To receive any verbal reports and updates from the Leader/Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holders on the work of their Portfolio areas.
Minutes:
The Leader introduced this item which was an innovation at Council meetings and was intended to give Council the opportunity to receive brief updates on the work of Cabinet Members.
Council then received verbal reports from the Leader, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holders as follows:
(a) The Leader
Councillor Bridget Smith, the Leader of the Council:
· noted that economic development fell within her portfolio area and promotion of business in South Cambridgeshire was a key priority for the new Administration. With that in mind, she had organised a series of talks at business breakfasts to enable discussions with local businesses on how the Council could facilitate and support business growth in South Cambridgeshire.
· reported on her attendance at the Local Government Association (LGA) Annual Conference in Birmingham, noting that she was a representative on the District Councils’ Network.
· reported on her membership of a number of bodies, including an Assembly for authorities along the Cambridge-Milton Keynes-Oxford Arc; LGA Transport East and the East of England Leaders’ Board.
In response to a question from Councillor Wright, the Leader explained that she and the Planning Portfolio Holder had been invited to speak at a “Snapdragon” breakfast event on 6 July 2018 on the vision of the new Administration for South Cambridgeshire.
Following a question from Councillor Dr Bhattacharya, the Leader commented that it was not intended that Cabinet members would submit written reports to Council. This new slot on the agenda would be run on a pilot basis and reviewed in six months’ time. Cabinet members would be happy to provide further information as required outside the meeting.
(b) Deputy Leader
Councillor Aidan Van de Weyer, the Deputy Leader:
· noted that the Local Plan Inspector’s report was expected within the next few weeks and arrangements may need to be made to schedule an extraordinary Council meeting to consider adoption of the Local Plan.
· reported that the Waterbeach Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) would be submitted to Cabinet on 5 September 2018 and would be subject to consultation in the Autumn. Bourn Airfield SPD was expected to follow.
· updated Council on a meeting he had attended in relation to the route and timescale for construction of the Cambridge to Bedford section of the east/west rail link, noting that supporting housing and economic growth along the corridor would now be a major factor in determining the route.
· provided an update on the work of the GCP, noting that consideration of certain projects had been deferred due to the pause requested in the Mayoral Transport Statement; advised that he was the Skills Portfolio Holder on the GCP and explained the work being undertaken on apprenticeships and noted that at the end of the following year the first five year tranche of government funding would end and the GCP would therefore need to demonstrate how it had met its objectives, in order to secure a future tranche of funding.
In response to a question from Councillor Topping, the Deputy Leader indicated that it was not possible to indicate the likely date of the extraordinary Council meeting until such time as the Inspector’s report had been received and evaluated.
(c) Finance Portfolio Holder
Councillor John Williams, the Finance Portfolio Holder:-
· noted that he was being advised by the Grants Advisory Committee with regard to the review of the grants policy with a view to being able to introduce the revised grants schemes after the summer.
· advised that the staff pay offer had been put to the Trades Unions and that he would update Members as soon as there were any further developments.
· reported that the Strategic Risk register was under review.
· advised that the Budget process and timetable for 2019/20 were being developed.
· referred to consideration being given to further opportunities for commercialisation which would be reported to Cabinet, via Scrutiny and Overview Committee, in due course.
(d) Planning Portfolio Holder
Councillor Dr. Tumi Hawkins, the Planning Portfolio Holder:
· provided further background and context about the “Snapdragon” event at which she and the Leader had been invited to speak on 6 July 2018.
· reported on her attendance at a planning conference in Chelmsford.
· reported on the launch of the Village Design Statements project on 26 June which had been very well attended.
· advised that phase 1 of the Greater Cambridge Shared Planning service had been completed with the appointment of the Senior Management Team.
· reported that the Planning service continued to meet its targets for major and minor planning applications and thanked the staff for their hard work.
Councillor Wright referred to comments on social media suggesting that developers had welcomed the comments made by the Leader and Planning Portfolio holder when speaking at the event on 6 July and asked for further information about what had been said. In response, the Planning Portfolio Holder commented that reference had been made to the change in political control at the Council; the recognition that the region would be growing significantly; the willingness to engage with developers and to avoid a “them and us” mentality and the need for each case to be considered on its merits.
(e) Housing Portfolio Holder
Councillor Hazel Smith, the Housing Portfolio Holder:
· referred to the Major Opposition Leader’s Annual Statement at Minute 18 of the previous meeting and whilst acknowledging the achievement in getting investment from the Combined Authority, commented that 540 of the 588 affordable homes referred to as grant funded through the Combined Authority were houses that other funders would be delivering as affordable homes.
