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Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Council Offices, Gernon Road, Letchworth Garden City

Contact: Amelia McInally (01462) 474514  Email: amelia.mcinally@north-herts.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

31.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Decision:

There were no apologies for absence.

Minutes:

Audio Recording – Start of Item – 14 Seconds

 

There were no apologies for absence.

32.

MINUTES - 16 JULY 2019 pdf icon PDF 144 KB

To take as read and approve as a true record the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on the 16 July 2019.

Decision:

RESOLVED:  That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 16 July 2019 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chairman.

Minutes:

Audio Recording – Start of Item – 24 Seconds

 

RESOLVED:  That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 16 July 2019 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chairman.

33.

NOTIFICATION OF OTHER BUSINESS

Members should notify the Chairman 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 Chairman will decide whether any item(s) raised will be considered.

Decision:

There was no other business notified.

Minutes:

Audio Recording – Start of Item – 36 Seconds

 

There was no other business notified.

34.

CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS

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 Chairman 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.

Decision:

(1)       The Chairman welcomed those present at the meeting, especially those who had attended to give a presentation;

 

(2)       The Chairman welcomed Amelia McInally, who had been appointed as the new Clerk of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee;

 

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

 

(4)       The Chairman 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.

Minutes:

Audio Recording – Start of Item – 40 Seconds

 

(1)       The Chairman welcomed those present at the meeting, especially those who had attended to give a presentation;

 

(2)       The Chairman welcomed Amelia McInally, who had been appointed as the new Clerk of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee;

 

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

 

(4)       The Chairman 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.

35.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

To receive petitions, comments and questions from the public.

Decision:

There were no presentations by members of the public.

Minutes:

Audio Recording – 2 Minutes 7 Seconds

 

There were no presentations by members of the public.

36.

URGENT AND GENERAL EXCEPTION ITEMS

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

Decision:

No urgent or general exception items were received.

Minutes:

Audio Recording – Start of Item – 2 Minutes 10 Seconds

 

No urgent or general exception items were received.

37.

CALLED-IN ITEMS

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.

Decision:

Since the last meeting, no decisions had been called-in by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Minutes:

Audio Recording – Start of Item – 2 Minutes 13 Seconds

 

Since the last meeting, no decisions had been called-in by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

38.

RESOLUTIONS OF THE OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE pdf icon PDF 68 KB

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE, MEMBER AND SCRUTINY MANAGER

To consider the future format of the Resolutions Report and agree any future actions required in respect of resolutions previously agreed.

Additional documents:

Decision:

RESOLVED: 

 

(1)       That the report entitled Resolutions of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee be noted;

 

(2)       That the proposed format of the Resolutions of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee report be agreed as follows:

 

(i)            All Resolutions whereby Status had been highlighted bold and marked as complete, be removed from any future reports; and

(ii)           for future ease of reading of the resolution section within the report, that subjects would be grouped together and placed in date order.

 

(3)       That the Task and Finish Group for the Waste Contract be divided into two separate groups:

 

(i)            Tender and Contract

(ii)           Community Engagement; and

 

(4)       That for the balance of political proportionality, 5 Members would sit in each of the two Task and Finish Groups for the Waste Contract.

 

REASON FOR DECISIONS:

 

To enable the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to agree a format for the Resolutions of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee report and to review and comment on actions and feedback received regarding resolutions previously made.

Minutes:

Audio Recording – Start of Item – 2 Minutes 18 Seconds

 

The Chairman informed Members that the format of the Agenda had been altered slightly and the normally placed last two items on the Overview and Scrutiny Agenda, namely, Resolutions and Work Programme for the Overview and Scrutiny Committee had been, due to their importance, been moved to the beginning of the Agenda.

 

The Chairman drew the Committee Members’ attention to the resolutions on page 31 of the report and stated that a number of resolutions had been completed and should therefore be removed from the report with the agreement of the Members. 

 

The Chairman informed that he had arranged to meet with the Vice-Chairman and The Committee, Member and Scrutiny Manager, to discuss a slight format change for future ease of reading of the resolution section within the report, which would require the grouping together of subjects and placed in date order.

 

The Chairman named and listed the resolution items that had been completed and would therefore be removed from future reports.  Members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee were all in agreement.

