Agenda and minutes

In the absence of Councillor Knight, Councillor Pulfer assumed the role of Chairman and with the agreement of Members he appointed Councillor Stockwell as Vice-Chairman for this meeting.

The Solicitor to the Council provided information on the reasons for the virtual meeting and carried out a roll call to establish attendance.

Councillor Dabell substituted for Councillor Knight, Councillor Boutrup substituted for Councillor Smith and Councillor Sweatman substituted for Councillor Whittaker.

Apologies were received from Councillors Knight, Smith and Whittaker, Brunsdon, Henwood and Trumble.

None.

The minutes of the meeting held on 27 March 2022 were agreed as a correct record and electronically signed by the Chairman. 

None.

Neal Barton, Policy, Performance and Partnerships Manager introduced the report noting that overall performance was generally good with 71% of indicators green. He noted that services continue to be affected by the pandemic and that Appendix A includes three years of data to illustrate a pre-pandemic comparison. Appendix B includes proposed changes to the KPI’s which takes into account comments made by the Committee.

The Chairman took Members through each section of the report for comment.

Discussion was held on levels of satisfaction with the grounds maintenance service and the move to conducting on-line surveys.  Members also discussed the waste collection services including the small electrical items collection. Rob Anderton, Divisional Leader for Commercial Services and Contracts confirmed that the recycling rate includes everything collected from the doorstep and noted that the collection of electrical items is progressing well. He acknowledged that there had been past issues with some waste electrical items not being collected and urged anyone experiencing this issue to report it so that it can be investigated further.

A Member commented on the improved return on tenanted non-residential property portfolio for 2021/22 compared to the previous years.  A Member also queried if that KPI should be amended to reflect the cost to the Council in terms of the cost expended to produce the capital receipt, and whether it would include the effect of void properties as well. Peter Stuart, Head of Corporate Resources explained that this indicator involved consideration of the rents received, which had stood up well during the pandemic, and comparison with the commercial value of the Council’s property assets.  He undertook to provide further information to the Scrutiny Committee on the calculation of the rate of return.

The increase of pay and display transactions made by cashless payments was discussed, along with the installation of new electric vehicle charging points. The Divisional Leader Commercial Services and Contracts commented that there were transaction costs associated with more payments by card and mobile phone app, but savings had been made from reduced costs of cash collection from the pay and display machines. Emma Sheridan, Business Unit Leader for Community Services, Policy and Performance provided an update on the programme of new electric vehicle installations through the new Countywide contract.  She also confirmed that a communications plan is being implemented to publicise the new charging points and promote their use.  This also includes improved signage and enforcement measures to ensure proper use of allocated parking spaces for electric vehicle charging.

Discussion was held around planning enforcement and whether Ward Members are informed when enforcement is taking place in their area. It was agreed that this could be considered by the Cabinet Member.

The figures regarding homelessness and temporary accommodation were discussed, including the impact of the rise in the cost of living and Ukrainian refugees requiring accommodation. Judy Holmes,  Assistant Chief Executive noted that there is a direct correlation to the state of the economy and the number of people applying for assistance and an increase in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Solicitor to the Council introduced the report.

A Member sought clarification on where elements of the Leader’s portfolio would be considered for scrutiny, particularly Clair Hall, The Orchards, Burgess Hill Town Centre and Gatwick and asked if reports on these items could be scheduled. It was agreed that in light of the new Cabinet Portfolio areas, further discussion was required  on the responsibilities of the three Scrutiny Committees so that the remits are clear.

A Member sought to confirm the future start time of this committee as it moves back to being held in the Council Chamber. The Solicitor to the Council noted that the start times are agreed in consultation with the Chairman and as Councillor Knight is currently away, this will be clarified on his return.

The Chairman took Members to a vote on the recommendations contained in the report which were agreed.

RESOLVED

The Scrutiny Committee agreed the indicative Work Programme as set out at paragraph 5 of the report.

None.