Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Child, Evans, Fisher and Steadman.

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting held on 14 June 2021.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 14 June 2021 were approved and authorised to be signed by the Chair.

Members to declare any interest as appropriate in respect of items to be considered at this meeting.

No declarations of interest were received for this meeting.

To consider the Forward Plan and identify any relevant items for inclusion in the Scrutiny Work Programme, or to request further information.

A copy of the latest Forward Plan is attached and it can also be found on the website using the following link:

Forward Plan

The Chair introduced the draft Scrutiny Work Programme 2021/22 and the Cabinet Forward Plan and invited members to comment on either document. Members were reminded that the Work Programme is a flexible working document and can be added to or amended at any time.

The Chair advised Members that the Cabinet Forward Plan would be a separate item on the agenda going forward.

During the discussion the following was highlighted:

·       The Director for Growth and Regeneration, Mrs Parikh, clarified with Members that decision for the disposal of the public toilets had been agreed at the Community and Social Affairs Committee (CSA) in 2017/18 and the item now showing on the Cabinet Forward Plan is to inform Members how it would be done. In regards to the emergency procedures in place at the public toilets Members were reassured that these would be reviewed.

·       The Director for Growth and Regeneration would provide the Committee refuse performance measures for Melton in regard to the Draft Leicestershire Waste Strategy.

The committee requested the following items be included in the suggestion section of the Work Programme:

·       Lack of provision of youth services both rural and town centre

• Cllr Bindloss expressed an interest to lead on investigating the lack of provision for youth services and the impacts this is having on towns and villages. This will include the lack of youth facilities included on new build housing developments.

·       The response time to rural locations from the Police when incidents are reported. This will include the impact this is having on the Wards and how the council can work with the police on this.

·       Car parking charges

• Councillor Illingworth advised he was currently looking into car parking charges in Melton and how Melton compares with other areas and would follow this up with a discussion with the Director for Growth and Regeneration to bring back to the group.

The Chair advised the committee that Cllr Leigh Higgins, Portfolio Holder for Growth & Prosperity would be giving a presentation at the next Scrutiny meeting on Thursday 2 September 2021 and Members are to contact him in advance should there be any areas of the portfolio they wish to have further information on.

The annual presentation of the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Governance, Finance and Resources, Councillor de Burle, is to be presented to the Committee.

The Portfolio Holder for Corporate Governance, Finance and Resources, Cllr Ronnie de Burle, introduced the presentation to the committee highlighting areas of responsibility within his portfolio.

During the presentation the following comments were noted:

·       Cllr de Burle advised members that the new finance system had been readily accepted by officers. The new system has far more functionality to look at information in comparison to the previous system. He added that this would produce massive savings on time management.

·       Cllr de Burle advised members that there is a dedicated team of six debt collection officers. He advised that the Debt Management Policy put into place in 2019 puts the onus on the tenant to be responsible for being aware when they are going into debt. He advised there are concerns with the length of time the debt is allowed to accrue before the Council can intervene as this can be as long as three years. The Debt Collection officers are seeking to find out if there is any mechanism in place that can be deployed to allow the Council to intervene earlier.

·       It was noted that debt collection is included on the Work Programme following a recent request from Cllr de Burle to the Chair.

·       A Member raised concerns about the limited number of bin collections by Biffa in rural villages, the Director for Growth and Regeneration, advised members that bin collections would be an issue for the Portfolio Holder for Climate, Access and Engagement, Cllr Freer. The matter would be brought to Cllr Freer’s attention in order to seek a review of the contract with Biffa, in respect of the number of collections agreed in rural areas and if there would be the provision to amend the contract to fulfil further collections.

At 7:40pm, Cllr Holmes left the meeting and did not return.

The Chair thanked Cllr de Burle for his presentation.

In advance of being presented to Cabinet on 21 July, the Corporate Performance and Progress Report Quarter 4, 2020/21, is being presented to the Scrutiny Committee for review and comments. The comments received from the Committee will be provided to the Cabinet in advance of their meeting on 21 July.

The Corporate Improvement Manager presented the report to the Committee.

The Chair reminded Members that the report is being presented to Cabinet on 21 July and that any comments provided by the Committee would be passed to Cabinet Members in advance of their meeting. Any questions that members may wish to ask would be noted and the Senior Democratic Services and Scrutiny Officer would contact the relevant Portfolio Holder or Officer for a response.

Following the presentation the following was noted:

·       It was explained how the Corporate Performance Measures at Appendix A identified the progress of performances; performances that would need addressing and performances which are progressing well. Members were advised that the measures had come from the residents’ survey and consultations with Members to identify what is important to the community. The Committee was reminded that, despite the pandemic, they had continued with the Corporate Strategy with performances identified before the pandemic alongside those identified during the pandemic.

·       Members praised the number of new affordable homes that had been delivered to the borough and the speed of which they were selling.

·       Members praised the number of major planning decisions that had remained stable during the pandemic.

The following was requested to be presented to the Portfolio Holder ahead of Cabinet:

·       Members raised concerns regarding the number of fly tipping incidents in the Borough and the problems that arise from land ownership and requested clarification of which agency/organisation has the responsibility for removing the items, especially on land where ownership is not clear. This is an ongoing problem throughout the Borough.

The Chair thanked the Corporate Improvement Manager for his report.

The final report of the Scrutiny Task and Finish Group Review of the Melton Mowbray Business Improvement District (BID) is to be presented to the Committee.

The Chair introduced the final report of the Task and Finish Group to the Committee ahead of presenting the report to Cabinet for endorsement.

The Chair advised the Committee that the Chairman of BID had sent his apologies for not attend the meeting.

During the discussion the following was highlighted:

·       The Chair pointed out that the BID had commenced in 2011 and not 2006 as  stated within the report.

·       The Director for Growth and Regeneration advised that the BID levy collection rate had stayed reasonably high throughout the last year with approximately 85% of levy payers paying compared to approximately 95% the year before.

·       The Director for Growth and Regeneration advised that the BID is currently developing a Business Plan which would identify future projects for the next five years. It is possible that the BID area could be expanded taking into account suggestions made by board members. Members were informed that Melton Borough Council would be consulted on this.

·       Members were advised that currently the footfall for the cattle market is measured is in terms of car parking tickets bought and the number of event tickets sold, however more detailed footfall surveys could be available in the future.

RESOLVED

1. The Committee, subject to factual amendments, APPROVED the Final Report of the Melton Mowbray BID Task and Finish Group as shown at Appendix A.

2. The Committee AGREED that the final Report is presented to the Cabinet for their endorsement.

3. The Committee AGREED that the recommendations be submitted to the Melton Mowbray BID following presentation to the Cabinet.

To consider any other items that the Chair considers urgent.

There was no urgent business discussed at this meeting.