Agenda item

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, the GP surgeries who are making use of Wellbeing Exeter? If so, are any accounts available?

Response: There is no funding from the NHS into Wellbeing Exeter.

Question: Should not a report come to Strategic Scrutiny and potentially Audit and Governance that sets out such a detailed analysis?

Response: Any of the Wellbeing Exeter reports can be scrutinised.

Given the renewed interest in Wellbeing Exeter being shown by members I have asked officers to provide the opportunity for members to attend information and briefing sessions about Wellbeing Exeter where they can find out more about this excellent pioneering work in the City of which we should all be very proud of.

Question from Councillor Palmer: Young people in the care system struggle to access many things, do we offer anything specifically to help?

Response from Councillor Wood: This could be considered alongside increasing uptake.

Questions from Councillor Moore: Re Bids have been submitted and due diligence has been undertaken at Clifton Hill.  ECC received £425,000 for demolition and enabling works from Government - what has happened to those funds?

Responses from the Leader: £200k of the funding was used to demolish the former leisure centre. £120k for Surface Water Attenuation, £85k for a Substation and £20k for off-site enhancements for the local community are held on ECC’s accounts and can be drawn down when the works are undertaken.

Councillor Moore asked a supplementary question:Will the community be involved in this?

Question: Exeter Development Fund As the Exeter Development Fund has now been removed as a mitigation on the risk register I assume the project is no longer supported. A task and finish group was set up but didn’t do anything. Will the leader commit to councillor involvement in the “identification, timing and modelling for a smaller site. or flagship sites” for the Liveable Exeter project?

Response: I have asked that the Portfolio Holder for City Development, to be kept informed of progress with the Exeter Development Fund. Once the technical work is completed next year, I will update Councillors accordingly.

Councillor Moore asked a supplementary question: Are the Council committed to Exeter Development Fund?

Question:  As of June 2023 ECC held £805,000 of funds from DLUHC for work on the Exeter Development Fund, how have these monies been spent over the past year and what are the deliverables that have been achieved?

Response: Government funding is enabling ECC to explore delivery models, so the learning can be shared more widely (by MHCLG) and potentially replicated in other places. When the technical work is completed next year, the outputs will be handed over to MHCLG.

Councillor Moore asked a supplementary question: Has any money been spent on this?

Question: In 2021 ECC received £5,966,470 One Public Estate monies for the following sites to create homes on the following sites:

• Cathedral and Quay Car Park
• Mary Arches Car Park
• Bonhay Meadows 
• Belle Isle
• Exeter Canal Basin

What deliverables have been achieved for each site, how much money has been spent on each site and how much money returned to Government?

Response: £1,009,870 for Bonhay Meadows and the £2,373,183 for Cathedral and Quay were returned to Central Government last year. The remainder is held on ECC’s accounts and can be drawn down if/when the works are undertaken.

Councillor Moore asked a supplementary question: Canal basin money, what has been, or is expected to be spent?

Question: Open Space depot As land values have changed since the decision by the Council to dispose of Belle Isle is it still financially viable for the Council to dispose of Belle Isle, buy another depot, cover the costs of the move and establish a new depot? 

Response: Our appointed acquisition and disposal agents are confident an alternative site can be acquired within budget and that the disposal values haven’t changed materially since the decision.

Councillor Moore asked a supplementary question: Is the agent looking for sites outside Exeter given prices?

Question from Councillor Palmer:  could we have an update on the King Billy site at the corner of Longbrook st - the site has been abandoned following unauthorised demolition of a medieval wall - what action is being taken against the developer for this and when will further work commence on the site?

Response from Councillor Allcock: King Billy Site Update: The King Billy site encountered issues with the medieval wall during the adjacent demolition of the King Bill Pub, compromising its stability. As a result, Exeter City Council had to perform an emergency demolition of the wall’s upper section. Subsequently:

• The applicant, under application 23/1215/VOC, assessed the wall as unstable and received approval from the case officer at that time to partially demolish it. Unfortunately, this led to a more extensive demolition than initially intended.
• The Council considered actions to require the wall’s reconstruction. However, because the historical significance lay primarily in the wall’s original authenticity, it was deemed more effective to preserve and protect the remaining wall, along with ensuring the remnants continue to reflect the site’s historical character.

Councillor Palmer asked a supplementary question: When would further work commence?

Question: In relation to other approved PBSA sites at Cowley Bridge and West Park why are these developments delayed?

Response: Cowley Bridge Road: Delays at this site relate to complex ground contamination issues, for which the Council has been working with the Environment Agency and the developer to protect groundwater quality. The current target for occupation is September 2026.

West Park: No specific delays have been identified at the West Park site. The most recent application (24/0184/VOC), approved in May 2024, introduced a phased plan and various design adjustments, which are proceeding as scheduled.