Agenda and minutes

To approve and sign the minutes of the Strategic Scrutiny Committee held on 12 September 2024. 

The minutes of the meeting held on 12 September 2024 were taken as read, approved and signed by the Chair as correct.

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.

No declarations of interest were made by Members.

Details of questions should be notified to the Democratic Services via the committee.services@exeter.gov.uk email by 10.00am at least three working days prior to the meeting. For this meeting any questions must be submitted by 10.00am on 8 November 2024.

For details about how to speak at Committee, please click the following link -  https://exeter.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/councillors-and-meetings/public-speaking-at-meetings/overview/

There were no questions submitted by the public.

To receive questions from Members of the Council to the relevant Portfolio Holders for this Scrutiny Committee. The Portfolio Holders reporting to this Scrutiny Committee are:-

Councillor Bialyk -       Leader

Councillor Allcock -     Portfolio Holder City Development

Councillor Vizard -      Portfolio Holder Climate and Ecological Change and Communities

Councillor Wood -       Portfolio Holder Leisure Services and Healthy Living

Councillor Wright -      Portfolio Holder Corporate Services and City Centre

Advance questions from Members relating to the Portfolio Holders above should be notified to Democratic Services.

In accordance with Standing Order No. 20, the following questions were submitted by Councillors Jobson, Mitchell, Moore and Palmer in relation to the Portfolios of Councillors Allcock, Bialyk and Wood who attended the meeting. The questions were circulated at the meeting to Members of the Committee.

The Chair clarified that due to the number of questions received and supplementary questions would be answered in writing only and appended to the minutes.

Questions and responses are set out below:

Questions from Councillor Jobson

Question: Is there a break down of the finances of Wellbeing Exeter on an annual basis and is there an independent audit that can be produced to members to show the value for money to the Council Taxpayer of Exeter?

Response from Councillor Wood: Annual financial information is available. This has not been subject to specific independent audit.  Evaluation and impact reports identify social value through a variety of approaches.

Question: I note from the reports available that between 2016 and 15th March 2024 (New Report highlights massive impact of Wellbeing Exeter on communities) 5,503 have accessed their services. Can this be broken down to an annual or bi-annual count for each year from 2016?

Response: Quarterly dashboards of impact and outcomes are produced and uploaded to the Wellbeing Exeter website Impact | Wellbeing Exeter | Exeter

Question: Does Sport England require quarterly returns to show how money is spent and is that against contractual targets? If there are no contractual targets are any targets set and if so is it possible to know the basis on which those targets are set?

Response: The Sport England Grant Agreement requires the production of performance reports on all aspects of the Live and Move Programme including Wellbeing Exeter.  Six monthly evaluation reports are sent to Sport England: these are available on the Live and Move website. www.liveandmove.co.uk Outcomes are monitored at a number of levels, strategically we focus on information on physical activity levels gathered through our Local Active Lives Survey. More information is available here: : PowerBI Dashboard

Question: From that 5,503 is any analysis undertaken at periods of say 6mths and a year after the project that involved them or the activity they were prescribed has concluded to enable an analysis of the long term benefits to be undertaken?

Response: In 2023/24 we commissioned an academic evaluation of Wellbeing Exeter the details are in the impact report available here: www.exeter.gov.uk/wellbeing

This is worth a read as it sets out a range of impressive outcomes using a variety of evaluation methodologies, for example the research concludes that “Robust data analysis shows that community connecting is effective in improving wellbeing, reducing loneliness, and connecting people with their community. Scores on recognised scales for levels of loneliness and wellbeing both saw a marked improvement.”

Wellbeing Exeter is more that Community Connecting and the Impact report is rich in evidence of the positive impacts all aspects of its work are having across the City.

Question: Is any income received from, for instance,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40.

To receive the report from Councillor Bialyk, the Leader of the Council.

The Leader presented his report drawing attention to the following topics:

·         One Exeter;

·         Digital Customer Strategy;

·         Residents Survey;

·         Corporate Plan;

·         MTFP update;

·         Senior Leadership Review – new appointment to the remaining Strategic Director post;

·         Office relocation; and

·         Key cities.

Councillor M Mitchell asked a Question: When does the Leader envisage the Council will be carrying out a public consultation regarding the 2025/26 proposed budget and what does he consider are the key questions that it should pose?

Response: Public consultation on proposal for the 2025/26 budget would commence in mid-November.   We would ask residents to rank, in order of their priority a range of ideas under consideration. 

These included things we may consider investing in; some areas where we may consider introducing or increasing charges and some areas where we may consider reducing service provision.

A briefing note will be circulated to all councillors ahead of the consultation launch.

The Leader responded to Members’ questions making the following points:

·         there is a wider programme of work for Key Cities;

·         Strata Scrutiny could consider facilities for those who can’t or won’t access digitally;

·         the Corporate plan was aligned with the ruling party and similar to 2040 vision;

·         that there would be a Member Briefing on the Corporate Plan;

·         that there was no outstanding debt from Exeter City Living;

·         a professional organisation carried out the residents Survey on behalf of the Council following LGA guidelines;

·         that due to technical reasons scrutiny could not be broadcast at present;

·         there was no reason for Residents Survey responses not to be on the website;

·         that the survey wasn’t only online, a methodology was followed;

·         would endeavour to retain Exeter’s position in CCA; and

·         that collaborative working regarding housing would be needed.

