Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no declarations of party whipping.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on Monday 1^st November 2021 were approved and signed as a correct record by the Chair.

There were no public questions.

There were no petitions nor deuputations.

RESOLVED – That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee NOTE the updates.

59.1    The Chair introduced the latest version of the Council Forward Plan and suggested that the Committee examine the Gloucester City Monuments Review in January 2022. The Committee agreed to add this item to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme. In response to a question from Councillor A. Chambers regarding what would happen to monuments where connections with trafficking of enslaved African people had been identified, the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources confirmed that the report would include suggestions and noted that it might not be a one size fits all approach. She noted her view that it was a good thing that the Race Relations Review and Monuments Review were separate pieces of work so that each could be given appropriate consideration.

59.2    Councillor Hilton noted that the Forum Phase 2 Approval and Appointment of Main Contractor report was no longer being considered by full Council and asked for an explanation as to why this was the case. The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources noted that the Council had recently received advice from One Legal which confirmed that this was a decision which could be made by Cabinet and that it did not need the approval of main Council. She noted that if Members had any questions which they would like to put to Cabinet on this item, they were welcome to submit a written question in line with the recent changes to the Council Procedure Rules, and could also attend the Cabinet meeting in person if they had a supplementary question.

59.3    Following a request from the Chair to expand on the new question process for the benefit of new Members, the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources confirmed that following the recent constitutional changes to the Procedure Rules, there was now a requirement to provide notice of questions three clear working days in advance of Cabinet meetings. She explained that if Members wanted to ask questions, they could put them in writing to Democratic Services ahead of this deadline.

59.4    The Chair asked whether the Committee would like to consider the Festival and Events Programme and it was agreed that this item would be added to the Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme for the meeting on 31^st January 2022.

59.5    Councillor Dee asked whether the Overview and Scrutiny Committee needed to consider the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and National Model Design Code. The Chair expressed the view that due to the technical nature of the report, this might be more of a planning matter and it was agreed that the Committee could revisit the item at a later date if necessary.

59.6    In response to a query from Councillor A. Chambers regarding the Armed Forces Community Covenant, the Chair confirmed that the Committee had already considered the 2021 report back in October and if Councillor A. Chambers had any specific questions, he could approach Councillor Lewis as the Member Armed Forces Champion.

59.7    In response to a further question from Councillor A.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 59.

60.1    The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources introduced the report and explained that the purpose was to confirm the Council’s current financial position against the agreed budgets for the 2021/22 financial year. She noted that the current forecast year-end position for the financial year was an increase to the General Fund balance of £173k against a budgeted increase of £123k.

60.2    The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources confirmed that areas facing pressures included Planning, Environment and Performance and Resources. She further noted that areas that were seeing stability and therefore forecast to be on budget were Communities and Neighbourhoods and Culture and Leisure. In relation to parking, the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources highlighted that the number of people parking in the city had slowly increased since May 2021 which had resulted an improvement to the year-end forecast outcome to a £500k shortfall, however this was being closely monitored.

60.3    The Chair noted his interest in the Culture and Leisure portfolio in particular and asked for the Cabinet Members’ comments as to whether any preparation was underway in light of the latest Covid-19 developments. The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources confirmed that she was not aware of any issues at that time, however she noted that where there had been restrictions on cultural venues during earlier stages of the pandemic, staff had handled the rearranging or cancelling of events excellently. She noted that she was confident that staff would do their best to minimise the impact on impact on services in the event of further restrictions.

60.4    Councillor Pullen expressed concerns that car parking income was an ongoing problem with little sign of improvement. He referred to the Sales, Fees & Charges claim which the Council had submitted for Quarter 1 and asked whether the Council could place a further bid to help towards the £500k shortfall in this area. The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources clarified that the previous Quarter 1 return was the last Quarter Councils could submit Sales, Feels & Charges claims from Government. This said, the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources confirmed that should the Covid-19 situation worsen, local authorities would look to central Government to re-establish funding. She also reiterated that the Council were seeing some incremental increases in parking revenue.

60.5    In response to a further question from Councillor Pullen regarding the budget pressures and £326k shortfall from cemeteries and crematorium services, the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources confirmed that the lost income was mainly as a result of a reduction in income from wakes at the Arbor. She noted that she had been advised by colleagues in crematorium services that the next few months were predicted to be a busy period for the Arbor crematorium and further income would depend on whether people had the confidence to hold wakes. The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources confirmed that if further support was available from Government in due course, the Council would be at  ...  view the full minutes text for item 60.

