To authorise the Chair to sign the Minutes of the meetings of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 22 January 2024 and 19 February 2024 as correct records of proceedings.

The Chair was authorised to sign the Minutes of the meetings of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 22 January 2024 and 19 February 2024 as correct records of the proceedings.

The Chair 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.

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Pearce.

To receive any disclosures by Members of disclosable pecuniary interests / other registerable interests / non-registerable interests in matters on the agenda and the nature of any interest and details of any dispensations obtained.  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:

Barnes J.         Agenda Item 9 – Other Registerable Interest as Chairman of Etchingham Parish Council.

Burton             Agenda Item 9 – Other Registerable Interest as a Member of Battle Town Council.

Cook Mrs        Agenda Item 9 – Other Registerable Interest as Chairman of Battle Town Council.

Coupar            Agenda Item 9 – Other Registerable Interest as a Member of Sedlescombe Parish Council and Westfield Parish Council.

Creaser           Agenda Item 9 – Other Registerable Interest as a Member of Rye Town Council.

Maynard          Agenda Item 6 – Non-Registerable Interest as Chair of the Safer Communities Partnership Board (Pan Sussex).

Timpe              Agenda Item 9 – Other Registerable Interest as a Member of Bexhill-on-Sea Town Council and Old Town Occasions Limited.

There were no dispensations noted.

Consideration was given to the report of the Corporate Programme and Improvement Manager on the Performance Report of the Third Quarter (Q3) 2023/24 – October to December 2023.  Members were given the opportunity to scrutinise progress towards corporate operations and service delivery and make any necessary recommendations to Cabinet for future service delivery. 

A summary of the Council’s performance against the selected 26 Key Performance Indicators (KPI) broken down into eight service areas was included at Appendix A to the report.  Performance was compared to the previous quarter result and to the same quarter the previous year. 

The majority of KPIs were on target, except for:

·       Corporate Core CC1 % of Freedom of Information (FOIs) Requests answered in 20 working days: Statutory duty for the Council.  The target was 95%, Q3 result was 89%.  This result was attributed to an increase of requests (18%) received in Q3 compared to Q2, complexity issues and customers making multiple requests.  Additional staffing resources and longer-term options for data governance were being assigned and considered respectively.  Members requested a breakdown of the FOIs regarding the relevant service areas.  The Head of Digital Transformation and Customer Services agreed to disseminate this information after the meeting.  He also confirmed that year-on-year comparison information would be included within future performance reports.  Concern was aired that multiple requests for information were and could be time consuming / labour intensive, which ultimately could lead to vexatious correspondence.  Therefore, it was considered important, that a robust line was taken regarding multiple requests and that the Council’s Vexatious Policy should be instigated, where appropriate.  Staffing resources should not be wholly consumed by FOI requests.  It was suggested that charges be instigated should the time to deal with FOI requests exceed a certain number of hours and that information be uploaded to the website so that the public could be directed to the information immediately.  The Senior Leadership Team (SLT) agreed to investigate, and the findings would be reported back to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee at a future meeting.  Monitoring would be ongoing.

·       Customer Services C1 Telephone Calls Answered by Customer Services (sum of received and abandoned calls): The number of calls answered by Customer Services staff.  The target was 11,606, Q3 result was 10,669.  This result was attributed to an increase in calls (26%) received in Q3 in comparison to Q3 2022 and indicated an improvement in performance but not a reduction in calls.  Overall, Members were advised that digital contact had increased.  It was clarified that priority was given to vulnerable cases calls e.g. threat of homelessness etc.  The Head of Digital Transformation and Customer Services advised that staff resources were increased at peak times e.g. Monday mornings etc.  Where appropriate, customers were being directed to using the Council’s website facilities and the Chat Bot (Aiimee).  Modernised telephony systems (including call-back options) would be investigated; however, costs would be a significant factor.

·       Revenues and Benefits RB1 – Percentage of Council Tax and RB2 – Percentage of  ...  view the full minutes text for item OSC23/53.

