Babergh District Council - Minutes

MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY (COMMUNITY SERVICES) COMMITTEE HELD IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER, COUNCIL OFFICES, CORKS LANE, HADLEIGH ON TUESDAY, 1 JULY 2008

11 SUBSTITUTES

12 DECLARATION OF INTERESTS

Mr J R A Sayers declared a personal interest in the item referred to in Minute No. 18 below by virtue of the fact that he has family and property interests in the area, but indicated that his interests were such that he was able to speak and vote on the matter concerned.

Back to top

13 MINUTES

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 20 May 2008 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

Back to top

14 PETITIONS

15 QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS

16 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE FOR 2007/08

Members had before them the annual report of the Development Committee for 2007/08 (Paper H61). The Chief Planning Control Officer, introduced the Committee’s report and together with the Head of Natural and Built Environment answered Members’ questions on various issues raised, which included the following:-

· The conservation matters which are being addressed by the Head of Natural and Built Environment

· Internal procedures for processing applications, particularly in relation to delegated decisions

(1) That Paper H61 be adopted as the annual report of the Development Committee for 2007/08.

· Further information be obtained by the Chief Planning Control Officer and made available to Members on the training of substitute Members of Development Committee

· It be noted that the Chief Planning Control Officer and the Member Services Officer will liaise on the future training needs of Parish and Town Councillors

· The importance of the requirement for training substitute Members of Development Committee be reinforced

(3) That the Development Committee be asked to include statistics on breach of planning conditions in future annual reports.

Back to top

17 2007/08 END OF YEAR FINANCE AND PERFORMANCE REPORT

The Director of Finance and the Director of Corporate Services submitted a joint report (Paper H55) providing an integrated picture of the significant issues relating to financial and performance management for the year ended 2007/08. Members were requested to scrutinise the financial and performance information set out in Paper H55 and its Appendices. They noted that the format follows that of the Corporate Plan to show the linkages to the Council’s priorities and were advised of some minor corrections to the information contained in the report. Members were aware that the Overview and Scrutiny (Stewardship) Committee at its meeting on 24 June 2007 had considered Paper H55 and following discussion, they concurred with its decisions.

(1) That the key points and action to be taken relating to the variations against the 2007/08 Budget, Best Value Performance Indicators (BVPIs) and Local Performance Indicators (LPIs) be noted.

(2) That Overview and Scrutiny (Stewardship) Committee’s request for the Housing Panel to investigate whether it is necessary to review the Homelessness Strategy as a matter of urgency, and whether the target of 700 new affordable homes by 2009 should be revised, be supported.

Back to top

18 DETAILED ASSESSMENT OF AIR QUALITY IN CROSS STREET, CHURCH STREET AND BALLINGDON STREET, SUDBURY

The Head of Natural and Built Environment submitted a report (Paper H62) presenting the findings of a 12 month Detailed Assessment of nitrogen dioxide concentrations with specific reference to Ballingdon Street, Cross Street and Church Street, Sudbury. The report also notified the Committee of a statutory obligation to designate an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) in consequence of the conclusions of the Assessment.

The Head of Natural and Built Environment drew Members’ attention to the information in Table 1 of Appendix 1 which showed those results which exceeded the 2005 Annual Mean Air Quality objective or the 2010 Annual Mean EU Limit Value. He also summarised the process which had been followed as a result of the Annual Progress Report in May 2007 and answered Members’ questions in relation to the timescales required to obtain the precise data needed and to produce an Action Plan. Members noted that a number of options were possible, but that a solution could not be identified until such time as the detailed data was assembled. During the course of the discussion, Members reiterated the need identified in the report for the widest possible consultation with all relevant parties including residents. They also noted that a report would be made to Strategy Committee if necessary, in the event of the bids referred to in paragraph 3 of Paper H62 being unsuccessful for the purchase of relevant equipment.

(1) That the contents of Paper H62, together with the future actions and implications identified be noted.

(2) That the proposals for progressing this matter including the consultation exercise referred to in the report be endorsed.

