NOTICE OF MEETING
COMMITTEE:
COMMUNITY SCRUTINY COMMITTEE
DAY/DATE:
WEDNESDAY, 14th NOVEMBER 2007
TIME:
2.30PM
VENUE:
EAST COMMITTEE ROOM
MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS
EARL STREET
CREWE
Despatch
date: 5th
November 2007
Enquiries
to:
Diane Moulson
Tel: 01270 537026
Fax: 01270 537605
e-mail: agendas@crewe-nantwich.gov.uk
Chair: Councillor J
Lewis
Tel: 01270
627507
e-mail: cllr.john.lewis@crewe-nantwich.gov.uk
To: Members of the Community
Scrutiny Committee [Councillors T E Ankers (Deputy Chair), D N
Bebbington, J D Bratherton, D H D Charlesworth, S Conquest, C Goff,
M Grant, G Griffiths, R Jones, J Lewis (Chair), M A Martin, S J S
Mottram (Deputy Chair)]
Chief Executive, Executive Directors
Other Members of the Borough Council, Local
press and radio
Notes for Members of the
Public
The Borough Council welcomes and encourages
members of the public to attend its Committee, Board and Council
meetings.
If you plan to attend, please report to the
Reception Desk in the Municipal Buildings, where you will be
provided with a Visitor’s Pass.
Car parking is not available at the
Municipal Buildings, but there are several town centre car
parks. There is a disabled access to the rear of the
Municipal Buildings, and this can be accessed through the side door
on Vernon Way. Please press the button for attention, and
someone will meet you and escort you through to the main reception
area.
You are asked to remain quiet whilst the
meeting is taking place, and to enter and leave the meeting room,
or public gallery of the Council Chamber, as quietly as
possible. Please ensure that if you have a mobile phone or
pager, it is switched off for the duration of the meeting.
You are not allowed to have drinks or food
in the meeting rooms, nor in the Public Gallery, other than
refreshments which are offered by the Borough Council during a
break in proceedings.
Fire Evacuation
If the fire alarm rings, you should make
your way to the nearest exit with your belongings, as quickly as
possible, and leave the building. Please follow any instructions
from staff about evacuation
routes.
Copies of the agenda will be available if
you attend. Agendas are also made available on the Internet and can
be accessed via the Council’s website – see front page for
details.
On occasions, members of the press and
public will be excluded from the meetings when the business to be
transacted is of a confidential nature, for example, dealing with
individual people, contracts and financial affairs of other
parties.
If you require any further information,
please contact Diane Moulson the Committee Officer (details on
front page).
AGENDA
PART 1 CONSTITUTIONAL
BUSINESS
1. Apologies
2. Declarations
of Interest
Any Member present (including non-Committee
Members) to declare any personal or prejudicial interest and the
nature of that interest, in any item of business on the agenda and,
if necessary, to leave the meeting prior to discussion on that
item.
Members who also serve as County, Town or
Parish Councillors are reminded of the need to make declarations in
respect of any item which directly concerns the business of the
appropriate authority.
Declarations are a personal matter for each
Member to decide. Whilst officers will advise on the Code of
Conduct and its interpretation, the decision to declare, or not, is
the responsibility of the Member, based on the particular
circumstances.
3.
Record of Meeting
To approve as correct the record of the
meeting held on 19th September 2007 (3).
4. Whipping
Declarations
Members to declare in respect of items where
the whip has been applied.
PART II BOARD/COUNCIL
BUSINESS
5. Board
Business
5.1
Responses from the Board
No comments were forwarded to the Board from
the Committee’s meeting on 19th September 2007;
therefore there are no responses to report.
5.2 Board
Reports
The Committee is invited to comment on Board
reports which fall within its remit.
5.3 Referrals
from the Board/Council
To consider any matters which the Board or
Council may have referred to the Committee.
6.
Forward Plan of Board
Decisions
To consider the Board's Forward Plan for
January, February and March 2008 [6a, b & c
respectively]
PART III COMMITTEE BUSINESS
7.