61.1    The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources introduced the report and explained that the purpose was to inform Members of the Council’s performance against key measures in Quarter 2 of 2021/22 and noted that the data was set out in Appendix 1. The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources further noted that where targets exist, they were included along with a narrative to explain the data. She confirmed that measures seeing an improvement were homelessness preventions, the number of environmental-crime FPNS and Museum of Gloucester footfall, whereas areas showing a declining trend were recycling collection and staff absence rates.

61.2    Councillor Pullen referred to performance indicator CWB-13 relating to the percentage of broadly compliant food premises. He noted that the narrative indicated that the reduction of broadly compliant food premises was down to a shortage of qualified Food Safety Inspectors (EHPs) with the appropriate level of training. Councillor Pullen asked how many EHPs were currently employed by the Council and how many EHPs should be employed by Councils.

61.3    The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources confirmed that she had received some background advice from the Head of Communities and that the reason for the increased demand in food safety inspections was due to an increase in new businesses opening after the restrictions on the hospitality industry were lifted. She confirmed that premises were inspected on a priority basis and this was based on risk, for example, premises handling raw meat were considered to be riskier than bakeries. It was agreed that further enquiries would be made with the Communities team regarding the staffing situation.

61.4    Councillor Wilson referred to the measure relating to average customer waiting time (CS-8). He noted that during the previous year, the average waiting time was 45 seconds – 1 minute which was considerably shorter than the current target of 2 minutes and asked why this was the case. The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources explained that part of the reason for the reduced call volume during 2020 could be explained by people facing other challenges during lockdown. She confirmed that setting targets was an operational decision made by senior management. The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources further noted that there had been other challenges such as the training of new staff and that the issues which were being dealt with by the customer service team were more complex, such as bulky waste collection. This said, she noted that work was underway to enable residents to order bulky waste collection online.

61.5    In response to additional concerns raised by Councillor Wilson regarding whether the current target was ambitious and whether officers were being challenged enough, the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources confirmed that she would share the feedback with the Head of Communities and Customer Services Manager at the next Cabinet Member briefing.

61.6    In response to a question from the Chair regarding whether there was any other way that residents could report missed recycling collections aside from the online Report  ...  view the full minutes text for item 61.

62.1    The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources introduced the report and explained that the purpose was to outline viable options for ongoing office accommodation for City Council staff. She confirmed that the report was asking Cabinet to resolve that the option to relocate to the Eastgate Shopping Centre in 2022 be approved and that negotiations were commenced with Gloucestershire County Council as to the current rental levels. She noted that the report outlined 4 options, namely to remain in Shire Hall but negotiate a lower rent, to relocate to the Eastgate Shopping Centre office space, to move to North Warehouse or to relocate to alternative accommodation. It was noted that the option to move to North Warehouse was not available in the short term due to the tenancy agreement with Regus.

62.2    The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources noted that if the Committee wished to discuss the savings outlined in Appendix 3, the Committee would need to move into private session. She also confirmed that City Council staff had been briefed on the proposed move and that an overwhelmingly positive response had been received. She referred to the narrative at 8.3, and confirmed that elected Member accommodation and parking were under review and that a detailed briefing session could be provided in due course if requested by Members.

62.3    Councillor Wilson noted that he had first read about the proposals in the press. He referred to the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources’ comments regarding favourable feedback from staff and asked how this feedback was gathered. The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources confirmed that the matter was raised by the Managing Director during a recent staff Q&A session. The Head of Policy and Resources further confirmed that staff had been invited to take any feedback to the change champions group. He noted that the main concerns raised were changing facilities for staff who cycled to work and parking provision.

62.4    Councillor Wilson requested clarification on the statement in the report that the option to relocate to the Eastgate was a temporary move subject to the review of long-term portfolio and office requirements. The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources indicated that this wording alluded to the possibility of City Council staff returning to North Warehouse at some point in the future, however there was no option to end the tenancy contract with Regus in the short-term.

62.5    Councillor Pullen thanked the Cabinet Member for her assurances on stability and noted that he felt that the recommendation was sensible in principle. He expressed the view that the location was ideal and that it was sensible for the Council to take an opportunity to make savings. Councillor Pullen referred to a recent press release which described plans to bring the Council into the heart of the city. He noted that although relocating to the Eastgate Shopping Centre would move the Council into the city centre, customer services would still be located at the Gateway on Westgate Street and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 62.

RESOLVED  - That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during the following item of business (Agenda item 13) on the grounds that it is likely, in view of the nature of business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the press and public are present during consideration of this item there will be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 as amended.

RESOLVED – As per the recommendations in the confidential report.

Monday 6^th December 2021.