Agenda and minutes

It was proposed by Councillor Hay, seconded by Councillor Sennitt Clough and resolved that Councillor Davis be elected Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel for the Municipal Year.

It was proposed by Councillor Davis, seconded by Councillor Hay and resolved that Councillor Gerstner be elected Vice-Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel for the Municipal Year.

To confirm and sign the minutes of the meeting of 27 February 2023.

The minutes of the meeting of 27 February 2023 were confirmed and signed.

Members to receive an update on the previous meeting’s Action Plan.

Members considered the update on previous actions and made the following comments:

·         Councillor Booth stated that in respect of the Planning matter between FDC and Clarion, he still believes there to be a disconnect between what officers are being told and Clarion members regarding whether pre-application discussions took place. Nick Harding was looking into that and as Councillor Booth is still waiting for a response, he would like this kept on the agenda.

·         Councillor Hay asked if there is any further update regarding the attendance of the Mayor of the CPCA at an O&S meeting given that he was originally due to attend in December 2022. Amy Brown advised that this matter is in hand; his office has been contacted with the list of meeting dates and we are waiting to hear back.

·         Councillor Booth said that the watching brief item on Planning can be taken off the agenda now the position with Peterborough City Council is known.  

To update Overview and Scrutiny on performance of the Council's Revenues and Benefits service since it became part of ARP on 1 April 2014.

Members considered the annual review of Anglia Revenues Partnership (ARP), which updated the Panel on the performance of the Council’s Revenues and Benefits Service since it became part of ARP on 1 April 2014.

The Chairman welcomed Councillor Mrs French, Sam Anthony, and Matthew Waite-Wright and Lorraine King from ARP to the meeting.

Members made comments, asked questions and received responses as follows: 

1.    Councillor Hay said the report mentioned moving to digitalisation for the purpose of enhanced data share with the DWP and HMRC. Although it seemed to be working well with the DWP she noted that HMRC were now declining to release information without National Insurance (NI) numbers being shared and she asked what action was being taken to address this. Matthew Waite-Wright explained that as part of the Digital Economy Act, ARP had taken part in a Cabinet office pilot scheme where local authorities supplied lists of council tax debtors to the DWP and HMRC so ARP could obtain work details and identify vulnerable customers in receipt of benefits. However, HMRC had a change of heart and would not supply the work details of customers unless supplied with their NI numbers. Under Council Tax legislation there is no need for billing authorities to retain NI numbers because these are classed as personal data under general data protection regulations of which ARP would be in breach by collecting and storing this data. The pilot has now ended, and feedback has been given to the Cabinet Office; it is expected that further trials will take place when ARP will again state that work details will be required from HMRC. Matthew Waite-Wright added for context that the idea was that on provision of those work details, ARP would write to the individual customers with an invitation to undertake a payment arrangement, if no arrangement was forthcoming ARP could then use their powers to contact employers with an attachment of earnings order to have the monies deducted from wages. However, at this stage no further progress has been made as no response has been received from central Government.

2.    Councillor Gerstner asked if ARP could provide members with a flowchart setting out their approach to enforcement. Matthew Waite-Wright agreed to send one out but in the meantime had tabled a chart for the meeting and he proceeded to explain the process of billing, recovery, and enforcement. He added that he could not stress enough that removal of goods is a very rare occurrence, and in most cases a payment arrangement is agreed and managed. However, as a last resort if, for any reason, a collection cannot be made, for example in the instance of death or bankruptcy, a debt will be written off but not before all other avenues have been explored. Councillor Gerstner thanked Matthew Waite-Wright for the explanation and asked what the time frame is from billing to enforcement. Matthew Waite-Wright stated this would be April to July.

3.    Councillor Hay asked what is to stop people from continually  ...  view the full minutes text for item OSC5/23

The purpose of this report is to set out how the Fenland Community Safety Partnership (referred to as partnership) identifies their priorities for Fenland. The report also details an up-to-date performance picture for 2022/23 and includes the performance report relating to CCTV services for 2022.

Members considered the Community Safety Partnership report.

The Chairman welcomed Councillor Sue Wallwork, Alan Boughen, Dan Horn, and Inspector Andy Morris to the meeting.

Members made comments, asked questions and received responses as follows:

1.    Councillor Hay asked what is being done to get out the message that e-scooters are illegal to use on public highways unless part of a scheme in the inner cities, as not everyone is aware they are breaking the law. Inspector Morris agreed e-scooters do present a challenge, and in Fenland police use the ‘4 E’ approach, that is to educate, encourage and explain before using enforcement. They have an operation that works closely with their prevention hub, which is doing a lot of work to address retailers, manufacturers, insurance companies, schools, and parents. The Safer Schools Officer repeatedly gives presentations in schools about the use of e-scooters, one school was encouraging their use as a safe mode of transport so that had to be addressed quickly. It is a constant battle but statistically, Fenland is the safest of the six district areas across the force in terms of how many road traffic collisions have involved e-scooters and how many of them have been used in crime. A further challenge is that in Cambs City they are legal; eventually it is likely they will be made legal more widely but in the meantime he would expect officers not to turn a blind eye unless something more pressing takes their attention. If they come across someone who has already been spoken to, they will look at them more punitively. In essence therefore, the police are doing what they can in terms of education and enforcement, in terms of awareness there is a quarterly corporate communications campaign. Meanwhile, retailers continue to sell them as it is not illegal to do so, and they can be used on private land.

