Agenda, decisions and minutes

Members are required to notify any substitutions by midday on the day of the meeting.

Late substitutions will not be accepted and Members attending as a substitute without having given the due notice will not be able to take part in the meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Nigel Mason, Carol Stanier and Ian Moody.

Having given due notice Councillor Sean Nolan substituted for Councillor Nigel Mason.

Audio recording – 1 minutes 52 seconds

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Nigel Mason, Carol Stanier and Ian Moody.

Having given due notice Councillor Sean Nolan substituted for Councillor Nigel Mason.

To take as read and approve as a true record the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on the 13 June 2022.

RESOLVED:That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 13 June 2022 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chair.

Audio Recording – 2 minutes 14 seconds

Councillor David Levett, as Chair, proposed and Councillor Adam Compton seconded and, following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED:That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 13 June 2022 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chair.

Members should notify the Chair of other business which they wish to be discussed at the end of either Part I or Part II business set out in the agenda. They must state the circumstances which they consider justify the business being considered as a matter of urgency.

The Chair will decide whether any item(s) raised will be considered.

There was no other business notified.

Audio recording – 2 minutes 52 seconds

There was no other business notified.

Members are reminded that any declarations of interest in respect of any business set out in the agenda, should be declared as either a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest or Declarable Interest and are required to notify the Chair of the nature of any interest declared at the commencement of the relevant item on the agenda.  Members declaring a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest must withdraw from the meeting for the duration of the item. Members declaring a Declarable Interest, wishing to exercise a ‘Councillor Speaking Right’, must declare this at the same time as the interest, move to the public area before speaking to the item and then must leave the room before the debate and vote.

(1)       The Chair advised that, in accordance with Council Policy, the meeting would be audio recorded;

(2)       The Chair drew attention to the item on the agenda front pages regarding Declarations of Interest and reminded Members that, in line with the Code of Conduct, any Declarations of Interest needed to be declared immediately prior to the item in question.

(3)       The Chair advised that Item 11, regarding the Lord Lister Hotel/Keystage Housing Grant call to account, had been withdrawn following advice from the Monitoring Officer and would be brought back to the Committee as soon as practicable following the conclusion of the planning process.

(4)       The Chair highlighted a change to the agenda order and advised that Agenda Item 10, Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme, would be taken as the final item.

Audio recording – 2 minutes 55 seconds

(1)       The Chair advised that, in accordance with Council Policy, the meeting would be audio recorded.

(2)       The Chair drew attention to the item on the agenda front pages regarding Declarations of Interest and reminded Members that, in line with the Code of Conduct, any Declarations of Interest needed to be declared immediately prior to the item in question.

(3)       The Chair advised that Item 11, regarding the Lord Lister Hotel/Keystage Housing Grant call to account, had been withdrawn following advice from the Monitoring Officer and would be brought back to the Committee as soon as practicable following the conclusion of the planning process.

(4)       The Chair highlighted a change to the agenda order and advised that Agenda Item 10, Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme, would be taken as the final item.

To receive petitions, comments and questions from the public.

There was no public participation.

Audio recording – 4 minutes 33 seconds

There was no public participation.

The Chair to report on any urgent or general exception items which required their agreement. At the time of printing the agenda, the Chair had not agreed any urgent or general exception items.

The Chair advised that he had approved one Urgent Item.

Audio recording – 4 minutes 37 seconds

The Chair advised that he had approved one Urgent Item and this was regarding the Council Tax Rebate for properties in bands E to H, so this payment could be made promptly. 

To consider any matters referred to the Committee for a decision in relation to a call-in of decision. At the time of printing the agenda, no items of business had been called-in.

There were no Called In Items.

Audio recording – 5 minutes 05 seconds

There were no Called In Items.

To receive and respond to any questions from Members either set out in the agenda or tabled at the meeting.

There were no questions submitted by Members.

Audio recording – 5 minutes 08 seconds

There were no questions submitted by Members.

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE, MEMBER AND SCRUTINY MANAGER

To consider the outcome of Overview and Scrutiny Committee resolutions.

RESOLVED: That the report entitled ‘Resolutions of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’ was noted.

REASON FOR DECISION: To enable the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to review and comment on actions and feedback received regarding resolutions previously made.

Audio recording – 5 minutes 14 seconds

The Committee, Member and Scrutiny Manager presented the report entitled Resolutions of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and drew attention to the following:

·         The resolutions had been updated as normal following the last meeting of the Committee.

·         He would circulate draft Terms of Reference for the Task and Finish group to Members by mid-August ahead of the September Committee meeting.

In response to a question from Councillor Claire Strong, the Committee, Member and Scrutiny Manager advised that the terms of reference to be circulated would be a proposed draft version for consideration, comment and approval by the Committee members.

Councillor Raj Bhakar proposed and Councillor Claire Strong seconded and, following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED: That the report entitled ‘Resolutions of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’ was noted.

