Agenda, decisions and minutes

To confirm as a true record the Record of Decision of the meeting held on 10 September 2020.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 10 September 2020 be agreed.

To invite Members to declare any interest they might have in the matters on the agenda.

The Chairman and Cllrs Mosdell, Brading, Tyndall and Peace all declared an interest in Item 6 relating to the Approval of PSPOs, as they were all dog owners.

Questions must be delivered in writing by electronic mail to Democratic Services at democratic.services@iow.gov.uk no later than 5pm on Tuesday, 6 October 2020. Each question must give the name and address of the questioner.

There were no public questions received.

The Chairman reported that he, and Cllrs Hastings and Ward, had attended a meeting with the Leader of Portsmouth City Council and the Chairman of Wightlink regarding the proposals for a Clean Air Zone in Portsmouth, which would have financial and economic implications for Island residents, businesses and visitors. A meeting would be held with DEFRA in the near future to discuss the support for a Clean Air Zone in principle and how to mitigate any potential financial impact.

The Chairman had met with the Fire Service regarding their response to COVID 19, in preparation for an inspection by HM Inspectorate of Fire and Police at the end of October.

The Chairman, in his role as chairman of the Hampshire Policing and Crime Panel, had hosted a presentation by the Chief Constable on the strategy and operational response to COVID-19 for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and was reassured that the police continued their ‘engage, explain and enforce where necessary’ approach to keep the community safe.

To seek approval of the Housing Strategy following public consultation.

To adopt the Housing Strategy as at Appendix A to the report.

There had not been an adopted Housing Strategy in place for the Isle of Wight since 2012. The proposed strategy recognised the unique environment and challenges faced on the island, and sought to increase housing choice for island families and to meet the specific needs of older and disabled residents, tackling homelessness and delivering more affordable homes.

Over the last 18 months during development of the strategy there had been several conferences with housing associations and other stakeholders, including Town and parish Councils and full public consultation had taken place, including an island-wide needs survey to ascertain current and future needs. The strategy had been updated a number of times, and had taken into account the impact of the COVID pandemic particularly the six-fold increase in homelessness.

A key aim was to identify the housing challenges faced on the island including the lack of affordable homes built over the last 10 years. The needs survey had identified 222 new affordable homes would need to be built each year, but few had been. The housing waiting list identified 2500 households needing affordable homes at any one time.

The action plan had a number of actions set out to support the key priorities including ensuring the right supply and the right mix of new homes and increasing affordable housing delivery. Reducing homelessness and rough sleeping through effective prevention work and building a new homeless pathway with partner services, and providing primary and extra-care housing for older and disabled people.

Adoption of the strategy would allow housing partnerships to be developed and strengthened to focus on housing delivery.

The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Public Health and Housing Needs spoke in support of the strategy and reported that there were many people who had been of the social housing waiting list for years with no realistic prospect of securing access to social housing. House prices and rentals were unaffordable for many people, including young people who had to remain at home as they could not afford a place of their own.

There were 2120 people on the housing register at the end of August 2020. 337 of these were Band 1 or 2. 193 households were in temporary accommodation, 36 of those in bed and breakfast. In August, 21 households had presented as homeless.

Housing supply was one of the strategic priorities, which including bringing empty properties into use but these must be the right type, size and location, maximising all brownfield building opportunities. The building of 24 new affordable homes in the West Wight had attracted 87 applications. Affordable housing was also needed for young people and families.

It was noted that the Isle of Wight was one of the few areas in the South East region which did not qualify for Housing Grant.

It was noted that the Corporate Scrutiny Committee had been fully in support of the strategy with an additional recommendation that the formation of a council-owned housing company be brought forward one year. The position was to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

To consider the outcome of the PSPO consultation findings and to approve final Orders relating to Dog Control and consumption of alcohol in a public space.

That Cabinet approves the Isle of Wight Council Public Spaces Protection orders as contained at Appendix 11 to the report.

Th The Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) were for the control of dogs and alcohol in public places. The PSPOs were to mirror existing orders with a few extra additions.

A consultation exercise had been carried out for an 18-week extended period between the middle of February and the end of June. The number of responses received was 1127, including from the police, kennel club and some Town and Parish Councils.

A high percentage of people responding to the consultation had been in favour of the proposed controls, which included the control of dogs in cemeteries, in children’s play parks, on some rights of way, along St Helens’ Duver for certain times of the year, and the control of alcohol to be extended to Shanklin and in Ryde to extend to include the beach at Appley and Puckpool.

The Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Digital Transformation confirmed that the PSPO for the control of alcohol would not stop people from having a quiet drink in a public place, but would become an offence to refuse to surrender alcohol if requested by the police.

The Cabinet Member expressed a wish to consult Town and Parish Councils to seek their views on relaxing restrictions around dogs on beaches for an extended period of time over the year.

It was noted that the Corporate Scrutiny Committee had been in favour of supporting the proposals.

e Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) were for the control of dogs and alcohol in public places. The PSPOs were to mirror existing orders with a few extra additions.

