Agenda and minutes

(Director of Governance) To report the appointment of any substitute members for the meeting.

It was advised that Councillor C Pond was substituting for Councillor H Kauffman.

(Director of Governance) To declare interests on any items on the agenda.

In considering whether to declare a pecuniary or non-pecuniary interest under the Code of Conduct, Overview and Scrutiny members are asked to pay particular attention to paragraph 11 of the Code in addition to the more familiar requirements.

This requires the declaration of a pecuniary or non-pecuniary interest in any matter before an OS Committee which relates to a decision of or action by another Committee or Sub-Committee of the Council, a Joint Committee or Joint Sub-Committee in which the Council is involved and of which the Councillor is also a member.

Paragraph 11 does not refer to Cabinet decisions or attendance at an OS meeting purely for the purpose of answering questions or providing information on such a matter.

There were no declarations of interest made pursuant to the Member’s Code of Conduct.

To agree the notes from the last meeting of the select committee held on 2 February 2016 (attached).

RESOLVED:

That the notes of the last meeting of the select committee held on 2 February 2016 be agreed.

(Chairman/Lead Officer) The Overview and Scrutiny Committee has agreed the Terms of Reference of this Select Committee. This is attached along with an on-going Work Programme. Members are asked to review both documents at each meeting.

The select committee’s Terms of Reference and Work Programme were noted.

(Director of Governance) To consider the attached report and appendix.

The Governance Select Committee received a report from the Performance Improvement Officer regarding Key Performance Indicators 2016/17 – Review and Targets.

The adoption of challenging KPIs each year was an important element of the Council’s Performance Management Framework, the KPIs set was reviewed annually by the Management Board to ensure the indicators and their targets were appropriate to provide challenge in the Council’s key areas and to meet its objectives.

A recent annual review had considered that the current indicator set was appropriate, a number of changes to targets had been identified for the coming year and one indicator had been split enabling greater focus and evaluation.

The provisional target for each indicator had been identified by service directors and relevant portfolio holders based on third quarter performance for the current year. Management Board would review the provisional targets against outturn data for 2015/16 when this became available.

The review of the KPIs which fell within the areas of responsibility of the Governance Select Committee had resulted in no change to the indicator set. However, there would be slight changes to the indicators.

Improvement plans would be developed for each KPI for 2016/17, identifying actions to achieve target performance. The plans would be considered and agreed by Management Board and submitted to the relevant select committees along with the 2016/17 first quarter performance submission. The select committee was requested to consider the proposed KPIs and targets for 2016/17 which fell within its areas of responsibility.

RECOMMENDED:

That the Key Performance Indicators 2016/17 – Review and Targets be recommended to the Finance and Performance Management Cabinet Committee for approval.

(Director of Governance) Report to follow.

The select committee received a report from the Performance Improvement Officer regarding Equality Objectives 2016-2020.

In March 2012 the Council published its first set of equality objectives designed to provide focus for the Council’s work in delivering its public sector equality duty and thereby advancing equality for service users and employees. The duty required public authorities to have due regard for the following three aims:

(a)  Eliminating unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation;

(b)  Advancing equality of opportunity between different groups; and

(c)  Fostering good relations between different groups.

This first set of four objectives targeted:

(i)            Equality intelligence gathering and the use of this intelligence in service planning;

(ii)           Development of equality ownership;

(iii)          Improving engagement activities; and

(iv)         Working to allow for a balanced workforce profile.

An action plan for delivering the objectives was adopted and progress of work for delivering the action plan had been co-ordinated by the Corporate Equality Working Group (CEWG) which was chaired by the Director of Governance and reported to both Management Board and the Governance Select Committee at 6 monthly intervals. The lifespan of these objectives came to an end in March 2016 with considerable progress having been made and the objectives largely achieved.

Over the last year the CEWG had been engaged in the development of a new set of objectives taking the Council forward until March 2020. This new set of objectives addressed the challenges still faced by the Council in embedding equality into all its activities and built upon the progress already achieved. The CEWG had consulted with directorates and four objectives were proposed which were set out below together with a brief outline of the reasons for their proposal:

Objective 1:   To integrate the Council’s public sector equality duty into our partnership working.

The public sector equality duty was relevant across the full range of its activity including its work through partnerships, the duty also applied to its public sector partners. Under Objective 1 in regard to Ref 4, officers confirmed that the number of work experience apprentices in the District Council was 3 per directorate. In respect of Ref 5 concerning the reducing of isolation in rural locations for older people, officers confirmed that isolation could take place anywhere, particularly in urban areas and they would look at extending the action to cover these areas.

