Agenda and minutes

The Chair reminded Members of the need to declare any known interests in any matters to be considered at the meeting.

Councillor James Robbins made a personal, non-prejudicial declaration of interest in respect of agenda item 7 (Possible effects of leaving the EU) as he works for a Member of the European Parliament.

To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 19^th November 2018.

Resolved – That the minutes of the meeting held on 19^th November 2018 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

See explanatory note below. Please contact the Committee Officer whose details appear at the top of this agenda if you need further guidance.

Mr Roy Worman, Haydon Wick, asked several questions regarding the Council’s draft Waste Strategy for 2019-2029 and the Council’s proposals for updating streetlights in the Borough, specifically:

a)    The reasoning behind the introduction of a £5 charge to residents for replacing waste boxes.

b)    How the stated figure of 51% of the survey respondents indicating a charge of £5 or more per box was reasonable was calculated, given that 44.83% had indicated a preference of £3, and only 29.12% had indicated a preference of £5, according to the chart in the report.

c)     The zero cost to homeowners for providing waste bins at newly built houses.

d)    Funding for the resultant additional costs in terms of the extra equipment and staff required if food waste was to be collected on a weekly basis.

e)    Why ‘various service changes and lack of communication to residents in recent years’ are being cited as the possible cause for the decline in recycling rates by almost 10%.

f)      Whether the £72m proposed for the updating of streetlights across the Borough will include improving visibility at pedestrian crossings.

The Chair advised that a written answer would be provided to b) in accordance with the Public Question Time Protocol. Councillor Maureen Penny, Cabinet Member for Highways and the Environment, responded to Mr Worman’s other questions at the meeting.  

The Committee considered a report introducing decisions arising from the Cabinet meeting held on 5^th December 2018.

Item 48. Budget Update

Councillor David Renard (Leader of the Council), Councillor Russell Holland (Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Finance), Councillor Oliver Donachie (Cabinet Member for Economic Prosperity), Councillor Brian Ford (Cabinet Member for Adults), Councillor Dale Heenan (Cabinet Member for the Town Centre), and Councillor Maureen Penny (Cabinet Member for Highways and the Environment) responded to questions put by Councillors Fionuala Foley, Jane Milner-Barry, Des Moffatt, Jim Robbins, Tim Swinyard, Chris Watts and the Chair on the following matters:

·       When the financial settlement for local government is expected to be announced, given the current issues with the vote on Brexit.

·       What the highest expected charge will be, once all charges and fees have been uplifted by 5% or a rounded price.

·       The proposals for the splash park, and the creation of other leisure facilities.

·       The Council’s ability to contest de-registration of properties given that some are left empty and become derelict.

·       The potential for parish councils to receive a portion of the surplus on the council tax element of the Collection Fund.

·       How the relief for council tax reduction is calculated, which can lead to those areas with the highest ratio of benefit claimants receiving the least amount of funds.

·       The process for residents to register when the waste collection team have damaged a waste bin, and to get a new bin issued.

·       How the current planning assumption of basic council tax increasing by 2.99% for 2019/20, along with an additional adult social care precept of 1%, will be applied as 3.99%.

·       How the £2.29m changes proposed for 2019/20, due to the increase in demand for Supported Living Placements, will include sheltered homes.

·       The additional £84m of Children’s Services funding over five years, and which twenty councils this will be allocated to.

·       The reasons for the additional election costs which have been incurred this year.

·       The change in management responsibility for cost centres which has resulted in services for travellers being transferred internally from Housing to Public Health.

·       The Council’s intent towards the building of a Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF) waste plant.

·       The research and development being undertaken by Public Power Solutions in to the treatment and processing of waste.

·       How caps for the LED lights proposed for street lighting across the Borough have been included in the business case to reduce the impact of light brightness in residential areas.

·       The halving of funding for long standing grants to cultural groups, and the subsequent risk this may cause in losing match funding from the Arts Council.

·       The ability of the Swindon Museum and Art Gallery to fund itself given the shortening of opening hours and the reduction in staff numbers.

Resolved – (1) That Minute 48 of the Cabinet be noted.

(2) That information requested by members during the course of the Committee’s consideration of this item be forwarded to them via the Committee Clerk.

Item 49.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49.

Further to Minute 5/2018, and in accordance with the Council’s Constitution,Councillor David Renard, Leader of the Council, was in attendance to report to the Committee on the Authority’s performance in the first half of the 2018/19 Municipal Year in progressing the Council’s priorities and targets, as outlined in his Annual presentation to the Committee at its June meeting. As in previous years, as requested by the Committee, the report outlined particular examples of where the Council had performed well, and also advised on the challenges facing the Council.

