Agenda and minutes

The minutes of the meeting of 15 February 2022 are attached to be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

The Chairman highlighted that the Head of Environment and Technical had requested an additional line to be added to Item 109. This is:

The Head of Environment and Technical confirmed that the report will aim to address the committee’s comments, before submission to Hampshire County Council and publication on Hart’s website.

The Minutes of the meeting of 15 February 2022 and this additional sentence were confirmed and signed as a correct record.

To receive any apologies for absence from Members*.

*Note: Members are asked to email Committee Services in advance of the meeting as soon as they become aware they will be absent.

Apologies were received from Councillors Davies and Worlock (Chairman).

Councillor Axam attended virtually via video.

To declare disclosable, pecuniary and any other interests*.

*Note: Members are asked to email Committee Services in advance of the meeting as soon as they become aware they may have an interest to declare.

None.

None.

Anyone wishing to make a statement to the Committee should contact Committee Services at least two clear working days prior to the meeting. Further information can be found at:

Public Participation leaflet 2021.pdf (hart.gov.uk)

None.

An update from Inclusion Hampshire’s CEO and the Head of Inclusion College on the new inclusion centre in Hook.

This will be followed by a question and answer session.

Inclusion Hampshire’s CEO and Head of Inclusion College gave a presentation on the charity’s work over the last two years; they primarily work with young people who cannot access mainstream education.

The Head of Inclusion College also gave an overview of the new Inclusion Centre in Hook and thanked the Chairman’s Charity for their financial contribution to train Casper, their therapy dog.

Questions from members included:

·       The possibility of a larger music room in the Hook centre.

·       How national funding has impacted referrals and their services.

·       How the charity works with other local organisations and local employers; one of their existing links is with Aspire.

·       How the charity handles safeguarding issues if a young person is homeless.

Members were keen to assist the group practically and keep in touch.

A Member asked if the Council’s economic development plans could link with groups like Inclusion Hampshire and the Head of Place confirmed they did and would continue to in the future.

Feedback from Members of the Service Panel for Community Services.

Councillors Farmer and Wildsmith had attended the Service Panel and concluded the meeting was very good, particularly the detail on homelessness provision.

Members recognised the extension to the Closure Order and the hard work that had gone into this by officers; they also questioned the deferral of the Homelessness Out of Hours Provision.

Members were also pleased that the report included former dates and showed changes to deadlines.

Feedback from Members of the Service Panel for Environment & Technical Services.

Councillor Farmer had attended the Service Panel.

Members questioned the timescales of some items, including delivery of Phase 1 works at Edenbrook Country Park.

There was a discussion by Members, The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Corporate Services and the Head of Environment and Technical on the KPIs relating to CCTV downtime.

It was agreed that more detail and explanation on the CCTV data needed to be discussed at Service Panels first, so it could then be explained with more clarity at future meetings.

The Head of Environment and Technical answered a member’s question on vehicle leasing and purchasing and confirmed that the Procurement Team consider the timings for new vehicles, although as many were replaced recently there was no current update to share.

The Chairman requested that the document published on Hart’s website detailing the 21/22 Traffic Management Programme needed improving.

Feedback from Members of the Service Panel for Place Services.

Councillors Davies and Dorn had attended the Service Panel meeting and had emailed their comments to committee members in advance.

Members would have liked to have seen more clarification on how fly tipping and street cleansing worked together included in the plan.

Members discussions included:

·       The latest on the Gypsy and Traveller DPD and past consultation.

·       Employment land, Article 4’s (Planning) and why this is no longer required.

Members also requested more information on the Planning Enforcement Team’s workload and The Head of Place agreed to provide an update at a future Service Panel.

To consider the draft Service Plans for 2022/23 as set out in Appendix 1.

RECOMMENDATION

That prior to consideration by Cabinet in April 2022, Overview and Scrutiny Committee considers and makes recommendations to Cabinet as appropriate, on the draft Service Plans for 2022/23, having regard to the agreed Budget for 2022/23.

Members considered the draft Service Plans for 2022/23 and made the following recommendations:

CORPORATE

Members highlighted that the draft Service Plan contained no reference to the Tier 1 savings, and the Head of Corporate Services agreed to include more detail on items 12 and 16 of the plan when it was agreed - currently this work is still ongoing.

A Member questioned why the draft plans were not circulated to earlier Service Panel meetings and the Joint Chief Executive confirmed that due to timings and workloads it was not possible.

COMMUNITY

No comments.

ENVIRONMENT AND TECHNICAL

A Member questioned why many of the completion dates were March 2023 and hoped to see more challenging ones.

A Member requested to see more included in the draft plan on the Countryside Team’s work. For example: Odiham Common and the work on smaller commons and Hazeley Heath. The Head of Environment and Technical agreed to include this.

PLACE

A Member requested that Service Priority 7 ‘Customer-focused Service’ should be reworded.

Member’s discussions included:

·       Timescales for the Local Plan Review and if any smaller work on particular areas of this could be drafted in advance.

·       More dates to be included on the Climate Change Strategy.

RECOMMENDATION

Members agreed that pending comments, the draft Service Plans would be recommended to Cabinet.

An update on Levelling Up and a presentation on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and how the Council can engage with it. To be delivered by the Joint Chief Executive.

The Joint Chief Executive and New Settlement Manager gave a presentation on The UK Shared Prosperity Fund and Levelling Up Fund 2.

Members were briefed on the Government's recently published Levelling Up White Paper, County Deals and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

The Levelling Up Fund prioritises areas which are most in need of support; Hart District Council is identified as Tier 3, an area of least deprivation.

Members questions included:

·       How the Unitary authorities in Hampshire (city councils) are involved in these bids/processes.

·       The amount of money that organisations can bid for.

·       The timescales for bidding processes and the use of external consultants.

·       The possibility of putting forward a Climate Crisis application.

It was agreed by the Committee and Joint Chief Executive that more work needs to be done to identify Hart’s needs for these types of funding applications.

Risk Management is a key element of the Council’s governance framework, and it is essential that the Council identifies, monitors and mitigates wherever possible the risk it is exposed to.

The Council has a Corporate Risk Register which is reviewed by management on a regular basis and reported to members to provide assurance that appropriate arrangements are in place to mitigate identified risks.  

RECOMMENDATION

That the Committee reviews the content of the Corporate Risk Register.

The Audit Manager summarised that the Council’s Corporate Risk Register is reviewed by management on a regular basis and reported to members to provide assurance that appropriate arrangements are in place to mitigate identified risks.

DECISION

The Committee noted the contents of the Corporate Risk Register and praised the Audit Manager for its contents and the addition of Appendix B which showed all the recent updates.

To consider the Cabinet Work Programme.

A Member questioned why the Commercialisation Strategy was not on the Work Programme and the Joint Chief Executive confirmed that this was refreshed last year, and an update wasn’t due yet.

A Member asked if there would be stakeholder engagement on the draft Odiham Common Management Plan. The Leader confirmed that this would be reviewed.

Members discussed version control for this Work Programme and the possibility of more explanations why items appeared to have been omitted from it in the past. This requires further work and consideration.

To consider and amend the Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme.

The Joint Chief Executive asked the Committee to consider a Cyber Security presentation briefing at a future Overview and Scrutiny meeting, possibly June 2022 and that all members would be invited.

A Member requested a date to be added to the Work Programme for the Draft Budget item.

Members briefly discussed a possible item on the Harlington lease and the Joint Chief Executive and Leader of the Council confirmed that when this is advised it would come to Cabinet.

A Member suggested combining the Cabinet and Overview and Scrutiny Work Programmes and the Joint Chief Executive advised that they need to continue to be separate documents.