Objective 2:   To apply robust equality requirements in commissioning, procurement and contract management.

Procurement by local authorities was identified by the Government as a key area for the development of equality and had the potential of improving the lives of people. Whilst it was evident there was some consideration of equality in our procurement practices, procurement had not been a focus for equality work to date and integration was required if the duty was fully met.

Objective 3:   To develop our capacity so that our employees have the knowledge, skills and confidence to deliver our plans.

Employee understanding of Council requirements remained important. Whilst some progress had been made in the course of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40.

(Director of Governance) Report to follow.

This consultation is seeking views on the proposed approach to implementation of measures in the Housing and Planning Bill, and some other planning measures. It runs to 64 pages and contains over 70 questions, the link can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/implementation-of-planning-changes-technical-consultation

Officers will highlight suggested answers to some of the consultation questions which members will be free to amend at the meeting but members are also free to respond to the consultation directly.

The select committee received a report from the Assistant Director Development Management regarding response to “Technical Consultation on Implementation of Planning Changes” Consultation. The Government was setting out proposals in the following areas:

(a)  Changes to Planning Application Fees;

(b)  Permission in principle;

(c)  Brownfield Register;

(d)  Small Sites Register;

(e)  Neighbourhood Planning;

(f)   Local Plans;

(g)  Expanding the approach to planning performance;

(h)  Testing competition in the processing of planning applications;

(i)    Information about financial benefits;

(j)    Section 106 dispute resolution;

(k)  Permitted Development Rights for state funded schools; and

(l)    Changes to statutory consultation on planning applications.

The consultation period commenced on 18 February 2016 and concluded on 15 April 2016, it ran to 12 chapters containing 77 questions in all. However, only those questions relevant to the select committee’s terms of reference were submitted to the meeting.

Changes to Planning Application Fees

Q1.1:   Do you agree with our proposal to adjust planning fees in line with inflation, but only in areas where the local planning authority is performing well? If not what alternative would you suggest?

Response:     Planning fees should at the least be altered in line with inflation, which would ensure that local authorities continued to deliver effective planning functions given reductions to grant funding. However current inflation rates were so small that there would be no incentive for local planning authorities.

It was felt that planning fee increases should not be withheld on the basis of performance. Measuring performance alone did not show how effective Development Management was as a whole, this measure could easily be manipulated by the extension of time procedure. As a Green Belt authority the district had few major applications, therefore a small number being delayed could mean fee increases withheld despite meeting targets for minor and other category applications.

Q1.2:   Do you agree that national fee charges should not apply where a local planning authority is designated as under performing, or would you propose an alternative means of linking fees to performance? And should there be a delay before any change of this type is applied?

Response:     Similarly to the last question, the Council believed that fee increases should not be linked to performance. If this was introduced there should be a time opportunity for Councils effected in this way so they could make adequate arrangements because resource and system changes did not happen rapidly and required member decision making.

Q1.3:   Do you agree that additional flexibility over planning application fees should be allowed through deals, in return for higher standards of service or radical proposals for reform?

Response:     The Council provided a duty officer system with agents informing the authority that they considered availability and ease of contacting the planning case officer as qualities of service. Planning also provided different levels of pre-application services from a written response through to a series of more detailed meetings and discussions. This service worked effectively in ensuring better applications and supporting information were provided as well as speeding up decision making once  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41.

Items of business are needed for next year’s work programme, members are asked to put forward suggestions to build next year’s work programme.

The Assistant Director of Development Management advised members that the select committee would be requiring new items for next year’s work programme. The following was suggested:

(a)  A further report on planning appeals, particularly those concerning Gypsies and Travellers

(b)  Special meeting of the select committee to discuss representations made by Essex County Council Highways on planning applications. This would be a single item agenda with invites extended to all councillors and held in the Council Chamber.

(c)  Reports would be submitted regarding the process of the May elections and EU Referendum to be held in June.

(d)  Presentation on Building Control.

(e)  The work of the Public Relations Team.

This is the last meeting of the select committee for this Council year. In the new year the next select committee meeting will take place on Tuesday 5 July 2016 at 7.15p.m. in Committee Room 1.

The next meeting of the select committee would be held on Tuesday 5 July 2016 at 7.15p.m. in Committee Room 1.