Agenda and minutes

To note any changes in membership of the Committee made in accordance with Part 4B paragraph 5 of the Constitution.

Cllr Claire Critchison was in attendance as a substitute for Cllr David Adams. Cllr Joe Lever gave his apologies.

To confirm as a true record the Minutes of the meeting held on 11 October 2022.

RESOLVED:

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 11 October 2022 be confirmed as a true record.

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

No declarations were received at this stage.

Members of the public are invited to make representations to the Committee regarding its workplan. Questions may be asked without notice, but to guarantee a full reply at the meeting a question must be put (including the name and address of the questioner) in writing or by email to democratic.services@iow.gov.uk, no later than two clear working days before the start of the meeting. The deadline for written questions is Thursday, 3 November 2022.

 No public questions were received.

To receive an update on the progress against the outcomes arising from previous meetings, and to provide an update on any outstanding actions.

The chairman presented the report which provided an overview of the progress against actions and outcomes from previous meetings. The Committee raised concerns relating to the outcome of the mediation process for the Floating Bridge, and requested that responses to the following questions be provided by the Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Transport:

•                Could details of the timeline for approving the arrangements for the mediation process be provided, including who was authorised within the Council to lead this and how approval was given to the acceptance of the mediation outcome?

•                Why was a non-disclosure agreement made and who authorised this?

•                Why were the Committee, and other councillors, not informed of the outcome before the media was advised?

•                Was the decision to accept the outcome of the mediation a ‘key decision’?

•                What further actions were required in connection with the effective operation of the existing vessel, and what steps were being taken to consider a replacement?

•                How would any financial settlement be shown in the Council’s budget?

•                Would the briefing note provided to group leaders on Cowes Floating bridge be made available to all councillors?

It was agreed that responses to the above would be considered in the first instance at an informal meeting of the Committee, prior to including the item on the agenda for a formal meeting.

RESOLVED:

i)               THAT responses to the above questions be sought, and considered in the first instance by an informal meeting of the Committee prior to including the item on the agenda for a formal meeting.

ii)              THAT the Corporate Scrutiny Committee be notified of any future delegated decisions, for information.

To identify any items contained within the Council’s forward plan which would benefit from early consideration by scrutiny, either before the Cabinet makes a decision or to monitor post-implementation, and should therefore be included in the Committee’s work programme. The forward plan can be viewed online here.

The committee were invited to identify any item contained within the published forward plan that would benefit from early consideration within the committee’s own workplan or one of the policy and scrutiny committees. It was confirmed that the Bereavement Services item was delayed pending confirmation of new date for consideration by the Cabinet.

RESOLVED:

THAT the forward plan be noted.

To note the content of the current work programme, and to consider the inclusion of any additional items. Members of the public are invited to submit in writing to the Committee possible items for inclusion in its workplan.

Consideration was given to the committee’s work programme for 2022-25. It was advised that the Community Safety Partnership’s annual report had been delayed and would be considered at a future meeting.

RESOLVED:

THAT the work programme be noted.

To monitor the support being given to the Island community as a result of the increase in household bills.

The Deputy Leader presented the report which provided an overview of the support being given to the Island community as a result of the increase in household bills. The Director of Adult Social Care and Housing Needs provided a verbal update on support available to vulnerable adults and families, in particular the mobile hub outreach advice service travelling to remote parts of the Island. The Director of Regeneration provided a verbal update on the work being done for communities, and highlighted the webpage developed to share the range of support and advice available to those experiencing challenges. The Assistant Director of Children’s Services provided a verbal update on the management and distribution of the government Household Support Fund including the establishment of community pantries. Questions were raised in relation to collaboration with town and parish councils, schools, and the availability of community grant funding. Discussion took place regarding the mobile hub programme of operation and performance indicators.

RESOLVED:

THAT the report and update be noted.

To receive a copy of the report to Cabinet on 10 November 2022, and to consider the performance measures for quarter 2 of 2022-23.

The Cabinet Member for Strategic Finance, Transformational Change and Corporate Resources presented the report which sought to provide the Cabinet with a summary of progress against Corporate Plan activities and measures, and to inform Cabinet of areas of particular success, issues requiring attention and remedial activity in place to deal with these. Comments were made in relation to freedom of information requests and concerns were raised in connection with ongoing budget pressures in adult social care and children’s services.

RESOLVED:

THAT the report be noted.

To consider the reports identified from the Forward Plan (due to be published on 2 November 2022) prior to the decisions by the Cabinet.

To consider the item as discussed by the Committee on 11 October 2022.

The Director of Regeneration presented the report which sought the Cabinet’s approval to the freehold sale of the land at Kingston Marine Park to a third party, subject to contract and planning consent, for the purpose creating jobs in the creative industries. The Committee sought reassurance and requested that the Cabinet ensured that issues were fully taken into account prior to making a decision, including; the full market price of the land, the terms of contract to ensure that the land was not resold for residential development, that the creation of jobs by the proposed purchaser was deemed to be realistic and that sufficient parking would be provided on site, and that the use of the site for the marine industry or social housing had been fully explored and discounted.

RESOLVED:

THAT the report be noted.

To consider the review as discussed by the Committee on 10 May 2022 and Cabinet on 12 May 2022.

The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Public Health and Housing Needs presented the report which sought the Cabinet’s agreement to retain the Wightcare service and to develop a two-year cost recovery model to achieve financial breakeven reducing dependency on public funds to stabilise the service. It was advised that the report had been seen by members of the Policy and Scrutiny Committee for Health and Social Care and no comments had been received. The committee sought assurance that the Director of Finance and Section 151 Officer has been involved in the development of the proposals.

RESOLVED:

THAT the proposals contained in the report be supported.

A question may be asked at the meeting without prior notice but in these circumstances there is no guarantee that a full reply will be given at the meeting. To guarantee a reply, a question  must be submitted in writing or by email to democratic.services@iow.gov.uk no later than 5pm on Friday 4 November 2022.

No written questions were received.