Agenda item

Submitted Questions from Councillor Jobson (as an opposition Leader)

Apologies were received from Councillor Jobson, who had submitted a number of questions prior to the meeting which had been responded to outside of the meeting. A copy of the questions and responses are appended to the minutes.

Mary Arches Car Park

The Leader provided an update on the Mary Arches Car Park, advising that the Council had marketed the Mary Arches car park for sale during the year. Delegated power had been granted to the Strategic Director in consultation with him regarding the disposal. The Leader having committed to report back on progress, advised:-

·         there had been strong interest with 14 bids received from 11 different bidders;

·         the Council had signed the heads of terms with the successful party for a sale, subject to planning;

·         although unable to provide details in the current process stage, the proposed scheme was in-line with the requirements set by Council when the sale was approved;

·         once successfully concluded, it would also address the write off approved by Council last year, as a consequence of the reduction in Exeter City Living; and

·         thanks were made to all the officers involved in concluding this matter successfully.

Devon Devolution Deal

The Leader advised Members on the Devon Devolution which had been presented and noted by Council. He advised that that the two principal authorities were currently working with the Government to agree the timeline for the Statutory Instrument (SI) to be laid in Parliament. Devon and Torbay’s Monitoring Officer’s had agreed the main body of the statutory instrument with government’s solicitors and had drafted a large amount of the constitution with the exception of the skills element which would be worked through with the DfE.

The next steps of the process were:-

·         the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) had invited comments on the draft regulations;

·         the Minister would write to Cabinet colleagues to say that they are minded to proceed to seek Parliamentary approval for the Combined County Authority (CCA), which would take about a fortnight;

·         the Secretary of State would write to Devon County Council and Torbay Council Leaders with a draft of the SI;

·         the final draft of SI would then go to Parliamentary lawyers for comments on the drafting before it and an explanatory memorandum was laid in Parliament;

·         there was 6-8 sitting weeks during which there was a 15-minute debate by the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments (JCSI)which would take evidence from MHCLG. JCSI did not consider the merits of the SI but was responsible for ensuring that a Minister’s powers were being carried out in accordance with the provisions of the enabling Act;

·         the SI would also considered by the House of Lords Committee, which met weekly to consider the policy implications of SI; and

·         the motion to approve in the House of Commons would be put forthwith (i.e. without debate) on the floor of the House and the Minister would sign the SI and the CCA comes into being.

Devon County Council and Torbay Council would await the final timeline but were working towards November. As this impacted Exeter as a Council, a full paper for consideration would be presented to Council in due course once matters had been concluded.

Interim Directors – Environment, Waste and Operations

The Leader congratulated Simon Lane and Cat Chambers on their recent appointments as Interim Directors for Environment, Waste and Operations.