Agenda and minutes

Councillor Holden substituted for Councillor Cherry.

Apologies were received from Councillor Trumble and Councillor Cherry.

None.

The Chairman confirmed that items noted in the minutes for referral to other Scrutiny Committees have been actioned.

The minutes of the meeting held on 13 June 2018 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

None.

Kate Wilson, Business Unit Leader for Community Services, Policy & Performance introduced the report, noting that performance in the first quarter of 2018/19 has been good overall with 85% of indicators  green, compared to 76% at the same point last year. She highlighted notable positives such as the collection targets for Council Tax and Non Domestic Rates (NDR), the percentage of household waste sent for reuse, recycling and composting, and the processing of planning applications. Flagship activities are also progressing well, with the installation of new parking payment machines in all car parks, and the achievement of a Green Flag award to St John’s Park in Burgess Hill already completed. The first phase of refurbishment at the Triangle Leisure Centre is also complete.

Where targets have not been met in the area of benefits processing, the Business Unit Leader for Community Services, Policy & Performance acknowledged that this was linked to the dissolution of the CenSus Revenues and Benefits Partnership and the establishment of the Council’s in-house benefits team, as well as the implications of dealing with the roll out of Universal Credit.

Kevin Stewart, the Business Unit Leader for Revenues and Benefits provided further context to the targets within revenues and benefits. He highlighted that whilst the Council Tax and NDR collection rates were on target, it was also important to note that since the dissolution of the CenSus Revenues and Benefits Partnership the team has maintained business as usual whilst going through a complete restructure, with the hiring and training of 12 new staff, which is a significant achievement.

He highlighted that performance in Benefits processing has greatly improved in August 2018, which coincided with the first month that the Benefits Team had been processing solely Mid Sussex claims. This will be fully reported to Committee at the meeting on the 14 November 2018.  There is also a greater emphasis on accuracy to ensure that the right benefit gets to the right person at the right time and to ensure against future housing benefit subsidy loss. The Business Leader for Revenues and Benefits stated that the Housing Benefit Subsidy Claim, whilst still being finalised with external auditors, was very likely to see no payment due to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for the 2017/18 financial year, which would be the second year in a row.

With reference to Universal Credit, he confirmed that the Benefits team have a good working relationship with the local Job Centres and the Citizens Advice Service.  The negative publicity which has focused on Universal Credit nationally has not been the case in Mid Sussex. The Business Unit Leader chairs a Universal Credit Stakeholder group for Mid Sussex, and the benefits team continues to work pro-actively to support the implementation and assist local residents.

In response to Member’s queries, the Business Leader for Revenues and Benefits confirmed that the number of claimants referred to households rather than individuals, and a household could claim for both housing benefit and council tax support. With regards to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Economic Growth provided a verbal update to the Committee. The launch of the Economic Development Strategy took place in June, hosted by CAE in Burgess Hill, and was well received by the business community. He confirmed that the Council has invested £187k to expand the Economic Development team to provide the capacity to carry out the 66 actions in the 5 year Strategy. He noted that the local economy is performing well and that the Council continues to support and influence businesses, for example the Local Full Fibre Network bid to drive economic growth and create a strong unique selling point for the area. He drew Members attention to the strong focus on the people element of the strategy, and work is under way on the ‘Open 4 Business’ event in 2019 with a theme of skills and apprenticeships. 

A Member provided information on the Mid Sussex Expo, recently held for the second year running at the South of England Showground, which would be a great opportunity to showcase the Council’s ambitions in economic development.

A discussion was held on the positive developments in reinstating post 16 education in Haywards Heath. The Deputy Leader confirmed that the University of Sussex is keen to look where they can to expand operations across the County and the Council will be actively promoting the options within the district. He also noted that the infrastructure and skills ambitions set out in the 12 year development programme will contribute in the long term to GVA in the area. The apprenticeship route offers a huge area of potential for young people in the district and it is the Council’s responsibility to promote this where ever possible.

The Leader concluded by acknowledging the importance of a recent decision to separate the portfolios for Economic Growth and Finance and Performance as both Cabinet Members can take a strong lead in these key areas.

Tom Clark, Solicitor to the Council introduced the report. He acknowledged that the current meeting was scheduled late in the year, and confirmed that the programme of meetings for 2019/20 will propose a meeting scheduled for late July in the future to allow for the first quarter performance report to be presented earlier.

The Chairman took Members to the recommendation which was agreed unanimously.

RESOLVED

The Committee:

(i)         Agreed the Committee’s Work Programme as set out at paragraph 5 of    

            the report.

None.