Agenda and minutes

To receive from Members, declarations of the existence of any disclosable pecuniary, or non-pecuniary, interests and the nature of those interests in relation to any agenda item. Please see Agenda Notes.

There were no declarations of interest.

To declare if any issues to be covered in the Agenda are under party whip.

There were no declarations of party whipping.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 31^st October 2022.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 31^st October were approved and signed as a correct record by the Chair.

To receive any questions from members of the public provided that a question does not relate to:

·       Matters which are the subject of current or pending legal proceedings or

·       Matters relating to employees or former employees of the Council or comments in respect of individual Council Officers.

To ask a question at this meeting, please submit it to democratic.services@gloucester.gov.uk by 12 noon on Wednesday 23^rd November 2022 or telephone 01452 396203 for support.

There were no public questions.

To receive any peitions and deputations provided that no such petition or deputation is in relation to:

·       Matters relating to individual Council Officers, or

·       Matters relating to current or pending legal proceedings.

To present a petition or deputation at this meeting, please submit it to democratic.services@gloucester.gov.uk by 12 noon on Wednesday 23^rd November 2022.

There were no petitions nor deputations.

To note the outcomes of action points arising from previous meetings.

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

To receive the latest version of the Committee’s work programme and the Council’s Forward Plan.

60.1    The Chair, Councillor Pullen, introduced the latest version of the Council Forward Plan and invited suggestions as to any items Members wished to add to the Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme. It was noted that the Chair and Vice-Chair had proposed some amendments to the Work Programme due to revised report dates on the Cabinet Forward Plan.

60.2    Members indicated their support for removing the City Plan from the meeting on 9^th January and replacing this item with the Council Plan 2022-24 Update Report.

60.3    Councillor Gravells emphasised that it was important for Members to bring suggested items to Overview and Scrutiny Committee meetings. He asked whether the Committee could receive an update on the ‘Here to Help’ reporting facility, and how well it was working for residents and Members raising issues on their behalf. Councillor Wilson and the Chair indicated their support for this idea, and it was agreed that this item would be added to the Work Programme.

60.4    In response to a request for an update from Councillor Gravells on the items which had yet to be allocated a date on the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme, the Democratic and Electoral Services Officer explained that she was in touch with colleagues in Gloucestershire County Council and Gloucestershire NHS Trust and would confirm dates for the Transport and Integrated Care System sessions in due course. It was agreed that items which had been removed from the Forward Plan would also be removed from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme, and would be reinstated should they receive a new Cabinet date.

60.5    The Chair noted that the Group Leads had been advised that several local authorities were establishing Task and Finish Groups to investigate whether there were any widespread systemic mould and damp issues within local social housing. The Chair asked Members whether the Committee would like to commission a similar Task and Finish Group. It was agreed that enquiries would be made with all Councillors to ask Members who were interested in taking part in the Task and Finish Group to put themselves forward, and if there was sufficient interest, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee would formally approve the membership.

          RESOLVED –

1)    That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme be amended to reflect the above and

2)    To NOTE the Work Programme.

To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources informing Members of the Council’s performance against key measures in Quarter 2 of 2022/23.

61.1    The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources introduced the report and explained that the report set out the council’s performance against a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) for the second financial quarter of 2022. She noted that there were 28 key indicators, and that the performance data was set out in Appendix 1 of the report. The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources further explained that where targets existed, they had been included along with a narrative to explain the data.

61.2    The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources advised Members that areas seeing an improving trend were the average customer telephone waiting time, the percentage of domestic waste collected on time, footfall at the Museum of Gloucester and staff absence rate. She confirmed that areas seeing a declining trend included the number of unique visits to the Visit Gloucester website.

61.3    Councillor Hilton referred to KPI CCM-2 and the narrative confirming that only one Enforcement Officer was currently operating in the team. He asked for clarification as to how many officers would usually be operating in a normal established team, and whether the Cabinet Member could provide more information about how the council was supporting the contractor with their recruitment. The Cabinet Member noted that this was the portfolio area of the Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Environment and it was agreed that follow-up enquiries would be made with the Communities team to ascertain this information.

61.4    In response to a query from Councillor Wilson relating to CWB-13 and the percentage of compliant food premises, the Financial Services Manager confirmed that Councillor Wilson was correct that food inspection visits were still being undertaken however there were ongoing issues with recording the data due to the cyber incident.

61.5    Councillor Wilson asked whether this data would be backdated. The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources confirmed that it would be, however she was not yet in a position to confirm the date as to when this data would be available.

61.6    The Chair referred to KPI CS-7 and the target of customer telephone waiting time to be below 1 minute 55 seconds. He expressed that in his view, this was still a long time for customers to wait and asked whether the Customer Services team had access to data detailing how many customers ended their call before it could be answered. The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources confirmed that Customer Services did have this data, however there was no way of establishing whether calls had been dropped due to listening to the various prompt messages signposting alternative ways in which to access council services. She suggested that this matter could be covered in further detail during the ‘Here to Help’ Overview and Scrutiny Committee session.

61.7    Councillor Wilson asked whether the target time of 1 minute 55 seconds included the amount of time taken to read out the prompt message, The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources confirmed that she would follow-up the query  ...  view the full minutes text for item 61.

To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning Strategy updating Members on the Council’s role in the delivery of affordable homes.

