Venue: Parkside, Station Approach, Burton Street, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire. LE13 1GH
Link: View Meeting
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APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Child, Evans, Fisher and Steadman. |
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To approve the minutes of the previous meeting held on 14 June 2021. Minutes: The Minutes of the meeting held on 14 June 2021 were approved and authorised to be signed by the Chair. |
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DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST PDF 85 KB Members to declare any interest as appropriate in respect of items to be considered at this meeting. Minutes: No declarations of interest were received for this meeting. |
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REVIEW OF SCRUTINY WORK PROGRAMME 2021/22 AND THE FORWARD PLAN PDF 213 KB 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: Additional documents: Minutes: 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
· 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
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. |
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PORTFOLIO HOLDER FOR CORPORATE GOVERNANCE, FINANCE AND RESOURCES ANNUAL PRESENTATION PDF 1 MB The annual presentation of the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Governance, Finance and Resources, Councillor de Burle, is to be presented to the Committee. Minutes: 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. |
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CORPORATE PERFORMANCE AND PROGRESS REPORT QUARTER 4, 2020/21 PDF 280 KB 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. Additional documents: Minutes: 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. |
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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. Additional documents: Minutes: 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
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URGENT BUSINESS To consider any other items that the Chair considers urgent. Minutes: There was no urgent business discussed at this meeting. |