Minutes:
Climate Change & Communities Scrutiny Committee
Councillor Nick Clarke, Chair of Climate Change & Communities Scrutiny Committee, presented the following update to the meeting.
The Climate Change & Communities Scrutiny Committee had agreed at its first meeting that for its Review work this year, Members would continue the review work that had been started by the former Healthy, Safe, Clean & Green Communities Scrutiny Committee. One was in relation to the Council’s policy on Sky Lanterns and Helium Balloons and one in relation to the Council’s policy on Fireworks. A draft report on the Review of the Council’s Policy on Fireworks had now been considered and was due to complete at the next meeting.
While this work had been in the background, Members had been focusing on their main review looking at the Council’s Voluntary Community Sector (VCS) Grant Allocation Scheme. This had not been reviewed for some time and the impact of the pandemic had highlighted that demand in certain service areas was now greater than before. Members had a number of detailed conversations with the Partnerships Team and were assessing how grants were determined, alignment to the Council’s Ambitions, the evaluation and performance monitoring process, emerging needs as a result of the pandemic, and future requirements in relation to governance and transparency of the scheme.
Within the main public sessions, Committee had considered a number of reports this year including;
· Licensing Policies out to consultation covering Mandatory CCTV in Taxi’s and a review of the main Taxi and Private Hire Policy
· The annual monitoring update on the Health & Wellbeing Framework covering the 2020/21 year. Specific discussions took place around employee support, mental health, sickness (particularly the change in figures for 2021/22) and home working.
· Consultation on an amended Licensing Policy (as per the Council’s approach to Policy/Strategy development including consultation with scrutiny).
· Annual Monitoring Update on Sustainable Community Strategy 2020-23 and current Partnership delivery
Members were due to consider Delivery of Leisure Service post Covid-19 and the annual Review of the Community Safety Partnership.
Local Growth Scrutiny Committee
On behalf of Councillor Jenny Wilson, Chair of the Local Growth Scrutiny Committee, Councillor Tom Munro presented the following update;
At the first two meetings of the new Local Growth Scrutiny Committee last year, Members had detailed discussions around the integration of Social Value in Council Policy and Delivery. This was subsequently chosen as a review topic for the year.
To date, Members had looked at how social value could be integrated in to Council delivery; a potential draft structure for a Social Value Strategy; the requirements of social value outcomes as part of the Council’s procurement processes; Social Value Indicators which could be integrated in to the Council’s Business Growth Strategy, and were aware of the scope for other service areas to expand this work further in the future. The next stage was to look at potential software systems that would allow the Committee to evaluate the Council’s social value outcomes.
Committee had considered a number of reports this year including;
· Q1 and Q2 Monitoring Updates on the Business Growth Strategy
· A progress update on the Council’s Garage sites, the current status of the sites and future plans
· an update on the impact of Covid-19 on the local economy
Members were due to receive Q3 and Q4 monitoring updates on the Business Growth Strategy; and an update on progress at the former Coalite site.
Customer Services Scrutiny
On behalf of Councillor Rose Bowler, Chair of the Customer Services Scrutiny Committee, Councillor Tom Munro presented the following update;
At the first meeting, as the new Customer Services Scrutiny Committee in August, Members received a briefing on the Council’s adapted accommodation following an earlier report to Executive and a recommendation for review by Scrutiny. A review scope had been agreed and the Committee was progressing this piece of work.
A number of briefings had been received from Housing officers in relation to the current approach to adapted accommodation; assessed what policy amendments and new policies may be required, and this had resulted in the production of a draft Adaptations Policy.
The review was also looking at how the Council’s stock was currently mapped/analysed to ensure that where new stock was built, it was placed in areas that matched the tenant/resident profile.
Discussions had taken place in relation to mobility scooters and other access issues and how the Council worked with DCC on their assessments.
Committee had also considered a number of reports this year including;
· Consultation on the proposed revision to the Tenant Alteration & Improvement Policy
· Consultation on the Housing Rechargeable Repairs Policy
· Consultation on the North Derbyshire Rough Sleeper Strategy 2021-2023
· Customer Service Standards and Compliments, Comments and Complaints Annual Report 2019/20
· LG&SCO and Housing Ombudsman Annual Report 2019/20
Members were due to consider the Q1/Q2 Customer Standards and Complaints report and would also be receiving monitoring updates on the Housing Strategy and the work of the Transformation Governance Group.
The meeting concluded at 1620 hours.