Agenda and minutes

Councillor Dabell substituted for Councillor Trumble, Councillor Clarke substituted for Councillor Stockwell.

Apologies were received from Councillors Trumble, Coote, Cromie, Jackson and Stockwell.

None.

The minutes of the meetings held on 11 and 18 May were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

None.

Paul Turner, Community Services Manager introduced the report noting that the Mid Sussex Partnership (MSP) is an overarching partnership of statutory and non-statutory organisations working to improve the quality of residents’ lives across the District. Three subgroups comprise Community Safety, Health and Community Resilience and the Committee were presented with the key achievements and future projects related to each group.

With regards to Community Safety, highlights include support provided to parents of teenagers with challenging behaviour, fraud prevention, antisocial awareness and the Purple Bus project.  Discussion was held ‘Your Life, You Choose’ programme and it was agreed to provide further information on how schools were selected, and plans for the coming year. Discussion was also held around the limited neighbourhood Police resources in the north of the District and the Leader confirmed that this has been recently raised with the new District Commander.

Members discussed the youth provision particularly in rural areas and it was noted that the Council is working in partnership with Sussex Clubs for Young People with projects such as Playdays, Skatefest and the Purple Bus. Crime Statistics and CCTV was also discussed. The Community Services Manager agreed to provide further information on the outcome of the bid for the Safer Streets Fund with regards to mobile CCTV units, and seek further information from the Police on the reason for increased incidents of arson and sexual offences noted in the appendix.

The work of the Health Group was discussed, particularly with regards to promoting the help available to adults with mental health issues (which will be the focus of the group in the coming year) and the provision for Dementia care which varies in cost by location. Concern was also raised around the statistics related to youth eating disorders and the resources available to address this.

The Committee discussed the work of the Community Resilience Group chaired by Mid Sussex Voluntary Action (MSVA) including the resources available for community hubs within the District such as the Cherry Tree and Stone Quarry. A Member requested that The Kiln in Burgess Hill be equally promoted and will email details to the Community Services Manager to follow up with MSVA. Discussion was also held on Neet projects, and it was agreed that the Community Services Manager would report back on the work that West Sussex County Council are doing with regards to tracing students that dop out of education.

The Community Services Manager concluded by providing an update on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund bid which was placed in August, with the outcome expected in October.

The Chairman took Members to a vote on the recommendation contained in the report which was agreed unanimously.

RESOLVED

The Scrutiny Committee noted the work of the Mid Sussex Partnership in 2021/22.

Marius Kynaston, Head of PMO and Service Redesign introduced the report noting that overall performance was generally good with 70% of indicators green. The performance indicators have been updated to include those agreed at the last meeting covering fly-tipping, the housing register and electric vehicle charging. The significant workload of the Revenues and Benefits team was noted and additional resources have been provided to improve issues with performance. He also highlighted the success in streamlining decision making and improving processes within the housing options team resulting enabling speedier movement for residents through temporary accommodation and into long term homes.

Waste and recycling were discussed and the Head of PMO agreed to provide clarity on the volume of waste that had increased during the pandemic in terms of whether it is recycling or landfill. He will also update the Committee on when the initial report will be presented regarding the food waste pilot. The Deputy Leader provided further information on the capacity of the green waste system in response to concerns over waiting times to join the scheme.

Electric vehicle charging was discussed in detail and Members requested a KPI to monitor the miles driven by the Council fleet, and also the ability to measure the number of cars (as opposed to just the kw/hr) that use electric charging points around the District. The number of  chargers in the Hurstpierpoint car park was discussed. A Member also sought clarity on whether the charging points are subsidised. The Leader noted that they are part of a large County Council led contract where it is designed to be a commercial contract without public subsidy. The Head of PMO agreed to confirm the position regarding the contract and consider the requests for additional monitoring. The Deputy Leader provided an update on why the potential rapid charger at the Triangle is not viable.

The Committee discussed issues relating to Leisure Centres including a specific issue at the Kings Centre with regards to swimming pool depth. The impact on attendance as a result of increased energy costs was a concern and the Head of PMO agreed to follow up on the impact that it may have on the contract and service providers and any steps being taken to mitigate. The pricing structure at the centres was discussed, to ensure that Places Leisure are charging competitively and not disadvantaging any attendees. The Deputy Leader agreed to raise the subject with the relevant Cabinet Member for the next meeting with Places Leisure.

With regards to the new performance indicator relating to the housing register, a Member requested further information on how the numbers within the 4 Choice-Based Letting priority bands are changing over time, as well as how people present themselves for affordable housing in order to join the register. The Head of PMO agreed to  respond on this as well as providing clarification on reasons for the increase in the average length of stay  in temporary accommodation. The Leader also provided information on the point of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Solicitor to the Council introduced the report noting that there are two additional items expected in March: a report on Complaints and Compliments and the Equality and Diversity Scheme progress report.

The Chairman took Members to a vote on the recommendation contained in the report which was agreed unanimously.

RESOLVED

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

None.