A consultation exercise had been carried out for an 18-week extended period between the middle of February and the end of June. The number of responses received was 1127, including from the police, kennel club and some Town and Parish Councils.

A high percentage of people responding to the consultation had been in favour of the proposed controls, which included the control of dogs in cemeteries, in children’s play parks, on some rights of way, along St Helens’ Duver for certain times of the year, and the control of alcohol to be extended to Shanklin and in Ryde to extend to include the beach at Appley and Puckpool.

The Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Digital Transformation confirmed that the PSPO for the control of alcohol would not stop people from having a quiet drink in a public place, but would become an offence to refuse to surrender alcohol if requested by the police.

The Cabinet Member expressed a wish to consult Town and Parish Councils to seek their views on relaxing restrictions around dogs on beaches for an extended period of time over the year.

It was noted that the Corporate Scrutiny Committee had been in favour of supporting the proposals.

To consider the report of the Monitoring Officer and suggested revisions to the Council’s Constitution.

The Monitoring Officer explained that the report was for noting only at this stage. The Corporate Scrutiny Committee had welcomed the opportunity to comment on the revised constitution. An informal meeting of the Committee and all Scrutiny Chairmen would be held prior to Cabinet making a decision on 12 November.

The Monitoring Officer explained that the report was for noting only at this stage. The Corporate Scrutiny Committee had welcomed the opportunity to comment on the revised constitution. An informal meeting of the Committee and all Scrutiny Chairmen would be held prior to Cabinet making a decision on 12 November.

To invite Cabinet Members to provide a brief update on matters concerning their portfolio.

The Cabinet Member for Strategic Finance and COVID19 Recovery reported that the first public meeting of the Local Outbreak Engagement Board had taken place and had considered a detailed report which showed that much work was being done to keep Island residents safe and well. There was capacity in the medical services to deal with any COVID spike. The Board would be meeting on a monthly basis.

The current position regarding the council’s budget was that work was being done to reduce the £10 million deficit. It had now reduced to £8 million and it was hoped to be able to balance the budget by the end of the financial year. Preparation were underway to begin next year’s budget. The level of government support would not be known until later in the year and it was unlikely that any serious announcements would be made until around Christmas time.

The Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education and Skills reported that attendance in schools across the island was above the national average, both in the primary and secondary sectors. In early years provision, almost all settings were up and running again. The island was also above the national average in the time taken to complete Education and Health Care Plans, with 83% of plans completed within the target time.

The Cabinet Member also gave an overview of the Kickstart Scheme, with government funding to create 6-month job placements for 16-24 year olds who had been unemployed for more than 6 months. Where companies were not big enough to be able to offer the number of placements required, they could join together through an intermediary to be able to participate. The Chamber of Commerce had offered to do this. The Council would control the scheme for the island and had asked Town and Parish councils to support the council. The Director of Regeneration would be the lead officer for the project.

The Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Business Development reported that there was to be a pop-up business school online between 12– 23 October, which would offer business start-up advice. 140 people had already registered to take part. An Island gift card would be launched in the run-up to Christmas. More details would follow soon. Two new Island business advisors were to start working with the Chamber of Commerce to support businesses in recovering from the impacts of the COVID pandemic. The ‘Let’s Buy Local’ scheme would continue until Christmas, and there was the possibility of an indoor Christmas market for local producers.

The Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing reported that the government white paper on housing numbers had been produced and the island’s MP had raised the subject in the House of Commons earlier in the day. The council had put in its objections to the proposed numbers expected to be delivered. Consultation was under way on the response to the wider aspect of the white paper and where development would be able to take place.

The Cabinet Member for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Cabinet Members to identify decisions which need to be amended, added or to be removed from the Forward Plan.

Items of the Forward Plan which were due to be considered at the next Cabinet meeting were:

·       Forest Road/Whitehouse Road Junction

·       Newport Harbour Masterplan

·       Appointment of the Leader to the Combined Fire Authority

·       Quarterly Performance Report – Quarter 2

·       Approval of Revised Constitution

The Public Health ‘Healthy Weight’ Strategy would slip to Cabinet in January 2021.

A question must be submitted in by electronic mail to Democratic Services democratic.services@iow.gov.uk no later than 5pm on Tuesday, 6 October 2020.

A question had been received from Cllr Love regarding proposed improvements to East Cowes Esplanade (MQ 12/20). The Cabinet Member for Business and Regeneration provided a response.

Two questions had been received from Cllr Garratt. The first in relation to the St Mary’s roundabout works, and the second in relation to abandoned vehicles. The Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Transport provided a response.

Cllr Hastings raised the issue of badly damaged cars being left at the roadside and said that in cases where the DVLA has a backlog and the vehicle has been in place for some time, the council should be able to have them removed as soon as possible and move them to a pound where they would be released on payment of a fee. This was particularly important where they were left in positions where they were causing a safety hazard or obstruction. The Chairman agreed this should be looked into and a policy considered to enable the Council to take action more quickly.

Cllr Mosdell sent best wishes on behalf of the Cabinet to the Director of Adult Social Care prior to her operation and thanked her for all she had done over the last three years to put the island’s Adult Social Care on the national map.