PERFORMANCE AND OVERVIEW COMMITTEE

LOCAL ECONOMY & ENVIRONMENT

RECORD OF MEETING HELD ON 29^TH MAY 2007      

Present: 

Councillor P A Hallett (Chair);

Councillors M Campbell, R Cartlidge, A Crawford, M A Hollins, S J S Mottram,

R Parker, S Roberts, R Stafford and L T Wood.     

Officers in Attendance (for whole or part):       

P Ancell                       Chief Executive

K Boughey                   Senior Enforcement Officer, Direct Services                               

P Burns                       Business Development Management, Direct Services

L Carr                          Policy and Performance Officer

D Moulson                   Democratic Services Officer         

P Ramsdale                 Recycling Manager, Direct Services 

In Attendance: 

Councillor D Brickhill      Portfolio Holder for Economic Development

Councillor J Hammond    Portfolio Holder for Local Environment

Councillor B Evans

1.             OPENING REMARKS

1.1           Chair’s Welcome

The Chairman welcomed the new Members of the Committee and paid tribute to the outgoing Chairman and those Councillors who had served on the Committee during the previous Municipal Year.    

1.2            Appointment of Chairs to Performance and Overview Committees           

For the Municipal Year 2007-2008, the Chairs of the three Performance and Overview Committees had been taken by members of the Conservative Group; the same Group which held seats on the Board.

A Member expressed concern about the situation, stating that in his opinion the appointments did not reflect best practice and had gone against the legal advice given at Annual Council, where the appointments had been made.  His comments were supported by other Members present and it was proposed that the views expressed should be brought to the attention of the Board.       

REPRESENTATION TO THE BOARD:

That the Board be asked to note that the majority of Performance and Overview (P&O) Local Economy and Environment Committee Members had expressed their disappointment and concern regarding the appointment of Conservative Chairs to the P&O Committees as, in their opinion, it did not reflect the spirit of scrutiny and went against convention, best practice and legal advice.          

2.      DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

No Member declared any personal or prejudicial interest in respect of any item of business on the agenda.         

3.      RECORD OF MEETING

AGREED: That the record of the meeting held on 3^rd April 2007 be approved as correct.        

4.      WHIPPING DECLARATIONS

In accordance with Paragraph 18 of the Performance and Overview Procedure Rules, Members were invited to declare in respect of items where the whip had been applied.  No such declarations were made. 

5.      REFERRALS/RESPONSES FROM THE BOARD AND COUNCIL       

The Committee noted that there were no referrals or responses to report from the Board or Council on this occasion.                   

6.      BOARD REPORTS

The Committee considered the following items which would be considered by the Board at its meeting on 31 May 2007.

6.1            Provision of Affordable Housing

The Chief Executive provided a short resume of the report, drawing attention to the four policy development areas -   

·               Use of commuted sums

·               Guidance for developers/landowners

·               Arrangement for Preferred Partners when developing affordable housing

·               Disposal of Council owned land and property for affordable housing

The Committee briefly discussed issues set out in the report relating to commuted sums, developer/landowner guidance and adaptation of houses.

6.1.1        Commuted Sums

The use of commuted sums continued to be matter of some debate.  Members noted that no agreement had yet been reached on a suitable protocol for the spending of monies and issues remained to be resolved as to whether sums raised from developments should be used without restriction or solely within the locality of the development.   

(Note: At the point in the meeting Councillor Campbell declared a personal interest in the discussions by virtue of her position as North West Chair of Muir Housing Association.)     

6.1.2                 Guidance for Developers/Landowners

Paragraph 1.3.1 of the report referred to a guidance document issued to developers/landowners, which advised of the requirement to provide affordable units on appropriate sites.  The Committee noted that whilst the guidance had to be flexible enough to permit negotiation, compliance was ‘enforced’ via policies in the Local Plan and the findings of the Housing Needs Survey.           

6.1.3        Adaptation of New Housing Stock              

The needs of disabled tenants were often accommodated by Housing Associations in the form of physical adaptations to properties.  In the case of new housing stock, this could result in the removal of new fixtures and fittings in order for adaptations to be provided.  A Member expressed concern about this practice which she considered to be a perpetual waste of resources.  Reference was made to the Disability Discrimination Act and the extent to which the provisions of the Act applied to housing, a question which the Chief Executive undertook to provide a response.                          

RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD:

The Board be asked to note that the Committee supported the report but requested that urgent progress be made on the issues identified.  

6.2            Wulvern Housing – Governance Review              

Wulvern Housing had advised the Council that it was seeking to change its governance rules in order to allow a reduction in Board membership from 15 to 12, a move which would have implications for the Council’s current level of representation.

A Member commented that he could not find any argument within the report which would justify such a step and expressed his concern that, should the proposal be supported, the balance of representation would shift detrimentally and would no longer reflecting the spirit of the original agreement between the Council and Wulvern, a view which was supported by the Committee.  