Educational Attainment
The Committee has, at previous meetings,
expressed concern at what appeared to be low attainment levels and
declining trends for certain local schools. An invitation was
extended to County Council Members and Officers to attend the
Committee and provide an overview of the relative reduction in
educational standards in the
borough.
County Councillor David
Rowlands or County Councillor Shirley Harris will be in
attendance at the meeting together with Linda Brown, Mark Parkinson
(Principal Manager) and Sue Jackson (Principal Adviser).
8. Local
Area Agreement Review
The Committee is referred
to the Board agenda for this item.
The Local Strategic
Partnership Manager to update the Committee on the major changes to
be made to Local Area Agreements in 2008 and on the new performance
framework which will be in place by 2009.
9. Rural
Housing
To tackle the complicated
process of providing affordable housing, two Rural Housing Enablers
have been appointed to co-ordinate a network of individuals and
organisations including Parish Councils, landowners, Planning
Officers and housing associations with the purpose of moving the
process forward.
Bob Vass (Rural Housing Enabler for East
Cheshire) will report on his work with the parishes to increase
awareness of affordable housing need and develop solutions to
deliver affordable housing within the rural areas.
10.
Safeguarding Children Policy and Procedures
The Board, at its January
2008 meeting will consider the above report together with Policy
and Procedure Documents which will outline the Borough’s
responsibilities for safeguarding children and young people.
In addition, the report will include a training plan and resource
implication plan which will identify the course of action the
Council will need to take to comply with the Childrens Act
2004.
The Community Development Manager will be in
attendance to advise Members on the content of the
report.
11. Performance
Monitoring
11.1 Best Value Performance
Indicators
The report summarises the
performance activity on the key basket of Performance Indicators to
30th September 2007 (11.1). (11.1data)
11.1.1
BVPI 128 – Vehicle Crimes per 1,000 Population
Councillor Grant, Chair of
the Safer Communities Partnership will be invited to update Members
on progress on this matter.
11.2 Financial
Monitoring
The Committee is referred to the Board
agenda for this item.
The report provides Members with information
in relation to actual expenditure and income in the current
financial year up until 30 September 2007, compared with profiled
budgets and shows the projected out-turn for the year
2007/2008.
11.3 Private Sector
Housing
To receive for information the report of the
Head of Housing (11.3) which
summarises the expenditure on the four main housing renewal grants
or assistance up to 30th September 2007 –
1.
Decent Homes Grants
2.
Disabled Facilities Grants
3.
Empty Property Grants
4.
Energy Efficiency Grants
12.
Work Programme
12.1 Police Service
Review
As a review of this service is not expected
to take place until such time as the Police and Justice Act 2006
comes into force, the Committee agreed that Councillors Bebbington
and Griffiths would meet with a police representative on a
quarterly basis, reporting back to the Committee.
The Committee is invited to receive their
report.
12.2 Cheshire County
Council – Social Care
The Committee has included in its work
programme a review of “the impact of care charge increases upon
users of the service locally (non-residential care i.e. home and
day care, transport and meals)”.
An invitation has been extended to County
Councillor Lynn Hardwick and Cathy Reynolds (County Manager –
Business Support) to attend a meeting of the Committee to explore
the issue further but no response to the invitation has been
received. At the September meeting, the Local Strategic
Partnership Manager offered to liaise with the County Council to
move matters forward.
Discussions have been
ongoing with the County Council in an attempt to resolve this
matter but no progress has been achieved. The Committee is
invited to consider whether this review should be
pursued.
12.3 Climate Change
12.3.1 Notes of
a meeting of the Climate Change Task Group
To receive for information the notes from
the inaugural meeting of the Climate Change Task Group
(12.3).
12.3.2 Membership of the
Climate Change Task Group
Councillor G Griffiths was appointed by the
Committee as Community Scrutiny’s representative on the Climate
Change Task Group. Following a request from those leading on
the initiative, the Committee is invited one again to nominate a
second representative to sit on the Task Group.
13. Date of
Next
Meeting
9th January 2008