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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Exe Room, Phoenix House, Tiverton

Contact: Carole Oliphant  Member Services Officer

Link: audiorecording

Items
No. Item

14.

Apologies and Substitute Members (00.00.46)

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

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Cllr B Holdman and Cllr Mrs C P Daw

15.

Declarations of Interest Under the Code of Conduct (00.01.10)

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:

There were no declarations made

16.

Public Question Time (00.01.17)

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:

There were no members of the public present.

17.

Member Forum (00.01.36)

An opportunity for non-Cabinet Members to raise issues.

Minutes:

There were no issues raised under this item.

18.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting (00.01.42) pdf icon PDF 72 KB

Members to consider whether to approve the minutes as a correct record of the meeting held on 10th June 2019.

 

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 June 2019 were approved as a correct record and SIGNED by the Chairman.

19.

Decisions of the Cabinet (00.01.48)

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 June 2019 had been called in.

20.

Chairman's Announcements (00.01.57)

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

Minutes:

The Chairman had no announcements to make.

21.

Leader's Annual Report - Annual Review against the Corporate Plan for 2018/19 (00.02.07) pdf icon PDF 101 KB

To receive the Leaders Annual Report providing Members with an update on performance against the corporate plan and local service targets for 2018-2019.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee had before it a *report of the Chief Executive presenting the Annual review against the Corporate plan for 2018/2019.

 

Members questioned the absence of the Leader to present the report and RESOLVED that the item be deferred to a future meeting when the Leader could attend.

 

(Proposed by Cllr R J Chesterton and seconded by Cllr R Evans)

 

Note: *report previously circulated and attached to the minutes

22.

Revenue and Capital Outturn Report 2018-2019 (00.07.27) pdf icon PDF 294 KB

To consider a report of the Deputy Chief Executive (S151) presenting the Revenue and Capital Outturn report, previously considered by Cabinet.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee had before it and NOTED a *report of the Deputy Chief Executive (S151) presenting the Revenue and Capital Outturn 2018/2019.

 

He gave an overview of the report and explained it was the overarching position and had been presented to the Policy Development Groups and the Cabinet.

 

He explained that the Council had maintained sufficient reserves and that the levels of reporting by the Finance team had been extremely accurate.

 

Note: *report previously circulated and attached to the minutes

23.

Universal Credit Update (00.13.57)

To receive a presentation from the Deputy Chief Executive (S151) with regard to the roll out of Universal Credit across the district.

Minutes:

The Committee received an update from the Deputy Chief Executive (S151) on the roll out of Universal Credit across the district.

 

He explained that currently 1500 people were in receipt of Universal Credit across the district and this was expected to rise to 3500 when the roll out had been completed.

 

Cllr B G J Warren left the meeting at this point and did not take part in the following discussion.

 

Members discussed the effect of Universal Credit and stated that they were not receiving any complaints from the public about not being able to contact the Department of Work and Pensions. They had however noted that more people were contacting Citizens Advice and Churches Housing Action Team for advice.

 

Members agreed to invite Lee Tozer (DWP) Partnership Manager Greater Devon to host an evening Members briefing giving an overview of the roll out of Universal Credit.

 

Cllr B G J Warren returned to the meeting.

 

 

 

 

24.

Climate Change Declaration (00.28.24)

Members to discuss how the committee will provide appropriate oversight of the work, recommendations and commitments that the council may seek to bring forward in light of the Climate Emergency Declaration, as agreed by Council on 26 June 2019.

 

Minutes:

Members discussed an appropriate response to the Climate Change Declaration adopted by Full Council on 26th June 2019 and agreed that the Scrutiny Committee should act as a catalyst for the Council to ensure that enough urgency was being focused on the issue.

 

The Chairman of the Audit Committee informed members that meetings had already begun with the internal audit team to free up officer time in the coming months to look specifically at the risks associated with the Council response. He confirmed that the internal audit programme was being investigated to see what could be added to support the Declaration.

 

The Deputy Chief Executive (S151) explained that as an immediate response to the Declaration all officer reports presented to members would detail a climate implication. He explained the Devon County Council (DCC) action plan and the monies which had already been put aside by DCC to establish a Net Zero Task Force and confirmed that MDDC officers would be involved. He confirmed that officers had been tasked with providing members with current baseline data. He stated that initial officer and members meetings were required and that whatever was agreed moving forward would be thought through and planned for.

 

The Chairman of the Environment PDG explained that he had called an informal meeting of the Group to discuss what could be done, the priorities involved and what was realistic. He stated that the PDG would be mindful of cost and officer time and he was keen that the Group produced something meaningful.

 

Members then discussed the lobbying which had taken place by members keen to be involved in the process which had been delegated to the Environment PDG. Some members felt that the current discussion was premature and that it should take place when the Environment PDG had devised a plan to move forward.

 

Members suggested that the Climate Change issue could be a topic for the next State of the District Debate. The Chairman agreed to suggest this as a topic with the Leader.

 

Members AGREED that the progress of achieving the Climate Change Declaration should be reported back to the Scrutiny Committee in 6 months’ time.

 

(Proposed by Cllr B A Moore and seconded by Cllr B G J Warren)

 

 

 

 

 

25.

Scrutiny Proposal - Investigate digital inclusion and digital transformation (00.46.15) pdf icon PDF 69 KB

Members of the Committee to receive the proposal for a working group or a task and finish group to be created to investigate digital inclusion and digital transformation within the Council.

 

Members to agree an approach to the investigation and to decide on the membership of the working group or the task and finish group.

Minutes:

The Committee had before it a *Scrutiny Proposal form proposing that the Committee investigate digital Inclusion and digital transformation.

 

Members discussed the proposal and highlighted the following:

 

·         New Expenses software

·         Telephone line failures

·         Different departments using different software

·         Website appearance and usability

·         CRM management systems

·         The ability to remotely attend Member briefings via skype

 

In response to questions the Group Manager for Business Transformation and Customer Engagement explained to members that the recent telephone issues had been caused by an offsite failure in the telephone exchange and were out of the Council’s control.

 

She explained that the current website had adopted the Government guidelines for Council websites and the format was the same used by a majority of Councils in the UK. She did however welcome any suggestions from members.

 

Discussing the proposal she stated that she had concerns about the current scope of the suggested plan working group and that she would welcome further discussions with members to define the specific areas to be investigated.

 

The Chairman confirmed that he would meet with the officer and define the scope of the working group before bringing it back for agreement at a future Scrutiny Committee meeting.

 

The Group Manager for ICT and GMS Services informed the Committee that new software was due to be installed which would enable members to remotely attend Member briefings and he would provide further details of the timings of the introduction of the service.

 

Note: *Proposal form previously circulated and attached to the minutes

26.

Forward Plan (01.00.32) pdf icon PDF 87 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:

Members discussed the Forward Plan.

 

Notes: * Plan previously circulated, copy attached to minutes

27.

Identification of Items for Future Meetings (01.01.22)

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

 

 

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

Minutes:

The Committee AGREED that the Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner be invited to attend a future meeting of the Scrutiny Committee to discuss policing levels in the district and High Street security.

 

(Proposed by the Chairman)