MCa/17/59 – Matter (a) referred by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee
MCa/17/60 – Matter (b) referred by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee
Please note that the minutes have been drafted but have not yet been approved by officers and may be subject to minor changes.
Decision:
(a) MCa/17/59 – Matter referred by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee
It was RESOLVED:-
1.1 That the recommendation of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 15 March 2018 to review the resources required to improve the efficiency of all housing delivery be accepted and that the current work being undertaken to review the resources in the planning team be continued, the results of which would be reported to the Cabinet at a future meeting.
Reason for Decision: That the resources should be reviewed in order to improve the efficiency of all housing delivery.
Alternative Options Considered and Rejected: That Cabinet did not review the resources required.
Any Declarations of Interest declared: None
Any Dispensation Granted: None
(b) MCa/17/60 – Matter referred by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee
It was RESOLVED:-
1.1 That the recommendations of the Mid Suffolk Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 15 March 2018 be accepted.
Reason for Decision: That the points identified by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee were accepted and Appendix B relating to the Quarter 3 compared to Quarter 2 outturn for the Housing Revenue Account was endorsed.
Alternative Options Considered and Rejected: That Cabinet did not accept the points raised by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and did not endorse Appendix B.
Any Declarations of Interest declared: None
Any Dispensation Granted: None
Minutes:
(a) MCa/17/59 – Matter referred by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee
Members had before them a copy of Overview and Scrutiny Minute No 26 of the meeting held 15 March 2018, which was circulated prior to the commencement of the meeting.
Councillor Eburne, Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, introduced the Committee’s recommendation to Cabinet, arising from its consideration of Paper MOS/17/37 The Five-Year Land Supply, to review the resources required to improve the efficiency of all housing delivery as Members were not convinced that sufficient resources were in place.
Councillor Whybrow, Cabinet Member with responsibility for Planning, responded with reference to his regular discussions with the team responsible for delivery about the robustness and the publication of the Joint Local Plan. Although there had been some slippage due mainly to the high number of responses received to the public consultation, and the Policy Officer post had yet to filled, a number of appointments which had been made post-Christmas would enable the timetable to be delivered.
Councillor Eburne replied that she had heard similar comments from officers – was this because it was what Members expected to hear, as people do not like to appear to be failing? While understanding that this was a time-consuming exercise, she suggested that staff from areas other than planning could assist in the process.
Councillor Whybrow thanked Councillor Eburne for her work and that of her Committee, which backed up his discussions with the team. Temporary administrative and other support was used on a regular basis and he accepted that although the system might struggle to cope at times, he did not think that it was failing.
Councillor Whybrow went on to refer to the stalling which occurs between planning permission being granted and the completion of development. The post identified in the Budget to work on this aspect is expected to be filled shortly, but the Councillor agreed with Councillor Eburne that this should be addressed urgently. In the meantime, a member of staff to collate and sift data to help identify and follow up with developers the reason for planning-related blockages is available.
Councillor Stringer asked a question relating to the numbers of houses being built, and Councillor Whybrow referred Members to the statistics which get reported to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. Members were aware of the importance of the delivery issue and the potential for reputational risk to the Council, and of similar difficulties being experienced by a number of other Local Planning Authorities. Members accepted the need for the resource implications to be reviewed and an expanded recommendation to continue the current work and report back to Cabinet was proposed by Councillor Gowrley and seconded by Councillor Whybrow.
By a unanimous vote
It was RESOLVED:-
That the recommendation of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 15 March 2018 to review the resources required to improve the efficiency of all housing delivery be accepted and that the current work being undertaken to review the resources in the planning team be continued, the results of which would be reported to the Cabinet at a future meeting.
Reason for Decision:
That the resources should be reviewed in order to improve the efficiency of all housing delivery.
(b) MCa/17/60 – Matter referred by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee
Members had before them a copy of Overview and Scrutiny Minute No 28 of the meeting held 15 March 2018, which was circulated prior to the commencement of the meeting.
Councillor Eburne, Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, introduced the Committee’s recommendation to Cabinet, arising from its consideration of Paper MOS/17/39 which had been referred to the Committee from Cabinet to investigate the causes of the variations between Quarters 2 and 3 of the HRA.
Councillor Eburne, Chair of Overview and Scrutiny Committee, introduced the recommendations as set out in Minute No 28 and referred to the errors in the officer report, and the delay in the review of the Babergh and Mid Suffolk Building Services (BMBS) which had been due after the first full year of operation. She referred to Overview and Scrutiny’s role in reviewing the Service.
Councillor Wilshaw, Cabinet Member with responsibility for Housing, reported an improving situation. Members were aware that they would not wish to see the full review put back any later than June so it was agreed that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee should receive a report at its May meeting, with its recommendations being considered by Cabinet in June.
It was RESOLVED:-
That the recommendations of the Mid Suffolk Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 15 March 2018 be accepted.
Reason for Decision: That the points identified by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee were accepted and Appendix B relating to the Quarter 3 compared to Quarter 2 outturn for the Housing Revenue Account was endorsed.
Supporting documents: