Agenda item

To review the existing Work Plan and consider items for the committee’s future consideration, taking account of:

a)    Any items within the Forward Plan for discussion at the next meeting;

b)    Suggestions of other work for the committee in 2023/24.

The Committee had before it and NOTED the *Forward Plan and the *Scrutiny Committee Work Programme.

Cllr R Roberts declared that he had an interest. He was a consultant with a renewable energy company and he had worked alongside them for three years which included Electric Vehicle installations.

Discussion took place with regard to:

·         With regard to Motion 583 “Rivers and Seas”, the Water Cycle Study had been commissioned and it should be possible to bring South West Water before the Scrutiny Committee early in 2025.

·         Would it be possible for the Scrutiny Committee to consider Ambulance attendance rates and the provision of First Responders?

·         The Head of Housing and Health would circulate a briefing paper by e-mail relating to Void Properties and Asset Management. He also said that he would deliver a report on Asset Management when he could set out the numbers based on the quarterly reporting to the Homes Policy Development Group (PDG), however, he thought it preferable that the PDG got to see the report first. Cllr E Buczkowski proposed that the report come to the Scrutiny Meeting on 28 October 2024 with a report on the number of Voids broken down by Ward and what was being done to mitigate the void and return it to use.

This was CARRIED.

·         Noting that a report on Solar Panel Farms and Anaerobic Digesters were coming to the Scrutiny Committee on 30 September, could an evaluation be included of how many solar panel farms have been located or are planned to be located on agricultural land and what was happening to that agricultural land after the installation?

·         How many applications for Electric Vehicle chargers had been received and how many had been installed? – Figures would be provided but they would not have been subject to a Planning Application because they would not usually need one.

·         On-Shore wind and Solar Energy / Anaerobic Digester land use were two distinct areas but could they be combined into a single report on Renewable Energy?  The report should be a forward look on Solar panels and wind, alongside a backward look at what solar panels and anaerobic digesters the district already had and to consider it against the timeline of the Local Plan Review, which was due to come before the Scrutiny Committee on 30 September. The Director of Place and Economy said that he could add On-Shore wind to the report on Solar Panel Farms and Anaerobic Digesters and to frame the report around “Renewables”  but that he would need more time. – It was AGREED to move this item to 28 October.

·         Further, it was AGREED that as the only item left on the work plan for September was a presentation from a Portfolio holder, that this item also be moved and the meeting scheduled for Monday 30 September be cancelled unless there were any items called in from the Cabinet meeting on 17 September.

The Scrutiny Proposal Form relating to House maintenance, emergency repairs, pollution monitoring and resident safety was APPROVED to go onto the Work Plan.

(Proposed by Cllr B Holdman and seconded by Cllr C Harrower).

Note – The *Forward Plan and the *Scrutiny Committee Work Programme were previously circulated.