators for planning enforcement and felt it was an area of performance that should be considered. *

·        A member queried if more ‘active travel’ plans should also be implemented and measured across the district.

·        In addition to the above, a member asked what could be done to put pressure on county to plan for and promote more ‘active travel’ plans across the county? *

·        Members congratulated staff on all the work achieved during what has been a difficult and challenging time.

SSDC Trading Company: Elleston Services Ltd (Agenda item 7)

·        A member queried the loan originally agreed to the company as it looked like an amount was still outstanding. Was / is interest still being received on that loan?

·        Para 23 - a member commented they felt there was also a negative reputational risk if the company was unable to trade again in the future, or should any of the funding be lost.

·        Members sought clarity on the role of the Director (Commercial Services & Income Generation) with the company in the near future, as she would take on the role of CEO for SSDC. Members sought reassurance that there would be no conflict of interests.

·        Some members agreed that given the unavoidable position the council is in, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this decision to temporarily cease trading was the correct one to make.

·        Page 39. Rec C – refers to ring-fencing. A member asked how long this would be for and would be useful if included within the report.

·        Acknowledging the situation regarding the future of local government in Somerset, a member asked If it was possible for the company to be transferred to a new authority?

District Executive Forward Plan (Agenda item 8)

·        A member noted an item was scheduled for June – ‘Creating a future strategy for Chard’ - and queried why this was needed when we already have the Chard Regeneration and CEDA programmes in place. She also asked if ALL Area West members would have the opportunity to feed into this? It was queried if similar strategies were planned for the other towns? This item has since been added to the Area West agenda for 19^th May 2021.