Venue: Committee Room A - County Hall, Llandrindod Wells, Powys. View directions
Contact: Lisa Richards 01597 826371
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APOLOGIES To receive apologies for absence. Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from County Councillors D H Williams and G Williams.
The Acting Chair paid tribute to the former Chair for his contribution to the work of the Committee. |
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DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST To receive declarations of interest from Members. Minutes: There were no declarations of interest. |
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DISCLOSURES OF PARTY WHIPS To receive disclosures of prohibited party whips which a Member has been given in relation to the meeting in accordance with Section 78(3) of the Local Government Measure 2011. (NB: Members are reminded that under Section 78 Members having been given a prohibited party whip cannot vote on a matter before the Committee.)
Minutes: There were no declarations of party whips. |
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To authorise the Chair to sign the minutes of the previous meeting. Minutes: The Chair was authorised to sign the Minutes of the last meeting, held on 2 October 2015, as a correct record. |
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To consider the report of the Community Safety Partnership. Additional documents: Minutes: Documents: · Community Safety Partnership Update · Changes since last report to Committee
Issues: · Following a scrutiny review into the Enforcement of Dog Fouling, recommendations were put forward to Cabinet following further discussions at Committee. The Cabinet agreed that the existing Memorandum of Understanding with the Police was generally fit for purpose but, as it had been in existence for a number of years it should be subject to review. Additional training would be provided in the near future with the Police. A communications strategy is being developed and would be issued shortly. A survey of residents would be commenced shortly to inform the process. · Governance of Community Safety Partnership – the Strategy Group has been reviewed and now meets every 8 weeks. Some issues, including counter terrorism, serious crime, integrated offender management and community cohesion are not mandatory but are dealt with by the Strategy Group in addition to their other functions. It had been intended that the CSP report to the Transformation Board but, following review, it now reports direct to the Local Service Board. The Prevent duty is a new responsibility offering support to those vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism. A multi-agency Channel Panel has been formed, but has not yet had to meet, which would aim to divert anyone who may be at risk. · Performance information – there has been an increase in crime in the period since January. Across the Force area this increase has been 8.8% with Powys showing an increase of 7.7%. Within the county there has been an increase in robbery – this is an increase of 5 offences. There has been an increase in sexual offences but this is attributed to an increase in confidence in reporting offences following a series of high profile cases. A study of the increase in violence against the person has been undertaken but no ‘hot spots’ have been identified. This is replicated across the Force leading the Police to address this as one of their main priorities. Members were concerned at the increase in figures and questioned whether this could be attributed to current austerity. Whilst this has been reflected in the past, Powys does not have a traditional night-time economy although some crime has been alcohol related. The Welsh Government is undertaking a consultation exercise on the night-time economy together with a separate exercise into minimum unit pricing for alcohol. Anti-social behaviour has decreased by 26% in Powys (25.3% across the Force). · Road Safety – a slight increase in the number of younger people involved in accidents has been recorded. The CSP are in the process of amending courses to address this. There has been increased motorcycle activity on weekdays and is no longer predominantly weekend. Motorcyclists represent 1% of road users but account for 30% of KSI (killed or seriously injured) accidents. This will make it challenging to meet the Welsh Government target for reduction in accidents. There has been considerable activity in working with bikers from outside the County. · Domestic Abuse - this ... view the full minutes text for item PLSC16-2015 |
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County Farms To receive an oral progress report by the Estate Manager. Minutes: The Committee was briefed by the Estate Manager and Portfolio Holder on progress within the Estate.
