Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, County Hall, Newport, Isle of WIght

Contact: Megan Tuckwell  Email: democratic.services@iow.gov.uk

Media

Items
No. Item

8.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 215 KB

To confirm as a true record the minutes of the meeting held on 8 June 2021.

Minutes:

RESOLVED:

 

THAT the Minutes of the meeting held on 8 June 2021 be confirmed.

9.

Declarations of Interest

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

Minutes:

Councillor Michael Lilley declared an interest in minute numbers 12d (Ryde Transport Interchange Project Delivery) as he was the Mayor of Ryde and sat on Ryde Town Council, 11 (Quarterly Performance Report Q4) as a family member was employed by the Council’s Children’s Services department and minute 13a (Forward Plan).

 

10.

Public Question Time - 15 Minutes Maximum

Members of the public are invited to make representations to the Committee regarding its workplan, either in writing at any time or at a meeting under this item. 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 by delivery in writing or by electronic mail to Democratic Services at democratic.services@iow.gov.uk, no later than two clear working days before the start of the meeting. Normally, Corporate Scrutiny is held on a Tuesday, therefore the deadline for written questions will be Thursday, 8 July 2021.

Minutes:

Cameron Palin of East Cowes asked the chairman if the Island’s Biosphere status should be better reflected in the proposed Island Plan. The Chairman advised that there was no reason why reference should not be made to this.

11.

Quarter 4 2020-21 - Performance and Budget Report pdf icon PDF 160 KB

To consider the performance data at the end of quarter 4 and identify any key priorities that require further detailed discussion by either this committee or one of the Policy and Scrutiny Committees. A briefing paper produced for the Committee in advance of the more substantive report to Cabinet is attached.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Questions were raised regarding the amber status on the PFI contract, given the number of savings being sought through the contract and the level of service being provided to residents. They were advised that the savings were agreed in the budget in February 2021 and savings continued to be found. It was noted that the level of cuts had not been fully explained to residents.

 

The Committee sought reassurance that there was a plan for the number of people in temporary housing on the Island, the number had increased and was expected to continue to rise as landlords were now able to evict people from rented accommodation. The Cabinet Member advised that the empty property officer had been looking into this although there was only a certain amount of empty properties available.

 

Concern was raised regarding the level of residents currently out of work and what was being done to address this. The Cabinet Member advised that support continued to be given to residents and it was important that everyone worked together.

 

The Committee questioned the money spent on the ongoing ICT project regarding the website and sought reassurance that this would be money well spent. The Cabinet Members advised that the project would make the authority more accessible. Logging ICT system faults were being investigated and updates would be provided.

 

It was noted that two urgent matters had been agreed by the Chairman since the last meeting.

 

RESOLVED:

 

THAT the report be noted

 

12.

Items due to be considered by the Cabinet

To review other items due to be considered by the Cabinet at its meeting on 15 July 2021, and where appropriate, make comments or recommendations that the committee believe should be considered prior to it making a decision. The items currently shown on the latest forward plan at the time of publication of this agenda are :-

12a

Consultation on the closure of the 6th Form at Carisbrooke College

Minutes:

The Committee considered this item was tidying up the current situation as the 6th form at Carisbrooke College was now led by Medina College.

 

RESOLVED:

 

THAT the recommendations to Cabinet be noted.

 

12b

Mobile Home Licensing Fees Policy

Minutes:

No comment was made.

12c

School Term Dates 2022-2023

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education and Skills advised the Committee that she had requested a further consultation with headteachers, there was a statutory number of days for school holidays and in order to gain an additional week at Christmas time, the extra week in October was removed. The Local Authority maintained 22 schools on the Island and all other schools were able to set their own dates.

 

Concern was raised regarding the number of children whose parents worked within hospitality and were unable to take holiday with their children during school holiday’s. The additional week in October allowed parents to take time off with their children. It was noted that the last consultation had included parents and the Committee expressed a wish to see the consultation extended before a final decision was made.

 

RESOLVED:

 

THAT the Committee formally agreed that the Cabinet be recommended to undertake a further consultation due to concerns that parent’s preference was for an additional weeks holiday in October rather than the majority preference from the schools, via their headteacher’s, for an additional week at Christmas.

 

12d

Ryde Transport Interchange Project Delivery

Minutes:

The Committee raised concerns regarding the consultation process. It was noted that an initial consultation process had been undertaken the previous year and the outcome of this was reflected in the latest proposals.

 

There was some discussion regarding the loss of the toilet block and kiosk at the bottom of the pier. The Cabinet Member advised that negotiations were still ongoing and alternative options regarding the kiosk were being discussed. The toilets would be transferred into the railway station and would be opened and closed by Wightlink and have longer opening hours.

