Agenda and minutes

Venue: Virtual (MS Teams)

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

Media

Items
No. Item

22.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 182 KB

To confirm as a true record the minutes of the meeting held on 8 September 2020

Minutes:

RESOLVED:

 

THAT the Minutes of the meeting held on 8 September 2020 be confirmed.

 

23.

Declarations of Interest

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

Minutes:

No declarations were received at this stage.

24.

Public Question Time - 15 Minutes Maximum pdf icon PDF 10 KB

Questions may be asked of the Chairman and must be delivered by electronic mail to Democratic.Services@iow.gov.uk no later than 5.00pm on Friday, 2 October 2020. Each question must give the name and address of the questioner.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Mr Michael Douse of East Cowes submitted a written question to the Committee regarding the Floating Bridge. A written response was provided (PQ 24/20).

25.

Election of Vice Chairman

To elect a vice chairman for the ensuing year.

 

Minutes:

RESOLVED:

 

THAT Cllr Michael Lilley be elected as vice chairman for the ensuing year.

 

26.

Covid-19 Response and Recovery - Update on current issues

To receive a verbal update from the Chief Executive, the Leader, and the Cabinet Member for Strategic Finance & Covid-19 Recovery.

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Strategic Finance & Covid-19 Recovery provided an update on progress against the Covid-19 Response and Recovery Plan. This included an overview of the recovery plans for the Community, Economy and Place. Questions were raised regarding the medium alert level, access to testing, emerging information from the business sector in anticipation of the end of furlough. The Committee agreed to continue to monitor the financial impact of the Council’s response and recovery plans, as the three Policy and Scrutiny Committees would monitor the service impact.

 

RESOLVED:

 

THAT the update be noted.

27.

Items agreed at the last meeting pdf icon PDF 913 KB

To consider the following items as agreed at the last meeting of the Corporate Scrutiny Committee, held on 8 September 2020:

 

(a)      Cowes Floating Bridge

 

          The Committee agreed the following :-

          THAT the Committee receive a report at its next meeting detailing the actions being taken to ensure that the vessel is operational, and to enable discussions to take place on future options for the service involving Cllrs Love, Peacey-Wilcox and Jones-Evans, the Leader, Cabinet Member for Transport and Infrastructure and the Chief Executive.

 

          A verbal update will be provided at the meeting.

 

(b)      Highway PFI

 

          The Committee agreed the following :-

          THAT a report be submitted to the next meeting to clarify the approach taken in assessing the average measures used within the performance report.

 

          A presentation will be made at the meeting.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

(a)      Highway PFI

 

The Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Transport introduced the item by reminding members that at the meeting on 8 September 2020 the Committee agreed to receive a report clarifying the approach taken in assessing the average measures used within the performance report.

 

Representatives of Island Roads delivered presentation (Appendix) which provided an overview of the road & footway condition measurements, including monitoring lengths, hierarchies, and districts, the determination of scores including the structural conditions and safety, spot defects, and the contract requirements.

 

The content of the presentation was noted, and it was agreed that a copy of this would be circulated to the committee. Questions were raised regarding publicly available data, escalation of safety issues, communication with residents, repeatedly repaired roads, and the frequency of highway and footpath checks. Members requested that the next performance report contain details relating to the number of people making use of the FixMyStreet app.

 

RESOLVED:

 

i)               THAT the presentation be noted.

 

ii)              THAT the latest annual programme of works be circulated to all members.

 

iii)            THAT the next performance report contain details relating to the number of people making use of the FixMyStreet app.

 

(b)      Cowes Floating Bridge

 

Members noted that at the meeting on 8 September 2020, the Committee agreed to receive a report detailing the actions being taken to ensure that the vessel was operational, and to enable discussions to take place on future options for the service involving Cllrs Love, Peacey-Wilcox and Jones-Evans, the Leader, Cabinet Member for Transport and Infrastructure and the Chief Executive. The Leader confirmed that discussions had taken place. 

 

The Assistant Director of Neighbourhoods delivered a presentation (Appendix) which detailed the plan in place to resolve the immediate issues with the hydraulics system (identified after routine maintenance), and the significant operational issues experienced since the vessel commenced service in May 2017; including the insufficient clearance over the chains, deviation from the vessel’s track across the river, noise issues, and the failures of the loading ramps’ lifting systems.

 

Questions were raised regarding the installation of side thrusters and its impact on the marine life, the vessel design, and the nature of the legal proceedings.  Members noted the planned return of the vessel to full service on 17 October 2020 and requested a position update at the meeting on 10 November 2020. Members suggested a confidential briefing to discuss the legal and financial issues and requested that the Leader provide a full detailed report when the legal and financial aspects have been resolved. It was requested that the report from Longitude regarding options for the fitment of side thrusters to the vessel be shared with interested parties when received at the end of October 2020.

