Agenda and minutes
Venue: Conference Chamber West F1R09
Contact: Christine Brain
Email: Christine.Brain@westsuffolk.gov.uk
Items
No. |
Item |
236. |
Substitutes
Any Member who is substituting for another
Member should so indicate, together with the name of the relevant
absent Member.
Minutes:
The following substitution was declared:
Councillor Patricia Warby for Councillor
Richard Rout.
|
237. |
Apologies for Absence
Minutes:
Apologies for absence were received from
Councillors Patrick Chung, Paul Hopfensperger, Richard Rout and
Frank Warby.
|
238. |
Minutes PDF 130 KB
To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on
6 June 2018 (copy attached).
Minutes:
The minutes of the meeting held on 6 June
2018, were confirmed as an accurate record and signed by the
Chairman.
|
239. |
Public Participation
Members of the public who live or work in the
Borough are invited to put one question/statement of not more than
3 minutes duration relating to items to be discussed in Part 1 of
the agenda only. If a question is asked
and answered within 3 minutes, the person who asked the question
may ask a supplementary question that arises from the reply.
A person who wishes to speak must register at
least 15 minutes before the time the meeting is scheduled to
start.
There is an overall limit of 15 minutes for
public speaking, which may be extended at the Chairman’s
discretion.
Minutes:
There were no questions/statements from
members of the public.
|
240. |
Announcements from the Chairman regarding responses of the Cabinet to reports of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee
Minutes:
The Chairman advised she attended the Joint
Executive (Cabinet) Committee on 25 June 2018, and presented the
Committee’s report on items it considered on 6 June 2018,
which was noted. She also reminded
members that an Extraordinary Overview and Scrutiny meeting had
been arranged for Wednesday 31 October 2018 to receive a follow-up
from Suffolk County Council Highways.
She informed members should would be speaking
with Councillor Simon Cole, Chairman of Forest Heath’s
Overview and Scrutiny Committee to look at the possibly of holding
an informal joint meeting to receive an update on Barley Homes.
Finally, the Chairman advised she had spoken
with officers who attended meetings of the Committee. It was the general concensu they were happy being
at meetings of Committee, and waiting to present their agenda item
as they were able to work from their electronic devices.
|
241. |
Haverhill Research Park PDF 96 KB
Minutes:
The Committee received Report No:
OAS/SE/18/020, which updated members regarding the progress in
delivering the Haverhill Research Park.
Officers had been working on a number of options to help to deliver
the Council’s vision for high quality jobs to complement the
growth in homes locally.
The report including
information on the background; strategic links; the vision for the
site; Enterprise Zone status; key challenges; the role of the
council and next steps.
Whilst considering the information outlined in
the covering report, officers also wished to give an exempt verbal
presentation on the various options being considered. As there was to be detailed discussion on the
various exempt options, which would involve the discussion of
commercially sensitive information, it was proposed by Councillor
Margaret Marks, seconded by Councillor Clive Springett, and
unanimously RESOLVED for these discussions to be
held in private session (see Minute Number 247 below) and the press
and public were then excluded from the meeting.
Following the conclusion of the detailed
discussions held in the private session, the press and public were
re-admitted to the meeting.
The Committee then noted the
update report on the current position, and that it was proposed
that progress would be reported back through the democratic process
in six months’ time.
|
242. |
Annual Presentation by the Cabinet Member for Housing PDF 95 KB
Minutes:
The Committee was reminded that
on 19 July 2017, it had received a presentation from the Cabinet
Member for Housing, setting out responsibilities covered under her
portfolio.
At this meeting, the Cabinet
Member had been invited back to provide her annual update, and
Report No: OAS/SE/18/021 set out the focus of the
update.
The Cabinet Member was also
provided in advance of the meeting with some key questions
identified by scrutiny members on areas they wished to be appraised
on during the annual update, which were included in the report
along with responses.
The Cabinet Member, Councillor
Sara Mildmay-White, thanked the Committee the questions submitted,
as set out in the report.
The Committee asked follow-up questions
relating to the two submitted questions (policy on building housing
and the trend for new homes being sold freehold with ongoing
management fees), to which responses were provided.
In response to a question
raised regarding the development of the new West Suffolk Local Plan
and involving local members in the process, officers advised that
members would be a key element in the process to ensure that the
new Plan included the right mix of housing for residents in West
Suffolk. However, this would be
difficult with the National Planning Policy Framework.