 

An increase in public space was incorporated into the scheme as part of the aspiration of the scheme was to encourage people to use public transport more. It was noted that the appearance of Ryde when visitors got off the ferry was poor and improvements were required to a key gateway to the town and the Island.

 

RESOLVED:

 

THAT the Committee formally supported the recommendations in the report to Cabinet to enable the scheme to progress but there should be more effective engagement with all stakeholders including Ryde Town Council.

 

12e

Post 16 Transport Policy Statement

Minutes:

RESOLVED:

 

THAT the recommendation to Cabinet be noted.

12f

Quarterly Performance Report Q4

Minutes:

The item had been dealt with earlier on the agenda but no formal recommendations were made.

12g

Draft Island Planning Strategy Consultation

Minutes:

The Committee raised concerns regarding the content of the proposed document and asked for the consultation to be held back a few weeks for Councillors to look at and make comments. They were advised that this was a draft document and everyone could make comments. The intention was to speak with communities and stakeholders during the consultation process.

 

It was noted that currently there was no plan in place therefore architects and agents were unsure what types of development was needed across the island. Without a plan in place it was difficult to get the right development in the right place and defend housing numbers. The Cabinet Member advised that the consultation would go out on the road as he believed face to face consultation was important.

 

A discussion took place regarding setting up a Task and Finish group which would also include Councillors from the Policy and Scrutiny Committee for Neighbourhoods and Regeneration to consider the processes involved in the consultation process to ensure that all comments were fully considered and  fed into the final consultation draft. It was noted that the final decision would be made at Full Council.

 

RESOLVED:

 

THAT the Committee formally supported the proposals regarding the consultation and a task and finish group be established by this Committee, to include councillors from the Policy and Scrutiny Committee for Neighbourhoods and Regeneration, to formulate a submission as part of the consultation process and this be reported to the Corporate Scrutiny Committee at its meeting on 7 September 2021 for approval.

 

12h

Decision Paper for Specialist Provisions for Sept 21 and update on Public Consultations

Minutes:

RESOLVED:

 

THAT the Committee welcomed the proposals.

12i

Amendment to Academic Year Term dates for 2021/22

Minutes:

RESOLVED:

 

THAT the recommendations to Cabinet be noted.

12j

Contribution to development of Southampton Cite of Culture Bid 2025

Minutes:

RESOLVED:

 

THAT the Committee welcomed the significant opportunity afforded by the Council’s involvement and fully supported the proposed recommendation of Cabinet.

13.

Committee's Workplan

13a

Forward Plan pdf icon PDF 208 KB

To identify any item contained within the published forward plan that would benefit from early consideration within the workplan for either this committee or one of the Policy and Scrutiny Committees.

Minutes:

The Committee was advised that the forward plan would be updated to include items relating to the Corporate Plan and Climate Change Strategy. With regard to questions asked at the previous meeting concerning the number of legal cases the response of the Strategic Manager of Legal Services and Deputy Monitoring Officer had been circulated to the Committee. The Cabinet Member for Strategic Finance, Transformational Change and Resources indicated actions that he was taking in respect of this matter.

 

RESOLVED

 

The Committee formally supported the actions of the Cabinet Member in seeking to:

 

·       Optimise the use of the Council’s Legal Services team,

·       Correctly allocate external legal work for skills or capacity, and

·       Maximise use of the Council’s significant external discounts.

 

 

13b

Workplan 2021-22 pdf icon PDF 134 KB

The Chairman to report on any items identified at the Committee’s workplan session held on 30 June 2021 that should be added to the future workplan.

Minutes:

The Chairman referred to the initial workplan session at which a number of suggested items were identified for possible inclusion in the Committee’s workplan.

 

The Committee agreed to prioritise the items relating to a review of the Investment Strategy and social value in purchasing arrangements.

 

RESOLVED

 

THAT the Committee prioritise the items reviewing the Investment Strategy and Social Value in Purchasing Arrangements

 

14.

Members' Question Time

To guarantee a reply, a question must be submitted in writing or by electronic mail to democratic.services@iow.gov.uk no later than 5pm on Friday 9 July 2021. 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.

Minutes:

Councillor Ian Ward asked as to whether the changes made in highways grass cutting arrangements were as the result of the green lobby. The Chairman indicated this was one of the considerations.

 

Councillor Helena Hewston asked as to whether consideration would be given to re-instating the voting arrangements on the committee for the representative of the Isle of Wight Association of Local Councils. It was indicated that this matter was to be considered at the full council meeting on 21 July 2021 under the constitution review.