Issue - meetings

That the progress achieved during quarter 3 of 2023/24 be noted and the contents of the report CAB3441 be endorsed.

Councillor Cutler introduced the report which had previously been considered at Scrutiny Committee on 6 March 2024 and a draft extract from the minutes of that meeting had been circulated to those present at Cabinet.  Councillor Cutler provided responses in relation to questions raised on: a) Bishops Waltham citizens advice bureau; b) the KPI on fly-tipping; c) a review of KPIs; and d) use of Meadowside Leisure Centre.  He noted that there were other questions raised relating to questions for additional information which fell outside the scope of the report and would be responded to by officers as appropriate.

At the invitation of the Leader, Councillor Brook addressed Cabinet as summarised briefly below.

She reported that Councillor Horrill wished to express her disappointment that a separate Performance Panel meeting had not taken place to consider this report as she believed this offered greater opportunity for detailed consideration and responses.  Councillor Brook asked for additional training for councillors on scrutinising performance information.

Councillor Cutler responded to the comments made including agreeing that additional scrutiny training should be arranged.  Councillor Tod also highlighted the Performance Panel was established by Scrutiny Committee and it was for that committee to determine its terms of reference and resourcing.

Cabinet agreed to the following for the reasons set out in the report and outlined above.

RESOLVED:

That the progress achieved during quarter 3 of 2023/24 be noted and the contents of the report CAB3441 be endorsed.

RECOMMENDATION:

That the Scrutiny Committee raises with the Deputy Leader or relevant Cabinet member any issues arising from the information in this report, ref CAB 3441, which is being presented to Cabinet on the 14 March 2024 and considers whether there are any items of significance to resolve or to be drawn to the attention of Cabinet.

The Chairperson advised that it had, regretfully been necessary to cancel the meeting of the Performance Panel, scheduled for 26 February 2024. Therefore, the Committee would undertake the scrutiny review of the Q3 Finance & Performance Monitoring report at this meeting.

Councillor Neil Cutler, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Performance introduced the report, ref CAB 3441 which set out proposals for the Q3 Finance & Performance Monitoring Report, (available here). The introduction included the following points.

1.    He referred to the strategic priorities of the Council, detailed in Appendix 1, and gave an overview of its plans and objectives.

2.    A financial update covering both revenue and capital for the general fund and the housing revenue account up to the end of December, as shown in Appendix 3.

3.    The latest data against the strategic performance indicators and update on progress of the Council's Tier 1 programmes and projects.

4.    New data regarding fly-tipping.

Councillor Danny Lee addressed the committee and highlighted the following points.

1.    He appreciated the progress and support during the cost of living crisis but expressed concern over the closure of the Bishop Waltham Citizens Advice Bureau office, particularly for vulnerable and elderly individuals.

2.    He noted the district's high uptake for the Hampshire County Council Solar Together initiative and sought clarification regarding the rollout of Electric Vehicle Charging Points and the necessity for more local electric vehicle infrastructure. He suggested a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) to measure this.

3.    He sought clarification regarding the differing building retrofit standards and raised questions regarding accredited build standards stipulated for council homes.

4.    He suggested the establishment of KPIs to ensure new homes achieved value for money in terms of energy efficiency and environmental impact standards. Additionally, the need for recording and publishing total carbon energy savings for new and retrofitted homes.

5.    He proposed further qualitative and quantitative data to inform the delivery of carbon emission reduction targets.

6.    He raised specific questions regarding TCE7 and TCE9 in Appendix 4, page 96.

7.    He sought clarification regarding the nature emergency target and recommendations for increasing carbon sequestration aligned with nature emergency targets, as shown on pages 118-119.

Councillor Neil Bolton addressed the committee and highlighted the following points.

1.    He sought clarification on how carbon credits were generated in the South Downs National Park amidst the felling of trees due to Ash die back.

2.    He queried the scheme mentioned on page 59, regarding carbon assessments for businesses, including the number of assessments conducted by the end of 2023 and plans for 2024.

3.    On page 60, he sought further information regarding the solution officers had devised for tenants' storage issues post-retrofitting loft insulation and the associated costs.

4.    He sought clarification on whether retrofit works were exclusively carried out on void properties, as mentioned on page 60.

5.    Re page 71, he sought clarification regarding the costs of constructing six Passivhaus properties and how value for money would be determined for this  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7