To receive biannual updates from Executive Members for
- Finance & Corporate, Cllr Parrott
- Economy, Estates and Major projects, Cllr Palethorpe
- Environmental Services, Cllr Williams
- Neighbourhood Services, Cllr Goodman-Bradbury
Minutes:
Environment Services
Cllr Williams gave his bi-annual report on Environmental Services and focussed on the following points:
· Replacement of the refuse Trucks going very well (low-emission diesel and electric)
· There is a full report going to Council on 20 May regarding the reconfiguration of the bulking centre (pages 129 – 190) which members were encouraged to read
· Future plans include aiming to be able to collect ‘soft plastic’ kerbside from next year
· There is currently a trial of 5,000 households (selected at random) with Tetrapak collections which is giving some interesting results, and it appears that the uptake is less than forecast
· One impact on the service could be the Government plan to introduce a scheme to return cans and bottles to shops from 2027
· Plans to introduce 3 weekly collections are on hold until after Local Government Reorganisation
· Recycling rates are up again and the team is receiving a lot of good feedback from residents
Questions included the following:
· How can we ensure that residents are able to receive services when there is a long delay in ‘adopting’ unadopted roads? Some residents have been waiting 8 years for services and need facilities like dog waste bins
· Re Tetrapaks (mix of plastic/fibre board) it is likely that they will be able to be brought into the mainstream collections (with metal and plastic)
Finance & Corporate
Cllr Parrott reported on the Finance & Corporate areas of the Service. He had been meeting with various team members and was very impressed. Increased demands from external auditors and the implementation of the new finance system were being faced. He talked through slides for HR, Legal and Democratic, Procurement and Audit & Governance describing the staff in his area of the Service as ‘unsung hero’s’ crucial to the running of the Council.
Questions/comments included the following:
· The MTFP (Medium Term Financial Plan) group would be recommencing shortly with the aim of identifying further savings.
· Staff had been receiving mandatory cyber awareness training and this is available for members who are encouraged to attend
· Risk management was important and this was a good example of where pre-scrutiny informal meetings were helpful as that had been a main topic at a previous meeting
· It would be helpful if information could be received in advance to digest before the meeting
· Regarding the audit pressures, it appears that they chose a difficult time to arrive and chose disproportionate sample sizes for transactions
· Looking forward to hopefully seeing improved information from the new finance system e.g. CIL. This would be useful for Planning, Towns & Parishes
· The MTFP Group could request a presentation on the new finance system
· Staff shortages are a national problem, not just local
· Mandatory training for Overview & Scrutiny scheduled for May 29, July 10 & Nov 17 dependent on CfGS for delivery – there was a request to avoid school holidays if possible and to circulate material for those interested
Economy, Estates and major projects
Cllr Palethorpe reported on Economy, Estates and major projects and the good news that the team had completed 82% of the actions identified in the Strategic Asset Plan. The maintenance backlog had been cleared and it was now moving to planned maintenance. The small team of people were very professional and were thanked. With regard to the capital programme, schemes must be realistic and meet a need rather than be reactive to potential funding sources. The Senior Leadership Team are meeting to discuss Legacy projects soon as part of the Capital Programme Review.
Queen Street: Now complete but with areas identified for improvements i.e. tactile crossing points, dropped kerbs, better enforcement signage. Visible changes now in place and need to see the impact of the changes on local businesses who are dealing with National Insurance and Business Rates increases. The two recent relocations of businesses from Queen Street have been for business needs not as a result of the enhancements
Market: On target and have appointed a professional management company to develop events, food offers, stalls etc
Bradley Lane: The site had been cleared using grant funding redirected from Devon County Council
Questions/comments included the following:
· Working together e.g. with Towns and Parishes is important
· Information on footfall and car-park spaces usage around Queen Street would be useful following the enhancements
· Market Square – what can be done to enhance the area now?
· Bradley Lane. It was suggested that the Council should look for recompense following the remedial work that could be invested in social housing
· Need evidence to show that the wider pavements are effective as intended in Queen Street