In light of the comments made, the Chief Executive proposed that a meeting could be arranged between Wulvern Housing and the Council to allow representatives from Wulvern to present their case.  A request was made from a member of the Committee that an invitation to attend the meeting should be extended to the Tenant Chair of Wulvern’s Housing Board.                                

RECOMMEDATION TO THE BOARD:

The Committee urged the Board not to agree to the proposal at this stage but enter into discussions with Wulvern Housing and the community as a whole with regard to appropriate representation on Wulvern Housing’s Board.

7.      FORWARD PLAN OF BOARD DECISIONS                                  

The Committee received the Board’s Forward Plan for 27 June, 26 July and 20 September 2007.     

In considering the papers, two items were nominated for inclusion on the agenda for the next meeting;  

v     Presentation: Local Area Agreement 4^th Block Economic Development

v     Report: Amendment to Car Parking Order - Civic Hall, Nantwich

8.      PERFORMANCE MONITORING    

The report of the Policy and Performance Officer provided out-turn performance information against the BVPIs and Local PIs for 2006/2007 relevant to the Committee.  Members noted that performance on all but two of the indicators had shown improvement from the previous year.    

The Committee was asked to consider whether it wished to increase the number of indicators it currently monitored and a Member questioned whether it was possible to receive information in relation to the percentage of trade waste collected by the authority, the rationale being to examine the potential for recycling in this area.

The Recycling Manager stated that there was no legal obligation on the Council to collect trade waste; therefore the information available would only have limited value.  As there was support amongst the Committee for examining the matter further it was AGREED that the issue would be referred to the Waste Management Task Group.         

In relation to extending its basket of indicators, Members considered that it would be beneficial to receive information on any indicator currently collected which was of relevance to the Committee. 

9.      WORK PROGRAMME 2007   

At its meeting on 9^th January 2007, Members had discussed and agreed its work programme for 2007.  The Committee was now invited to reaffirm both the content and format of the work programme. 

9.1            Content of Work Programme 

In addition to the consideration of Dog Control Orders scheduled for July, the Committee agreed to receive a presentation on the physical improvements being carried out as part of the Queens Park project, preceded or followed by a site inspection.  It also agreed to include an item on the visitor economy in its programme for later in the year. 

9.2                       Appointment of Task Groups

(Note: In accordance with Procedure Rule 26(2), Councillor Brickhill spoke on this item with the permission of the Committee.)  

There were currently five Task Groups to which Members of the Committee had been appointed; Affordable Housing, Town Centres’ Car Parking, Waste Management, Town Centre and Retail Economy and Job Creation and Skills Management although only the first three had met on a regular basis.          

The Committee considered that there was sufficient work to justify the continuance of both the Affordable Housing and Waste Management Task Groups.  With regard to town centre matters, it was suggested that the two task groups be amalgamated, an approach which was supported by the Committee. 

A Member questioned the need to continue with the Job Creation and Skills Management Task Group given that work in this area was already being undertaken by the Local Strategic Partnership.  The Portfolio Holder for Economic Development impressed on the Committee the importance of the Council maintaining an overview in this area given that the Learning and Skills Council was to be disbanded.  Whilst the Committee did not wish to duplicate work, it considered there was merit in retaining some involvement and further consideration was needed as to how the work of the two bodies could be ‘linked’ together.                                   

AGREED: That the following Task Groups be reappointed:

9.3            Appointment of Climate Change Task Group 

The Waste Management Task Group presented a paper to the Committee at its meeting on 6^th February 2007 on issues associated with Climate Change.  As a result of its discussions a proposal was put forward by the Committee to appoint a Climate Change Task Group, reporting back to Local Economy & Environment but made up of members from each of the three P&O Committees.   

The proposal was discussed by P&O Co-ordinating Group on 1^st March 2007 and no objection was raised.  An invitation to appoint to the Task Group was included on each of the P&O agendas for meetings held in April.  Both P&O Community and P&O Organisation considered the invitation but declined to appoint Members to the Task Group at that time as no terms of reference had been set.   

To enable the matter to move forward, the Committee considered a paper tabled at the meeting which set out suggested terms of reference.  In supporting the ethos of the document Members considered that its scope should be widened as the issue of climate change affected all Council’s policies not just those concerned with the environment.       

AGREED:  That -  

a) the Terms of Reference for the Climate Change Task Group be as follows -    

To discuss and agree the content of a Climate Change Strategy for Crewe & Nantwich Borough Council, specifically

i)      To consider and comment on existing Council Policies and strategies;

ii)    To identify Council policies and practices that need to be addressed;

b)  the discussions be lead by relevant Crewe & Nantwich Borough Council Officers;

c)  contributions from officers from external agencies such as the North West Regional Agency, the Environment Agency and associated ‘not-for-profit’ organisations and other local groups be sought;

d)  the terms of reference be submitted to the next scheduled meeting of Performance and Overview Community and Performance and Overview Organisation together with an invitation to appoint two Members to the Task Group; and

e)   Councillors Cartlidge and Healey be appointed to the Task Group from Performance and Overview Local Economy and Environment. 

10.    DATE OF NEXT MEETING

3^rd July 2007

…………………….  Chair