Agenda and minutes

*O&S 37                      

Apologies for absence for this meeting were received from Cllr A Coulson

*O&S 38         

The minutes of the Meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 6 October 2020 were confirmed by the Meeting as a true and correct record.

For clarity, officers confirmed that:

-          Minute Reference *O&S 28 ‘A386 Transport Infrastructure – Verbal Update’: with regard to the meeting between the Borough Council and the Dartmoor National Park Authority on the cycle proposals, it was noted that this meeting was to be held on 11 November 2020; and

-          Minute Reference *O&S 29 ‘Future IT Project Update’: the launch of the Microsoft Teams platform was to be undertaken on 26 November, with Member Training being held on 27 and 30 November.

Members are invited to declare any personal or disclosable pecuniary interests, including the nature and extent of such interests they may have in any items to be considered at this meeting.

If Councillors have any questions relating to predetermination, bias or interests in items on this Agenda, then please contact the Monitoring Officer in advance of the meeting.

*O&S 39          

Members and officers were invited to declare any interests in the items of business to be considered during the course of this meeting but there were none made.

A period of up to 15 minutes is available to deal with issues raised by the public.   

*O&S 40          

The Chairman informed that no formal requests had been received in accordance with the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules.

If any Member seeks further clarity, or wishes to raise issues regarding any future Hub Committee agenda item, please contact Democratic Services before 5.00pm on Thursday, 5 November to ensure that the lead officer(s) are aware of this request in advance of the meeting.

*O&S 41          

The Chairman confirmed that no prior requests had been received for updates on any future Hub Committee agenda items at this meeting.

*O&S 42          

The Committee considered a report that provided it with the opportunity to scrutinise the work of the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) in accordance with Sections 19 and 20 of the Police and Justice Act 2006 and the Crime and Disorder (Overview and Scrutiny) Regulations 2009.

In the ensuing debate, the following points were raised:

(a)     With regard to the Local Delivery Plan, the Committee recognised that it would need to be reflective of both data and intelligence;

(b)     When questioned, the CSP representatives informed the Committee that there was an upward trend in instances of radicalisation and extremist behaviour and this was becoming a key area of work for the Partnership.  In addition, the representatives acknowledged that local Ward Members were a good source of local intelligence that should be utilised;

(c)     The Committee noted that the CSP had recently been successful in obtaining a four year bid from the Office of the Police Crime Commissioner to a value of £225,000 per year.  Members congratulated the CSP representatives on this achievement and recognised that this funding would have a significant impact;

(d)     For clarity, the CSP representatives advised that, in the event of Members wishing to report instances of anti-social behaviour, then these should be reported to the Police (for their evidence base) with the Council’s CSP representative and Anti-Social Behaviour Officer also being made aware;

(e)     In respect of the Council annual funding contributions allocated to the CSP, the Chairman confirmed that, if Members wished to give consideration to increasing the current funding provision, then it would be more appropriate for this to be considered at the next Committee meeting to be held on 19 January 2021;

(f)       A Member asked that they be invited to attend the monthly Anti-Social Behaviour meetings with partner agencies.  In reply, the representatives confirmed that they would action this request.

O&S 43           

The Committee considered a report that provided Members with the opportunity to annually scrutinise and review Safeguarding practice and procedure.

It was then:

RESOLVED

1.       That the Committee continue to review Safeguarding on an annual basis; and

*O&S 44          

Consideration was given to a report that provided an annual update on the workings of the Locality Service and how it had evolved from its initial inception in 2015.

In discussion, reference was made to:

(a)     the success of the Service.  A number of Members commended the work of the Service and were of the view that it remained one of the real success stories that had arisen from the Council’s T18 Transformation Programme;

(b)     the ongoing Task and Finish Group Review.  Officers informed that both the Council and South Hams District Council had recently established Task and Finish Groups to review the current working arrangements of the Service.  In addition, the Borough Council review sought to consider the relationship between the Service, wider Council teams and the Community Clustering arrangements that were established in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.  At the request of the Committee, it was agreed that the review should also give consideration to the relationship between the Service and local town and parish councils.

It was then:

RESOLVED

That the Committee continues to support the Locality Model pending ongoing monitoring and a further report being presented to the Committee in twelve months’ time.

*O&S 45          

The lead Hub Committee Member for the Economy advised that a report was to be presented to the Hub Committee meeting on 1 December 2020 that would seek to:

-          approve the development of a ‘Broadband Community Support Strategy’ to support the Council’s Economic and Health and Wellbeing objectives;

-          recommend to Council approval of the creation of a Broadband Community Support Earmarked reserve of £100,000; and

-          approve the Council entering into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Sydenham Damerel Community Fibre Partnership.

In discussion, the following points were raised:

(a)     Members hoped that the Sydenham Damerel Community Fibre Partnership could be used as a template for other areas and promote the benefits of encouraging others to adopt a similar approach;

(b)     The Committee recognised that this update was really positive and should be viewed as a good news story, with the social cohesion benefits also being recognised.

*O&S 46          

(a)     Consultation and Engagement Strategy

The Chairman of the Task and Finish Group highlighted that the Review was progressing well and informed that particular focus was currently being given to:

o  How the Council could improve its means of communicating and engaging with hard to reach groups; and

o  The best means of obtaining (and addressing) suggestions and feedback received by residents and stakeholders.

(b)     Localities and Clusters

The Group Chairman highlighted the discussions that had been carried out earlier in this meeting on the Locality Service (Minute *O&S 44 above refers) and committed to taking these into account at the next meeting of the Task and Finish Group.

(c)     Economy Working Group

The lead Hub Committee Member made particular reference to:

o  The last Working Group meeting had reviewed the economic aspects of the draft Recovery Plan and Members had looked to identify some quick economic wins;

o  The new Head of Placemaking had recently joined the employ of the Council;

o  The Working Group was looking to facilitate a roundtable business meeting with local representatives with the intention of ascertaining whether there was anything that the Council could do to support businesses in these incredibly difficult times;

o  Work being ongoing to develop a ‘click and collect’ service in Tavistock; and

o  A car parking charges report being presented to the Council meeting to be held on 8 December 2020 that would present a set of recommendations that intended to provide support to local residents and businesses.

*O&S 47          

The Committee considered the latest version of its draft Annual Work Programme for 2020/21 and, in discussion, the Committee felt that an additional agenda item should be included for 19 January 2021 meeting to enable for Members to prepare for the attendance of Fusion representatives at the Committee meeting to be held on 2 March 2021.

This document can be made available in large print, Braille, tape format, other languages or alternative format upon request. Please contact the Committee section on 01822 813662 or email darryl.white@swdevon.gov.uk

*O&S 48          

The Committee was reminded of the earlier assurances (Minute O&S 38 above refers) that had been given whereby Member training sessions on Microsoft Teams had been arranged to take place on 27 and 30 November 2020.