Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 17 August 2023 be confirmed and signed by the Chair.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Housing Scrutiny Sub Committee held on 10 August 2023 be received.

RESOLVED that the order of business be changed to allow the report entitled 'Central Lincolnshire Joint Strategic Planning Committee/Local Plan Annual Report 2022/23' to be considered as item number 4 on the agenda.

Toby Forbes-Turner, Planning Policy Manager:

a)    explained that the Joint Planning Committee reached its thirteenth year over the course of 2022/23. This year had seen the successful examination and adoption of the second Central Lincolnshire Local Plan.

b)    stated that the Local Plan (adopted in April 2023) set out the planning policies for Central Lincolnshire (including the City) and this involved allocating parcels of land for development as well as identifying land which should be protected from development.

c)    provided a breakdown of the AGM meetings which took place and considered the following:

-       6th June 2022 – the Local Plans Team Annual Report, the Local Plan Budget and Update and the Local Plan Draft for Consultation.

-       9^th January 2023 – The Statement of Community Involvement

-       13^th April 2023 – Central Lincolnshire Local Plan Adoption, Local Plan Supporting Guidance and Update to CLJSPC Memorandum of Understanding and Standing Orders

d)    highlighted that in the coming year, the focus of the work would be around implementation of the plan, reviewing evidence, rebuilding the Local Plan Team following the end of the Peterborough SLA. This included:

·         Working closely with Districts to ensure consistent and efficient implementation of the Local Plan. This would likely include the publication of additional informal guidance notes.

·         Working closely with Districts to address the emerging challenges from Biodiversity Net Gain which would become mandatory in November for major developments and small developments in April 2024.

·         Completing the recruitment to the team following the end of the Peterborough SLA in March, and developing a project plan for reviewing evidence.

·         Keeping up to date with changes to national policy and legislation.

e)    referred to paragraph 4.10 of the report and gave an overview of the changes to the Local Plans Team staffing.

f)     explained that a budget review had been undertaken of the future work programme of the joint committee and the structure of the Local Plan and summarised the budget position as detailed at paragraph 4 of the report.

g)    invited members questions and comments.

The committee considered the contents of the report.

RESOLVED that the report be noted by members as a fair summary of activity of the Central Lincolnshire Joint Strategic Planning Committee 2022/23.

Councillor Rebecca Longbottom, Portfolio Holder for Customer Experience and Review :

a)    presented a report to Performance Scrutiny Committee covering the areas:

·         Customer Services

·         Audit Arrangements

·         Electoral and Democratic Services

·         ICT

·         Policy and Performance

o   Quarterly Performance Reporting

o   Annual Review of Performance Measures and Target Setting

o   External Audit on Performance Monitoring

·         Lincoln City Profile 2022/23

·         Census 2021

·         Project Management

·         Business Transformation

·         Website

·         Business Transformation – a Forward Look

b)    extended her thanks to the team of officers that supported her Portfolio for their hard work, dedication and commitment to supporting the residents of Lincoln.

c)    invited members’ comments and questions.

Question: Why had the number of individuals registered on the electoral register decreased from 62,292 in 2021/22 to 61,778 in 2022/23?

Response: An answer would be provided following the meeting.

Question:. Why had the number of staff in Lincoln City Councils Welfare Team been reduced whilst the size of North Kesteven’s Welfare team had increased given the demand that was placed on the service by City of Lincoln Council residents?

Response: The Welfare Team had not been reduced, there were some vacancies but recruitment was underway. There had been an increase in demand in Lincoln, however the work was spread across the whole of the shared services team.

Question: Was it possible to provide a more detailed breakdown of calls received for each service area?

Response: A breakdown was provided in the Performance measures but could be included in future within the body of this report.

Comment: The call waiting time in customer services was very good compared to other organisations.

Question: There were issues with recruitment in the Audit Team. Had officers looked at how other councils successfully recruited, and could we learn from this?  Was it possible to use apprenticeships or similar schemes to ‘grow our own’?

Response: These suggestions would be discussed with Officers to ensure that they had been explored. The work in the Audit Team was being covered appropriately in order to meet the requirements of the Council.  

Question: Residents may not know what type of ID was required to vote. Could the council do more to ensure that residents were informed of the correct ID?

Response: Agreed that more advertising could be done, this would be discussed with Officers.