 

The Committee, Member and Scrutiny Manager reported that the SIAS Review, in respect of Waste, had been sent out to Members of the Committee and that a Task and Finish Group was scheduled to take place after the Hitchin Town Hall Review had been completed.  It was the Committee, Member and Scrutiny Managers’ aim to bring a Draft Scope to the next meeting for the Committee’s consideration.  The Committee, Member and Scrutiny Manager requested that Members discussed and agreed the number of Members that they felt were required to sit on the Task and Finish Group in order that she could advise individual group leaders.

 

The Chairman stated that he and the Vice-Chairman had agreed during discussion, that due to the vast scope of the Waste Contract, and deciding which aspects of the Waste Contract would be better scrutinised, felt that the Task and Finish Group should be divided into two parts:

 

(1)       Tender and Contract; and

(2)       Community Engagement

 

In response to a The Chairman’s question, The Service Director – Legal and Community confirmed that due to the informality of a Task and Finish Group, the number of Members did not have to be proportionate.  Members discussed the balance of political proportionality, and agreed that 5 Members in each group would, in this case, be appropriate.

 

The Committee, Member and Scrutiny Manager further reported:

 

·                Response had been received from the Service Manager – Place in respect of the Committee’s request for Route Maps.  A list of Roads, Rounds and Collection Days could be supplied swiftly, however, as there were over 80 Maps to put together, the Scrutiny Officer had been advised that this would require a little more time in order to fulfil that particular request.

 

·                Task and Finish Group on Consultation – The Chairman and the Leader of The Council had confirmed that there was no further requirement for that particular group to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38.

39.

OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE WORK PROGRAMME FOR 2019/20 pdf icon PDF 84 KB

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.

Additional documents:

Decision:

RESOLVED:

 

(1)       That the report entitled Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme be noted;

 

(2)       That the Committee prioritise proposed topics for inclusion in the work programme and, where appropriate, determines the high- level form and timing of scrutiny input, be agreed;

 

(3)       In respect of Crime and Disorder Issues an alternative presentation format in order to discuss County Lines and Knife Crime with the support of the Community Protection Manager take place at the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in January 2020; and

 

(4)       That the Scope for the Task and Finish Group on the Waste Contract be approved by the Chairman of that Task and Finish Group, (yet to be appointed) and the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny.

 

REASON FOR DECISIONS:

 

To allow the Overview and Scrutiny 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.

Minutes:

Audio Recording – Start of Item – 14 Minutes 10 Seconds

 

The Chairman introduced the Supplementary Agenda Item - Update on the Forward Plan of the key decisions made and The Committee, Member and Scrutiny Manager reported as follows:

 

·         Hitchin Town Hall Review – The Chairman and the Panel were currently in the process of writing the report which would be presented in a “special, one-item” meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee which would take place on 23 October 2019.

 

·         Crime and Disorder Issues – Traditionally this had been reported to the Committee by way of in-depth statistical information provided by the Chief Inspector of Hertfordshire Constabulary.  Suggestion had been made of an alternative presentation format – an opportunity for Members to discuss County Lines and Knife Crime, which would be provided with the support of the Community Protection Manager and take place at the January meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

 

·         Confirmed that it was the turn of the Labour and Co-Operative Party to Chair the Task and Finish Group on the Waste Contract.

 

·         That Members looked at the items included in the Forward Plan and made suggestion of any items that they may be interested in bringing to the Committee for discussion at future meetings.

 

RESOLVED:

 

(1)       That the report entitled Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme be noted;

 

(2)       That the Committee prioritise proposed topics for inclusion in the work programme and, where appropriate, determines the high- level form and timing of scrutiny input, be agreed;

 

(3)       In respect of Crime and Disorder Issues an alternative presentation format in order to discuss County Lines and Knife Crime with the support of the Community Protection Manager take place at the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in January 2020; and

 

(4)       That the Scope for the Task and Finish Group on the Waste Contract be approved by the Chairman of that Task and Finish Group, (yet to be appointed) and the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny.

 

REASON FOR DECISIONS:

 

To allow the Overview and Scrutiny 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.

40.

CREMATORIUM PRESENTATION

The Legal Commercial Team Manager and Service Manager – Greenspace will be available to answer questions from Members regarding the Crematorium.

Decision:

Following discussion of the Part 1 item, the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee moved the meeting into Part II discussion.

 

RESOLVED:  That the information provided by the Service Manager – Greenspace and The Legal Commercial Team Manager regarding the proposed crematorium at Wilbury Hills be noted.

Minutes:

Audio Recording – Start of Item – 21 Minutes 5 Seconds

 

The Legal Commercial Team Manager introduced the verbal presentation and provided Members with a brief background as follows:

 

·                Planning Permission for the development of a Crematorium had been applied for at Wilbury Hills in July 2018.