The Head of Environmental Services, Licensing and Community Safety outlined the annual report to Members, which provided information on the work of the Rother Community Safety Partnership [known as the Safer Rother Partnership (SRP)] for the Committee to review, scrutinise and make reports or recommendations to the responsible authorities of the SRP, in line with the Council’s statutory responsibilities under the Police and Justice Act 2006.  The Overview and Scrutiny Committee was the Council’s Crime and Disorder Committee with responsibility for annually scrutinising crime and disorder and community safety matters.  The Chair welcomed Chief Inspector Jay Mendis-Gunasekera and the Council’s Community Safety Coordinator to the meeting, who were present remotely to answer Members’ questions.

The Rother Joint Action Group (JAG) (an officer group) met monthly to oversee the delivery of the local priorities for Rother which in 2023/24 included: anti-social behaviour (ASB) and youth crime; drug related harm (including drug supply (both local and county lines) and the impact on the local community); and rural crime.  Work on domestic abuse, business crime, the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and road safety was also included as a focus for work, but not as specifically identified priorities.

JAG continued to support and deliver work to address issues that were business as usual through the work of partnership agencies and were priorities, such as cuckooing; domestic abuse (including the White Ribbon Campaign); high and medium risk ASB and all hate crime cases; modern slavery; safety; professional safeguarding and ASB case reviewal.

In addition, work that came about through the work of the partnership agencies and were priorities such as Operation Radcott (Camber) Herbrand Walk, Serious and Organised Crime, Safeguarding, Multiple and Complex Needs, Community Tensions and Protests, Shoplifting, Rural Crime, Hate Crime, ASB Young People Project, ASB Tools and Powers, Drug Related Harm, Civil Parking Enforcement, Fly Tipping, Criminal Damage, Fire setting were also supported.  The work plan for the Rother JAG for 2023/24 was attached to the report at Appendix A.

The joint Board met quarterly to identify changes in crime and ASB of strategic significance to both areas, wider trends and reviewed the work delivered against these priorities.

There were 5,879 crimes in Rother reported to Sussex Police (SP) during the 12 months to the end of December 2023, which was 355 more than in the previous year.  This was a similar pattern across East Sussex and Sussex, except Hastings which had seen a decrease in reports.

In 2023/24, SRP funded a range of projects to address priorities in Rother, namely: airtime agreement for deployable CCTV; contribution to Domestic Homicide Reviews; hire of variable messaging signs; young people’s voices films on ASB; hate crime awareness; equipment and materials for youth space at the Pelham; mural at Sutton Place; doorbell CCTV; removal of signage contributing to community tension; and equipment and resources for Fire Service Cadets.

Environmental Services and Licensing and Community Safety staff, the Police and other agencies continued to carry out successful operational and education initiatives across Rother and Wealden,  ...  view the full minutes text for item OSC23/54.

Members received and considered the report of the Interim Deputy Chief Executive and Section 151 Officer on the Revenue Budget and Capital Programme Monitoring Quarter 3 2023/24.  The report updated Members on the Council’s finances as at the end of December 2023 and projected provisional outturn for 2023/24.  The Revenue Budget, Capital Programme Statements and impact of the forecast on the Council’s reserves were summarised at Appendices A, B and C to the report respectively.   The report also included a brief update on the Collection Fund performance.  It was noted that this report had been considered by Cabinet on 5 February 2024.

The forecast outturn for the 2023/24 financial year was based on the position as at 31 December 2023 and indicated a forecast deficit position of £2.709m at 31 March 2024, against a budgeted deficit of £2.221m, which was a variance of £488,000.

The report detailed the material variances, and the forecast was summarised at Appendix A to the report.

Several small savings were being forecast by the end of the financial year, with no more being achieved.  The Medium Term Financial Strategy removed the current Financial Stability Programme and replaced it with a new ‘Fit for the Future’ financial resilience programme, which was designed to close the budget gap over the medium-term period through making efficiencies, savings and increasing income to help support frontline services.  The forecast deficit had increased by £200,000 since the previous quarterly report, as these savings were being made in the services directly and not in this part of the statement.

