Agenda and minutes

Venue: Rennes Room, Civic Centre, Paris Street, Exeter

Contact: Sharon Sissons, Democratic Services Officer (Committees)  Telephone 01392 265115 or email  sharon.sissons@exeter.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

24.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 2 MB

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 14 March and 26 April 2019.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The minutes of the meetings of Place Scrutiny Committee held on 15 March and 26 April 2019 were taken as read, approved and signed by the Chair as correct.

 

25.

Declaration of Interests

Councillors are reminded of the need to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests that relate to business on the agenda and which have not already been included in the register of interests, before any discussion takes place on the item. Unless the interest is sensitive, you must also disclose the nature of the interest. In accordance with the Council's Code of Conduct, you must then leave the room and must not participate in any further discussion of the item.  Councillors requiring clarification should seek the advice of the Monitoring Officer prior to the day of the meeting.

 

Minutes:

No declarations of disclosable pecuniary interest were made.

 

26.

Questions from the Public under Standing Order 19 pdf icon PDF 44 KB

Details of questions should be notified to the Corporate Manager Democratic and Civic Support at least three working days prior to the meeting.  Further information and a copy of the procedure are available from Democratic Services (Committees) (Tel: 01392 265115) and also on the Council web site - https://exeter.gov.uk/councillorsfaq/.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

In accordance with Standing Order 19, a member of the public submitted a question on the Council’s Air Quality Action Plan and a number of local residents submitted questions in relation to the Exeter Skate Park facility (Attached as an appendix to these minutes).

 

A copy of the questions had been previously circulated to Members, and these, together with the responses from Councillor Sutton, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder Climate & Culture and Councillor Harvey, the Portfolio Holder, for Environment and City Management are appended to the minutes.

 

27.

Review of Environmental Health and Licensing Statutory Service Plan 2019/20 pdf icon PDF 92 KB

To consider the report of the Environmental Health and Licensing Manager

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Environmental Health and Licensing Manager presented a report which sought approval for the adoption of the Environmental Health and Licensing Statutory Service Plan 2019/20, which sets out the Council’s regulatory function in respect of food safety, health and other licensing, environmental permitting and other statutory functions over the forthcoming year. He referred to the Statutory Service Plan which incorporated:-

 

  • the service aims and objectives;
  • information about all enforcement and related services provided by the Council’s Environmental Health and Licensing Service;
  • the Action Plan for 2019/20 detailing the actions and improvements for the service in an effective, risk based, proportionate and consistent way over the following year, and the
  • financial arrangement for providing the service.

 

The Environmental Health and Licensing Manager also listed a number of notable achievements and the challenges his team had faced during 2018/19.

 

·      the delivery of the Environmental Health and Licensing Service at a cost of £3.73 a head of the population. 

·       despite a difficult year in terms of the operational requirements, the Service had been ranked Number 1 in the Association of Public Service Excellence (APSE) whose aims were to promote excellence in the delivery of frontline services to local communities. 

·       544 food businesses were inspected with a target inspection rate of 93% achieved during the year as at 31 March 2019. All premises had now been inspected.

·       428 inspections of Housing in Multiple Occupation (HMO’s), were carried out.

·       3,695 requests had been received for investigation of complaints relating to a number of the service areas included food safety, health and safety, air quality and licensing.

·       met the growing demands of their obligations to address anti-social behaviour and statutory nuisance.

·       15% of the 115 food samples taken, were found to be in a unsatisfactory to borderline classification.

·       565 delegates had attended education and awareness sessions run by the Service on a range of topics which included food hygiene.

 

The Chair also wished to highlight a number of areas of note, which included the replacement of air quality monitoring equipment, development of a new Air Quality Action Plan. The Service had undertaken two mystery shopping exercises to continue to drive up standards within the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire taxi trade, as well delivery of Disability and Dementia Awareness training for licenced taxi drivers to better understand the challenges faced by some of their passengers. He congratulated the Environmental Health and Licensing Manager and his team for delivering an array of important front line services despite the challenging financial situation external pressures placed upon them.

 

In response to Members’ questions the Environmental Health and Licensing Manager stated the following:-

 

  • new equipment at the air quality monitoring sites at the RAMM and in Alphington Street had been replaced during the course of last year. Data from the RAMM site was collated for the national monitoring network, overseen by DEFRA and provided high quality, reliable date on nitrogen dioxide, ozone, PM10 and PM2.5. Data on PM10 and PM2.5 was collected at Alphington Street. He would ensure that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

28.

Budget Monitoring 2018/19 Outturn pdf icon PDF 106 KB

To consider the report of the Chief Finance Officer.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Interim Principal Accountant (AR) presented the report which advised Members of any material differences, by management unit, between the approved budget and the outturn for the financial year up to 31 March 2019 in respect of Place Scrutiny Committee. It was noted that the final outturn had been calculated and the report highlighted the major differences by management unit from the approved annual budget after adjusting for supplementary budgets approved by Members during the year. The total variance for the year was provided and a brief description of the results including a more detailed update on the Environmental Health Service was given. Attention was drawn to the Section 151 comments of the Chief Finance Officer and the significant underspend in the areas of attention of this Committee for 2018/19 that were specific to the year, and as a result a request would be made to Council for supplementary budgets totalling £856,000 to be taken from the underspend and carried forward into the new year 2019/20, leaving the working balance at £4.395 million, £1.708 million more than budgeted for.

 

An outturn update in respect of the Place Capital Programme was also incorporated into the report and detailed a total spend of £7.785 million in 2018/19 in respect of the Place Scrutiny Committee budgets. It was proposed to carry forward budgets totalling £3.185 million to be spent in future years.

 

The Interim Principal Accountant responded to a Member’s question relating to the fee income of the Planning Service and stated that the carry forward of income requested could resource an increase in the legal staff to expand the service capacity. He also explained that such carry forward requests often arose because the requirement for a local authority to reflect a balanced budget meant that the books were closed at midnight on 31 March and re-opened on 1 April each year, which did not impact most services, but some activities (for instance longer term growth or commercialisation projects) did not neatly start and end on those dates.

 

Place Scrutiny Committee noted the report.

 

 

29.

Appointment of Legacy Leisure Working Group pdf icon PDF 44 KB

To appoint the Members of the Legacy Leisure Working Group for the forthcoming year.  The Terms of Reference are attached. 

 

The current members are Councillors Bialyk, Sills, Foggin, K. Mitchell and D. Henson and nominations are sought

 

To note the meetings for the forthcoming year as detailed below, commencing at 10.00am.  The meetings are open to all Members.

 

23 July 2019

17 September 2019     

10 December 2019      

 

 

 

Minutes:

The following Member appointments were made for the Legacy Leisure Working Group for the forthcoming Civic Year:-

 

Councillor Pearson 

Councillor Buswell

Councillor D Henson

Councillor J Moore

Councillor Pattison 

 

Place Scrutiny Committee noted the appointments for the Legacy Leisure Working Group.

 

30.

DCC Exeter Highways and Traffic Orders Committee - 9 April 2019 pdf icon PDF 92 KB

To receive the minutes of the meeting of the Exeter Highways and Traffic Orders Committee held on 9 April 2019.

 

Minutes:

To receive the minutes of the Exeter Highways and Traffic Orders meeting held on 9 April 2019.