 

·                The application had been determined in March 2019.  Central Bedfordshire had refused the application on the basis that their planning officer was concerned of the damage that it would cause to the countryside.

 

·                An appeal had subsequently been lodged in July 2019 and a detailed statement of case had been submitted to support the planning appeal.

 

·                The Planning Inspector needed to set a date for the hearing, however, it was anticipated that it would be a ‘one day’ hearing only.

 

The Service Manager – Greenspace provided, for clarification, the following information:

 

·                Development of Wilbury Hills had commenced in 2003 when the existing crematorium on Icknield Way had reached it’s capacity.

·                The current layout of the Wilbury Hills cemetery had been developed and installed in 2008, however it had been a cemetery for 5 years previously.

·                NHDC were looking to accommodate the diverse community and future-proof the provision of variables within North Hertfordshire.

·                The Service Manager – Greenspace had hosted a meeting with a wide range of communities to ascertain what type of burial service should be provided in order to meet the needs for as many different religious representations/traditions as possible.

·                Wilbury Hills had been built with a view that it would be a district wide provision and a centre for all types of burials.

·                The Council had worked initially with the Diocese in order to accommodate their own strong rules and regulations.

·                A formal ceremony had been carried out by the Bishop of St Albans at Wilbury Hills cemetery and half of the variable plots had been consecrated in order to provide religious choice.

·                Their wish was to facilitate/accommodate the way in which people were using the cemetery, that was evolving into more than just a place where people laid flowers on graves, becoming an environment to be more inclusive with the loved one that had been lost.

·                Not a traditional cemetery – part of the community that people felt comfortable to go and visit.

·                Formal areas had been kept to a minimum – chosen not to go down the traditional rows of memorials route, but instead, the alternative provision of meadowland, wild flowers and trees. 

·                Maintenance costs had been kept low along with contribution to the bio-diversity at Wilbury Hills.

·                Income gained had been ring-fenced to reinvest into the next niches as required.

·                Design principals were of sympathetic design within its surroundings – a solid black building that was maintenance free, the look of a civic building that commanded respect and made the most of the views over Bedfordshire.

·                Built the existing L-shaped mounds as a way to replicate the contours of the countryside and retain a form of compartmentalisation for purpose of privacy.

·                The design was such, in order to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40.

41.

ANNUAL REVIEW OF SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN AND ADULTS AT RISK (2018-19) pdf icon PDF 129 KB

REPORT OF THE COMMUNITY HEALTH AND WELLBEING TEAM LEADER

 

A review of safeguarding children and adults at risk activity across NHDC from April 2018 - March 2019.

Additional documents:

Decision:

RESOLVED:  That the Overview and Scrutiny 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 at risk;

 

(3)       Agreed that sufficient and robust processes are in place at NHDC for application and review of safeguarding processes and that an annual review and presentation to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee should continue, be agreed; and

 

(4)       Expressed their disappointment with the apparent disproportionately small number of elected Members who had undertaken safeguarding training and requested that Members were investigated into who had received safeguarding training from other sources. All Members are made aware, once again, of the ability to complete e-learning training and that all relevant group leaders, port folio holders and shadow port-folio holders raise the issue of training requirement at their group meetings.

 

REASON FOR DECISION:

 

The resolution 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.

 

The meeting adjourned for a short comfort break at 8.35pm.

Minutes:

Audio Recording – Start of Item – 44 Minutes 12 Seconds

 

The Community Health and Wellbeing Team Leader introduced the Annual Review of Safeguarding Children and Adults at Risk.  Before she drew Members attention to aspects of the Safeguarding activity 2018/19, the Community Health and Wellbeing Team Leader explained, for the benefit of new Members of The Overview and Scrutiny Committee, some background to everything they did with respect to safeguarding children and adults at risk, what they did and why they did it in order to give assurance to Members that the service that was provided was excellent.  She explained the following:

 

·                There was a legal duty to safeguard both children and adults at risk.

·                The duty to safeguard children was set down in the Children Act 2004.

·                The duty to safeguard adults was brought in much more recently, in The Care Act 2014.

·                Adults referred to were those with care and support needs.

·                The statutory function as a district council was purely to refer and information share concerns to the relevant agency for necessary action.

·                Due to being in a two tier authority system the duty to investigate was held with Hertfordshire County Council, however NHDC had a duty under law to refer any concerns.

