Agenda and minutes

The Chairman drew attention to the list of notices published on the back of the agenda.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors R P F Dewick, I E Dobson, and N R Pudney. 

To confirm the Minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 27 February 2019 (copy enclosed).

RESOLVED

(i)              that the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 27 February 2019 be received.

Minute No. 901 – Presentation from the Clinical Commissioning Group

Councillor M S Heard requested that the paragraph on page 1078 of the minute book be amended to read as follows:

“Councillor M S Heard suggested the inclusion of a flyer with the annual Council Tax Bill for raising public awareness.  The Director of Resources advised that the deadline for inclusion this year has been missed.  Members suggested that the CCG attend a September 2019 meeting of the Committee to discuss the inclusion of information with the 2020/2021 bill.”

RESOLVED

(ii)            that subject to the above amendment the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 27 February 2019 be confirmed.

To receive the views of members of the public on items of business to be considered by the Committee (please see below):

1.               A period of ten minutes will be set aside.

2.               An individual may speak for no more than two minutes on a specific agenda item, the time slots to be allocated on a “first come first served” basis.

3.               Participation may take the form of a statement, or alternatively a question to be addressed to the Chairman.  There will be no discussion on questions put unless it is formally moved.  In line with the current scheme applied to other Committees, the questions must:

·                 not be defamatory, frivolous, vexatious or offensive;

·                 not be the same or substantially the same as another question to the same meeting or anything so put in the last six months;

·                 not involve the disclosure of confidential or exempt information.

4.               Anyone wishing to speak must notify the Committee Clerk between 7.00pm and 7.20pm prior to the start of the meeting.

There was none.

To disclose the existence and nature of any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests, other Pecuniary Interests or Non-Pecuniary Interests relating to items of business on the agenda having regard to paragraphs 6-8 inclusive of the Code of Conduct for Members.

(Members are reminded that they are also required to disclose any such interests as soon as they become aware should the need arise throughout the meeting).

There were none.

To consider the report of the Director of Resources (copy enclosed).

The Director of Service Delivery presented the report to Members, which provided an update on the progress of the programme of work for the 2018/19 period and ongoing scrutiny topics to be carried over to the 2019/20 programme of work.

•           Provision of Healthcare Services – it was noted that an invite will be sent to

the CCG for the October 2019 meeting of this Committee.

•           Section 106 – The next six-monthly report for Members will be presented at

the August 2019 meeting of this Committee. In response to a query about allotment allocation the Director of Strategy, Performance and Governance advised that he was aware of the request to modify the policy. 

•           Provision of Car Parking – a meeting had been organised for 17 April 2019

between Councillor S J Savage, the Director of Service Delivery and the South Essex Parking Partnership Manager, Nick Binder, to discuss provision. Outcomes would be reported back to the next meeting.

•           Review of Fire and Rescue Service Provision in the Dengie – following the

Police Fire & Crime Commissioner (PFCC) Briefing with Members in February 2019 further information had been requested on the Fire Break Project. This would be shared with Members once received.

•           Waste Contract – Following the attendance of SUEZ at the October 2018

meeting of this Committee, where reliability of vehicles was discussed, it was noted there had been no resurgence of the problem. The situation would continue to be monitored.

In response to a question from Councillor M S Heard about recycling destinations the Director of Service Delivery advised that the previous information provided by the Waste and Street Scene Manager would be circulated to Members subsequent to the meeting.

•           Dealing with Waste Water – At the Coastal and Flood Meeting on 26

February 2019 it was noted that numerous issues raised by Members had been linked to Anglian Water who were not in attendance.  A position statement was still outstanding, and discussions were expected to take place with senior contacts at Anglian Water to resolve this.

•           The Committee was informed that Anglian Water, statutorily, have to confirm

they can accommodate the removal of foul water.  Members were also advised that, in tandem with Essex County Council, a water cycle study had been commissioned looking into all water related issues, resulting in a real statement of fact. The results would be reported back to a future meeting.

Councillor Miss S White raised the issue of the Planning Inspector conditioning the build of 75 houses in North Fambridge subject to capacity issues at Latchingdon recycling centre being resolved. She said that her main concern was that Anglian Water would simply increase the volume of untreated sewage into the Blackwater river.

She asked that she be included in all future meetings on waste water issues and advised the Committee that the Maldon Harbour Improvement Commissioners (MHIC) had started a water pollution watch group with a number of parties, including Northumbrian Water (Essex & Suffolk). She stressed that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2044.

The Director of Service Delivery requested that Members present items for discussion and inclusion on the Programme of Work 2019/20.

Councillor S J Savage advised that previous information circulated to Members regarding the charge of Council Tax on new build dwellings was incorrect and requested further clarification was provided.   He confirmed that the item of scrutiny was to determine at what point a new build house becomes liable for Council Tax. He would like this included in the Programme of Work 2019/20.

Councillor M S Heard stated that following his retirement from the Police he no longer needed to declare a non-pecuniary interest.  However, he wished to raise a scrutiny issue around the allocation of space in the foyer as there was a business opportunity to generate income from this space. One area that could be explored was the use by Police of an alcove area for confidential meetings with members of the public.

Councillor Elliott requested that the Monitoring of the Organisational Change Programme be retained on the Programme of Work 2019/20 as a live issue.

RESOLVED

(i)        that Members were advised what point a new build becomes liable for Council

Tax.

(ii)       that business opportunities within the foyer were considered, with a view to

providing a confidential space for the Police.

(iii)      that Monitoring of the Organisational Change Programme remains on the

Programme of Work.

The Chairman took the opportunity to thank the Members, Officers and the Clerk for their work over the course of this past year.

To resolve that under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph ??? of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act, and that this satisfies the public interest test.

RESOLVED that under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act, and that this satisfies the public interest test.

To consider the report of the Director of Resources (copy enclosed).

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Resources which detailed a work stream update of the Transformation Programme as agreed by the Council on 9 August 2018.

The Director of Strategy, Performance and Governance took the Committee though the report and Members congratulated Officers on the success of Phase 1 and the following points were discussed:

•           Consideration would be given to hold training sessions for Members within

business hours.

•           Agile working was to be encouraged throughout the authority, systems such as

Skype would complement this and ensure staff are contactable when working remotely; it was noted that work is an activity and not a place.

•           Health and Safety was a shared responsibility and Maldon District Council

would do as much as was reasonably practicable to ensure the safe agile working of staff, however, staff were equally responsible for their individual safety.

•           Concerns over the welfare of staff and the creation of an impersonal workforce

were acknowledged.  It was confirmed that a culture project was in place where these issues would be addressed.

RESOLVED

(i)        that the aforementioned queries raised by Members were investigated and

reported back to a future meeting.

(ii)       that a further Transformation Programme update be provided at a future

meeting of the Committee.

There being no further items of business the Chairman closed the meeting at 8.17 pm.

M W HELM