Agenda and minutes

In the absence of the Vice-Chairman, the Chairman sought nominations for the position of Vice-Chairman for the meeting.

RESOLVED:

That Councillor H. Whitbread be appointed as Vice-Chairman of the Select Committee for the duration of the meeting.

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

The Director of Governance reported that Councillor M. Sartin was substituting for Councillor S. Jones at the meeting and that Councillor K. Chana was substituting for Councillor M. McEwen.

(Director of Governance) To agree the notes of the meeting of the Select Committee held on 31 January 2017.

RESOLVED:

That the notes of the meeting of the Committee held on 31 January 2017 be agreed as a correct record, subject to the correction of the reference to ‘Thursday 4 April 2017’ in Minute 44 (Date of Next Meeting), to read ‘Tuesday 4 April 2017’.

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

In considering whether to declare a pecuniary or a non-pecuniary interest under the Code of Conduct, Overview & Scrutiny members are asked pay particular attention to paragraph 9 of the Code in addition to the more familiar requirements.

This requires the declaration of a 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 9 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.

No declarations of interest were made by members of the Committee pursuant to the Council’s Code of Conduct.

(Chairman/Lead Officer) The Overview and Scrutiny Committee has agreed the attached Terms of Reference for the Select Committee for 2017/18.

The updated work programme for the Select Committee for 2017/18 is also attached. The Committee is requested to review current progress with the achievement of the work programme.

The Committee noted its terms of reference for the current year, which had been previously agreed by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Members reviewed progress against the work programme for the Committee for 2016/17, the majority of actions from which had now been achieved. It was reported that, in a number of instances, work programme activities were unlikely to be completed in the current year and would be carried forward into 2017/18.

The Assistant Director of Governance (Development Management) reported that the work programme for 2017/18 was required to be considered and agreed by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee at its first meeting in the next municipal year and sought any suggestions from members for additional work programme priorities.

RESOLVED:

(1)       That the Terms of Reference of the Committee and progress against its work programme for 2016/17, be noted; and

(2)       That the Assistant Director of Governance (Development Management) finalise the draft work programme for 2017/18, for future consideration by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, in consultation with the Chairman of the Select Committee.

(Director of Governance) To consider the attached report arising from the work programme for the Select Committee for 2017/18.

The Committee considered a comprehensive report in regard to the scope of the enforcement activities undertaken as part of the current service portfolio of the Governance Directorate, which comprised corporate fraud and planning enforcement.

Corporate Fraud

It was reported that the main purpose of the Corporate Fraud Team was to provide independent and professional investigation of all aspects of fraud affecting the Council, in order to prevent fraud and abuse and take fair and consistent action against those committing fraudulent activities.

The Corporate Fraud Manager reported that, since its inception, the team had taken both proactive and reactive approaches to anti-fraud work and considered all fraud referrals with a view to risk assessment and, where appropriate, investigation. Members were advised that the team was robustly proactive in the prevention and investigation of fraud within a number of high-risk areas, particularly in relation to social housing, where fraud investigation activity had resulted in policy changes and revisions to internal processes.

The Committee noted that the Corporate Fraud Team was having significant effect in the area of Right to Buy (RTB) applications, where (working in conjunction with the Home Ownership Team) it now vetted all applications to provide assurance that tenancies were being operated correctly and that the RTB Scheme was not being used for money laundering purposes. The Corporate Fraud Manager reported that twenty RTB applications had been stopped and/or withdrawn since April 2016, a number of which had been identified as having significant funding concerns that had given rise to money laundering suspicions, saving approximately £1.5million of potential RTB discount. The Corporate Fraud Manager indicated that, as a result, the  twenty properties involved had continued to remain available as public assets providing future revenue streams (in the form of rent continuing to be paid) to the Council of approximately £1million. Members were advised that other investigations into suspected housing fraud had resulted in eleven Council properties being recovered in order that they could be re-let, resulting in a saving of approximately £200,000.