 

The Community Health and Wellbeing Team Leader explained and provided Members with statistical information in respect of the different concern types and communicated the volume of referrals provided within the report.

 

The Community Health and Wellbeing Team Leader informed Members that when dealing with the safeguarding of children, no referral consent was required.  The law stipulated that, where there were concerns about the welfare of a child, a referral was required irrespective of whether or not family members were in agreement.

 

With respect to the safeguarding of adults, referral consent was required, unless the adult was deemed to lack mental capacity to make the decision or where, indeed, the abuse would likely affect other people and would be in the wider interest of the safety of others.

 

The Community Health and Wellbeing Team Leader further explained that Domestic Abuse referrals were also required which she informed were ranked on a scoring system and provided statistics from both the Hertfordshire Independent Domestic Violence Advisor, (IDVA) and the Hertfordshire Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) system.

 

The Community Health and Wellbeing Team Leader explained the context of “threshold” to the Members and reported that a number of cases whereby concerns had been logged, but had not been referred due to the threshold not being met.   She informed that because all concerns were now logged in a central database, her team were able to cross reference new concerns and make a referral if and when the threshold was reached.

 

Referrals had steadily risen over the last 5 years, however, the Community Health and Wellbeing Team Leader felt that this was mainly due to the centralisation of records for the first time, corporate awareness, awareness raising campaigns that had resulted in an increased confidence among officers of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41.

42.

PRESENTATION BY THE SERVICE DIRECTOR - COMMERCIAL

REPORT OF THE SERVICE DIRECTOR – COMMERCIAL

 

To receive a verbal presentation from Steve Crowley, Service Director – Commercial.

Decision:

Following the Part 1 discussion the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee moved the meeting into Part II discussion.

 

RESOLVED:  That the Service Director – Commercial present a written report to the next meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, which should provide the following information:

 

(1)       The work of the Commercial Team;

(2)       The essential provision of future forecasting; and

(3)       Potential uses of “The Company”.

 

REASON FOR DECISION:  To allow the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to comment on the work of the Commercial Team.

Minutes:

Audio Recording – Start of Item - 1 Hour 7 Minutes 20 Minutes

 

The Service Director – Commercial thanked the Chairman and Members for the opportunity to address the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and stated that he would provide information which would look at the Commercial Strategy and what had been done since the strategy had been adopted in January 2019.  He updated Members as follows:

 

·                The 3 key themes that had been set out:

 

(i)         Culture;

(ii)        Business Improvements; and

(iii)       Investment and Opportunities

 

·                The Commercial Team had been fully established as at the end of May 2019 and consisted of:

 

·         A Commercial Manager

·         A newly appointed Commercial Officer; and

·         Two new Commercial Support Officers

 

·                The Service Director – Commercial had been working closely with the Executive Member, Deputy Executive Member and Shadow Executive Members to discuss opportunities that the Commercial Team were looking to explore.

 

The First Task of the Commercial Launch was to ensure that all Members and Staff were made aware of their goal in terms of what they were setting out to achieve, this had included:

 

·         An internet page;

·         Specific email address for investment ideas;

·         Ideas notice board;

·         Posters; and

·         Screen Savers

 

To ensure that everyone was aware of the aspiration to deliver through the strategy:

 

·                The Service Director – Commercial had attended all of the department team meetings to brief all managers on purpose.

·                Commercial officers had briefed all other staff.

·                On 18 September a coffee morning in the staff canteen would take place in order to provide both staff and members the opportunity to meet the Commercial Team, ask questions and explore ideas.

·                Staff had been made aware of a newly formed Commercial Group which would explore ideas in order to generate additional income.  The group would be officer based and not established for managers or senior managers.

 

Selling our Services:

The Service Director – Commercial informed Members that this was still in it’s early exploratory stages but stated that the Council already sold both legal and IT services, but there was on-going investigation into how more could be made from those opportunities.  He further stated that they were waiting for new contracts to be brought forward, in order to be in a position to place a bid for business.

 

Commercial Awareness Training

All of the senior management team had been provided with Webinars which focused on Commercialisation within local government.  Updates had been provided to the senior management team on work being carried out both internally and externally by The Service Director – Commercial.

 

A Training Programme had been drafted and was close to completion, a half day training programme would be provided to all Senior Managers and Councillors.  Further training would subsequently be provided to the rest of the organisation by The Service Director – Commercial and the Commercial Manager which would target the specific requirement of NHDC.

