Agenda and minutes

To sign the minutes of the meeting held on 9 November 2011.

The minutes of the meeting held on 9 November 2010 were taken as read and signed by the Chair as correct. 

Councillors are reminded of the need to declare personal and prejudicial interests, including the nature and extent of such interests, in relation to business on the agenda, before any discussion takes place on the item.  Councillors requiring clarification should seek the advice of the Monitoring Officer prior to the day of the meeting.

Members declared the following personal interests:-

The minutes of Community Safety Strategy Group meetings are circulated after each meeting to Members of this Committee. Members are requested to confirm that they have no queries on the latest sets of minutes circulated (those of 30 November 2010).

They are circulated in advance to enable Members to raise, before Scrutiny Committee meetings, any issues of concern or interest which they may wish to have discussed at the Scrutiny Committee and, if necessary, referred back to the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership for a response. Members are also reminded that they may request individual agencies represented at the CDRP to attend a meeting of this Committee to answer any questions or address any concerns.

The minutes of Community Safety Strategy Group meetings are circulated after each meeting to Members of this Scrutiny Committee to enable them to raise any issues of concern or interest at these meetings and, if necessary, request referrals back to the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) for a response. Members can request individual agencies represented at the CDRP to attend a meeting of this Committee to answer any questions or address any concerns.

Members had no queries on the latest minutes circulated, those of 30 November 2010.

The Head of Environmental Health Services will provide a verbal update.

Councillor Newcombe declared a personal interest as a Member of Devon County Council.

The Head of Environmental Health Services reported that all missed collections due to the extreme weather over Christmas had been caught up on 11 January 2011 and the normal scheduled refuse collection service would resume on Monday 24 January. Progress was being made in addressing issues identified as learning points as set out in his report to the Special Meeting of this Committee on 11 January. He advised that problems were still being experienced in the Polsloe area with black bags continuing to be fly-tipped in the back alleys and that these issues were also being examined.

Scrutiny Committee - Community recommended that:

(1)        a report be made to a future meeting of this Committee on the full cost to the Council and on the Council Tax payer of going back to a weekly refuse collection; and

(2)        Devon County Council be advised of this Council’s lack of confidence in its ability to deal with emergency weather conditions and requested to provide a comprehensive review of the allocation of resources made to the City by the County Council.

To consider the report of the Head of Treasury Services – report circulated.

The Director Community and Environment presented the report on the Housing Revenue Account Estimates and Fees and Charges, which outlined the strategic framework within which the estimates had been prepared, changes in accounting practices which affected all budgets and gave detailed reasons for major changes in the Management Unit estimates. Detailed schedules of the capital programme for Housing were also attached to the report.

She reported a late change made by the Department for Communities and Local Government between the draft determination and the final determination in the HRA subsidy for 2011/12. In net terms, the subsidy payment to be made to the Department had decreased by some £88,000.

The Scrutiny Committee - Community supported the draft Revenue Estimates for 2011/12 and Fees and Charges for approval by Executive.

(Report and Community and Housing Estimates and Fees and Charges circulated)

To consider the report of the Head of Treasury Services – report circulated.

The Director Community and Environment presented the report on the Community Revenue Account Estimates and Fees and Charges, which outlined the strategic framework within which the estimates had been prepared, changes in accounting practices which affected all budgets and gave detailed reasons for major changes in the Management Unit estimates. Detailed schedules of the capital programme for Community were also attached to the report.

The following responses were given to Members’ queries:

·         good progress was being made by Scrapstore staff with their proposal to continue functioning as a social enterprise or Trust;

·         previous measures, including the use of bailiffs, had been successful in removing unauthorised campers from the Council’s Valley Parks and it was hoped that this improved management would continue;

·         the Whipton Bowling Club, identified for closure, had virtually ceased to operate in the autumn because of low numbers and discussions were being held with the ISCA Centre to ascertain if they wished to make use of the facilities;

·         youth pitch numbers had increased and, because of their size, a greater number could be provided on the same area of land than full size pitches. Resting the Bromhams Farm site would help recovery in an area which experienced drainage problems. Greater partnership with existing sports clubs would also be sought;

·         with features such as remote monitoring, the Home Call system was now in a position to offer a more comprehensive support system than could be provided by simple smoke detectors available from retailers. As such, the cost was greater;

·         licence fees for houses in multiple occupation were governed by Government guidance and needed to reflect the true cost of the service rather than a means of making a profit;

·         street trading consent fees had not been increased over latter years but had now been revised to a more realistic amount;

·         provision of secure equipment storage could best be achieved through investment at Belle Isle Nursery.

It was proposed to introduce charges for use of toilets at the Paris Street Bus Station site and, depending on the success of that, consideration would be given to extending charging to the King William Street and Musgrave Row toilets. The Head of Environmental Health Services explained that the capital costs of installation were incurred in the first year only, with revenue then generated in future years. There were also side benefits to levying a small charge, including reductions in vandalism and abuse.

A Member suggested that Community Toilet Schemes, introduced by other authorities, such as Richmond upon Thames, should be investigated again as she felt that the potential for savings was considerable. The scheme involved the use by the public of toilets within cafes, restaurants and hotels. A Member queried this, referring to his research into the matter, including disruption to clientele, security issues when toilets were adjacent to cloakrooms and additional cleaning of department store toilets necessitated by extra usage.

In response to another Member, the Head of Environmental Health Services confirmed that it was proposed to reduce the number of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

To consider the report of the Head of Treasury Services – report circulated.