2.    Councillor Hay thanked Inspector Morris and mentioned that Chatteris also has a problem with off-road bikes, but it is difficult to ring the police for action as many do not have number plates. Inspector Morris said tactics to deal with off-road bikes are quite challenging because unless there is an immediate risk to life which they are made aware of, the consequences of going after someone are greater than the initial threat. There is a problem-solving plan in place for that very issue in Chatteris, working with the community and the Problem-Solving Group to identify those involved and working with the schools, as it is likely the perpetrators are in education. The Safer Schools officer is on the case as are the March Neighbourhood Policing Team and Inspector Morris said he would like for members to encourage their constituents to report the matter as well because although they may not be able to do anything there and then, he can raise that there have been an excessive number of service requests in so many days and would then be able to call it in for additional support.  ...  view the full minutes text for item OSC6/23

Presentation attached.

Councillor Davis welcomed Matt Wickham, Paul Doyle, Simon Pesic-Smith from Freedom Leisure and Phil Hughes to the meeting. Phil Hughes gave Councillor Miscandlon’s apologies as Portfolio Holder for Leisure. 

Members considered the Freedom Leisure Review report which was shared in the form of a presentation. 

Members made comments, asked questions, and received responses as follows:

1.    Councillor Sennitt Clough said that reducing the leisure centre opening hours to ease the effects of the rise in energy bills has impacted on customer membership. She is a member of the Manor and heard that a lot of customers discontinued their membership because the new opening times no longer fitted their working hours. She would be interested to know therefore how this has all balanced out, as attempting to save money on energy bills has ultimately led to a reduction in income. Simon Pesic-Smith responded that it was the right thing to do facing such an uncertain time and some of the measures agreed to put in place were to reduce the hours. He looked at the timetables and stripped out the gaps that should not have been there, so there was space not being used that could have been. He was aware that there would be an impact on customers but had to work within a particular framework. He worked with centre managers to ensure that they could maximise everything they did have. Now the gyms are open until 9pm and looking at the footfall between 9pm and 10pm at the Manor it was low anyway, and there is minimal change in terms of the target audience pre the change in hours. Generally, if someone wants to use the gym at 10pm at night they want one of the 24-hour gyms. He said that Councillor Sennitt Clough is correct that the Manor suffered from when the changes were made in October but that changed about six weeks ago and there is now a curve upwards. That is through adjustments to the timetable, increasing facilities, making sure there are as many classes as possible and promoting the different services, however it was the right thing to do at the time and in February the situation was assessed, and changes made that could be done without having any major additional costs. Matt Wickham added that Freedom is not planning on doing anything that would take commercial viability backwards; they have undoubtedly had to make changes across the portfolio but if a decision is not working, then they are flexible to change again. Not every decision will be right, but they will continue to review and monitor to ensure that they are getting the best commercial return possible for the facilities.

2.    Councillor Hay asked what plans are in place for Freedom to start repaying the loans received from Fenland District Council now it is on more of an even keel. Matt Wickham responded that a contract agreement is in place regarding repayments based on viability and the more that can be done to make  ...  view the full minutes text for item OSC7/23

To report on the progress of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel’s Task and Finish Group set up for the purpose of reviewing the Council’s corporate performance indicators.

Members considered the Task and Finish Group report presented by Amy Brown.

Councillor Booth suggested that the date be kept open rather than look to October to finish the work. The real deadline is the end of the year because that is when the Business Plan is fed into. Councillor Booth added that technically the group does not have to be set up on political proportionality, but he will ensure he attends the meetings. Councillor Roy could potentially be his substitute, but Councillor Gerstner is welcome to put himself forward. Councillor Gerstner said he would be happy to be appointed as substitute.

Members AGREED:

·         That Councillor Booth and Councillor Hay form part of the Task and Finish Group as former members of the Group and who remain on the Overview and Scrutiny Panel, along with Councillor Woollard, and that Councillor Lucie Foice-Beard and Councillor Gerstner be appointed substitutes. 

·         The proposed amendment to the Terms of Reference of the Task and Finish Group shown as track-changes to the section entitled Report and Timescales, with the change suggested by Councillor Booth to say by the end of 2023.

To consider the Draft Work Programme for Overview & Scrutiny Panel 2023/24.

Councillor Davis advised that the Future Work Programme is to be updated and will comprise standing items such as the Business Plan and Budget items. Throughout the year members of the Panel will consider what additional items they may wish to see added.