62.1    The Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Strategy introduced the report and confirmed that its purpose was to update Members on the Council’s role in the delivery of affordable homes. She noted that Gloucester City Council does not manage its own housing stock but does provide temporary accommodation for homeless households in need of urgent short-term accommodation.

62.2    The Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Strategy informed Members that current planning policy requires housing developers to provide a minimum of 20% affordable homes when seeking planning consent for large planning developments unless there were viability issues with the scheme. In this case, developers would need to outline why the scheme would not be viable if they were to deliver the 20% requirement. She confirmed that the Housing Strategy team worked closely with providers and that there were national issues affecting affordable housing delivery across the UK.

62.3    The Chair noted that the council was seeing increasing numbers of Homeseeker applications and expressed that in his view, there were too many people in temporary accommodation in Gloucester. He felt that the 20% affordable housing target should be treated as a minimum and ideally, developers should be looking to exceed this target. The Chair referred to the housing developments along Horton Road and Great Western Road and commented that it was unlikely that those developments would meet the 20% affordable housing requirement. He asked for the Cabinet Member’s comments as to whether the council should be stricter in enforcing this requirement.

62.4    The Housing Innovation Manager noted that planning policy dictated that new developments should include a provision for 20% of the development to be affordable homes, however it was open to developers to cite viability challenges. He referred to the information provided at 3.8 in the report confirming that viability is often influenced by a number of factors, including the sale value of affordable homes. He confirmed that the Great Western Road development was currently going through the planning permission process and that Officers were considering viability issues. The Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Strategy further confirmed that Officers took affordable housing policy very seriously and that she was confident that they would challenge developers where necessary.

62.5    Councillor Wilson referred to the narrative at 3.22 in the report regarding the requirement in the Joint Strategic Plan that 35% of new homes built on the boundary of Gloucester and Tewkesbury should be affordable homes, and asked how legally enforceable this provision was. The Head of Place confirmed that as this was a policy, this was not enforceable by law but would be something that Officers would carefully consider alongside other planning considerations. The Housing Innovation Manager added that there were many planning balances that Officers needed to look at when assessing an application.

62.6    Councillor Gravells reflected on his previous experience serving as Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Strategy and asked whether the team made use of a consultant for additional advice where appropriate. The Housing Innovation Manager  ...  view the full minutes text for item 62.

To receive an update from the Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure on the implementation of the recommendations resulting from the latest Leisure and Culture Options Appraisal.

Report to follow.

63.1    The Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure advised Members that SLC consultancy had undertaken an options assessment back in 2021 into Gloucester’s Leisure and Culture Services. He noted that the report included recommendations which had been reviewed and approved by Cabinet, and confirmed that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee were being updated on the implementation of the 6 major SLC recommendations for Leisure provision and the remaining 7 for Cultural Services. The Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure noted that implementation of all of the recommendations was underway and noted that most were on track or completed. He paid tribute to the Culture team for their hard work.

63.2    In response to a query from Councillor Hilton in relation to some of the larger biannual and triannual events taking place in Gloucester and plans for the years where those events were not taking place, the Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure emphasised that there was a need to make the culture scene in Gloucester sustainable. He accepted that it was important for some events to be held annually however he noted that his team could not take a one size fits all approach. The Head of Culture further noted that the team were limited by budget and capacity and that funding from external sources was important. He advised Members that the team were working on submitting an Arts Council bid for more funding in due course.

63.3    Councillor Hilton asked whether the City Council had held discussions with Gloucestershire County Council over the future plans for the former Debenhams building. The Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure stated that although the City Council might aspire for it to be returned to its ownership, it was important that the building condition was fit for purpose.

63.4    In response to a follow-up question from Councillor Hilton regarding whether extensive restoration works were needed, the Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure confirmed that a survey would be needed to ensure that the building was sound.

63.5    Councillor Dee referred to Cultural Recommendation 2 highlighting that the council should challenge its current approach focused on cultural buildings and asked for further information about this approach. The Head of Culture explained that the SLC consultancy had analysed the council’s investment in listed buildings which have high running costs. He confirmed that the council needed to consider whether subsidies were being used in the right places and that a number of options were being considered, alongside advice from the culture sector. The Head of Culture further explained that the council had used capital investment to make improvements at the Gloucester Guildhall, and the team were hoping to make similar improvements to the Museum of Gloucester with capital investment.

63.6    Councillor Durdey thanked the Culture team for their hard work.

63.7    In response to a query from Councillor Pullen relating to the Culture budget around Aspire Leisure, the Head of Culture suggested that he raise his query during the Budget Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 63.

To RESOLVE that:

The press and public be excluded from the meeting during the following item of business 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. Agenda Item No. 13. Description of Exempt Information: Paragraph 3: Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

64.1    Councillor Hilton expressed the view that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee should not exclude the press and public from the meeting. He felt it was in the public interest for the report to be in the public domain. The City Growth and Deliver Manager explained that there was commercially sensitive information in the report.

64.2    Councillor Hilton’s proposal was put to a vote and was lost.

64.3    The Chair resolved to exclude the press and public from the meeting during discussion of the item on the grounds that if the press and public were present during consideration of the item there would be disclosure to them exempt information as defined in Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 as amended.

64.4    RESOLVED:- That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during the following item of business 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.

To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources and Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Strategy seeking to give authority to enter negotiations with Gloucester City Homes over the transfer of land in Podsmead to enable the regeneration of the estate.

RESOLVED – That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee NOTE the report as per the exempt minutes.

Monday 5^th December 2022.

Monday 5^th December 2022.