Since the 2023/24 budget was approved, several small, unbudgeted, grants from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities had been received, mainly in respect of New Burdens and additional Section 31 Grants.

Work was ongoing with the Heads of Service and elected Members to undertake a fundamental review of capital schemes within the Capital Programme, which currently amounted to more than £157m.  The revised 2023/24 budget was £28.5m (Appendix B to the report) and the forecast outturn for the year at Quarter 2 was £20.1m, a variance of (£8.3m) or 29% of the programme.  Most of the forecast underspend was attributable to schemes which had progressed more slowly than expected or had been paused pending review, with only a small amount of savings forecast on schemes which had been completed.  An external consultant had been employed to undertake the review, which would be completed within the next 6-12 months.

The forecast impact on reserves was a drawdown of £2.449m for revenue, which was £404,000 higher than the planned use of £2.045m, and £0.260m for capital which was £84,000 higher than the planned use of reserves. 

The Council Tax collection rate at the end of Quarter 3 was 84.20% of the collectable debit, 0.07% higher than the corresponding figure in 2022/23.  The Business Rates collection rate at the end of Quarter 3 was 83.31% of the collectable debit, 1.26% lower than the corresponding figure in 2022/23.  It was noted that the collection rates  ...  view the full minutes text for item OSC23/55.

The Interim HR Programme Manager proceeded to deliver a presentation on the development of the Council’s People Strategy and Workforce Plan.  This was a recommendation that had originated from the External Auditors – Grant Thornton.  The following key points were noted:

·       People Strategy flowed from the Corporate Plan, set aspiration for the workforce, shaped the Council’s values and behaviours, and drove the Workforce Plan including the development programme.

·       The Workforce Plan themes were listed under the acronym of RISE (recruit, invest, support and excel).

·       The Council’s draft values were Respect, Openness, Outcomes and Together (ROOT). 

·       A Working Group consisting of staff across the authority including UNISON representation would be established (March 2024) to review key workforce data, service plan challenges / opportunities and insights and consider how the Council secured the right workforce and refreshed the learning and development programme.

·       An approach to Organisational Design, and a Development Plan would follow in summer 2024.

During the discussion, the following salient points were noted:

·       A 20% reduction in the workforce had been realised over the last few years.

·       It was acknowledged that some of work / themes to be included in the new People Strategy were already embedded within the authority.

·       Considered good practice to have a consistent formal People Strategy in place.

·       All staff must be included within the engagement process (bottom-up approach).

·       The authority already employed highly motivated / qualified / flexible staff.

·       Competitive salaries and attractive working packages would be essential to improve and sustain the workforce.

·       Partnership working / opportunities would be challenging, therefore concise / robust working agreements would be essential.

·       Important to value staff and develop skills in-house.

A copy of the presentation would be forwarded to Members.

RESOLVED: That the presentation be noted.

On 4 March 2024, Cabinet agreed to procure and appoint a new Grounds Maintenance Contractor from 1 December 2024, as the current contract with Idverde was scheduled to expire on 30 November 2024.  Cabinet also agreed that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OSC) reviewed the draft contract specification, excluding cemeteries, as detailed at Appendix 2 to the report.  The specification covered a comprehensive range of grounds maintenance tasks including planting to grass cutting to hedging to litter collection etc.  It was noted that specific focus would be given to critical services in order of priority, particularly the higher visitor areas across the district e.g. Egerton Park, seafront etc.  A separate cemeteries specification was attached at Appendix 1A; these works were self-funded through charges; no changes were proposed.

During the discussion, the following key issues were noted:

·       To explore the 3-year pesticide programme delivered by Pesticide Action Network UK.

·       Encourage green space / sports grounds devolvement opportunities with all Parish and Town Councils (P&TCs) and Local Sports Clubs / Community and Voluntary Groups.  Promote “buddy-up” shared maintenance schemes between Clubs / Groups.