To receive the report from Councillor Allcock, the Portfolio Holder for City Development.

Councillor Allcock presented her report and thanked the team of officers for the huge amount of work they have undertaken, and drew attention to the following points:

·         Placemaking Charter;

·         Water Lane;

·         Exeter Plan had three extensive consultations and Member engagement;

·         it was excellent that the timeline for transitional arrangements looked likely to be met; and

·         challenges in brownfield development.

Two questions had been received from Councillor M Mitchell.

1.    Question: Does the Portfolio Holder consider now is appropriate time to review the authority’s 35% affordable housing target in the light of our failure over many years to achieve anywhere near this figure? In 2022/23 the figure was 16.88%

Response: The Council’s 35% affordable housing (AH) target remains a central goal under Policy CP7, which applies to developments of 10 or more homes. However, achieving this target has been challenging due to factors impacting viability. To clarify, the 16.88% figure mentioned by Cllr Mitchell represents affordable housing delivered as a percentage of total housing completions in 2022/23. This percentage reflects the overall delivery rate, which is naturally lower than the 35% target that applies specifically to eligible developments.

Affordable housing delivery over the past five years, as a percentage of total housing completed, is as follows:

• 2022/23: 16.88%
• 2021/22: 18.97%
• 2020/21: 11.49%
• 2019/20: 14.65%
• 2018/19: 25.76%

In addition, recent data shows the average affordable housing percentages secured on specific S106 developments:

• 2021: 30% on average, plus financial contributions totalling £27,387.65
• 2022: 36% on average
• 2023: 43% on average, plus contributions of £467,011.12
• 2024 to date: 36% on average, plus contributions of £241,916.44

These figures reflect higher percentages on individual developments, often greenfield sites, with fewer viability issues. The Council has also secured 100% affordable housing on select schemes supported by Homes England funding.

Our approach to addressing viability includes acknowledging the impact of factors such as the Vacant Building Credit and the reduced national requirement (20%) for build-to-rent developments. Both factors can reduce the percentage of affordable housing achievable on certain sites.

Looking ahead, the emerging Exeter Plan considers the latest viability data, highlighting the need for a more nuanced approach. The Plan may shift away from a single percentage target towards differentiated requirements that reflect each site’s characteristics and development constraints, potentially improving feasibility while sustaining our commitment to affordable housing.

Our experiences have shown the importance of phased reviews and clear viability documentation to ensure realistic, sustainable, affordable housing contributions. National planning policy also requires that affordable housing requirements do not compromise overall project viability, which can sometimes limit our capacity to enforce higher targets.

Beyond planning policy, the Council actively pursues affordable housing delivery through initiatives outside of development management. These include Council-led developments and partnerships with Homes England and neighbouring authorities. Such collaborations provide additional funding, expertise, and strategic support, helping us bridge any shortfalls in delivery.

2.    Question: Can the Portfolio Holder explain why no planning enforcement action has been registered on the council website since the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42.

To receive the report of the Strategic Director for Place on the Exeter Plan Publication Process.

Please note the Background papers listed at the end of the report which give useful context.

The Assistant Service Lead – Local Plan presented the report drawing attention to the following points:

·         there had been changes to procedural matters since the last consultation;

·         there had been previous consultation and additional partnership work;

·         Planning Member Working Group had discussed the emerging plan;

·         the Plan period had moved on by one year;

·         transitional arrangements for plan-making were proposed by Government in the national planning reforms consulted on in summer 2024. These proposals would amend the NPPF and increase housing requirements from 602 to 815 per annum for Exeter;

·         it was important that the plan continue in a timely manner; and

·         that the publication process was formal and statutory.

Councillor Moore expressed disappointment that the Local Plan was not available for scrutiny and in the governance of the process.

The Strategic Direct for Place and Assistant Service Lead – Local Plan answered Members’ questions making the following points:

·         that the council worked jointly with neighbouring authorities with Gypsy, Roma and travelling communities;

·         work continued with the university rather than students themselves, using demographic projections;

·         that the recommendation to Executive will be seeking approval to publish the plan, waiting would fall outside the transition arrangements;

·         Valley Park Master Plan would run until 2026, would be valuable evidence but the Plan had higher status;

·         There had been three rounds of extensive consultation, online, in-person, public exhibitions and a number of methodologies used;

·         all responses to consultations were collated and brought to committee and the response rate had been higher than any seen in his considerable experience; and

·         that the Plan is only one mechanism to meeting the 2030 net zero ambition.

Councillor M Mitchell moved a motion, seconded by Councillor Palmer, that a special meeting of Strategic Scrutiny be held after the publication of the Executive agenda on 25 November 2024 and before the meeting of the Executive on 3 December 2024 in order to consider the content of the draft local plan which following a vote was NOT CARRIED.

Please see for noting a link to the schedule of future business proposed for the Council which can be viewed on the Council's website. This on-line document is a source for Members to raise issues at Scrutiny on forthcoming Executive agenda items:-

https://exeter.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/councillors-and-meetings/forward-plan-of-executive-decisions/

Also attached is a draft work plan of future scrutiny items.

Should Members wish to raise issues in respect of future business please notify Liz Smith in advance of the meeting.

Councillor Knott moved a motion, seconded by Councillor Snow that this item be deferred and following a vote was CARRIED.