The Leader confirmed that, since the adoption of the Council’s Vision, Priorities and Pledges in 2015, some of the Pledges had been delivered and new issues and opportunities had emerged. As such, it had been necessary to update the Pledges this year to reflect these changes. The Leader highlighted some of the achievements against the Pledges during 2018/19, which included:

·       Pledge 3a Kimmerfields: Zurich having reaffirmed its commitment to the town, confirming that it hopes to build new purpose-built offices on the Kimmerfields site, next door to its current home in the Tri-Centre.

·       Pledge 3d Carriage Works: The unique and historic buildings have been regenerated and reimagined and are now home to a vibrant hub for learning, creative and digital industries in an emerging tech hotspot.

·       Pledge 3f North Star: The Council recently granted planning permission on the North Star development and swift progress is expected on site, with SevenCapital signalling its intention to begin work in the next few months.

·       Pledge 6b Wichelstowe Development: As the Joint Venture at Wichelstowe has been established, work has gone into the drafting and negotiation of the s106 planning agreement to secure the necessary infrastructure to support the development. The District Centre phase continues with the construction of the Deanery Secondary School, due to open in September 2019. The Hall and Woodhouse project is nearing completion and is due to open early in the New Year. In addition, the unique footbridge, commissioned from Sebastien Boyesen, is under construction. The canal restoration and public square are clearly visible on site and on target for completion. Housing delivery within the District Centre is expected to commence in spring 2019.

The Leader, in his report, also highlighted future challenges which included:

·       The impact of Brexit.

·       The uncertainty surrounding local government funding from April 2020 onwards.

·       The increase of demand-led social care pressures on Children’s and Adult’s Services.

·       The quality of the broadband infrastructure that is available to businesses and customers, and its impact on the competition between Swindon and other places for investment as the internet-based economy continues to develop.

·       Making use of successful partnerships and membership of organisations such as the England’s Economic Heartland Strategic Transport Forum.

Councillor Renard and Councillor Oliver Donachie (Cabinet Member for Economic Prosperity) responded to questions and observations put by Councillors Emma Faramarzi, Nick Martin, Brian Mattock, Jane Milner-Barry, Des Moffatt, Barbara Parry, Jim Robbins, Tim Swinyard, Chris Watts and the Chair on the following matters:

·       The progress  ...  view the full minutes text for item 50.

The Committee considered a report setting out the issues identified so far for the Council in light of the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union (“Brexit”) on 29^th March 2019. The report also addressed the Council’s response to Brexit through both its inward investment and business retention and expansion programmes. The report was submitted following this Committee’s request for an update at its meeting on 10^th September 2018 (Minute 26 refers) along with a subsequent Council resolution on 20^th September 2018 (Minute 41 refers).

Councillor David Renard, Leader of the Council, and Councillor Oliver Donachie (Cabinet Member for Economic Prosperity) responded to questions and observations put by Councillors Des Moffatt, Stan Pajak, Jim Robbins, Chris Watts and the Chair on the following matters:

·       The potential effects on the Council if there is a ‘no deal’ situation, particularly regarding issues such as the benefits currently gained from European funding.

·       The contingencies in place should civil unrest result from the Brexit issue.

·       How the Council, through the Local Resilience Forum and with support from the Business Retention, Expansion and Inward Investment Team, can assist businesses with considering eventualities and creating plans for Brexit.

·       How smaller businesses can access support through organisations such as the Chamber of Commerce and The Federation of Small Businesses. The Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership, through the Growth Hub, has also published information to help businesses prepare for Brexit.

·       The consideration given to meta-economic circumstances (such as larger businesses dominating demand and supply, impacting on the ability of smaller businesses to compete) and how the Council can react to issues in, and support the needs of, key sectors not directly under its control.

·       Concerns regarding the impact of Brexit on the trade of exports to the European Union (EU).

·       The effect of the referendum result on the number of EU workers in Swindon, and the number of staff who might be EU citizens affected by the need to apply for Settled or Pre-Settled status.

·       The potential impact on children’s social care services if those EU citizens currently employed within the service decide to leave, and whether the Council will look outside the EU for recruitment in the future.

Resolved – (1) That the report be noted.

(2) That the Chair and Cabinet Member for Economic Prosperity be asked to report the outcomes from this discussion to the Growing the Economy Overview and Scrutiny Committee and Council.

(3) That information requested by members during the course of the Committee’s consideration of this item be forwarded to them via the Committee Clerk.

The Committee noted the report of the Interim Director of Law setting out the topics for inclusion in the 2018/2019 Scrutiny Work Programme, as agreed by the Committee at its meeting on 18^th June 2018, and updated during the course of the Municipal Year.

The Committee received an updated report advising on the status of outstanding issues and member requests for information.

Resolved – That the report on the status of outstanding issues and member requests for information be noted.