to consider the following motions received in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10.1:
(a) By Cllrs Tucker and Wright
“That authority be delegated to a Member Working Group on behalf of the Council, to consider and submit a response to the Government’s technical consultation document on the future of the New Homes Bonus scheme. The Member Working Group is to consist of four Members, with appointments to be confirmed by Group Leaders.
The link to the consultation document is provided below:
(b) By Cllrs Pennington and Tucker
“The proposed four year reduction in the Settlement Funding Assessment (SFA) is likely to undermine vital essential statutory services which are efficiently provided by South Hams District Council. This is a view fully endorsed by our external auditors Grant Thornton in their Value for Money report 2014/15 in which they state:-
‘On the basis of our work and having regard to the guidance on the specified criteria published by the Audit Commission we were satisfied that in all significant respects the Council put in place proper arrangements to secure economy, efficiency and effectiveness in its use of resources for the year ending 31 March 2015.’
Therefore, in view of the Council’s economic delivery of services, we request the Secretary of State for Local Government to seek agreement with the Chancellor of the Exchequer to return the SFA at the 2016/17 level over the next four years and also consider improvements in line with any inflation.”
(c) By Cllrs Green and Hodgson
“This Council hereby:
1. defers consideration as to whether to create a Local Authority Company for at least a year to enable the changes that are being implemented under the T18 process to become effective;
2. commits to carry out an impact assessment in conjunction with the business community to consider the effect which a large and highly competitive LACC would have on them and the wider local economy;
3. agrees to focus more resources on investigating options for savings and income generation for the next 2 – 4 years;
4. encourages West Devon Borough Council to consider extending its current waste contract for one year; and
5. commits to carry out an assessment into the feasibility of the SHDC waste team taking on the West Devon Borough Council waste contract.”
(d) By Cllrs Hodgson and Vint
“That the Overview and Scrutiny Panel be requested to invite a representative from the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to come and speak to a future Panel meeting regarding their role in local enterprise and their involvement in the Devolution Bid. This would provide an opportunity for greater understanding of who is involved in the Heart of The South West Partnership.”
(e) By Cllrs Hodgson and Horsburgh
“Given the concerns of many local residents in the South Hams, this Council will make its concerns known to the Secretary of State for Planning regarding the new Housing Bill. This new legislation undermines local democracy and the provisions of localism in the planning process. The new measures proposed would allow for agreed development and policies in the Local Plan to be overturned against local views, public representation and without proper public consultation.”
Minutes:
It was noted that five motions had been received in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10.1.
(a)By Cllrs Tucker and Wright
“That authority be delegated to a Member Working Group on behalf of the Council, to consider and submit a response to the Government’s technical consultation document on the future of the New Homes Bonus scheme. The Member Working Group is to consist of four Members, with appointments to be confirmed by Group Leaders.”
In introducing the motion, the proposer highlighted the tight time constraints associated with responding to the consultation document before the prescribed deadline of 10 March 2016.
During the ensuing debate, some Members emphasised the seriousness of this consultation document and requested that the draft consultation response on the National Planning Policy Framework (Minute 59/15 below refers) should be both used as a template and read in conjunction with the response on this consultation document.
It was then:
RESOLVED
That authority be delegated to a Member Working Group on behalf of the Council, to consider and submit a response to the Government’s technical consultation document on the future of the New Homes Bonus scheme. The Member Working Group is to consist of four Members, with appointments to be confirmed by Group Leaders.
(b)By Cllrs Pennington and Tucker
“The proposed four year reduction in the Settlement Funding Assessment (SFA) is likely to undermine vital essential statutory services which are efficiently provided by South Hams District Council. This is a view fully endorsed by our external auditors Grant Thornton in their Value for Money report 2014/15 in which they state:-
‘On the basis of our work and having regard to the guidance on the specified criteria published by the Audit Commission we were satisfied that in all significant respects the Council put in place proper arrangements to secure economy, efficiency and effectiveness in its use of resources for the year ending 31 March 2015.’
Therefore, in view of the Council’s economic delivery of services, we request the Secretary of State for Local Government to seek agreement with the Chancellor of the Exchequer to return the SFA at the 2016/17 level over the next four years and also consider improvements in line with any inflation.”
In introducing his motion, the proposer made reference to:-
(a)the Council being a prudent and efficient local authority, which was a view echoed by Grant Thornton;
(b)his view that central government funding was being wrongly directed towards Foreign Aid.
In discussion, a number of Members endorsed the sentiments of the motion, but wished to distance themselves from the comments of the proposer in relation to Foreign Aid.
