Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence and notices of appointment of substitute Members (if any).

Apologies were received from Cllr N A Way

To receive any questions relating to items on the Agenda from members of the public and replies thereto.

Note:   A maximum of 30 minutes is allowed for this item.

Nick Quinn – Local resident stated he wanted to speak to agenda item 3 and 7.

He stated

‘When this committee last met, I asked about the reporting of the Council’s FOI performance. I asked why there was such a large difference between the performance figures shown in the corporate performance indicators presented to Scrutiny and those quoted by the Chairman in his Annual Report.

In the minutes you can see the Officer’s answer, where she states that the figures shown in the corporate performance indicator tables are not real monthly performance figures at all – but are cumulative ‘year to date’ percentages’

She admitted that some very bad performance earlier in the year had affected the figures so much that they were 20% out from the actual monthly performance.

Elected Members must be given accurate statistics to do their job.

It is evident that the current performance indicator system, which allows differences for 20% from actual, is not fit for purpose and needs to be changed.

Scrutiny Committee should be the driver for this change – so my question, through the Chair is:

Would this Committee please consider adding, to the list of Agenda item 7 a review of the performance indicators given to Elected Members’.

In response the Chairman confirmed that this would be added to the list of Agenda item 7.

Sue Scur – Local resident wanted to ask why Palmerston Park had been left out of phase two of the upgrade to superfast broadband. She explained that the BT cabinet numbered 10/1 needed to be upgraded but BT had informed local residents that they would need to pay £500 each to enable this. She confirmed that she had been in touch with local Ward Members about the situation.

In response Cllr F J Colthorpe said that as she was the County Council Member for that Ward she would pick this up with the resident.

Members to consider whether to approve the minutes as a correct record of the meeting held on 18^th June 2018.

The Committee is reminded that only those members of the Committee present at the previous meeting should vote and, in doing so, should be influenced only by seeking to ensure that the minutes are an accurate record.

The minutes of the last meeting held on 18^th June 2018 were approved as a correct record and SIGNED by the Chairman.

To receive any announcements that the Chairman of Scrutiny Committee may wish to make.

The Chairman had no announcements to make.

The Committee to welcome Neil Parish (MP) and put the following questions:

1.         Could he briefly discuss the implications of Brexit in relation to agriculture and the rural areas? What are the implications for food, farming and the environment in Mid Devon as a consequence of Brexit as currently envisaged? What preparations are being contemplated in response to "no deal"?

2.         Do you consider that proposals for an alternative route via Longwood Lane, for the quarry lorries, avoiding Burlescombe has now hit the buffers or is there still a realistic hope that it may still go ahead.

3.         Would you be prepared to lobby the Housing Minister concerning the five year land supply which Middevon has been unable to show and probably never will as we do not sit on swathes of redundant industrial land. This unrealistic target has left us hostage to several undesirable planning applications.

4.         There is significant interest amongst the 3 Head teachers in 11-16 schools in Tiverton, Cullompton and Uffculme in respect of engaging in a review of future options of A level provision in Mid Devon, particularly in the light of the major housebuilding programme of over 8000 houses envisaged in the MDDC Local Plan. Could we call upon your services to navigate the options with the Department of Education in considering such a review? 

5.         Should the government look again at "right to buy" from council stock?

6.         Universal superfast broadband coverage remains an elusive concept in Mid Devon, especially in rural areas.  A recent report states that the UK slipped to 35th in the global table of broadband speeds, below the likes of Madagascar and Bulgaria. Locally a DCC Scrutiny report called for greater transparency in a critical analysis of the performance of Connecting Devon and Somerset which appears to have been rejected by CDS. How do we hold CDS to account? When will the project be completed> Will the 95% coverage be achieved? What happens to the remaining 5%?

8.         Michael Gove has proposed a Protected Landscapes Review of designated landscapes (10 National Parks, 34 AONBs) What are the terms of Reference and how will those working in and for them be able to input into the process directly?

9.         Will the Review allow for the consideration of a possible AONB designation for the Exe Valley- a beautiful part of the country?

10.       Natural England is being scaled back- how does this fit (or not) with the ambitions of the 25 Year Environmental Plan (25YEP) which seeks to deal with the environmental impact of "unprecedented expansion in population consumption, energy use waste and population”?

11.       Natural England has informed the AONB that they are no longer able to provide monitoring data free of charge- information used to fulfil a statutory function of the designation. Will DEFRA be offering additional funds to cover the shortfall or can the policy be re-thought?

12.       As many experts forecast, Universal Credit is associated with growing rent arrears which impacts on Councils. Is Government  ...  view the full agenda text for item 37.

The Chairman welcomed Neil Parish MP to the meeting.

 The Committee put the following questions to the MP.

1.    Could he briefly discuss the implications of Brexit in relation to agriculture and the rural areas? What are the implications for food, farming and the environment in Mid Devon as a consequence of Brexit as currently envisaged? What preparations are being contemplated in response to "no deal"?

The Member of Parliament said that a DEFRA report was looking at this issue sector by sector and the impact of different deals. He said that the Government didn’t want tariffs and that was why the Prime Minister’s deal helped with trade and with Northern Ireland. He said that he felt that now both sides were squaring up to each other it was probably a time when you would see a deal completed.

He explained about the current imports and exports of food and felt that more dairy products could be produced in the country as opposed to relying on imports.

He reiterated that no sides were talking about imposing tariffs and that there was work going on in all departments regarding the scenario of a no deal and that the Government was looking at the various systems of moving goods through barriers.

He referred to the current drought situation and that the weather would make a difference to food prices in the short term but wouldn’t make a difference to Brexit negotiations.

He explained that the Government just had to get on a get a deal, especially when it came to agriculture. He said he wanted to remain but he accepted the vote and that the country needed to get some form of deal. He confirmed that he had full confidence in Prime Minister to deliver one.

The Committee asked if there was a minimum food production level and was there room to support it? Neil Parish explained that the UK was a temperate climate and we produced a fair amount of food. He explained that currently the UK was 58% self-sufficient and he wanted to see that maintained. He felt that in the future more food would need to be grown on less available land.

2.    Do you consider that proposals for an alternative route via Longwood Lane, for the quarry lorries, avoiding Burlescombe has now hit the buffers or is there still a realistic hope that it may still go ahead.

Neil Parish explained that he was meeting with the liaison committee to try and consider options available which may include getting the lorries further through the quarry. This was an ongoing issue that he was monitoring.

3.    Would you be prepared to lobby the Housing Minister concerning the five year land supply which Mid Devon has been unable to show and probably never will as we do not sit on swathes of redundant industrial land. This unrealistic target has left us hostage to several undesirable planning application.

The Member of Parliament stated that he had had quite a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37.

To receive a report from the Scrutiny Officer

The Group had before it and NOTED the information provided by the Scrutiny Officer regarding various areas that he had been asked to look into on their behalf.

There were no questions asked.

Members are asked to note that the following items are already identified in the work programme for the next meeting:

Anaerobic Digester Working Group update

Whistleblowing 6 month update

Maintenance of Local Improvement Schemes

Palmerston Park/Birchen Lane cost report

RIPA 6 month update

Community Safety Partnership

Cyber Security

Note: - this item is limited to 10 minutes. There should be no discussion on items raised.

The following items were identified for future meetings:

·         A review of the Performance Indicators given to Elected Members

·         How many experienced district Nurses are being lost. How many have left and what the current shortfall is.

·         Why sickness levels are so high in the NHS