The Leader is to provide his annual presentation to the Scrutiny Committee.
Minutes:
The Leader delivered his annual presentation and in doing so he stated that he was going to cover three areas. The following points were raised.
The process of Governance:
Legacy issues:
The Future:
Following the Leaders presentation Members were invited to comment and ask questions.
A Member commented that they agreed that there should be more shade,
especially on the park and in light of the extreme weather that has been
experienced, e.g. heat, heavy showers, and hailstones. The Leader stated that
the Town Estate are in favour of more trees to provide shading.
The Leader was asked for his stance on flooding and the support that has
been provided for villages affected. The Leader reminded Members that the
Council has a limited role in assisting people affected from flooding. The
Leader has engaged with the Severn Trent Water Authority regarding historic
planning applications and objections about flooding, which weren’t supported by
Severn Trent but were then subsequently flooded. He added that the County wide
Flood Defence Strategy is now up to date and a review is due to take place.
In response to a query on whether the Council were proactive in getting
sandbags out, the Leader stated that within the resources available the Council
were proactive as could be.
Following a query regarding the recent layoffs at locally based
businesses and what the Council are doing to assist affected workers, the
Leader stated that the Director for Growth and Regeneration and the Director
for Housing and Communities and their teams are preparing assistance for
individuals. Members were reminded that the Council can’t do much either
legally or budgetary and assistance is more along the lines of sign posting.
Members were informed that the Chief Executive recently attended a national
event in Leeds in order to attract businesses to the area and the Leader
confirmed that he had direct conversations with two employers. The Committee
was reminded that employers have stated that there are still strong
opportunities within the East Midlands, locally and for those able to commute.
In addition, employers have not said that Melton the location is the issue
rather it is national trading factors.
Following a query regarding the land at Holwell Works, the Leader
confirmed the intention of it to remain as employment land but stated that it
is a planning issue. If it was to be classified as residential land, then there
would be an issue with contamination.
A couple of queries were raised regarding the cost of garden waste
collection and how other Leicestershire Areas have cheaper collections. The
Leader cautioned comparisons with neighbouring Local Authorities as you are not
comparing like with like. The Leader stated that the Council would consider innovative
ways of reducing waste collection costs. He reminded Members that the Council
has to be realistic on how it can improve waste services and that collaboration
with neighbouring authorities or Countywide is probably the way forward.
Following a query on food waste collections, the Leader stated that he
would like to do it on a cost neutral basis.
A query was raised regarding the move away from the Cabinet system. In
response the Leader stated that a workshop was held, which was well received.
Members were informed that the Monitoring Officer is currently making
housekeeping amendments to the Constitution, which are scheduled to be reviewed
by Council in September. The aim is to operate in a way that encourages
collaboration within the system.
The Leader and other Group Leaders were thanked for their approach to the
Policy Development Groups. The comment was made that they appeared to be
working well and collaboration is improving, although it was noted that not all
groups had taken part.
In addition, the Chair commented that the Scrutiny Workshop on the
Housing Support Review was a cross-party workshop and was an example of
successful collaboration between Cabinet and Scrutiny.
A comment was raised that there is a perception that there are problems
with customer services and the Leader committed to review the service and make
any necessary improvements.
In terms of the green agenda, which was raised by a few Members of the
Committee, the Leader stated that we had to make sure we are getting a grip on
it.
In response to a comment about greening the urban areas of the Borough
and the scope to accelerate the process. Members were informed that currently
the whips come from the woodland trust and will take a long time to grow and
the only way to speed it up is to plant mature trees.
The comments and questions part of the discussion concluded and then the
Chair thanked the Leader for his presentation.
At 7:11pm, during the consideration of this item, Councillor Child left
the meeting and did not return.
At 7:36pm, upon the conclusion of the item, Councillor Allnatt left the
meeting and did not return.