· was pleased to note that housing staff had continued the programme of building the Council’s housing stock and that the 27 new homes at Hardwick would be new council houses.
· noted two milestones at Northstowe with, in Phase 1, the first tenants and leaseholders of affordable homes moving in during the last month and Homes England announcing the start on site for Phase 2.
· reported on her attendance at a Westminster briefing following the Government consultation on traveller planning powers, with most attendees agreeing that without somewhere to move travellers on to, further powers to move them on were unlikely to achieve anything.
· was pleased to report that the Council’s housing stock had an average SAP rating (the measure of energy performance) which was the best in the Country and reflected the investment put into improving Council homes over the last decade or so.
· paid tribute to Stephen Hills, Director of Housing, whose contribution to the Council had been invaluable, noting that the Housing Department had won national recognition, led good practice in several different fields and was well respected in the region. She reported that the Council had been the only authority to be shortlisted for the ‘outstanding landlord of the year’ category in the 2017 UK Housing Awards and concluded that the Council owed Stephen a debt of gratitude for his work for South Cambridgeshire. She hoped that interim arrangements to cover the vacant post would be made soon.
Councillor Topping asked whether in the response to the Government Consultation on traveller powers, the Portfolio Holder had given thought to the use of preliminary injunctions to prevent unauthorised encampments on specific sites, such as green spaces. The Portfolio Holder indicated that whilst this could be looked at if the Council had the powers, she did not feel such an approach would be effective unless appropriate transit sites were available for travellers to move to.
(f) Customer Services and Business Improvement Portfolio Holder
Councillor Philippa Hart, the Customer Services and Business Improvement Portfolio Holder:
· spoke on the digital strategy and highlighted the proposed implementation of the customer portal which would provide a one stop shop and would enable greater customer self service.
· provided information on the “Council anywhere” project which would enable more flexible and remote working and on how this might benefit the customer.
· acknowledged problems which had arisen associated with Members’ ICT and noted that she was in frequent communication with the Head of 3C ICT and the Executive Director with a view to resolving those problems.
· noted the proposal to sign up to the Government’s Digital Declaration announced at the LGA Conference.
· commented that consideration was being given to using the building more optimally and that additionally improved teleconferencing and live streaming of meetings would be reviewed.
· reported that Cabinet would be requested to approve the commissioning of consultants to review the organisational structure.
(g) Environmental Services and Licensing Portfolio Holder
Councillor Neil Gough, the Environmental Services and Licensing Portfolio Holder:
· was pleased to report that waste collection performance continued to be excellent with a 99.71% collection rate in Quarter 1.
· noted that the hot weather had created operational difficulties for refuse collectors and commended them on their efforts in maintaining high standards notwithstanding the challenges.
· commented on the difficulties caused by contaminated recycling and referred to proposals for re-energised communication with residents in order to increase awareness and reduce recycling contamination.
· explained that the Council was continuing to work closely with residents in Histon and Impington and Highways England regarding the problems associated with the A14 construction site.
· reported that an annual air quality statement had been submitted to DEFRA and whilst air quality for South Cambridgeshire remained below national limits, this was no reason for complacency. A new air quality strategy would be worked up by the Climate Change and Environment Advisory Committee.
· noted that Environmental Health and Licensing continued to look at risks and threats to residents and communities.
· drew attention to legislative changes being introduced in October 2018 relating to Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) which would require registration of HMOs with environmental health in respect of safety and hygiene.
· noted that Licensing Committee had considered the draft Gambling Policy which was now subject to public consultation and was expected to be submitted for Council approval in November.
In response to a question from Councillor Ellington regarding the impact of the A14 construction works in her village, the Environmental Services and Licensing Portfolio Holder acknowledged that the work was causing a problem in a number of villages and encouraged Members to contact the A14 Liaison Officers to report issues arising.
Following a separate question from Councillor Ellington on the Administration’s approach to health and wellbeing and community development, the Portfolio Holder emphasised that these areas were a key focus for the Council. The Leader commented that it was important that health and wellbeing should not be isolated in the Council and therefore all Cabinet members had a responsibility for this area of work which needed to be embedded into everything the Council did.
The Leader of the Council additionally referred to a presentation which she had attended at Northstowe on the Healthy Towns Initiative. She commented that she had requested the Chief Executive to arrange for the presentation to be given to Members.
Councillor Cathcart sought an assurance that the resources required to respond to the new legislative duties relating to HMOs had been evaluated. The Environmental Services and Licensing Portfolio Holder acknowledged that it was important to ensure that sufficient capacity was available. He did however reflect on difficulties experienced in recruiting environmental health officers and the need to address the issue of recruitment and retention.