It was then:
RESOLVED
The proposed four year reduction in the Settlement Funding Assessment (SFA) is likely to undermine vital essential statutory services which are efficiently provided by South Hams District Council. This is a view fully endorsed by our external auditors Grant Thornton in their Value for Money report 2014/15 in which they state:-
‘On the basis of our work and having regard to the guidance on the specified criteria published by the Audit Commission we were satisfied that in all significant respects the Council put in place proper arrangements to secure economy, efficiency and effectiveness in its use of resources for the year ending 31 March 2015.’
Therefore, in view of the Council’s economic delivery of services, we request the Secretary of State for Local Government to seek agreement with the Chancellor of the Exchequer to return the SFA at the 2016/17 level over the next four years and also consider improvements in line with any inflation.
(c)By Cllrs Green and Hodgson
“This Council hereby:
1. defers consideration as to whether to create a Local Authority Company for at least a year to enable the changes that are being implemented under the T18 process to become effective;
2. commits to carry out an impact assessment in conjunction with the business community to consider the effect which a large and highly competitive LACC would have on them and the wider local economy;
3. agrees to focus more resources on investigating options for savings and income generation for the next 2 – 4 years;
4. encourages West Devon Borough Council to consider extending its current waste contract for one year; and
5. commits to carry out an assessment into the feasibility of the SHDC waste team taking on the West Devon Borough Council waste contract.”
In introducing the motion, the proposer highlighted the debate and recommendations which had been generated during the Executive meeting held on 4 February 2016 (Minute E.62/15 refers). As a consequence of these discussions, the proposer wished to alter his motion to the following:-
‘This Council hereby agrees to set up a Working Group to consider alternatives to establishing a Local Authority Controlled Company (LACC).’
(NOTE. the Working Group will investigate opportunities for savings to be made and for generating additional income and some recommendations may well be able to be implemented even with the creation of a LACC.)
In support of the revised wording, some Members were of the view that the Council was rushing ahead too quickly with these proposals and had failed to explore other alternative potential options.
In reply, other Members felt that the motion was premature and made reference to the proposals being next scheduled for consideration at a Special Council meeting on 25 February 2016. In addition, the point was made that the Special Council meeting would only be seeking agreement at this time to produce a detailed business case and implementation plan that would then enable further consideration of the merits of establishing a LACC.
When put to the vote, the motion was declared LOST.
(d)By Cllrs Hodgson and Vint
“That the Overview and Scrutiny Panel be requested to invite a representative from the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to come and speak to a future Panel meeting regarding their role in local enterprise and their involvement in the Devolution Bid. This would provide an opportunity for greater understanding of who is involved in the Heart of The South West Partnership.”
The proposer highlighted that she was aware of concerns regarding the accountability of the LEP and she would welcome an in-depth Overview and Scrutiny review of the organisation.
The Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel proceeded to advise that it was a matter for the Panel itself to set its own work programme. Furthermore, the Chairman highlighted the adopted Scrutiny Proposal form, which was a tool for Members to submit potential future agenda items. Nonetheless, the importance of the issue was recognised and the Chairman confirmed that he was supportive of taking this request to the next Panel meeting.
It was then:
RESOLVED
That the Overview and Scrutiny Panel be requested to invite a representative from the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to come and speak to a future Panel meeting regarding their role in local enterprise and their involvement in the Devolution Bid. This would provide an opportunity for greater understanding of who is involved in the Heart of The South West Partnership.
(e)By Cllrs Hodgson and Horsburgh
‘Given the concerns of many local residents in the South Hams, this Council will make its concerns known to the Secretary of State for Planning regarding the new Housing Bill. This new legislation undermines local democracy and the provisions of localism in the planning process. The new measures proposed would allow for agreed development and policies in the Local Plan to be overturned against local views, public representation and without proper public consultation.’
In introducing the motion, the proposer and seconder highlighted their concerns with the Bill. In particular, notable concerns were raised in relation to the right to buy initiative would lead to a dramatic reduction in available housing stock.
In discussion, specific reference was made to the timing of the motion. Some Members commented that they had a great deal of sympathy with the tone of the motion and felt that the ‘right to buy’ policy would be disastrous for the South Hams. However, these Members also felt that, since the Bill had already been considered by the House of Lords, it was unlikely that there would be further consultation in this regard.
In addition, some Members highlighted the relevance of the motion that was submitted by Cllrs Wright and Ward (and subsequently agreed by the Council at its meeting on 10 December 2015) whereby the Council wished to express its concerns on the proposals whereby Housing Associations would have to cut Social housing rents by 1% each year (Minute 48/15(a) refers).
When put to the vote, the motion was subsequently declared LOST.