Key Issues: · Farm Delivery Plan (FDP) has been approved by the Portfolio Holder but has been put on hold pending completion of the Strategic Asset Management Plan (SAMP). When that document is approved by Cabinet a revised Corporate Asset Plan (CAP) will be produced which will include the FDP. · The existing FDP contains live appendices detailing those holdings subject to review · Capital receipts of £2.8M are expected within years 1 to 3, £1.625M within years 4 to 6 and £675K in years 7 to 9 · The number of holdings is expected to reduce to 145 in the initial stages, 137 in years 4 to 6 and 132 in years 7 to 9. The majority of disposals will be in Montgomeryshire. · It is expected that revenue income will be maintained over the life of the Plan · Condition surveys on 93 holdings have been completed – 57 holdings are in need of urgent attention requiring investment of £237K which will include the removal of asbestos. If this is projected across the entire Estate, it is anticipated that an investment of £615K will be required. · Surveys have identified costs of £150K for electrical works at the 57 priority holdings which, if typical across the Estate, will require an investment of £389K · 9 of the 57 properties do not have central heating · All but one of those 9 properties have been let under pre secure 1995 tenancies · The Portfolio Holder confirmed that the work would be procured from local contractors · Members queried the methodology for determining which holdings were to be disposed of. This would tend to be those which were poorly equipped or represented a significant liability, particularly those where there were no agricultural buildings. It was envisaged that the total area of the Estate would remain broadly the same. Local Members would be advised at an early stage if a disposal were to be contemplated in their ward. · Members recalled that an earlier version of the FDP had sought to encourage installation of renewables either by the Council or by Tenants and sought details of progress. Tenants are consulted regularly and had been advised that the Council would support such installations. Several sites had been considered for renewables but the payback terms had not been adequate. Only one solar system has been installed. The Estate Manager thought that changes in FIT payments would make future installations less likely. Members were of the opinion that the Authority had not been sufficiently proactive in accessing renewables and noted that the FIT scheme had been extended to the end of March 2016. · Welsh Government initiative to review local authority holdings across Wales – Members were concerned that the project had ceased after only one year and that the Authority had been left with costs of £40K. The consultant appointed had not secured funding from other local authorities as identified in his remit. Members wanted to know what actions had ... view the full minutes text for item PLSC17-2015 |
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Brecon Cultural Hub To receive a presentation on progress with the Brecon Cultural Hub. Minutes: The Committee received a presentation on progress with the Brecon Cultural Hub
Key Issues: · Planning consent was obtained in March 2015 · Construction cost pressures had led to an increase in potential costs of £1.4M over the whole project · The consultant, design team and contractor developed a plan to reduce costs whilst protecting grant eligible work and satisfying the Brecon Beacons National Park Planning Authority · A variation of Planning consent was agreed in October 2015 · Currently the market is being tested with completion by February 2016 · A bat license has been applied for · Alternative funding is being researched although some partners have already agreed to increases in funding. The Heritage Lottery Fund have agreed to accept a submission for additional funding. · It is still hoped to complete the project by July 2017 · Members queried the prospects for further increases in costs or reduction in the size of the project – it was hoped that a contract price would be fixed in April 2016. There was further concern that the project might fail as there was no additional finance available within the Authority. It was noted that budget proposals contained an inflation figure of 1% but that labour costs were currently running at 7% and construction costs at 20% inflation. The increases were not technically inflation but a national ‘all in tender price index’. Whether this would be revised once the current low price of oil was factored in remains to be seen. It could potentially affect a number of other capital projects. The Committee queried why the cheaper option had not been considered initially – they were advised that there had been considerable negotiation between the Authority, the planning authority and the Design Council of Wales over an 18 month period but that considerable pressure had had to be applied as budgets reduce and costs increase · Members further queried the accuracy of figures quoted and cited recent examples where quotes had been in excess of the costs actually incurred – a variation of 10 – 15% accuracy either way was considered acceptable in large projects · The project was estimated to cost £8.5M but a detailed breakdown would be circulated to Members after the meeting |
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To consider the scrutiny summary report. Minutes: Documents: · Scrutiny summary report
Issues: · The Portfolio Holder for Finance had requested that work be undertaken to assess the effects of the switch of streetlights on crime and accident statistics · The Group studied research from across the country and within Powys and could find no evidence to suggest that there had been an increase in crime or accidents following the switch off of streetlights · The Committee was informed that there had been a reduction in energy consumption of two thirds following the initial switch off and subsequent replacement of some traditional sodium lights with LEDs |
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To consider the forward work programme and whether any additional items should be included.
Minutes: Documents: · Work Programme
Issues: · The Committee had an extensive remit and Members were concerned that the current salami slicing approach to reducing budgets could have a significant impact on services · It was believed that scrutiny should be concentrating on the effects of budget cuts on services rather than costs per se · Members considered there was a lack of direction to officers · Members believed they would have no alternative but to agree a budget · The Finance Scrutiny Panel was in the process of monitoring the budget setting process and would be making recommendations to Cabinet shortly · There were further concerns regarding IT systems as Member had noticed a number of failures in recent notifications. Furthermore, there was concern that the Cabinet were now being issued with iPads and queried the cost and reasoning of this decision. |
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CORRESPONDENCE To consider any item of correspondence which, in the opinion of the Chair, is of sufficient urgency to warrant consideration. Minutes: There were no items of correspondence. |