REASON FOR DECISION: To enable the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to review and comment on actions and feedback received regarding resolutions previously made.

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE, MEMBER AND SCRUTINY MANAGER

To consider the issues that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee plans to review at future meetings and the activities of its sub-groups.

RESOLVED:

(1)  That the Committee prioritised proposed topics for inclusion in the work programme attached as Appendix A and, where appropriate, determined the high level form and timing of scrutiny input.

(2)  That the Committee, having considered the most recent iteration of the Forward Plan suggested a list of items to be considered at its meetings in the coming civic year, including the Consultation Strategy 2022-2027, District Wide Survey 2022, Crime and Disorder and consideration of terms of reference for the Task and Finish group.

(3)  That the Corporate Peer Challenge Action Plan Extract as attached as Appendix B be considered.

REASON FOR DECISION: To allow the Committee to set a work programme which provides focussed Member oversight, encourages open debate and seeks to achieve service improvement through effective policy development and meaningful policy and service change

Audio recording – 57 minutes 08 seconds

The Committee, Member and Scrutiny Manager presented the report entitled Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme and drew attention to the following:

·         This was the standard report, with the most recent Forward Plan published as a supplementary document.

·         There were two suggested items on the Forward Plan which may be of interest to Members, these were the Consultation Strategy and the results of the District Wide Survey, which were both due to be presented to Cabinet in September.

·         There was the possibility of two extraordinary Committee meetings, one for the call to account procedure regarding Lord Lister Hotel and one in late September to look at the Future Waste Arrangements.

·         The Local Enterprise Partnership had agreed to send a representative to give a presentation at the September meeting and encouraged Members to advise of suggested areas to cover.

·         The annual Crime and Disorder Matters was scheduled for January 2023 meeting, but topics for focus were required now to allow for time to contact relevant external groups to report.

Councillor David Levett noted that the LEP had been invited for a while, but due to various reasons this had never materialised. He advised that he felt a general overview of what the LEP is and what it does would be most beneficial for Members.

The following Members suggested topics for the Crime and Disorder Matters item:

·         Councillor Claire Strong

·         Councillor Val Bryant

·         Councillor Alistair Willoughby

·         Councillor Tamsin Thomas

Topics suggested by Members included:

·         Scams.

·         The legal status of Ring doorbell cameras.

·         Safe walking at night.

·         Anti-social behaviour.

·         Herts/Beds cross county border issues.

The Chair noted that there was a Corporate Peer Challenge Action Plan update due in the next few days, following the last review immediately prior to Covid restrictions.

Councillor David Levett, as Chair, proposed and Councillor Alistair Willoughby seconded and, following a vote, it was: 

RESOLVED:

(1)  That the Committee prioritised proposed topics for inclusion in the work programme attached as Appendix A and, where appropriate, determined the high level form and timing of scrutiny input.

(2)  That the Committee, having considered the most recent iteration of the Forward Plan suggested a list of items to be considered at its meetings in the coming civic year, including the Consultation Strategy 2022-2027, District Wide Survey 2022, Crime and Disorder and consideration of terms of reference for the Task and Finish group.

(3)  That the Corporate Peer Challenge Action Plan Extract as attached as Appendix B be considered

REASON FOR DECISION: To allow the Committee to set a work programme which provides focussed Member oversight, encourages open debate and seeks to achieve service improvement through effective policy development and meaningful policy and service change.

REPORT OF THE COMMUNITY HEALTH AND WELLBEING TEAM LEADER

Report on progress against the Council's statutory duty to safeguard and protect children and adults.

RESOLVED: That the Committee:

(1)  Received and commented on the annual report of progress made against the Council’s fulfilment of the statutory duty to maintain an effective safeguarding function with regard to children.

(2)  Received and commented on the annual report of progress made against the Council’s fulfilment of the statutory duty to maintain an effective safeguarding function with regard to adults with care and support needs.

(3)  Received and commented on the annual report of progress made against the Council’s fulfilment of statutory duties in relation to specific areas such as radicalisation and counter terrorism, modern slavery and human trafficking and domestic abuse.

(4)  Agreed that sufficient and robust processes are in place at the Council for application and review of safeguarding processes, and that an annual review and presentation to this committee should continue.

REASON FOR DECISIONS: This is the best course of action that can be accommodated within the approved budget and officer resources, that will fulfil our statutory and lawful obligations but also ensure that a regular, corporate review exists.

Audio Recording – 7 minutes 45 seconds

The Community Health and Wellbeing Team Leader presented the report entitled ‘Annual Safeguarding Report 2021/22’ and advised Members of the following:

·         As NHDC was a two-tier authority, the Council itself has no responsibility to take concerns from other organisations. The figures in the report relate only to those raised by NHDC Officers or Members, which are then passed onto the relevant statutory body for investigation.

