To authorise the Chairman to sign the minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 14 March 2022 as a correct record of proceedings.

The Chairman was authorised to sign the Minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 14 March 2022 as a correct record of the proceedings.

The Chairman to ask if any Member present is substituting for another Member and, if so, to declare his/her name as substitute Member and the name of the absent Member.

There were no apologies for absence.

To receive any disclosure by Members of personal and disclosable pecuniary interests in matters on the agenda, the nature of any interest and whether the Member regards the personal interest as prejudicial under the terms of the Code of Conduct. Members are reminded of the need to repeat their declaration immediately prior to the commencement of the item in question.

Declarations of interest were made by Councillors in the Minutes as indicated below:

J. Barnes       Agenda Item 6 – Personal interest as a member of Sussex Wildlife Trust and Vice-Chairman and Company Executive Director of the Council’s Housing Company.

Courtel           Agenda Item 6 – Personal interest as a member of Sussex Wildlife Trust and Bexhill Environment Group.

Drayson         Agenda Item 6 – Personal interest as Company Executive Director of the Council’s Housing Company.

Field               Agenda Item 6 – Personal Interest as a Member of East Sussex County Council.

Gray                Agenda Item 6 – Personal Interest as a member of Sussex Wildlife Trust and Bexhill Environment Group.

Maynard        Agenda Item 6 – Personal Interest as an executive Member of East Sussex County Council.

Members received and considered the report of the Chief Executive which detailed the recommendations of the Constitution Review Steering Group (CRSG).  Councillor Drayson, the CRSG Chairman thanked his fellow CRSG Members and other Members who had attended the meetings for their contributions, as well as officers who had supported the meetings.

The recommendations represented the culmination of the work undertaken by the CRSG in reviewing the Council’s Constitution.  One of the actions required to deliver the Corporate Plan’s aim of creating an open Council was to modernise the way the Council operated by updating the Constitution.

The CRSG and officers undertook a thorough review by comparing Rother District Council’s Constitution against South Cambridgeshire District Council’s model in various parts, which had some synergy with how this Council operated, as well as neighbouring authorities’ constitutions and other good practice.  Relevant key service officers and the Corporate Management Team were also consulted as and when appropriate. 

Appendix 1 to the report identified the scope of work undertaken.  Part 3, Responsibility for Functions and Part 8, Delegations to Officers were still to be completed and these would follow in the coming months.  A full list of the main proposals was identified at Appendix 2 to the report and Appendices 2A to 2K listed each section of the constitution, with the recommended changes highlighted in red text.

During the discussion the following salient points were noted:

·       grammatical / spelling errors would be amended;

·       quoracy at meetings only related to those Members who were present in the Council Chamber (not remote); the Council Procedure Rules would be amended to clarify this;

·       the following question was raised regarding Article 2.8: should Leaders of Minor Opposition Groups also report to the Council, where the opposition groups were not in coalition?  Recommendation 6) clarified that the year following an election year, the Council would receive a report highlighting any changes made to the Constitution.  Dependent on the make-up of the Council, it was suggested that this would be the most sensible / opportune time to consider this type of amendment;

·       important that all Members (not just Members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee) understood the functions and role of scrutiny;

·       clarity was sought regarding the opportunity to raise “matters arising” questions at formal meetings and whether this required an alteration to the Constitution.  It was understood that a five working day notice period was required.  The Chief Executive advised that it depended on the matter, as the answer could be a simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No, or it might require a detailed response.  It was important that agendas were open, transparent and adhered too, otherwise there was the potential that they could become unwieldy and cumbersome.  Members were reminded that minutes could only be challenged / altered if factual inaccuracies were found.  Questions raised by Members would be answered promptly;

·       it was clarified that the Chair of the Council would be annually elected, however the same Councillor could be elected to serve for a two-year consecutive period; and

·       the  ...  view the full minutes text for item OSC21/60

Consideration was given to the report of the Director – Place and Climate Change, which outlined progress made on the Environment Strategy (2020) since the last report to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OSC) on 18 October 2021.

Two environmental posts had and would be recruited to.  Projects Officer (Environment) who would focus on project development and delivery; an appointment had been made and was scheduled to start in May 2022 (instead of June).  Environment Strategy Officer who would focus on the Environment Strategy (ES) and delivery of the action plan.  Recruitment for this post would commence in May 2022.  A cross-council staff ‘Green Team’ would be established to consider current operations to improve the Council’s carbon footprint / environmental impact. 

