Agenda item

The Leader is to provide his annual presentation to the Scrutiny Committee.

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:

• Will be taking a considered and sedate approach;
• As the trend is not going back to a Committee system, a more of a hybrid system, with the aim for more Members to be involved at early stages of policy development, is being reviewed.
• A single policy decision can affect several Members of the Cabinet, so need to have a flexible approach. Members have been invited to Cabinet briefings and Cabinet and has met with Conservative Members to discuss any items of concern.
• High point of Scrutiny was the consideration of the housing support review. It was noted that this was achieved with the crucial involvement of Officers.
• It was suggested that the Corporate Plan could be addressed in the work programme.

 

Legacy issues:

• The new administration inherited 16 issues and some have posed practical problems;
• The Levelling Up Fund is a complex matter, opportunities are there but not without issues, it is not just about the town, but the Borough and Rutland.

 

The Future:

• The upcoming General Election creates uncertainty and hiatus.
• As Leicestershire does not receive its fair share of assistance and support, this means that Higher and Further Education is at a disadvantage when compared to neighbouring areas, which in turn impacts on employment opportunities and anti-social behaviour.
• Regarding the Climate Emergency, the Leaders stated that the Council needs to grab the issue firmly and get on with the job. With the new legislation on food waste collection the Council suffers from underfunding from central government. In addition, the weather has been affected which has seen increased risks of flooding.
• Financial position, there are significant problems and nationally we are not in a good position.

 

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.

 

The Leader and Deputy Leader were thanked for their leadership on town centre improvements. The town centre meetings and asset meeting have been productive and have gotten to the root of the issues. Previously some streets were looking tired however, through the meetings and the subsequent action taken, those streets have improved.

 

A couple of queries were raised regarding the cost of garden waste collection and how other Leicestershire Areas have cheaper collections and whether the Council could combine 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.

 

A few Members of the Committee raised the issue of the green agenda. It was noted that, whilst there are external factors affecting the climate, it is important for the Council to do its part. In response, the Leader stated that the Council had to make sure it is 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.