 

To fully understand obligation and role, Director Training would be provided to those concerned in November 2019.

 

Holding Company

A draft business  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42.

43.

Q1 2019/20 PERFORMANCE INDICATOR DATA pdf icon PDF 405 KB

REPORT OF THE SERVICE DIRECTOR - RESOURCES

 

Performance Indicator Exception Report for the first quarter of 2019/20.

Decision:

RESOLVED:

 

(1)       That the report entitled Quarter 1 2019/20 Performance Indicator Data be noted; and

(2)       That the Controls, Risk and Performance Manager be requested to report, in respect of, the number of reported visits to leisure facilities, as to whether this was specific to use of the Swim Centre.

 

REASON FOR DECISIONS:  To enable the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to review Performance Indicators in accordance with the Terms of Reference for the Committee.

Minutes:

Audio Recording – Start of Item – 1 Hour 27 Minutes 3 Seconds

 

The Controls, Risk and Performance Manager introduced the report on the first update on the Performance Indicator Date for 2019/20, she explained and highlighted the following:

 

·                Page 63 of the report was a summary of indicators that had been reported, (red and amber indicators) and, regardless of their status, included:

 

Garden Waste;

Food Waste; and

Homelessness

 

·                That 3 Amber and 2 Red indicators had been reported on this time.

·                Available for viewing on the Intranet

 

·                Percentage of Sales Ledger Invoices Paid - A Corporate Debt Recovery Group had been set up that reported directly to the Senior Management Team - collection levels were back on track for the July and August figures and going forward it was hoped that this would be reported as a positive figure by the next meeting of the Committee that would take place in December 2019.

 

·                Page 65 of the report – Homelessness Reg 1 and Reg 2 – the Overview and Scrutiny Committee had asked questions previously around the indicators, and as to why there had been no targets set.  Responses had been subsequently  sent to the last committee in July after an update from the Homelessness Manager.  Some raw H-CLIC Data had been received and they were now looking into ways as to how that could be incorporated in Benchmarking.  The Homelessness Manager would attend the next meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in order to provide Members with an update.

 

·                Target setting took place every January.

 

·                Percentage of programmed Environmental Health Inspections, (Amber Indicator) – The inspection outcome was very slightly below the profiled target, but this was mainly due to the department having experienced staffing issues and the service was expected to fulfil their expected target by the year end.

 

The Controls, Risk and Performance Manager also reported statistical targets for the following:

 

·                Number of visits to leisure facilities;

·                The overall tonnage of food waste collected; and

·                The overall tonnage of garden waste collected.

 

RESOLVED:

 

(1)       That the report entitled Quarter 1 2019/20 Performance Indicator Data be noted; and

 

(2)       That the Controls, Risk and Performance Manager be requested to report, in respect of, the number of reported visits to leisure facilities, as to whether this was specific to use of the Swim Centre.

 

REASON FOR DECISIONS:  To enable the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to review Performance Indicators in accordance with the Terms of Reference for the Committee.

44.

Q1 2019/20 UPDATE ON PROJECTS IN THE CORPORATE PLAN pdf icon PDF 88 KB

REPORT OF THE SERVICE DIRECTOR - RESOURCES

 

To receive the 1st Quarter Monitoring Report on Key Projects for 2019/20.

Additional documents:

Decision:

RESOLVED:

 

(1)       That the delivery against the key projects for 19/20 be noted and commented on by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee; and

 

(2)       That whilst it had been reported to the Committee that the Local Plan had been marked as complete, following consideration by the Inspector, there was still further work to be prepared.  The Controls, Risk and Performance Manager was requested to continue to report to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the Local Plan.

 

REASON FOR DECISION:

 

To enable the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to consider and comment on Projects in the Corporate Plan.

Minutes:

Audio Recording – Start of Item – 1 Hour 33 Minutes 50 Seconds

 

The Controls, Risk and Performance Manager introduced the report on the 1st Quarter Monitoring – Delivery of Key Projects for 2019/20 together with the following appendices:

 

·                Appendix A – 2019/2020 Reporting against Projects Identified in the Corporate Plan as at 21/08/19

·                Appendix B – Waste Update

 

The Controls, Risk and Performance Manager, explained to Members, that the covering report provided the background to the projects set.  They had initially been brought to the Committee in March of that year, together with the Milestones that were going to be monitored.

 

The Controls, Risk and Performance Manager informed Members that a Brexit Update had been incorporated into the project and whilst not a traditional project of the Council, it had been decided it would be the best mechanism to monitor the key issues and risk.