Councillor Morris declared a personal interest as she was employed by the Member of Parliament for the Exeter Parliamentary Constituency.

The Director Community and Environment presented the report recommending a rent increase for council dwellings from 1 April 2011.

An increase was proposed reflecting a general inflationary increase of 4.6% together with a 0.5% convergence factor to reflect the number of years to rental convergence with the housing association sector. The draft subsidy determination was based upon convergence within 5 years, by 2015-16. The rent convergence had therefore been brought back considerably from 2009-10 when it had been estimated to take place by 2024-25.

A Member expressed her opposition to the Government’s proposed increase in Exeter’s average Guideline Rent as it would place a further burden on those tenants who were experiencing financial difficulties as a result of increases in the cost of living. It was noted that the rent was calculated using a formula that had been in use for a number of years.

A motion that the Member of Parliament be requested to oppose the Government Housing Revenue Account Subsidy Determination was put to the vote and lost.

The Scrutiny Committee - Community noted the report and recommended Executive approve a rent increase for Council dwellings by an average of 5.1% from 1 April 2010, which included a general inflationary increase of 4.6%, together with the phased introduction of the Government’s rent restructuring proposals.

(Report circulated)

To consider the report of the Head of Environmental Health services – report circulated

The Head of Environmental Health Services presented the report seeking approval for the implementation of new mobile working systems within Housing Services in order to streamline existing processes and improve overall value for money.

Scrutiny Committee - Community supported the report and requested Executive to:-

(1)        agree to the implementation of mobile working within Housing Services;

(2)        support the establishment within the Housing Capital Programme of a new capital budget totalling £34,500 to purchase the necessary software and hardware to implement the system; and

(3)        fund the project already identified in the Housing Repairs budget by £22,400, together with a sum of £12,100 from existing contingencies.

(Report circulated)

To consider the report of the Head of Environmental Health Services – report circulated

Councillor Newcombe declared a personal interest as a Trustee of Turntable.

The Head of Environmental Health Services presented the report seeking Members’ support for a revised recycling plan for the next five years - 2011- 2016.

It was noted that new legislation on waste meant that from 1 October 2011 the Water Lane site could not be licensed for either the bulking up of garden waste or the composting of green waste in parks. The Council would in future take garden waste directly to a third party provider. In terms of the parks, shredding of material would occur on site wherever possible with deposits left in the parks as mulch. In response to questions from Members, the Head of Environmental Health Services confirmed that national legislation on the reduction of packaging was having an effect, noticeably in that whilst the volume of recyclates was increasing, the tonnage of that volume was reducing. Education campaigns would be directed at the public to encourage more recycling and less waste, rather than aimed at manufacturers to reduce packaging.

Scrutiny Committee - Community supported the report and requested Executive to approve the Recycling Plan 2011-2016.

(Report circulated)

To consider the report of the Head of Environmental Health Services – report circulated

The Head of Environmental Health Services presented the report examining the potential of introducing an additional licensing scheme for houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), either in certain areas of the City or for specific types of HMOs, with the view of bringing a further report in 2011 proposing to implement such a scheme.

He explained that the rationale behind the scheme was to improve overall standards rather than seeking to generate additional income.

Scrutiny Committee - Community supported the proposal to further investigate the introduction of an additional HMO licensing scheme in part of the City and requested a further report to be submitted to this Committee and to Executive detailing a viable scheme to cover part of the City where greater regulation of HMOs is justified.

(Report circulated)

To consider the report of the Head of Environmental Health Services – report circulated

The Head of Environmental Health Services presented the report advising Members of the risks identified relating to its areas and of the action taken and proposed to mitigate the risks concerned. In response to a Member, he confirmed that the register included reference to extreme weather events.

Scrutiny Committee - Community:

(1)        noted the risks relating to its areas; and

(2)        supported ongoing monitoring to ensure that the risk register remains current and risk assessments are valid and that the proposed mitigating action is taken by the agreed target dates.

(Report circulated)

RESOLVED that, under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the consideration of the following item on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 1 of Part I, Schedule 12A of the Act.

To consider the report of the Head of Leisure and Museums on the restructuring of RAMM – report circulated to Members to follow

The Head of Leisure and Museums presented the report seeking approval for a permanent structure to enable the museum service to operate the newly re-opened RAMM, for a programme of redundancy and redeployment and to release the necessary funding to finance redundancy payments.

He advised that the part of the report referring to potential redundancy costs should include a figure of £20,000 as an additional sum required to meet the costs of redundancy bringing the total to £430,042. He further advised that the post of Digital Media Officer would now be part of IT Services, and seconded back to RAMM.

Subject to the above amendments, Scrutiny Committee - Community supported the report and requested Executive to:

(1)        approve the new structures, permanent and temporary, as set out in the report, to be implemented in accordance with the Council’s Organisational Change Policy, with any displaced employees to be confirmed as redundant;

(2)        where, despite all efforts, notice of redundancy is confirmed and suitable alternative employment not found, approve a compensation payment upon employment termination in accordance with the discretion exercised by the Council under the provisions of the Local Government (Early Termination) (Discretionary Compensation) (England and Wales) Regulations 2006 to those employees with two or more years’ service; and

(3)        approve the deletion of Post No. CE12200 from the establishment of the Council, and the employment of the holder of that post to be terminated on the grounds of redundancy on 31 March 2011 with compensation being paid to the holder of the post in accordance with the discretion exercised by the Council under the provisions of the Local Government (Early Termination) (Discretionary Compensation) (England and Wales) Regulations 2006.

(Report circulated to Members)