A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Council and councillors

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Via Zoom https://zoom.us/j/98207070594

Contact: Joanna Morley  01572 758271

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

APOLOGIES

Minutes:

No apologies had been received.

2.

RECORD OF MEETING

To confirm the record of the meetings of the Growth, Infrastructure and Resources Scrutiny Committee held on 18 February and 29 April 2021 (previously circulated).

Minutes:

The Chair recorded that the minutes of the last meetings held on the 18th February and 29th April 2021 were confirmed as a true record. These were proposed by Cllr Oxley, seconded by Cllr Begy and were unanimously agreed.

3.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

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 Act 1992 applies to them.

Minutes:

Cllr Begy advised that he was President of a local sports club but that this was not a pecuniary interest.

4.

PETITIONS, DEPUTATIONS AND QUESTIONS pdf icon PDF 194 KB

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.

Minutes:

A deputation (appended to the minutes) was received from Mrs B Crellin, Chairman of Active Rutland LSA (Local Sports Alliance). Mrs Crellin joined the Zoom meeting to present the deputation.

 

·                  Mr Brown enquired when the consultation which had cost approximately £200k had been done.  Mrs Crellin reported that she was not sure of the date but that it was before Mr Brown had been the portfolio holder. Mr Brown confirmed that it would have been done in 2015 for the Local Plan. 

·                  Councillors did not ask any further questions of Mrs Crellin.

 

5.

QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE FROM MEMBERS

To consider any questions with notice from Members received in accordance with the provisions of Procedure rule No.218 and No.218A.

Minutes:

No questions with notice had been received from members.

6.

NOTICES OF MOTION FROM MEMBERS

To consider any Notices of Motion from Members submitted in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rule No.219.

Minutes:

No notices of motion from members had been received.

7.

CONSIDERATION OF ANY MATTER REFERRED TO THE COMMITTEE FOR A DECISION IN RELATION TO CALL IN OF A DECISION

To consider any matter referred to the Committee for a decision in relation to call in of a decision in accordance with Procedure Rule 206.

Minutes:

No call ins had been received

8.

APPOINTMENT OF VICE-CHAIR OF THE COMMITTEE

To appoint a Vice-Chair of the Growth, Infrastructure and Resources Committee.

Minutes:

Nominations were invited for the office of Vice-Chair of the Committee. Mr Ainsley nominated Mr Oxley and this was seconded by Miss Waller. There were no further nominations.

RESOLVED:

a)    That Mr M Oxley be APPOINTED as the Vice-Chair of the Growth, Infrastructure and Resources Scrutiny Committee.

9.

Q4 OUTTURN FINANCE MANAGEMENT REPORT pdf icon PDF 481 KB

To receive Report No.66/2021 from the Strategic Director for Resources ahead of its presentation to Cabinet at their meeting on 15 June 2021.

 

(Report to follow)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Report No. 66/2021 was received from Mr Della Rocca, Strategic Director of Resources.  The report was to inform the Cabinet and all members of the provisional revenue and capital outturn for 20/21 including the impact from COVID, to give the latest position on the 21/22 budget and the latest Medium Term Financial Plan position including the financial gap.  During the discussion, the following points were noted:

 

·                  Cllr Payne informed attendees that the grants received during the pandemic, although small, had been used wisely.

·                  The surplus budget recorded had been allocated and financial pressures continued.

·                  The situation was not unique to Rutland County Council but was being experienced by other local authorities.

·                  Mr Della Rocca advised that 44 questions had been received from the Committee members regarding the report but that, due to time restraints, he asked the committee to highlight the key questions for him to address.

·                  It was confirmed by Mr Della Rocca that he had previously informed members of the significant challenges faced by the council and the impact of the pandemic on the council’s resources.

·                  Mr Della Rocca advised that Adult Services had seen a 100% increase in the number of complex cases dealt with during the pandemic whilst other services including Children’s Services had also dealt with an increase in the number of people/children accessing their services.

·                  There were many variables to be accounted for and a more detailed budget review was being planned after a deep-dive exercise had taken place.

·                  Mr Della Rocca stated that no long-term decisions were made during the pandemic regarding recruitment as nobody had known just how long the pandemic would last.

·                  Miss Waller stated that she hoped that some of the surplus money would be used for the recruitment of staff.

·                  Mr Brown noted the amount held in reserves and queried as to what the justification was for holding that amount in reserve funding.  Mr Della Rocca stated that that the reserves were required to fund the £2-£3 million deficit in the budget as projected by the medium-term plan.

·                  Mr Oxley informed attendees that it had taken a long time for the Council to accumulate the reserves.

·                  The Committee confirmed that the Council should continue to be prudent in its spending and should endeavour to make savings where possible. 

·                  Miss Waller expressed a wish for council officers to have financial budget setting training.

·                  Mr Hemsley confirmed that a Unitary Council Network (UCN) meeting would be held on the 23rd June 2021 to discuss funding requirements with central government.

·                  Mr Della Rocca confirmed that a written response to questions would be sent to committee members.

 

RESOLVED:

a)    That Mr Della Rocca would provide a WRITTEN RESPONSE to questions received from committee members.

 

---oOo---

The Chair with the agreement of the Committee proceeded to agenda item 12 as Cllr Stephenson had not arrived and she was engaged in another meeting.

---oOo---

 

10.

EXCLUSION OF THE PRESS AND PUBLIC

The Committee is recommended to determine whether the public and press be excluded from the meeting in accordance with Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended, and in accordance with the Access to Information provisions of Procedure Rule 239, as the following item of business may involve the disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

 

Paragraph 3: Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

 

Minutes:

The Chair stated that it was not necessary for the meeting to go into private session as there was no public or press in attendance but reminded attendees that they must not discuss exempt information.

11.