Question: There was a  financial impact of having team vacancies and reliance on agency staff.  Was there a plan in place to meet the long-term costs associated with this, if the Council continued to struggle to recruit?
Response: An answer would be provided following the meeting.

Question: Would the common risks identified via the combined assurance work be monitored to reduce the risk to the Council?
Response: Common risks were identified as part of the strategic risk register. This monitored the risks and set out the work that would be undertaken to address them.

Comment Long term vacancies had an impact on the Medium Term Financial Strategy if posts were filled with temporary agency staff.

Question: A recent visit tool  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34.

Councillor Naomi Tweddle, Portfolio Holder for Inclusive Economic Growth:

a)    presented a report to Performance Scrutiny Committee covering the areas:

·         Climate Change

·         Inclusive Economic Growth

·         Innovation and Inward Investment

·         Cornhill Market and City Square

·         Public Realm

·         Regeneration

·         Small Business Support

·         Tourism and Marketing

·         Infrastructure

·         Heritage

·         Development Management

·         Building Control

·         Planning Policy

·         Car Parks and Parking

·         Events in Lincoln

b)    invited members’ comments and questions

Question: How was the footfall at the Lincoln Live event monitored? Could the footfall of 60,0000 people have included people who were walking past the event as well as those who were actively engaged with the event?
Response: The footfall was monitored by the CCTV system, which counted everyone who passed through the Cornhill. A lot of people walked through the event and engaged with it. There was a lot of social media engagement for the event, with a reach of 280,000 on Facebook. Satisfaction survey results were still being returned, there had so far been 150 responses with a 91% satisfaction rate. The survey results could be shared with members once they were collated.
Question: Could better footfall data be recorded for those stood watching the event?
Response: This would discussed with Officers in the CCTV team for future events.
Question: Was there comparable footfall data for the city centre, which  compared 2022 to 2023 over the weekend of Lincoln Live?
Response: This could be provided following the meeting.
 
Question: What was the district heat network proposal for the Western Growth Corridor?
Response: A heat map had been produced by Local Authorities to identify where heat was coming from. There were two companies interested in utilising the heat and providing a more sustainable heat network. A policy would be produced to provide information on the district heat network.

Question: Would it be compulsory for new properties to be linked to the ground source heat pumps?
Response: It was still in its early stages so could not be confirmed at the moment, however, we would expect it to be mandatory for properties on the Western Growth Corridor Development. Sustainable energy and heating was a good selling point.

Question: What was the current situation with funding for the spine road for the Western Growth Corridor?
Response: The project was on the programme for Homes England and discussions were taking place to obtain funding.
Question: If Homes England decided not to provide funding then how would the spine road be funded?
Response: There were some other options available such as securing investment via the development or the Strategic Highways Authority and paying back over time.

Question: The report stated that “the Council should look to the future with regard to the relationship between parking in the City and supporting and encouraging sustainable modes of transport. What did this mean?
Response: The Council would be looking at car parks and how sustainable transport could work alongside them to future proof the City. For example the structure of the old car parks needed to be considered as electric vehicles  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.

Claire Turner, Democratic Services Officer:

a)    presented the Scrutiny Annual Report for 2022/23 for comments, prior to being referred to Full Council for approval.

b)    advised that within the Constitution it states that the scrutiny committees should produce an annual report to Council. Chairs of the Scrutiny Committees did produce individual reports to Council during the municipal year, however, the attached Scrutiny Annual Report summarised the work of the scrutiny committees for the full year and highlighted the key achievements made under scrutiny in 2022/23.

RESOLVED that the content of the report be noted.

The Chair:

a)    presented the draft work programme for 2023/24 as detailed at Appendix A of the report

b)    advised that the work programme for the Performance Scrutiny Committee was put forward annually for approval by Council; the work programme was then regularly updated throughout the year in consultation with the Performance Scrutiny Committee and its Chair

c)    reported that items had been scheduled in accordance with the existing work programme and officers’ guidance regarding the meetings at which the most up-to-date information could be reported to the committee; the work programme also included the list of portfolio holders under scrutiny

d)    requested any relevant comments or changes to the proposed work programme for 2023/24.

The Chair requested that the report on the proposals for performance measures be scheduled into the work programme on 7^th March 2024.

RESOLVED that

1.    The work programme 2023/24 be agreed.

2.    A report on the proposals for performance measures be scheduled into the work programme for the meeting due to be held on 7^th March 2024.