Agenda item

The Deputy Leader (non-statutory) presented the 2020-25 Business Plan. The committee considered and commented on the proposed Business Plan and action grid, which detailed the activities the Council would carry out under each of the four priority areas.

Councillor Roberts expressed concern about the priorities identified in the Business Plan and that core ambitions were identified rather than core functions. She expressed concern about the priority of growing local businesses and economies and was unsure what support the Council could provide for entrepreneurs that they needed. Councillor Roberts suggested that the Council looked at where the problems were in the organisation and suggested the Planning department should be a priority area for the Council. She suggested a complete review of the Planning process and Shared Planning Service should be a top priority under the ‘A modern and caring Council’ priority area. She informed members that the villages she represented were very angry and concerned about how Planning delegation was managed by the Council. In response to this, the Lead Cabinet Member for Planning informed the committee that the delegation process had been put in place by the previous administration in 2016 and had not changed. Councillor Hawkins explained that parish councils could request that a planning application be referred to the Planning Committee and that this request was reviewed by Planning officers in consultation with the Planning Committee Chairman. This process was being looked at as part of the review of the Council’s Constitution. Counsel’s advice had been sought on this matter and a report would be presented to the Planning Committee. Councillor Hawkins reminded the Scrutiny and Overview Committee that it had received a report on the performance of the Planning service at its December 2019 meeting, during which members had the opportunity to raise any concerns about the service.

In response to the concerns raised by Councillor Roberts, Councillor Gough informed the committee that:

·         The Council would provide support sought by any existing South Cambridgeshire businesses and to those who sought support in setting up new businesses in the district.

·         The priorities identified in the Business Plan were above and beyond business as usual. The importance of the efficiency of the Planning service was recognised and this, as well as the Council’s other core services, were part of business as usual.

Other committee members expressed their support for the priority to support local businesses.

Support was expressed by committee members for the reference to paper free meetings. The resources needed for this were queried. The Lead Cabinet Member informed the committee that this was about modernisation and that a lot of detail had to be worked through regarding equipment and software in order for meetings to become paper free. The committee was informed that the provision of equipment for members was under consideration and it was recognised that there would be a cost associated with this.

The following comments and suggestions regarding the Business Plan were made:

·         Under action B1 of Priority B) Housing that is truly affordable for everyone to live in, it was requested that the wording ‘where possible’ was amended to provide more clarity.

·         Under the list of actions completed from the 2019-20 Business Plan:

·         Regarding the action, ‘Signed contracts to deliver 150 new Council houses in the next few years’, members requested that the number of years be specified.

·         Regarding the anti fly-tipping campaign that had reached over 40,000 people, members queried whether this had led to a reduction in fly tipping.

In response to the points raised by committee members, the Deputy Leader informed the committee that:

·         The Council would continue to monitor the number of fly tips and the number of fly tip prosecutions.

·         The Council would continue to ensure the highest renewable energy and energy efficiency standards with all the Council homes it built.

·         The Council was trying a number of things to deter fly tipping and was targeting the areas most vulnerable to this.

·         There was an additional staffing element in the plan for more community forums.

·         £200,000 had been assigned in the budget to create a new team to deliver a new Business Support service. It was difficult to say when the recruitment to this service would be completed.

·         In response to concerns raised regarding the difficulty to attract and retain talent in Planning, the committee was informed that recruitment and retention was an issue across many service areas. The Council had seen success, such as in the waste service, through targeted campaigns and creative remuneration packages and training being offered.

·         Several of the priority areas focussed on health and wellbeing. The extension of the mobile warden scheme was a very important area of service provision, particularly given the demographics of the district.

Subject to the incorporation of the suggested amendments, the Committee supported the Business Plan’s onward submission to Cabinet for consideration and to Council for approval.