Scrutiny Committee Minutes - 23 February 2006

17. ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN

It was noted that the Full Council had not decided upon the Chairmanship of the Committee. It would therefore be necessary for the Committee to elect a Chairman for the day.

RESOLVED :

THAT Mrs S Poston be elected Chairman for the day.

18. MINUTES

RESOLVED:

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 22 December 2005 were confirmed.

19. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

A written declaration of interest had been received from Mr Bob Blezzard relating to Sandham County Middle School and Sandown Town Council. No further declarations were received at this stage.

20. WORKPLAN ITEMS

Following a work planning session, the Committee had identified four strands of work relating to Development Control. Appropriate scoping documents for each of these had been compiled.

a) Development Control – Reporting Procedures SC/01/06

The enquiry would consider the extent to which reports to the Council’s Development Control Committee could be improved to enable its members to be more effective and efficient in taking informed policy led decisions. The Head of Planning Services supported the review and proposed timescale.

It was suggested that the review should include the visual displays used at Development Control meetings, particularly displays showing the location and the impact of developments on the surrounding area.

b) Development Control – Speed of determination of minor and major applications SC/02/06

The Head of Planning Services identified the current government targets for the speed of determining minor and major applications. The Government’s target for major applications was to achieve 60% in 13 weeks, the Council was currently performing at 50%.

The services main drive was to increase their performance in this area. Pre application discussions were a useful tool to increase the speed of applications once they had been submitted. The performance targets for minor applications were currently being exceeded but other authorities were still performing at a higher level.

Members noted that government targets focused on measuring the speed of applications and not quality, therefore a careful balance needed to be struck between the quality of the output and the speed of determination.

c) Planning Gains and Obligations SC/03/06

The enquiry was to investigate the extent to which the use of different devices can be used to deliver planning gains and obligations on larger schemes.

The Head of Planning Services considered the review timely with regard to work currently being undertaken by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM).

It was suggested that the adequate training of Members of the Development Control Committee be included in the review.

d) Availability of Affordable Housing SC/04/06

Members referred to the Council’s Quarterly Performance Management Report which identified an underspend of 1.7 million in this area. The Chief Financial Officer advised that much of this money was still in the reserves waiting for the developments to be progressed by housing associations, on which the Council was unable to directly influence.

Concern was raised regarding the number of empty and derelict properties. To address this issue it was noted that the recently approved budget included £45,000 bid for an Empty Properties Officer which would help to address this problem.

RESOLVED :

THAT the Scoping Documents be approved.

21. BUDGET

The Council’s budget had been approved at the Full Council meeting on 22 February 2006. The Chief Financial Officer identified the key features of the budget which included a 2.499% Council Tax increase, spending increase of £10.4 million, and £7.2 million of efficiencies and income generation. This was a dynamic redirection of resources, in to frontline services funded largely by back office efficiencies.

Part of the budget strategy involved income generation. The Chief Financial Officer was unable to give a breakdown of all the areas involved but it was anticipated that charges, particularly for Adult Services, would increase in line with inflation.

Areas to monitor carefully included :

· The car parking permit, which had been calculated on estimated usage

· Over 60’s arrangement for free travel,

· To ensure the 6.5 million of efficiency savings was being delivered.

The Cabinet Members would ensure savings were being delivered through efficiency and not services cuts.

Members questioned the balances contained in the Council’s reserves. There had been a rise from £9 million to £30 million in the last 4 years. It was noted that there were a number of one off payments which would be funded from the reserves, this included £1.6 million to fund the Highways PFI. It was anticipated that this would be repaid when the Government funding was received.

Members were assured that monthly budget monitoring reports would be considered by the Aim High Strategy Group to ensure the successful delivery of the budget.

Concern was raised regarding the degree of underspends on some capital projects including Ryde Interchange and the Pan development. It was explained that monies were still identified within the budget to ensure their delivery.

RESOLVED :

THAT the budget be noted.

22. AIM HIGH

The Committee received an update on the progress and implementation of the Council’s Aim High Strategy. The Acting Assistant Chief Executive confirmed the Strategy was being managed within existing budgets. This was achieved by using a cross cutting approach of seconding staff with specific areas of expertise.

It was noted that a number of deadlines had slipped, primarily because the project had been delayed in starting.

The Acting Assistant Chief Executive confirmed that staff were being engaged and consulted. A number of meetings involving all levels of staff had taken place since January 2006 to provide a constant stream of information.

It was confirmed that a draft protocol was being established to encourage opportunity for skilled and talented staff. Succession planning was being considered to ensure cover for key posts.

With regard to the timescale, changes in systems and processes would be in place by July 2006, however to influence other change would take some time longer.

Members asked whether staff would be seconded from other authorities. It was noted that this had been done in the past, although had not become common practice. The Acting Chief Executive confirmed that the suggestion would be taken into consideration.

RESOLVED :

THAT the update be noted.

23. FORWARD PLAN

The Committee were reminded that the Council’s Forward Plan contained all key decisions to be taken by the Cabinet in the forthcoming four months, enabling the Committee to scrutinise in advance of decisions being taken.

RESOLVED :

THAT the Forward Plan be noted.

CHAIRMAN