To confirm the record of the meeting of the Places Scrutiny Panel on 15 September 2016 (previously circulated)

The Record of the Meeting of the Places Scrutiny Panel held on 15 September 2016, copies of which had been previously circulated were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

In accordance with the Regulations, Members are invited to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they may have and the nature of those interests in respect of items on this Agenda and/or indicate if Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applies to them.

Agenda Item 2 – Mr Bird declared a non-pecuniary interest as his daughter is opening a coffee shop at Oakham Enterprise Park shortly.

To receive any petitions, deputations and questions received from Members of the Public in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rule 217.

The total time allowed for this item shall be 30 minutes.  Petitions, declarations and questions shall be dealt with in the order in which they are received.  Question may also be submitted at short notice by giving a written copy to the Committee Administrator 15 minutes before the start of the meeting.

The total time allowed for questions at short notice is 15 minutes out of the total time of 30 minutes.  Any petitions, deputations and questions that have been submitted with prior formal notice will take precedence over questions submitted at short notice.  Any questions that are not considered within the time limit shall receive a written response after the meeting and be the subject of a report to the next meeting.

No petitions, declarations or questions were received from members of the public.

To consider any questions with notice from Members received in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rule No. 219 and No. 219A.

No questions were received from members.

To consider any Notices of Motion from Members submitted in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rule No. 220.

No notices of motion were received from members.

To consider any matter referred to the Panel for a decision in relation to call in of a decision which relates to this Scrutiny Panel’s remit and items on this Agenda.

No matter was referred to the Panel for a decision in relation to call-in of a decision in accordance with Procedure Rule 206.

To receive Report No. 191/2016 from the Director for Resources

(Report circulated under separate cover)

Report No. 191/2016 from the Director for Resources was received.

The Portfolio Holder, the Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Places (Highways, Environment, Transport and Community Safety) and Market Towns - Mr Mathias, invited members to ask questions on the report.

During discussion the following points were noted:

      i.        The shortfall in the Waste Management Budget was due to the following factors:

·         Increased levels of green, residual and recycled waste.

·         Inflation in the waste contract, this has been taken into account within the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP).

    ii.        Previously the Council received payment for recycled waste; however, as the recycling industry has developed this was no longer the case.

   iii.        The increase in green waste is mainly due to the weather conditions over the summer, which resulted in increased grass cutting. This may therefore, decrease in future years.

   iv.        The shortfall in the Commercial and Industrial Properties Budget was due to the increased work carried out at Oakham Enterprise Park (OEP) to ensure that all units met building control specifications. Complex work was required regarding fire regulation compliance, erection of water tanks and works to the road network for access by the Fire Service have now been completed.

    v.        It was confirmed that the Civic Amenity Sites in Rutland do not take commercial waste; there has been no change of policy on this matter. Both sites use an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system, therefore, checks could be carried out to investigate any commercial waste disposal. Civic Amenity Sites were not obliged to take rubble waste. The impact of making changes to the Civic Amenity Sites refuse was considered very carefully as this may lead to an increase in fly tipping within Rutland. 

   vi.        Confirmation was given to the Panel that works at Oakham Castle were still to be completed. The following were outstanding:

·         Works to the Whipper Inn car park wall.

·         Works to pathways. These had not been concluded, however, Western Power will be funding the cost.

  vii.        Oakham Castle:

·         Feedback had been received on the low level of light on pathways at Oakham Castle during the evening. This had been reviewed and the Council were planning to try to invest in this being an evening setting.

·         Wedding income has been in line with predictions, more investigation was to be done into further income streams, this would be completed by Mr Steels, Castle Marketing Officer.

·         Uncovering of the wall at Cutts Close was not planned and was not part of the Castle Programme.

viii.        The Council were in constant dialogue with Western Power regarding assurance in the development of solar power at OEP. Any reduction in the cost implementation could result in an increase in units being fitted with solar panels. Consideration would be given to any surplus energy created being used for electricity or hot water generation.

AGREED:

That the contents of the Report be NOTED.

To receive Report No. 194/2016 from the Chief Executive.

(Report previously circulated under separate cover)

Report No. 194/2016 from the Chief Executive was received.

The Portfolio Holder, the Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Places (Highways, Environment, Transport and Community Safety) and Market Towns - Mr Mathias, invited questions / observations from the Panel.

During discussion the following points were noted:

i)     Affordable Housing:

·         The target of 33 homes to be delivered had not been met.  Further properties in Greetham were due to be delivered in February 2017, with more coming on stream in the next few years.

