Issue - meetings

That the progress achieved during Q3 of 2024/25 be noted and the contents of report CAB3493 be endorsed.

Councillor Cutler introduced the report and advised that it had been considered at Scrutiny Committee on 5 March the minutes of which had been published on the council’s website in advance of the Cabinet meeting.

At the invitation of the Leader, Councillors Lee and Bolton addressed Cabinet as summarised briefly below.

Councillor Lee

Councillor Lee noted that the report contained a review of the previous quarter but queried whether it would be possible to include an outline of potential challenges expected in the future in addressing the council’s carbon emissions.

Councillor Bolton

Councillor Bolton highlighted the request at Scrutiny Committee that the current KPIs be reviewed in relation to measuring economic vibrancy to reflect the new Council Plan.  He queried whether members could suggest other ideas for future review of KPIs and how this process would work.

Councillors Cutler and Tod responded to the comment and questions raised including emphasising that the report’s purpose was not to consider potential future risks and it was open to the chair of Scrutiny Committee to determine how the review of KPIs would take place. 

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

RESOLVED:

That the progress achieved during Q3 of 2024/25 be noted and the contents of report CAB3493 be endorsed.

RECOMMENDATION:

1.    That the Scrutiny Committee:

Raises with the Deputy Leader or relevant Cabinet member any issues arising from the information in this report, ref CAB3493, which is being presented to Cabinet on the 13 March 2025 and considers whether there are any items of significance to resolve or to be drawn to the attention of Cabinet.

Councillor Martin Tod, Leader and Cabinet Member for Assets introduced the report, ref CAB3493, which set out the Q3 Finance & Performance Monitoring report (available here). Councillor Tod advised that the report highlighted the council's achievements in the past quarter and welcomed questions from the committee.

Councillor Danny Lee addressed the committee and raised concerns regarding the progress toward meeting the district's 2030 carbon-neutral target, questioning how risks to the Carbon Neutrality Action Plan would be addressed. He felt that there needed to be greater clarity in future reports concerning progress on climate emergency initiatives, waste management, and neutrality mitigation measures. He requested more information on the Winchester District Nature Improvement Plan, the local area energy plan, and the Central Winchester Regeneration. Finally, he questioned whether the anticipated increase in housing necessitated an adjustment to carbon delivery targets and sought clarity on the carbon impacts and costs throughout the supply chain.

The committee was asked to raise with the Deputy Leader or relevant Cabinet member any issues arising from the information in this report, ref CAB3493, which was to be presented to Cabinet on 13 March 2025, and to consider whether there were any items of significance to resolve or to be drawn to the attention of Cabinet.

The committee proceeded to ask questions and debate the report. In summary, the following matters were raised:

1.    Clarification was requested on what was counted as the council's carbon emissions (page 420).

2.    A question was raised concerning the district's carbon emissions, noting that the report stated carbon-neutral targets were a major risk but tracked as green and amber. It was also asked how the revised target of 520 kilotonnes of CO2 in 2030 aligned with additional housing.

3.    Clarification was sought regarding the achievement of carbon neutrality, and if the only way to achieve this was through the decarbonisation of the energy grid.

4.    In terms of the future of waste and recycling, it was asked if the council was aware of the requirement for businesses to recycle food waste and if this was something the council should be tracking through the BID.

5.    On behalf of Councillor Power, a question was raised about why nutrient mitigation on page 425 of the papers was labelled as green.

6.    Regarding the metric for homelessness, it was asked whether the increase should be a concern to the council.

7.    Further information was sought regarding the KPIs used to demonstrate a vibrant economy and their adequacy.

These points were responded to by Dawn Adey, Strategic Director, Councillor Martin Tod, Leader and Cabinet Member for Assets, and Councillor Westwood, Cabinet Member for Housing accordingly.

RESOLVED:

The committee noted the report and agreed that:

1.    Officers, in liaison with the Chairperson, arrange for a follow-up meeting with a small group of members to discuss existing and future KPIs used within the quarterly reports.

2.    Officers, in liaison with the Chairperson, arrange a follow-up meeting with a small group of members regarding the issues raised in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8