Members noted that the Corporate Fraud Team was also involved in a number of criminal prosecutions concerning fraud relating to the Local Council Tax Support Scheme, the illegal subletting of Council tenancies and various other offences. It was reported that some of these activities were subject to action under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 for issues such as money laundering and the Corporate Fraud Manager indicated that the Council routinely pursued claims for compensation/confiscation under the Act. In addition, the Corporate Fraud Team also undertook staff-related investigations and standards and proceeds of crime investigations on behalf of other local authorities on a ‘paid-for’ basis. The Corporate Fraud Team had also recently begun an informal joint working arrangement with Chelmsford City Council for the sharing of anti-fraud resources and similar arrangements were currently being explored with other authorities

The Committee was advised that, although the public were encouraged to report fraud, due to the often complex nature of both criminal investigations and subsequent court action, it was important  ...  view the full minutes text for item 50.

(Director of Governance) To consider the attached report arising from the work programme for the Select Committee for 2017/18.

The Committee was advised that a Local Validation Requirements List was required to be prepared by the Council, as the Local Planning Authority, to specify the information usually required to support planning applications of particular type, scale or location. It was reported that the local validation list was required to be reviewed every two years, in accordance with the provisions of the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England)(Order) 2015 and that failure to review the validation requirement list would mean that the Council could only require planning application submissions to contain basic detail in order make them valid.

Members noted that all planning applications were required to meet the relevant elements of the local validation list in order to be considered ‘valid’, otherwise they would not be registered and consulted upon and that it was only when an application had been deemed to be valid, that the start date of the planning application process commenced. The current local validation requirement list had been agreed by the former Planning Services Scrutiny Panel in 2014 and was now due for review.

The Committee therefore considered a draft revised Local Validation Requirements List to provide guidance and certainty to applicants about the information required when submitting planning and related applications, to ensure that the Council had all the necessary information that it needed to determine applications within target times. Once agreed, it was intended that the revised local validation list would be used for registration purposes and be made available on the Council’s website.

The Committee also considered draft proposed guidance on the submission of viability and financial appraisals for affordable housing, that had been produced by the Director of Communities for incorporation within the Local Validation Requirements List. The Director of Communities reported that, in view of the increasing relevance of viability in planning matters and because of its complexity and the absence of detailed formal planning guidance at national level, there was considered to be a need for appropriate local guidance to be adopted.

RESOLVED:

(1)       That the draft revised Planning Application Requirement Validation Checklist and draft ‘Guidance Note to Planning Applicants on the Submission of Viability and Financial Appraisals for Affordable Housing’ be agreed;

(2)       That the draft Validation Checklist and Guidance Note be published on the Council’s website for a period of twenty-eight days, for consultation purposes;

(3)       That any comments submitted during the consultation period be considered by the Assistant Director of Governance (Development Management) and the Director of Communities and that the draft Validation Checklist and Guidance Note be amended as considered necessary and be adopted by way of a formal decision of the Governance and Development Management Portfolio Holder;

(4)       That the adopted Validation Checklist and Guidance Note be used for the purposes of registration of planning applications and be published on the Council’s website as part of the necessary information required to submit a planning application; and

(5)       That the Validation Checklist be kept under regular review and the Director of Governance be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51.

(Director of Governance) To consider the attached report.

The Assistant Director of Governance (Development Management) introduced a report on proposed targets for the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for 2017/18 that were the responsibility of the Committee. Members noted that the adoption of challenging but achievable indicators for each year was an important element of the Council’s Performance Management Framework and that the KOI set was reviewed by Management Board on an annual basis to ensure that indicators and targets presented appropriate challenge to performance in the areas of the Council’s key objectives and priorities. 

The Committee was advised that the provisional target for each indicator had been identified by service directors and relevant Portfolio Holder(s), based on third-quarter performance and the estimated outturn position for the current year. The Assistant Director of Governance (Development Management) reported that Management Board would review the provisional targets against outturn data for 2016/17 when this became available and that any proposed revisions would be reported to the Committee in the next cycle of meetings.

RESOLVED:

That the proposed Key Performance Indicators and targets for 2017/18 for services within the areas of responsibility of the Committee, be agreed.

To consider any reports to be made to the next meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

The Committee did not identify any reports to be made to the next meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Members noted that the next meeting of the Committee would be held at 7.15pm on 4 July 2017.