·         There was a direct link to Government policy. The Council has received £250,000 for affordable housing to date; this was expected to rise to £1 million by the end of the financial year. This would allow the Council to work with developers to increase the number of homes. This work would be reported back to the Panel at a future meeting.

·         There were currently 300 people on the Councils housing register. Local residents and people employed locally were allocated homes first.

·         The Strategic Housing Market Assessment had identified that 40 affordable homes are required per annum. Affordable housing could be defined in many different ways, for example Shared Ownership (up to 80% owned, 20% rental).

AGREED:

That the contents of the report be NOTED.

To receive Report No. 214/2016 from the Director for Places.

:

·         Homelessness

·         Domestic Abuse

Report No. 214/2016 from the Director for Places was received.

The Chair - Mr Lammie introduced the item to the Panel. The Poverty Project is working across all 4 Scrutiny Panels and all Members attended the Poverty Workshop on 13 September 2016.

The following areas were identified for the Places Scrutiny Panel to take forward:

·         Housing/Homelessness

·         Domestic Abuse

·         Transport – to be covered at February’s 2017 Places Scrutiny Panel

During discussion the following points were noted:

i)     Housing/Homelessness:

Portfolio Holder for Resources (excluding Finance), Culture, Sport & Recreation, Tourism and Housing – Mr Hemsley gave a brief introduction to the item and invited Mr Faircliffe – Housing Strategy & Enabling Officer to present appendix A of the report to the Panel.

·         The Rent Deposit Scheme was designed to help with the costs of private rental, which can often be 6 to 8 weeks rent upfront. Efforts were made to recoup this money, with payment plans set up, but often the full amount was not repaid.

·         The Panel requested a breakdown of the reasons (hidden pressures) for housing allocation and homelessness, for example living with family as cannot afford to move out).

·         Housing allocation worked on a points system, which helped to avoid the under occupation of homes, however, properties for older people often did not meet tenants aspirations.

·         On page 13 of the report ‘excluding staff’ should be removed from paragraph 2.

·         Housing at St Georges Barracks would still be used for forces accommodation once the base had been closed. Issues arise if families were to split, service personnel would stay in the home with the rest of the family potentially becoming homeless.

·         The majority of the 67 cases where homelessness was prevented were achieved by being housed via the Housing Register, support from Citizen Advice Bureau (CAB) with debt advice and changes in circumstances (safe for them to return home).

·         The majority of homelessness cases in Rutland were due to:

o   Private Landlords

o   Parents / relationship breakdown

o   Social Housing issues

·         The Panel agreed that the definition of poverty should include people that are asset rich but cash poor and that consideration could be given to reducing the Council Tax burden to these people.

·         Concern was raised regarding reduced tolerances of Social Housing Landlords, which can result in repeat homelessness. The Chair – Mr Lammie will feed this back to the overall project.

·         The Council did not currently have enough housing stock, particularly 4/5 bedrooms homes for larger families. The Council often challenge Private and Social Landlords to prevent people becoming homeless.

·         A Social Housing marketing exercise was carried out 2 years ago. The result was that the number of people on the Housing Register increased as awareness increased. There is more the Council could do regarding communication.

·         The Panel raised concerns regarding disruptive families with complex issues that may result in homelessness and what the options were, taking into consideration the rural nature of Rutland.

·         Consideration should be given to the East of the County and Rutland residents that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 419.

To consider Scrutiny issues to review.

Copies of the Forward Plan will be available at the meeting.

Agenda items for the meeting to be held on Thursday 9 February 2017:

·                     Poverty in Rutland – Transport Item

·                     Neighbourhood Plans Task and Finish Group Update

·                     Revised Signs Policy

·                     Highways Asset Management Plan

·                     Parking Review

·         The Panel raised their concerns regarding clarity and description of items that appeared on the Forward Plan in particular Barleythorpe College Site Options and Barleythorpe College – expansion update.

·         The Panel were encouraged to ask questions of Officers and the relevant Portfolio Holders regarding items they require more information on. Any feedback from Members of the Panel would be welcomed as early as possible in this process.

·         The Panel commented that it was very difficult to locate the Forward Plan on the website.

·         The Panel requested that a copy of the Forward Plan is emailed to all Members weekly.

·         The Chair - Mr Lammie will feedback the Panels comments and suggested actions to the next Scrutiny Commission on 1 December 2016 and will let the Panel know the outcome.

To receive any other items of urgent business which have been previously notified to the person presiding.

There was no urgent business.

18^th or 19^th January 2017 - Budget

Thursday 9^th February 2017

• 18or 19 January 2017 - Budget
• Thursday 9February 2017