 

RESOLVED:

 

i)               THAT the presentation be noted, and a position update be provided to the Committee at its meeting on 10 November 2020.

 

ii)              THAT the report regarding options for the fitment of side thrusters to the vessel be shared with interested parties when available.

 

iii)            THAT, when appropriate, a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

28.

To review items due to be considered by the Cabinet

 

To review the items due to be considered by the Cabinet at its meeting on 8 October 2020, and where appropriate, make comments that the committee believe should be taken into account. The items currently shown on the latest forward plan at the time of publication of this agenda, are :-

·       Approval of Public Spaces Protection Orders

·       Approval of Housing Strategy

 

Minutes:

·            Approval of Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs)

 

Consideration was given to the report which soughtapproval from the Cabinet to adopt the draft PSPOs, which mirrored the existing orders but included a small number of additional proposals for control of dogs in cemeteries, some rights of way, and minor changes to alcohol control areas.

 

Members were supportive of the comprehensive public consultation and raised questions regarding enforcement and changes to the existing orders; and suggested a bespoke dog-friendly policy. It was noted that the Policy and Scrutiny Committee for Neighbourhoods and Regeneration had discussed and fully supported the proposals at its meeting on 1 October 2020. Cllrs Lilley, Andre and Hollis declared an interest as dog owners.

 

RESOLVED:

 

          THAT the proposed Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) be supported.

 

·            Approval of the Island Housing Strategy 2020-2025

 

The Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing presented the report which sought approval from the Cabinet to adopt the Island Housing Strategy 2020-2025 which had been developed to reflect emerging national and local priorities and to align the delivery of housing to the Corporate Plan 2019-22. Consideration was given to the proposed strategy, and members felt that the creation of a council-owned subsidiary housing company should be actioned within 2020/21 rather than 2021/22.

 

The Planning Team Leader provided an update on the Government’s White Paper “Planning for the Future” and outlined the timeline for responding to the consultation by 29 October 2020. A series of member briefings were outlined as it would influence the Island Planning Strategy and link in with the Housing Strategy.

 

RESOLVED:

 

THAT the proposed Island Housing Strategy 2020-2025 be supported, subject to the recommendation that the creation of a council-owned subsidiary housing company be actioned within 2020/21 rather than 2021/22.

 

·            Revisions to the Constitution

 

The Leader presented the report of the Monitoring Officer which sought approval of the work carried out to review and revise the constitution. The report requested that the views of the Committee be sought before the Cabinet recommend its formal adoption by the Full Council on 15 November 2020.

 

Discussion took place regarding the reduction of committee membership. Members welcomed the opportunity to comment on the draft constitution and it was agreed that an informal meeting be arranged for this purpose. It was agreed that the chairmen of the Policy and Scrutiny Committees be invited to participate in this. The Committee noted the content of the report and asked for its appreciation of the significant work undertaken in reviewing the constitution by Geoff Wild, Monitoring Officer, to be formally noted.

 

RESOLVED:

 

THAT an informal briefing be arranged for members of the Corporate Scrutiny Committee (and the Chairmen of the Policy and Scrutiny Committees), to comment on the draft constitution prior to its formal consideration by the Cabinet on 12 November 2020 and Full Council on 18 November 2020.

 

29.

Committee's Workplan 2020/21

29a

Council's Forward Plan pdf icon PDF 125 KB

To identify any item contained within the published forward plan that would benefit from early consideration within the workplan, for either this committee of one of the policy and scrutiny committees.  

Minutes:

Members were invited to identify any item contained within the published forward plan that would benefit from early consideration within the workplan for either this committee of one of the policy and scrutiny committees.

 

RESOLVED:

 

THAT the forward plan be noted.

29b

Corporate Scrutiny Committee's Workplan pdf icon PDF 112 KB

To consider the Committee’s workplan for 2020-21 and any further items for possible inclusion.

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the Committee’s workplan for 2020-21. It was requested that the report to be considered at the next meeting regarding corporate complaints should detail the impact of Covid-19. A request was made for the commercialisation action plan to review the recommendations made in the committee’s commercialisation task and finish report.

 

RESOLVED:

 

THAT the workplan be noted.

30.

Members' Question Time

A question must be submitted by electronic mail to Democratic Services no later than 5.00pm on Monday, 5 October 2020.

 

Minutes:

No questions were received.