CATMOSE SPORTS CONTRACT UPDATE pdf icon PDF 217 KB

To receive Report No.77/2021 from the Strategic Director for Places.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Report No.77/2021 was received from Mr Clayton, Head of Culture & Registration. The purpose of the report was to notify the Scrutiny Committee of a potential grant offered to Rutland County Council from the National Leisure Recovery Fund (NLRF) to support the re-opening of the Catmose sports facility.  During the discussion, the following points were noted:

 

·                  Cllr Walters advised that a short-term solution was being looked at to support Stevenage Leisure Ltd (SLL) and asked for guidance from the scrutiny committee as to how they would like to be involved in the project moving forward. 

·                  Cllr Walters continue that, as the Portfolio Holder, he was willing to support the proposal only on the condition that it would be for a maximum of 2 years, with 3 months’ notice to be given at any point and that no further funding would be given.

·                  Mr Begy stated that he had questions but would send them to Cllr Walters for a written response to be completed.

·                  Mr Brown enquired if the maintenance costs had been included in the budget and requested more information regarding the project.

·                  Miss Waller requested that information be sent to members sooner so that there was time to read and analyse the data.

·                  Mrs Sharp confirmed that she would be happy to share any information with scrutiny members regarding the short-term and long-term proposals of the project.

·                  Miss Waller queried if the relevant parishes had been consulted regarding the removal of the S106 money and Cllr Walters stated that he believed they had not.

·                  Mrs Sharp stressed that this was a short-term proposal which would enable time for a full consultation with the scrutiny committee about the long-term proposals.

·                  Cllr Walters confirmed that the consultant had met the brief, provided the information requested and was finalising the full report. He confirmed that, as Portfolio Holder, he now looked to the scrutiny committee for them to become more heavily involved in helping him drive forward the long-term leisure strategy for Rutland.

·                  The Chair expressed concern regarding the low number involved in the consultation process especially those from the younger generation.

 

RESOLVED:

a)    That Scrutiny NOTED the report and reviewed the proposals being put to Cabinet in advance of consideration by Cabinet at their meeting on 15 June 2021.

b)    That Scrutiny reluctantly RECOMMENDED that Cabinet approved Option 2 of the proposal: - opened the facility but with the pool closed and financially supported SLL.

c)    That Scrutiny REQUIRED more time to consider the information/data within the presented report.

 

---oOo---

Cllr L Stephenson joined the meeting at 8.29 p.m.

---oOo---

12.

WASTE STRATEGY CONSULTATION DOCUMENT pdf icon PDF 4 MB

Scrutiny is being asked to comment on the Public Consultation Document that goes live on 7 June 2021.

 

(Report to follow)

Minutes:

Cllr Stephenson presented the Municipal Waste Management and Streetscene Strategy 2021-2035. The strategy was to ensure that the waste generated by the County and its residents was managed responsibly and for the benefit of the environment.  During the discussion, the following points were noted:

 

·                  Cllr Stephenson confirmed that the strategy had been published on the council’s website and residents and business were urged to have their say on how rubbish and recycling was managed in Rutland.

https://www.rutland.gov.uk/my-council/council-news/residents-and-businesses-urged-to-have-their-say-on-how-rubbish-and-recycling-is-managed-in-rutland/

·                  Cllr Stephenson confirmed that the tendering process had begun with the aim that the new contract would start in April 2024.

·                  Mrs Sharp reported that the Environment Bill had received its second reading at Parliament.  All local authorities would have to act on the new bill and RCC should be prepared regarding the actions to be completed in advance of the bill being approved.

·                  Mr Oxley stated that a big education of Rutland residents would be required regarding the separation and recycling of food waste.  Mrs Sharp confirmed that food waste would be included in future waste figures.

·                  Ms Waller stated that the Council needed to encourage people who were not recycling their waste to do so moving forward.

·                  Cllr Stephenson informed the Committee that costs should be considered but that not all costs are fiscal and the costs relating to the environment must also be considered.

·                  Cllr Stephenson confirmed that detailed data was kept regarding the tonnage of waste processed but that it was not possible to breakdown the data into specifics i.e. waste produced from online shopping.

·                  Mr Brown stated that he would have wanted the Scrutiny Committee to have had a much earlier input into the strategy.  Cllr Stephenson stated that the strategy needed to have the correct data/details before it was shared with the Scrutiny Committee but that it had been discussed in full with Cabinet.

 

--oOo---

The Chair requested an extension of the meeting

The Committee voted to extend the meeting by 15 minutes

---oOo---

 

·                  Cllr Oxley enquired what the strategy was regarding commercial waste, how the service was going to engage with Town and Parish Councils and what bins would be required by residents.  Cllr Stephenson responded that the Council had a contract with an external provider to deal with the small amount of commercial waste produced in Rutland.  Town and Parish Council would be fully engaged with waste management and street cleaning and that the bins required by residents would be defined in the options appraisal. 

·                  Cllr Stephenson confirmed that the options appraisal would be brought back to the Scrutiny Committee for a full discussion.

 

RESOLVED:

a)    That Scrutiny AGREED with the principals as outlined in the summary document

b)    That Scrutiny AGREED to be involved in the options appraisal stage

13.

ANNUAL WORK PLAN 2021-22

To discuss substantive items for scrutiny and inclusion in the Growth, Infrastructure and Resources Scrutiny Committee work programme for the municipal year 2021-22.

Minutes:

·         The annual work plan was discussed and no amendments were made

14.

ANY OTHER URGENT BUSINESS

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

Minutes:

·         There was no urgent business

15.

DATE OF NEXT MEETING

Thursday, 16 September 2021

Minutes:

The next meeting of the Growth, Infrastructure and Resources Scrutiny Committee would be held on Thursday, 16th September 2021 at 7.00 p.m.