 

The Controls, Risk and Performance Manager referred Members to Appendix A of the report stating, that, with the inclusion of the Brexit update that 9 projects were being reported on, of which one was red status, two were amber, four were in progress and two had been completed since the last update.

 

In respect of the red status project, the Controls, Risk and Performance Manager reported that following the successful opening of the new museum and publication of the Hitchin Town Hall and North Hertfordshire Museum Panel Review findings, lessons learned would be produced and this would be signed off and by the project board, at which point the project would be marked as complete.

 

The Controls, Risk and Performance Manager guided Members through and explained the detailed first update on Brexit, which included the work that had been undertaken.

 

The following Members took part in discussion and asked questions:

 

Councillor Sam Collins;

Councillor David Levett; and

Councillor Claire Strong

 

In response to questions, the Controls, Risk and Performance Manager informed Members:

 

That Churchgate had not been formally set up as a project therefore had no formal milestones, however, it had been included in the report to show that it was on the radar.

 

The Local Plan indicator was green due to having achieved what was required and was now outside of their control and in the hands of the examiners.

 

That due to other work priorities, it had not been possible to undertake any activity around The National Clean Air Day, however, would be looking to achieve the following year.

 

RESOLVED:

 

(1)       That the delivery against the key projects for 19/20 be noted and commented on by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee; and

 

(2)       That whilst it had been reported to the Committee that the Local Plan had been marked as green, following consideration by the Inspector, there was still further work to be prepared.  The Controls, Risk and Performance Manager was requested to continue to report to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the Local Plan and change the status to amber.

 

REASON FOR DECISION:

 

To enable the Overview and Scrutiny Committee  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44.

45.

MEMBERS' QUESTIONS

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

Decision:

No questions had been submitted.

Minutes:

No questions had been submitted.

46.

EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC

To consider passing the following resolution:

 

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 Paragraphs XX and XX of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the said Act (as amended).

Decision:

RESOLVED:  That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs XX and XX of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the said Act (as amended).

Minutes:

RESOLVED:  That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the said Act (as amended).

47.

CREMATORIUM PRESENTATION

Decision:

This item took place immediately following the Part I item of the same name.

 

The Service Director – Greenspace and The Legal Commercial Team Manager answered questions of confidential nature following which a thorough discussion regarding the proposed Crematorium took place.

 

RESOLVED:  That the confidential information provided by the Service Manager – Greenspace and The Legal Commercial Team Manager regarding the proposed Crematorium at Wilbury Hills be noted.

Minutes:

Audio Recording – Start of Item – 44 Minutes – 8.14pm

 

This item took place immediately following the Part I item of the same name.

 

The Service Director – Greenspace and The Legal Commercial Team Manager answered questions of confidential nature following which a thorough discussion regarding the proposed Crematorium took place.

 

RESOLVED:  That the confidential information provided by the Service Manager – Greenspace and The Legal Commercial Team Manager regarding the proposed Crematorium at Wilbury Hills be noted.

48.

PRESENTATION BY THE SERVICE DIRECTOR - COMMERICIAL

Decision:

This item took place immediately following the Part I item of the same name.

 

The Service Director – Commercial answered questions of confidential nature following which a thorough discussion regarding the Commercial Team and it’s future plans took place.

 

RESOLVED: 

 

(1)       That the Service Director – Commercial present a written report to the next meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, which should provide the following information:

 

(i)    The work of the Commercial Team; and

(ii)   The essential provision of future forecasting.

 

(2)       That the confidential information provided by the Service Manager – Commercial regarding the Commercial Team be noted.

 

REASON FOR DECISION:  To allow the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to comment on the work of the Commercial Team.

Minutes:

Audio Recording – Start of Item –1 Hour 26 Minutes 50 Seconds - 8.56pm

 

This item took place immediately following the Part I item of the same name.

 

The Service Director – Commercial answered questions of confidential nature following which a thorough discussion regarding the Commercial Team and it’s future plans took place.

 

RESOLVED: 

 

(1)       That the Service Director – Commercial present a written report to the next meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, which should provide the following information:

 

(i)    The work of the Commercial Team; and

(ii)   The essential provision of future forecasting.

 

(2)       That the confidential information provided by the Service Manager – Commercial regarding the Commercial Team be noted.

 

REASON FOR DECISION:  To allow the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to comment on the work of the Commercial Team.

Audio Recording of Meeting MP3 73 MB