Venue: Exe Room, Phoenix House, Tiverton
Contact: Carole Oliphant Member Services Officer
Link: audiorecording
No. | Item |
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APOLOGIES AND SUBSTITUTE MEMBERS (00.01.21) To receive any apologies for absence and notices of appointment of substitute Members (if any). Minutes: Apologies were received from Cllr Mrs B Hull and Cllr T G Hughes. Cllr Mrs J Roach gave apologies and was substituted by Cllr R M Deed. |
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DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST UNDER THE CODE OF CONDUCT (00.01.51) Councillors are reminded of the requirement to declare any interest, including the type of interest, and reason for that interest, either at this stage of the meeting or as soon as they become aware of that interest.
Minutes: No declarations were made |
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PUBLIC QUESTION TIME (00.02.06) 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. Minutes: Hon Alderman David Nation stated that - on the 30th September you very kindly wrote to me about this whole issue of Crediton office building from which it was clear that you were mistaken about several key aspects of the issue. You believed that Crediton Town Council has dismissed as too expensive the opportunity to buy the building at the reduced price, that the Town Council declined to increase the precept and meet the cost and that there was an assurance that community groups could continue to use the building. I replied to you Chairman, explaining that first of all the Town Council did offer the £102,500 on the same terms as those that the District Council agreed with Tiverton Town Council for the purchase of the Tiverton Town Hall. Also that the Town Council did increase the precept so that they could pay off the purchase price in five or six years and that any new private owner could terminate the tenancy of the community group or indeed the Town Council so there would be no security of tenure for the Town Council or anyone else. Indeed we have learned that one of the tenants at the Crediton Town building have been told by the new owner, the intended owner, that they can stay for the time being at the current rate although they are having to make an additional payment for works to be done. Now can I presume that if you as Chairman of Scrutiny were confused or have been wrongly informed about such key issues such as these that the Scrutiny Committee was equally confused or misinformed although it actually encouraged the Cabinet to reverse their decision and they were ignored. But would it not therefore be appropriate for the Scrutiny Committee to revisit the issue so that you might give further advice to the Cabinet on the matter.
In response Cllr F J Rosamond, Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee stated irrespective of that particular confusion if you like to put it that way, the Scrutiny Committee was not happy with the Cabinet decision and challenged the Cabinet by a call in so that the decision actually went back to the Cabinet to reconsider. So my confusion, and I could argue about some of that, did not influence the fact that Scrutiny took the issue as far as they possibly could but were unsuccessful in the sense that the Cabinet rejected the Scrutiny recommendation. So it wasn’t for the lack of trying.
Hon Alderman David Nation then interjected to state I think what I was suggesting was if you had known the position was worse than it was you might have tried even harder.
Cllr Rosamond assured the member of the public that he did try very hard.
J Tucker stated: I would just like to say that I don’t know quite how much you realise, how much absolute fury and distress there is in Crediton about this issue and the decision to sell the building ... view the full minutes text for item 72. |
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MEMBER FORUM (00.15.15) An opportunity for non-Cabinet Members to raise issues. Minutes: Discussion took place regarding the Cabinet decision to sell Crediton Town Council offices to a private buyer including:
· Failure to get the message across · Transparency of the decision · Local dismay at the decision · Ability for the Cabinet to change its mind before contracts had been exchanged
The Chief Executive explained that as the petition had reached over 1500 signatures then the matter would be raised at the next Full Council meeting for further debate but as the Monitoring Officer had made clear at the last Cabinet meeting whilst it can be debated the Full Council does not have the power to overturn the Cabinet decision.
It was therefore:
RESOLVED that the Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee write to the Cabinet to express the disappointment that the recommendation made by the Scrutiny Committee had been ignored by the Cabinet. To ask them to reconsider their decision to sell Crediton Town Council offices to a private buyer in light of the adverse public opinion being received.
Proposed by Cllr T Snow and Seconded by Cllr F J Letch
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MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING (00.27.51) PDF 103 KB Members to consider whether to approve the minutes as a correct record of the meeting held on 10th September 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.
Minutes: The minutes of the meeting held on 10th September 2018 were approved as a correct record and SIGNED by the Chairman. |
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DECISIONS OF THE CABINET (00.28.05) To consider any decisions made by the Cabinet at its last meeting that have been called-in. Minutes: The Committee NOTED that none of the decisions made by the Cabinet on 27th September had been called in. |
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CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS (00.28.15) To receive any announcements that the Chairman of Scrutiny Committee may wish to make. Minutes: The Chairman announced that the report on Universal Credit was to be postponed until all the entire District was on line. |
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CABINET MEMBER FOR HOUSING REPORT (00.29.31) PDF 68 KB To receive a report from the Cabinet Member for Housing. Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee had before it and NOTED a *report from the Cabinet Member for Housing.
He outlined the contents of the report and highlighted:
· Homes not fit for purpose inspections · Gas inspections · Temporary accommodation in Crediton · New build budget and units built · Responsive emergency service · Evictions
Cllr Stanley explained that the Governments policy on Right To Buy was having an effect on the number of social housing units owned by the Council.
The Chairman thanked the Cabinet Member for Housing for his comprehensive report.
Note: *Report previously circulated and attached to the minutes. |
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COMPLAINTS POLICY (00.58.32) PDF 66 KB To receive a review of the Complaints Policy from Group Manager for Business Transformation and Customer Engagement Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee received and NOTED a *review of the Complaints and Feedback Policy from Group Manager for Business Transformation and Customer Engagement.