·       Aspirational opportunities potentially could be incorporated into the contract should more funding be realised.

·       Retain a modicum of Special Expenses to assist with some of the ‘non-routine’ tasks.

·       Explore all potential Government funding opportunities.

·       Important that the Council’s public spaces (tourist areas) of the district were maintained, remained safe and accessible to all.

·       Clear communications were crucial, as “the look” of the district would significantly change.

·       Good quality public realm encouraged increased footfall and improved the local economy.  The condition of the public realm across the district had deteriorated over the last few years.

·       Well managed woodlands would be resilient to pests and diseases.

The OSC was satisfied with the specification and agreed that it be proposed as part of the tender process.  It was agreed that there was no requirement for the specification to be reconsidered by Cabinet.  However, the OSC requested that the following informal recommendations were considered by the appointed Contractor, as part of the new contract:

·       Removed the use of pesticides / herbicides for pest and weed control.

·       Incorporated “No Mow May” and local composting initiatives.

·       Employed staff with environmental / biodiversity qualifications.

·       Used rechargeable battery-operated equipment to reduce carbon emissions.

·       Planted pollinator plants.

·       Incorporated woodland management tasks.

·       Capacity to deliver and support P&TCs / local community groups with projects.

·       Obtained and sought horticultural advice.

RESOLVED: That Grounds Maintenance Contract – Specification at Appendix 2 to the report be authorised to commence to the tender process without further recourse to Cabinet.

(Councillor J. Barnes declared an Other Registrable Interest in this matter in so far as he was the Chairman of Etchingham Parish Council and in accordance with the Members’ Code of Conduct remained in the meeting during the consideration thereof).

(Councillor Burton declared an Other Registrable Interest in this matter in so far as she was a Member of Battle Town Council and in accordance with the Members’ Code of Conduct  ...  view the full minutes text for item OSC23/57.

Members received the report of the Director – Place and Climate Change which recommended the formation of a Local Enforcement Plan Task and Finish Group (LEPT&FG), to inform the Council’s Local Enforcement Plan (LEP).

The Council’s current LEP was outdated, not fit-for-purpose and therefore had been revised.  In February 2024, due to several concerns being raised, Cabinet did not formally approve the draft revised LEP and requested that a Task and Finish Group be established to inform the LEP going forward and address the issues identified.

Members were requested to establish the LEPT&FG consisting of five or six non-executive Members.  The LEPT&FG would comprehensively review the current draft LEP to understand the role and function of Planning Enforcement, establish realistic targets with resources available, understand the limitations of enforcement actions including associated costs, and how the Council would fund such costs.  The draft Terms of Reference (ToR) for the LEPT&FG were attached to the report at Appendix 1. 

The Chair advised that seven Members had expressed an interest to serve on the LEPT&FG, namely Councillors Mrs Barnes, Biggs, Drayson, Mrs Kirby-Green, Legg, Mier and Stanger.  The Committee formally approved the membership and ToR, including the amendment to the membership numbers.

RESOLVED:That:

1)    a Local Enforcement Plan Task and Finish Group be established, comprising of Councillors Mrs M.L. Barnes, A.E. Biggs, B.J. Drayson, Mrs E.M. Kirby-Green, M.C. Legg, A.S. Mier and J. Stanger; and

2)    the Terms of Reference at Appendix 1 to the report, as amended, be approved.

Consideration was given to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s Work Programme. Members were reminded that any Councillor could make a request for an item to be placed onto the Council’s Scrutiny Committee Work Programme.

The following addition and amendments were made:

·       High Weald National Landscape (AONB) Management Plan to be reported at the meeting scheduled to be held on 22 April 2024.

·       Health and Well-Being Board – Update Report and Impact of Airbnb and Second Homes in Camber, Rye and Winchelsea be reported at the meeting scheduled to be held on 3 June 2024.

RESOLVED: That the Work Programme attached at Appendix A, as amended, be agreed.