Agenda and minutes

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

There were no apologies or substitute Members

Members to note the Remote Meetings Protocol

The Group had before it, and NOTED, the *Remote Meetings Protocol.

Note: *Remote Meetings Protocol previously circulated and attached to the minutes

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.

Members were reminded of the need to declare any interests when appropriate.

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.

There were no questions from members of the public present

Members to consider whether to approve the minutes of the last meeting of the Group as a correct record.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on 3^rd November 2020 were agreed as a true record

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

The Chairman had no announcements to make.

To receive a report previously considered by the Cabinet on 7 January 2021 and discuss any further changes that the PDG may require prior to the formal recommendation of the budget proposals to Cabinet and Council in February.

The Group had before it, and NOTED, the *Budget report for 2021/2022 from the Deputy Chief Executive (S151).

The Group Manager for Finance explained that it was a very volatile period and the Budget included figures which were outside of the Councils control and related to the unknown impact of the Covid 19 pandemic. He stated that some of the income gap would need to be met from reserves.

Consideration was given to:

·         The losses in the Environment portfolio had been partially offset by over performance in the Garden Waste service and the additional payment from DCC due to less waste being sent to landfill

·         The core spending rise of 4.5% was an average across all councils but this included social care authorities and did not apply to MDDC

·         There was no presumption that after the comprehensive trials that a 3 weekly bin collection service was going to adopted across the district but the savings had been included in case that it was

·         The use of reserves to plug the spending gap may be required

·         The vital road link on the A361 would commence shortly as would the link to Blundells Road.

Members were asked whether there were any areas of savings that they were aware of that they would like investigated, to contribute to closing the budget gap.

Note: *Budget report previously circulated and attached to the minutes

To receive a verbal update on Financial Monitoring from the Group Manager for Finance

The Group received a verbal financial monitoring report from the Group Manager for Finance who explained that as of November 2020 the forecast had improved by £133k and that the Council could realise a surplus of £109K. He explained that when the report had been produced there was no knowledge of a further lockdown so the situation could deteriorate

He further explained that if there was any surplus at the end of the year, it would not result in additional funds being available for expenditure. Rather it would contribute to bridging the gap in future years, noting that not only was there an outstanding deficit in next year’s budget of £490k but also that the MTFP indicated a shortfall of c£2m in 2022/23.

To provide Members with a copy of the Interim Devon Carbon Plan that is currently out for consultation until 15 February 2021.

The Full Interim Carbon Plan which will be referred to during the report can be found:

https://www.devonclimateemergency.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/20201215_A4_SINGLE_Electronic-Version.pdf

The Group had before it a*report from the Corporate Manager for Property, Leisure and Climate Change presenting the Interim Devon Carbon Plan.

The Cabinet Member for Climate Change gave an overview of the Plan by way of a presentation highlighting:

·         Background

·         Overview of emissions per district

·         Breakdown of emissions across Devon

·         The Plan did not provide solutions at this stage, the citizens assemblies would provide the detail

·         Themes in the Plan

·         8 main objectives of the Plan

·         Proposed Governance of the Plan

The Corporate Manager for Property, Leisure and Climate Change outlined the contents of the summary report  and highlighted the 12 chapters.

Consideration was given to:

·         Some Members felt that there was a mis-perception of the Farming community

·         The costs were too high

·         How did people picture the countryside in 2030

·         How much each district would need to contribute financially to the Plan

The officer explained that the MDDC Climate Change action plan was live and all opportunities would be taken to apply for grant funding and that the main function of the Climate Change co-ordinator was to apply for funding and work with neighbouring authorities to achieve the Council’s ambitions.

The Group requested that the Cabinet give consideration to the following in it’s response to the draft Plan:

·         Anaerobic Digesters – for’s and against must be addressed

·         The size of the documents that the public were expected to read needed to be considered

·         Costs needed to be explained and the affordability of Mid Devon residents taken into consideration. The Plan needed further explanation of the cost benefits

·         There needed to be a bigger involvement with the farming community

·         Air travel should be included

The Corporate Manager for Property, Leisure and Climate Change confirmed that the suggestions from the Group would be included within the Cabinet report.