Finally, the Cabinet Member for
Housing informed members that the Housing Workshop held on Monday 9
July 2018, was very well received. In
particular the workshop was looking at accommodation for the ageing
population.
The Chairman on behalf of the
Committee thanked the Cabinet Member and officers for their
attendance and noted the update.
|
243. |
Cabinet Decisions Plan: 1 July 2018 to 31 March 2019 PDF 38 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
[Councillor Robin
Pilley left the meeting at 4.50pm during the consideration of this
item].
The Committee received Report No:
OAS/SE/18/022, which asked Members to pursue the Cabinet Decisions
Plan for the period 1 July 2018 to 31 March 2019, on
items it would like further information
on or might benefit from the Committee’s involvement.
The Committee considered the Decisions Plan
and did not request any further information on items contained in
the Plan.
There being no decision required the Committee
noted the contents of the 1 July 2018 to 31 March
2019 Decisions Plan.
|
244. |
Shadow Executive (Cabinet) Decisions Plan: 1 July 2018 to 31 March 2019 PDF 37 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Committee received Report No:
OAS/SE/18/023, which informed Members
on forthcoming decisions to be considered by the Shadow Executive
(Cabinet) for the period 1 July 2018 to 31 March 2019.
The Committee considered the Shadow Executive
(Cabinet) Decisions Plan and did not request any further
information on items contained in the Plan.
There being no decision required the Committee
noted the contents of the 1 July 2018 to 31 March
2019 Shadow Executive (Cabinet) Decisions Plan.
|
245. |
Work Programme Update PDF 62 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Committee received Report No:
OAS/SE/18/024, which updated Members on the current status of its
rolling work programme of items for scrutiny during 2018-2019
(Appendix 1).
The Democratic Services Officer (Scrutiny)
informed Members of an additional item to be included in its work
programme for its meeting on 9 January 2019, being:
·
West Suffolk Customer Access Strategy, Business Case and West
Suffolk Digital Strategy.
The report also requested that Members
identify questions they would like the Cabinet Member for
Operations to cover in his annual report to the Committee on 12
September 2018.
The Committee considered Appendix 1, and
identified the following questions they wished to put to the
Cabinet Member for Operations:
1)
To receive a progress report on the West Suffolk Operational
Hub.
2)
In the longer term, the Haverhill Waste Transfer Station was not
included in the West Suffolk Operational Hub, but the contract for
the Haverhill Station was up for renewal, and questioned what
contingency plans were in place?
Any further questions could be submitted to
the Democratic Services Officer (Scrutiny) by Monday 23 July
2018.
Finally, Councillor Margaret Marks raised
concerns regarding Barley Homes, to which the Service Manager
(Democratic Service/Monitoring Officer) updated members on the
current position. The Vice-Chairman
then informed the Committee that it was disappointing that these
concerns had not been raised directly with the Cabinet Member for
Housing who had been in attendance at the meeting, along with a
Director of Barley Homes, under Item 7 of the agenda, when she gave
her annual update of her housing portfolio, who could have
responded to members concerns.
There being no decision required the Committee
noted the update and the additional item to be
included in its forward work programme for January 2019.
|
246. |
Exclusion of Press and Public
To consider whether the press and public
should be excluded during the consideration of the following items
because it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be
transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the
public were present during the items, there would be disclosure to
them of exempt categories of information as prescribed in Part 3 of
Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, and indicated
against each item and, in all circumstances of the case, the public
interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest
in disclosing the information.
Minutes:
It was proposed by Councillor Margaret Marks,
seconded by Councillor Clive Springett, and wit the vote being
unanimous, it was
RESOLVED
That, under Section
100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be
excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the
grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt
information as prescribed in Part 3 of Schedule 12A of the Local
Government Act 1972.
|
247. |
Exempt Presentation (Verbal) - Haverhill Research Park
Exempt Presentation (Verbal)
to Report No: OAS/SE/18/020
(This exempt Presentation is to be considered
in private under Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local
Government Act 1972, as it contains information relating to
financial or business affairs of any particular person (including
the authority holding that information).
Minutes:
The Overview and Scrutiny Committee received a
presentation setting out a number of options and their associated
risks.
Officers would continue to work on to
understand the financial implications and risks of each of the
options.
Detailed discussions were held on each of the
options, to which comprehensive responses were provided.
Once the discussions were concluded in the
private session, the meeting then moved back into the open session,
where the press and public were re-admitted and the Committee then
considered the recommendation contained within the report (see
Minute Number 241 above).
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