Agenda item

Report of the Director – Finance and Corporate Services

The Chair referred to Appendix 2 which set out matrices of items that had already been approved by the former Corporate Overview Group and included onto the scrutiny programme for 2023/24.

In relation to Biodiversity Net Gain item, the Service Manager for Corporate Services said that the Council sought to have a draft scheme in place in readiness for Government regulations due for release in November 2023. The Vice Chair of Governance Scrutiny Group asked for information about the timing of hedgerow cutting to be included.

Councillor Thomas joined the meeting to present her matrix for Housing density in new housing sites. She said that housing site applications would come forward with an expected number of houses which often increased during the planning process, which was of concern to residents and impacted on the infrastructure available. She said that her proposal was to review how the initial housing numbers were determined and whether that process could be more robust.

Councillor Thomas referred to housing density being closely related to housing mix with bigger houses requiring more space, including how much open space was provided on the estate. She referred to Government proposals that housing density should be looked at in terms of existing housing density in the area, which would lead to replication of housing mix rather than a wider diversity. She said that a broadbrush approach may not provide the best housing mix and that it was important to make best and most efficient use of each piece of land.  She said that the process for planning of estates needed to be reviewed and required more scrutiny and discussion than a briefing note

The Chair noted the recommendation for a briefing note in the first instance but said that this did not preclude it coming forward for scrutiny thereafter.

The Group asked about the process for determination and programming of scrutiny items and the Service Manager for Corporate Services explained that Appendix 4 set out the current programme, noting that each meeting reviewed one or two items which allowed a maximum of 8 scrutiny items per group per year. She said that time for Officers to collate and review information also need to be considered in the programming and that sometimes it could be more expedient to provide the information in a different way.

The Group asked whether housing density sat within an existing policy which was due for review and the Service Manager for Corporate Services said that it may fit within the Local Plan linked to the work of the Local Development Framework Group.

In relation to provision of the briefing note, the Service Manager for Corporate Services said that this would enable information to be provided sooner than the item could be programmed into the scrutiny schedule and which could then be refined as to what information was to be reviewed. The Group agreed for this item to be taken forward in the scrutiny work programme.

Councillor Thomas presented her matrix for Management of open spaces within new developments but said that she had not had any input into the matrix itself. She said that it had come forward in response to the motion passed at Council in which the Council recognised the problems with public open spaces on new housing estates and committed to undertake a full detailed options appraisal and seek opportunities to improve the situation.

Councillor Thomas said that the particular issue was the ownership and management of open spaces and thought that that point was only covered by the final bullet point of the matrix. She had concern that the review would not fully address the motion. She welcomed the work that was taking place on this item but had some concern for the focus not to be on covering old ground and refining the question but on solving the problem, for both new and existing estates. Councillor Thomas suggested that residents could be invited to attend the scrutiny meeting to present their perspective.

The Chair asked if there was anything that Councillor Thomas would like to be included in the matrix. Councillor Thomas said that a key area involved residents paying a management company to carry out services and whether there were other ways that this could be managed, such as the Council adopting spaces or residents paying the Council to manage spaces. She said that different estates had different S106 in place and suggested having a consistent approach for all going forward.

The Service Manager for Corporate Service agreed to take the matrix back to Officers for input from Councillor Thomas and thought that it would be possible to maintain its timing in the programme. The Group agreed for this item to be taken forward in the scrutiny work programme without need for it to return to this Group.

The Chair noted the matrix for Streetwise In-Sourcing and the Service Manager for Corporate Services explained that the service had been brought in-house due to it not meeting the objectives of why it was outsourced. The timing of the report would allow a review of progress within the first 12 months. The Group agreed for this item to be taken forward in the scrutiny work programme

The Chair noted the matrix for Corporate Strategy and the Service Manager for Corporate Service explained that the Council was running a month long public consultation and holding internal working groups, the results of which along with political priorities and proposals would be presented to the Group in September for review, following which a document would be prepared for the Group to review at its November meeting. The Group agreed for this item to be taken forward in the scrutiny work programme

Councillor Thomas presented her matrix for East Midlands Airport - impacts of future flight path changes and aircraft noise in general. She referred to the East Midlands Airport consultation on flight paths which was an ongoing, long, consultative process. The consultation on noise had not been announced at the time of preparing the matrix. She said that she had responded to the consultation as an individual but was aware that the Council could respond as an organisation and as such, she would like to invite representatives from the Airport to attend a scrutiny meeting to discuss the proposals.

Councillor Thomas said that there was a wider issue of noise impact but noted that that part of the consultation was closing on 31 July. The Service Manager for Corporate Services said that an article would be included in Councillors’ Connections tomorrow to raise awareness.

The Chair highlighted that Councillors could register as stakeholders to receive updates on the consultation. The Group agreed for this item to be taken forward in the scrutiny work programme.

Councillor Gowland presented her matrix Model for provision of Social Housing. She said that the Council no longer owned any social housing and that current provision wasn’t working. She said that there wasn’t enough housing available for young single people nor for families receiving support for housing. She said that the proposal was for the Council to bring some housing back into its own control and build a small number of social housing to support residents not served by the registered housing associations or the private sector. The Group agreed for this item to be taken forward in the scrutiny work programme.

The Group reviewed the Work Programmes. The Service Manager for Corporate Service explained that a Review of Growth Boards had been provisionally allocated to October Growth and Development Scrutiny Group following recommendation from Cabinet and pending completion of a scrutiny matrix. In relation to the proposal to scrutinise Community Facilities, the Service Manager for Corporate Service said that a matrix would be brought forward for review with potential for it to be scheduled for January 2024.

It was RESOLVED that the Corporate Overview Group:

a)    consider any additional items for scrutiny from the current Cabinet Forward Plan, Corporate Strategy, Medium Term Financial Strategy, Capital and Investment Strategy and Transformation Plan (Appendix One)

b)    consider the topics for scrutiny submitted by Councillors and officers, and already accepted by the 2022/23 Corporate Overview Group (Appendix Two)

c)    determine any additional topics to be included in a scrutiny group work programme for 2023/24 for each of the scrutiny groups as presented on newly submitted scrutiny matrices (Appendix Three)

d)    review the current work programme for each of the scrutiny groups (Appendix Four).

WorkProgramme 2023-24– CorporateOverview Group

WorkProgramme 2023-24– GovernanceScrutiny Group

WorkProgramme 2023-24– Growthand DevelopmentScrutiny Group

Work Programme 2023-24– CommunitiesScrutiny Group

Action Sheet