Note: *Report previously circulated and attached to the minutes.

To provide Members with an update on performance against the Corporate Plan and local service targets for 2020-21 as well as providing an update on the key business risks.

The Group had before it, and NOTED a *report of the Group Manager for Performance, Governance and Data Security providing updated information on the performance against the Corporate Plan and local service targets for 2020-21.

The officer outlined the contents of the report stating that the results were to the end of November. She explained that there had been reports in the press about the 3 weekly waste trials and the solar panel installation at Carlu Close.

In response to questions asked about the Electric Vehicle Charging units the Corporate Manager for Property, Leisure and Climate Change explained that a contract was currently out to tender with neighbouring authorities and that the responses would be compared to the current supplier before a decision was made.

Consideration was given to Home Improvement Loans.

Note: *Report previously circulated and attached to the minutes

To receive an update on the Street Scene Service presenting future options within the Street Scene Education and Enforcement Service.

The Group had before it, and NOTED, a *report from the Operations Manager for Street Scene outlining future options within the Street Scene Education and Enforcement Service.

The officer outlined the contents of the report and stated that the Council had been in contact with two suppliers to provide private enforcement but that one supplier required MDDC to go into partnership with a partner authority to make it viable and the other could not offer a cost neutral service. He explained that a further update on any progress would be brought back to the PDG in six months time.

With regard to the protection of District Officers, the Operations Manager for Street Scene explained that the use of body worn cameras would need to be fully justified as per the recently adopted Use of CCTV policy. He explained that the officers were currently fitted with alert devices which could show their exact GPS location if they ran into difficulties.

Members questioned if the District Officers had raised any concerns about their safety and it was explained that staff had the opportunity to raise concerns at the Health and Safety Committee but that nothing had been highlighted.

Notes:

    i.)        *Report previously circulated and attached to the minutes

   ii.)        The Chairman advised that he had agreed with the Chairman of Scrutiny that the Public Space Protection Order would be brought before the Scrutiny Committee

 iii.)        Cllr R L Stanley left the meeting at 7.28pm and took no part in further discussions

To receive a report which outlines the new draft Resource and Waste Management Strategy for Devon and Torbay. Following its approval at the DASWC meeting on 15th October 2020, the draft Strategy requires the approval of the individual local authorities for proceeding to public consultation.

The Group had before it a *report from the Operations Manager for Street Scene presenting the draft Resource and Waste Management Strategy for Devon and Torbay.

The officer outlined the contents of the report and stated that the strategy described how the Devon local authorities would manage Local Authority Household Waste.

Consideration was given to:

·         The super aligned collection service was an initiative that the Council would aspire to

·         The benchmarking that was used to set the targets

·         Where the dry waste was sent to

·         The ongoing communications with East Devon District Council on how they had increased their recycling rates

·         Increase communications to residents about how to recycle items that the Council could not, like recycling plastic bags at supermarkets

Therefore it was RECOMMENDED to the Cabinet that:

·         The draft Resource and Waste Management Strategy for Devon and Torbay be approved and proceed to public consultation

(Proposed by the Chairman)

Reason for the decision: to ensure that the Council has a Resource and Waste Management Strategy which proceeds to public consultation

Note: *Report previously circulated and attached to the minutes

Members are asked to note the following items are due to be presented at the next meeting:

·         Financial Monitoring

·         Cabinet Member for Climate Change

·         Bereavement Services Fees and Charges

·         Performance and Risk

·         Chairman’s Draft Annual Report

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

Members requested that the following be brought to a future meeting of the PDG:

·         An officer report be brought to the Group when Motion 567 was brought to the March 9th meeting to explain how the governance arrangements for the Net Zero Advisory Group could be adjusted so that they could hold public meetings and make decisions.

·         Local Farmer Mary Quick to be invited to speak to the PDG regarding farming and climate change