Agenda and minutes

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

Apologies were received from Cllr Mrs G Doe and Cllr Mrs A R Berry

Members to consider whether to approve the Minutes of the last meeting held on 24^th July 2018 as a correct record.

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 24^th July 2018 were approved as a correct record and SIGNED by the Chairman.

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 members of the public present.

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

The Chairman stated that he had received information that the Tiverton Museum of Devon Life were currently recruiting for trustees and advised Members to contact Pippa Griffiths direct and that the request be added to Parish Matters.

To receive a presentation from the Tiverton and District Community Transport Association

The Chairman introduced Faye Ashton CEO of the Tiverton and District Community Transport Association.

She explained that the charity had been renamed Mid Devon Mobility from July 2018 and was one of six charities in receipt of a 3-year Service Level Agreement Grant from MDDC.

Mid Devon Mobility covered 353 square miles of Mid Devon and the charity was very grateful for funding that MDDC provided. Faye Ashton explained that for every £1 of grant given it was transformed into £9.81 of services. The following services had seen an increase in usage.

·         Ring & Ride (18% increase)

·         Voluntary Car Scheme (38% increase)

·         Shop mobility service in Tiverton (53% increase).

She explained that since 2015 there had been a 235% increase in passenger numbers.

Mid Devon Mobility’s services were aimed at increasing the independence, mobility and peace of mind of older and disabled people, helping them overcome the problems of loneliness and isolation.

The MDDC Service Level Agreement Grant provided an annual award of £22,000, of which £5,600 was deducted at source to cover the cost of office rental within the Phoenix Lane Multi-Storey Car Park.

Members asked what the sale of the Crediton Office would mean to Mid Devon Mobility and Faye Ashton replied that they had already been in talks with the potential new owners and were confident that they would be able to remain as tenants in the existing building. She stated that the charity was very grateful to MDDC for allowing them to rent the premises at a peppercorn rent over the years which had assisted them in being able to provide a service for the people of Crediton.

In response to a question about Cullompton she outlined the current services available to residents which included:

·         A Voluntary Car Scheme

·         A Community Bus which was available to hire at evenings and weekends

·         Accessible vehicles for people with disabilities

·         A community transport bus which took people into Tiverton every Tuesday

The Chairman thanked Mid Devon Mobility for their report.

To receive a report on the 3 yearly review of the Customer Care Policy from the Director of Corporate Affairs and Business Transformation.

The Committee received a *report on the Customer Care Policy from the Group Manager for Business Transformation and Customer Engagement

She sought Member’s approval for the Customer Care Policy and explained that this was a review of the Customer Services Policy and it had not significantly changed but it now referred to customer services across all departments. Business Transformation would be looking at services targets mentioned in the policy. She explained that as customer’s online interaction increased there would be a need to review the policy more frequently and that the policy review period would be reduced from 3 to 2 years.

Discussion took place regarding the out of hours provision which was currently provided by Taunton Deane and the Group Manager for Public Health and Regulatory Services explained that there was currently a route branch review of the service being conducted which was due to be discussed by the leadership team in the future.

It was RECOMMENDED to Cabinet that the content of the reviewed Customer Care Policy be approved subject to:

Page 4 of the policy – Item 6, first bullet point to read:

•           An office that is open 39½ hours a week - 9am – 5pm (Mon-Thu) and 9am – 4.30pm (Fri)

Page 6 - Appendix 1 – Telephone to Call Centre - Agreed Targets to read: 85% answered, the contract centre is staffed from 8.30 to 5.00pm, and calls are put into a queue.

(Proposed by the Chairman)

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

The Chairman advised the Committee that item 9 – Financial Monitoring would be taken as the next item of business.

To consider a verbal report from the Principle Accountant presenting the financial monitoring information for the income and expenditure to date.

The Committee were given and NOTED a verbal report * from Principal Accountant presenting a financial update in respect of the income and expenditure so far in the year.

He explained a predicted overall variance of £247k overspend on the General Fund to end of July with the movement from June of £178k of which £125k related to services reporting to Community PDG.

The main reasons for the overspend was a water leak in the Exe Valley Leisure Centre to which SWWA were attempting to charge £52k for the water dispensing into the SWWA drainage system and a £70k drop in Planning Fee income out of a budget of circa £1m.

To receive a report from the Deputy Chief Executive (S151) seeking Cabinet approval for the adoption of a corporate policy and procedure for responding to unauthorised encampments on land owned by Mid Devon District Council.

The Committee considered a *report from the Group Manager for Corporate and Commercial Assets outlining the draft policy and procedure for the Unauthorised Encampment Policy.

He explained that the Policy was required to commit to the work that had previously been completed by the Cabinet and informal groups which included members of the travelling community.

Discussion took place regarding the five key stages of the process and the Group Manager for Corporate and Commercial Assets provided Members with an update flow chart of the process.

He explained that the MDDC process was closely aligned to the DCC policy to ensure that there was a synergy between the two authorities processes.

In response to questions posed he explained that a traveller family was defined by the use of six or more vehicles and that if a temporary encampment was allowed to remain it was unlikely that the Council could impose Council Tax collection and enforce it.

He further explained that although the policy was complete he wanted the Council’s legal team to have a further overview of the legal terminology used.

It was RECOMMENDED to Cabinet and then to Council to adopt the Unauthorised Encampment Policy subject to a further review by the Legal department, the inclusion of the new flowchart, and any other minor spelling changes having been carried out.

(Proposed by the Chairman)

Note: - *Report previously circulated and attached to the Minutes.

To discuss any action required following members briefing on 16th August 2018 from Dr Dixon, Dr Chandler and Ruby Entwistle, Advanced Public Health Practitioner from Devon County Council.

The Committee were given an overview from the Public Health Officer and discussed the recent Members briefing which had been held on 16^th August 2018 and included input from Dr Dixon, Dr Chandler & Ruby Entwistle Advanced Public Health Practitioner (DCC).

Discussion took place regarding the current public health campaigns that the Council were already promoting including Sugar Smart and the Small Step programme. The leisure centres were currently involved in the Active Start programme.

The Committee were mindful that there were limited options that the Council could do as Public Health was a statutory function of Devon County Council and that there was currently no budget available to put resources into formally signing up to all of the campaigns.

The Leader stated that the briefing was inspirational and the most important one he had attended during his time on the Council. He explained that he had attended the opening of the Culm Valley Surgery garden at the request of Dr Dixon. He explained that Dr Dixon was keen to be involved, as a medical expert, in the decisions made by Council and the Leader encouraged the Committee to include him in future discussions.

Discussion then took place regarding the on-line and social media options available to the Council to promote healthy living.

The Committee decided that the Public Health Officer would report back at the November meeting with a communication strategy for promoting public health initiatives to the residents of Mid Devon. It was specifically requested that the report include a scale of proposed resources and what would be achievable within different levels of funding.

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

Citizens Advice – Business Case for Additional Funding

Community Engagement Strategy and Action Plan 2018-2019.

Community Safety Partnership Action Plan

Corporate Health & Safety Policy

Draft Budget 2019-2020

Leisure Update

Financial Monitoring

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

There were no items identified.