Members were updated on the following projects:

·       Bexhill i-Tree Eco-Study: Completed, data collated and draft document produced by Treeconomics which was being reviewed.  The study gave an accurate estimate of the number and diversity of trees in Bexhill.  The charity Trees for Cities had secured funding of £143,000 for the Rother area from the second round of the Government’s Green Recovery Challenge Fund as part of their ‘Forgotten Places’ project. The project would specifically focus on increasing tree cover in Bexhill; planting was expected to commence in autumn / winter 2022-23.  They were also working with East Sussex County Council (ESCC) on an Urban Tree Challenge Fund project which would focus on Bexhill roadside verge tree planting.  The Field Studies Council was producing a series of tree identification guides and would be running a series of three workshops locally and online to raise the profile of trees and tree planting. The first workshop was scheduled to be held on 7 May 2022.

·       Hedgerow Planting: Completed in Broad Oak Park in December 2021 by Bexhill Environment Group (BEG), as well as some additional planting on Bexhill Down.  The Council would continue to support BEG on tree and hedge planting initiatives / proposals for winter 2022-23.  Tree planting had also been completed at Sidley Recreation Ground as part of the BMX and Skate Park project.

·       Biodiversity: Replaced expensive seasonal bedding displays in the Council’s parks and open spaces with shrubs. Permanent perennial and shrub planting were scheduled to be completed at Manor Gardens and along East Parade seafront.  Flower towers at Marina Gardens had been replaced with an annual meadow mix for summer 2022.

·       Carbon Literacy training: A second session had been delivered to Members and officers in March 2022; training would be ongoing.

·       Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Points in Council-owned Car Parks: Approval to procure an appropriate service provider had been granted in March 2022.  Work was progressing with the Council’s legal team on the list of potential car parks and, in consultation with the Energy Saving Trust, an appropriate specification was being drafted for tender.  Not all of the car parks listed in the specification would be viable locations for EV charging points; decisions would be determined by the results of the appointed service provider’s feasibility study.  ...  view the full minutes text for item OSC21/61

The Committee received the report of the Chief Executive on the Council’s Call-In and Urgency Procedures.  In accordance with Overview and Scrutiny Rule 17 (b) of the Constitution, the operation of the provisions relating to call-in and urgency was monitored annually through a report submitted to full Council via the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OSC).

The Call-In procedure was the mechanism by which the Council’s OSC could challenge decisions made by the Executive that were not yet implemented.  12 Executive meetings had been held during the period of the report from 1 March 2021 up until 28 February 2022.  No Executive decisions had been called-in during the period to which the report related; two decisions of Cabinet, within the approved budget and policy framework had been deemed and resolved as urgent decisions.

Following discussion, it was agreed that the current arrangements for calling-in an executive decision remained satisfactory. 

RESOLVED:That the report be noted.

Members received the draft Annual Report to Council as submitted by the Chairman, Councillor Osborne.  In accordance with Article 6, Paragraph 6.3 (d) of the Constitution, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OSC) was required to report annually to the Council on their workings and make recommendations for future work programmes and amend working methods, if appropriate.

The report covered the period from April 2021 through to the end of March 2022 and gave examples of the various subjects that the OSC had considered during this period, as well as the in-depth scrutiny reviews that had been conducted.

The Chairman thanked Members for their input into the many debates that had taken place over the year. 

RESOLVED: That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s draft Annual Report be approved and recommended to Council.

Consideration was given to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s Work Programme and the following points were noted:

·         It was requested that the review of the Tourism Strategy and the impact on Airbnbs and second homes in Rye/Winchelsea/Camber be added to the Work Programme for 2022-23.  Advice would be sought from the Head of Service as to an appropriate date for this to be considered.

·         Members were reminded that the informal Annual Scrutiny Work Programme meeting had been arranged for Tuesday 17 May 2022 at 2:00pm in the Council Chamber and all non-executive Members and the Leader of the Council had been invited to attend.  At this meeting Members would consider the items they wished to see included within the Work Programme, in consultation with the Corporate Management Team / Heads of Service.  It was requested and agreed that it be a hybrid meeting.

RESOLVED: That the:

1)    Work Programme attached at Appendix A, be agreed; and

2)    Annual Scrutiny Work Programme meeting scheduled to be held on Tuesday 17 May 2022 at 2:00pm be a hybrid meeting.