·         The figures of referrals from the last 3 years were included in table 8.1. Since reporting to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee there has been a slow increase in referral rates.

·         Following staff training in 2014, there was a strong rise as Officers became more aware of what signs to look out of regarding safeguarding concerns and improved corporate oversight.

·         Following the lockdown in March 2020, there was an increase in referrals regarding mental health and domestic abuse, which was reflected nationally. There were some areas where figures dropped, again similar to the national picture, which was primarily due to the lack of face-to-face interaction with healthcare professionals.

·         Since the end of lockdown figures across all referral types had increased. This was attributed to the return of face-to-face visits which allowed Officers to spot signs for concern.

·         Officers continued to have to deal with difficult cases on a daily basis.

The following Members asked questions:

·         Councillor Adam Compton

·         Councillor Tony Hunter

·         Councillor Claire Strong

In response to questions, the Community Health and Wellbeing Team Leader advised:

·         The figures in the report detail the number of concerns reported by Council staff – statutory agencies will always investigate but some concerns may not turn out to warrant any further action.

·         Provided an example of potential modern slavery signs from the Environmental Health Team, who frequently visit premises and identify signs of concern (i.e. a mattress in a storage cupboard) and will report this. This is usually regarding food based establishments or car washes.

·         The bulk of referrals were from the Housing team, due to the nature of their work and the people they are engaging with, but a significant number come from Environmental Health and Customer Services.

·         There is the Employee Assistance programme in place to support these staff and designated Safeguarding Officers provide support.

·         There were not enough new starters to run a bespoke safeguarding training session last year, but that may now be possible following the elections in May 2022, and any training for Members would be advertised in the MIS publication.

Councillor Claire Strong requested that the training be circulated to Members by email, as well as MIS.

Councillor Ian Albert, as Executive Member for Finance and IT, advised that there was a Delegated Decision due to be published which would appoint a procurement champion to look at the Council’s suppliers. He advised he would share details with Members when available.

Councillor David Levett noted that the Safeguarding Team was working at reduced capacity, but this has been identified and plans were being put in place to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 118.

With the agreement of the Chair, this item has been deferred to a future meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

To receive a report and presentation from Members and Officers under Members and Officers Giving Account procedure as detailed under section 6.3.9 of the Constitution.

Report and documents to follow in a supplementary agenda.

This item was withdrawn from this agenda.

Audio Recording – 21 minutes 38 seconds

This item was withdrawn from this agenda.

REPORT OF THE SERVICE DIRECTOR – COMMERCIAL

To provide the committee with an update on the progress of the Commercial Directorate as set out in the departments work programme.

RESOLVED: That the Committee noted the report.

REASON FOR DECISION: The report is following the request of the committee for an update on the progress of the Commercial Directorate work programme and is for information only.

Audio Recording – 21 minutes 58 seconds

Councillor Keith Hoskins, as Executive Member for Enterprise and the Arts, presented the report and advised Members of the following:

·         There were no substantial updates to the report and it was similar to the verbal update provided to the Committee at the meeting in June.

·         The work tracker had been included as an appendix to put ongoing projects by the Commercial team into a concise and understandable form for monitoring by Officers and Members.

The Service Director – Commercial advised that the target for lottery tickets sold in the report was wrong and should be 530 not 803 as written, which meant that the project was ahead of target at 716.

In response to a question from the Chair, the Commercial Manager advised that the lottery was not advertised in the most recent Outlook magazine, but had been previously and were scheduled for future publications, and the team had increased its use of promotion through Facebook adverts. The had also been additional promotion from the good causes supported by the lottery to date.

The Chair thanked the Service Director – Commercial and his team for producing the work tracker spreadsheet included in the report and for its comprehensive look at the work ongoing in the department.

Councillor David Levett, as Chair, proposed and Councillor Val Bryant seconded and, following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED: That the Committee noted the report.

REASON FOR DECISION: The report is following the request of the committee for an update on the progress of the Commercial Directorate work programme and is for information only.

To consider passing the following motion:

That under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the Press and Public be excluded from the meeting on the grounds that the following report will involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the said Act (as amended).

RESOLVED: That under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the Press and Public be excluded from the meeting on the grounds that the following report will involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the said Act (as amended).

Audio Recording – 26 minutes 30 seconds

Councillor David Levett, as Chair, proposed and Councillor Val Bryant seconded and, following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED: That under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the Press and Public be excluded from the meeting on the grounds that the following report will involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the said Act (as amended).

REPORT OF THE SERVICE DIRECTOR – COMMERCIAL

To provide the committee with an update on the progress of the Commercial Directorate as set out in the departments work programme.

Details of decisions taken on this item are restricted due to the disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of Section 200A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972.

Details of decisions taken on this item are restricted due to the disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of Section 200A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972.