She outlined the contents of the review and stated that the key requirement remained unchanged and that the policy provided the standards in which staff dealt with complaints.
Members requested that the policy include further information on the aims and objectives and how confidentiality was assured.
It was RECOMMENDED to the Cabinet that the revised Complaints and Feedback Policy be approved.
(Proposed by the Chairman)
Note: *Review previously circulated and attached to the minutes |
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ANNUAL REPORT ON COMPLAINTS, COMMENTS AND COMPLIMENTS (01.04.12) PDF 246 KB To receive the Ombudsman report of Complaints and the annual Customer First report of Complaints, Comments and Compliments presented by Group Manager for Business Transformation and Customer Engagement. Minutes: The Committee received and NOTED the Ombudsman *report of Complaints and the Annual Customer First report of Complaints, Comments and Compliments presented by Group Manager for Business Transformation and Customer Engagement.
She outlined the contents of the report and explained that all customer complaints were logged onto a database and that customers received an acknowledgement within three working days. She stated that the report provided a summary of the contact that the Council had with its customers.
Members requested the following information:
· How many complaints about dogs actually lead to a prosecution · Volumes of communication by channels (phone, post, email etc.)
Note: *Report previously circulated and attached to the minutes |
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ESTABLISHMENT 6 MONTH UPDATE (01.13.08) PDF 129 KB To receive an update report from the Group Manager for Human Resources on the Establishment as requested.
Minutes: The Committee received and NOTED a *report from the Group Manager for Human Resources on the level of resignations and the reasons for them.
She outlined the contents of the report stating that the Committee had been concerned about the staff turnover and it provided details of why people left the employment of the Authority and details of sickness absence.
Consideration was given to the difficulties of always conducting a leaving interview as they were not mandatory and that stress related illness absence was not always work related stress but could be linked to bereavement and family breakdowns.
Note: *Report previously circulated and attached to the minutes |
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TIVERTON TOWN MASTERPLAN FOLLOWING PUBLIC CONSULTATION (01.21.03) PDF 201 KB To receive a report from the Head of Planning, Economy and Regeneration on the Tiverton Town Master Plan following public consultation. Minutes: The Committee received and NOTED a *report from the Area Planning Officer on the Tiverton Town Masterplan following public consultation.
She outlined the contents of the report and stated that the report set out a summary of the response received from the recent public consultation. She stated that the Council had visited the Town Council twice, held two public consultations including one at Electric Nights, ran a video on Devon Live and extensively used social media to advertise and encourage participation in the consultation.
Although Members were disappointed that only 55 responses had been received the Area Planning Officer explained that the responses received had been very detailed and did contain a lot of useful information.
In response to a question on how long the Masterplan would take to implement the Area Planning Officer explained that the Tiverton Town Centre Working Group which consisted of Members and Officers would now be looking at next stages for the production of a draft Masterplan and also at implementation of the Masterplan.
The Chief Executive stated that the next stage would be to prepare and consult on a draft Masterplan and work up detailed propositions in parallel with the Masterplan.
Note: *Report previously circulated and attached to the minutes.
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REVIEW OF PERFORMANCE INDICATORS GIVEN TO ELECTED MEMBERS (01.32.05) PDF 67 KB To receive a review from the Group Manager for Performance Governance and Data Security of the Performance Indicators presented to Members.
Minutes: The Committee received and NOTED a *report on the review of Performance Indicators given to Elected Members from the Group Manager for Performance, Governance and Data Security which was requested by a member of the public.
She outlined the contents of the report explaining how the performance indicators were developed and how they were linked to the Corporate Plan. She invited Members input on the type of measurement which would be useful for developing the reports moving forward.
Note: *Report previously circulated and attached to the minutes
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PERFORMANCE AND RISK (01.36.34) PDF 69 KB To provide Members with an update on performance against the corporate plan and local service targets for 2018/2019 as well as providing an update on the key business risks.
Additional documents:
Minutes: The Group had before it and NOTED a *report from the Group Manager for Performance Governance and Data Security providing an update on performance against the Corporate Plan and local service targets for 2018-2019 as well as providing an update on the key business risks.
She outlined the contents of the report highlighting the targets against the corporate plan aims and providing information from queries raised:
· Recycling figures compared to other District Councils · Empty shop figures for Tiverton and Cullompton · IT Security measures
Note: * Report previously circulated and attached to the minutes |
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SCRUTINY OFFICER'S UPDATE (01.43.56) PDF 49 KB To receive an update from the Scrutiny Officer outlining work to date. Minutes: The Committee received and NOTED the Scrutiny Officer *report presented by the Chairman.
Note: *Report previously circulated and attached to the minutes |
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FORWARD PLAN (01.45.09) PDF 115 KB Members are asked to consider any items within the Forward Plan that they may wish to bring forward for discussion at the next meeting. Minutes: The Group had before it and NOTED the Cabinet Forward Plan *.
Members requested that the Proposals for improvements to Tiverton Town Centre was not fully exempt but changed to partially exempt so that the public could be aware of what was being planned
Note: - *Forward Plan previously circulated and attached to the minutes |
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IDENTIFICATION OF ITEMS FOR THE NEXT MEETING (01.45.36) Members are asked to note that the following items are already identified in the work programme for the next meeting:
Community Safety Partnership Action Plan
Business Rates Retention Scheme
Draft Budget for 2019/2020
Financial Monitoring
Cabinet Member for Finance Report
Note: - this item is limited to 10 minutes. There should be no discussion on items raised. Minutes: There were no items identified. |