Back to top

19 KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATOR BASKET FOR 2008/09

The Director of Corporate Services submitted a report (Paper H56) requesting the Committee to determine whether it wished to continue with the principle of Overview and Scrutiny Committees scrutinising a key basket of indicators on a quarterly basis and if so, which performance indicators should be included in the basket. Members were aware that the Overview and Scrutiny (Stewardship) Committee at its meeting on 24 June 2008 (Minute No. 20 refers) had considered Paper H56 and agreed the continued use of a key basket of indicators. Its suggested performance indicators for inclusion in the initial basket for 2008/09 were circulated to Members at the meeting.

Members recognised the role of the Overview and Scrutiny (Stewardship) Committee in relation to performance indicators overall whilst making some minor additions to the list suggested by that Committee to reflect the Overview and Scrutiny (Community Services) Committee’s more specific responsibilities for monitoring service delivery. They agreed with the Overview and Scrutiny (Stewardship) Committee suggestions, subject to the addition to the basket of indicators LPI 43, BV 84a, LPI 9 and LPI 80 which appeared in Appendix 2 to Paper H56. For clarity, a complete list of the performance indicators as agreed is included in resolution (2) below.

(1) That the view of the Overview and Scrutiny (Stewardship) Committee, that a key basket of indicators for quarterly scrutiny of performance continue to be used, be endorsed.

(2) That the following performance indicators be included in the initial basket for 2008/09:-

PI Code	Definition of Indicator
NI 1 54	Net additional homes provided
NI 157	Processing of planning applications as measured against targets for ‘major’, ‘minor’ and ‘other’ application types
NI 158	% decent council homes
BV 63	Energy efficiency of local housing stock
BV 64	Private dwellings returned to occupation
BV 212	Average time to relet local authority housing
LPI 15	No. of affordable rent agreements secured
LPI 41a	The cumulative total number of completed affordable units of accommodation in the affordable housing delivery pipeline (1 April 2004 and 31 March 09)
LPI 42	The number of formal homeless presentations
LPI 43	Local Authority Housing – repairs and maintenance service – proportion of planned repairs to responsive maintenance
LPI 44	Local authority housing – repairs and maintenance – proportion of urgent repairs to non-urgent repairs
New LPI	% of planning decisions determined as delegated items
BV 84a	Number of kilograms of household waste collected per head
NI 192	Household waste recycled and composted
NI 195	Improved street and environmental cleanliness (levels of graffiti, litter, detritus and fly posting)
BV 218b	% of abandoned vehicles removed within 24 hours
New LPI	% Trade waste recycled or composted
BV 10	The % of Non Domestic Rates collected in the year
LPI 9	No. of homes adapted to meet the needs of older or disabled people.
LPI 18	Percentage of telephone calls answered (enquiry resolved) at point of contact
LPI 80	Customer satisfaction – telephone service.
NI 179	Value for Money – total net value of ongoing cash-releasing value for money gains that have impacted since the start of the 2008/09 financial year
BV 2a	The level of the Equality Standard for Local Government to which the authority conforms
LPI 12a	% of capital expenditure achieved on the Housing Revenue Account

20 CUSTOMER SERVICE - OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT

The Director of Corporate Services and the Head of Customer Services submitted a joint report (Paper H57) outlining a proposed approach to addressing customer satisfaction and issues raised by a general User Satisfaction Survey in 2006/07. Members were aware that the Overview and Scrutiny (Stewardship) Committee at its meeting on 24 June 2008 had considered Paper H57, together with the Action Plan attached to the report as Appendix 1. The decisions of that Committee were reported to the meeting and Members concurred with those decisions, as set out in resolutions (1) to (3) below.

(1) That the approach taken to improve customer service be endorsed and the action plan outlined at Appendix 1 to Paper H57 be agreed.

(2) That the CAST board be requested to monitor the action plan, bringing significant variances to the Committees’ attention.

(3) That the definition of a “complaint” as set out in Paragraph 5.2 of Paper H57 be approved for adoption as the standard for service monitoring purposes.

Back to top

21 WORK PLAN

The Director of Corporate Services submitted a report (Paper H63) which provided details of the Committee’s anticipated work for 2008/09, including items as referred to in the Appendix to the report that might be the subject of call-in procedures.