Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils
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Agenda and minutes

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Contact: Robert Carmichael - Email: committees@baberghmidsuffolk.gov.uk - 01449 724930 

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Items
No. Item

90.

APOLOGIES AND SUBSTITUTES

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from  James Caston, Mary McLaren, Kathryn Grandon, and Jane Gould.

 

Councillors Sue Ayres substituted for Councillor Mary McLaren.

 

91.

DECLARATION OF INTERESTS

Minutes:

Councillor Margaret Maybury declared a Local Non-pecuniary interest as a director of Sudbury Citizens Advice.

 

Councillor Dave Muller declared a Local Non-pecuniary interest as a Trustee of MSDC Citizens Advice.

92.

JOS/21/6 TO CONFIRM THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 19 JULY 2021 pdf icon PDF 151 KB

Minutes:

It was Resolved that the minutes of the meeting held on the 19 July 2021 were confirmed and signed as a true record.

Recorded Vote
TitleTypeRecorded Vote textResult
That the Minutes of the meeting held on the 19 July 2021 be confirmed and signed as a true record subject to the amendment Ad-Hoc Carried
  • View Recorded Vote for this item
  • 93.

    TO RECEIVE NOTIFICATION OF PETITIONS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE COUNCIL'S PETITION SCHEME

    Minutes:

    None received.

    94.

    QUESTIONS BY THE PUBLIC

    To consider questions from and provide answers to members of the public on any matter in relation to which the Committee has powers or duties and of which due notice has been given in accordance with the Committee and Sub-Committee Procedures Rules.

    Minutes:

    None received.

    95.

    QUESTIONS BY COUNCILLORS

    To consider questions from and provide answers to Councillors on any matter in relation to which the Committee has powers or duties and of which due notice has been given in accordance with the Committee and Sub-Committee Procedure Rules.

    Minutes:

    None received.

    96.

    JOS/21/7 ANNUAL REVIEW OF JOINT HOMES AND HOUSING STRATEGY AND HOMELESSNESS AND ROUGH SLEEPING REDUCTION STRATEGY 2019-2024 pdf icon PDF 375 KB

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    96.1 Councillor Jan Osborne – Cabinet Member for Housing (BDC) introduced the report to the Committee outlining the history of the strategy, what the aim of the document was and that it was agreed that the report would be presented to Overview and Scrutiny on an annual basis.

     

    96.2 The Housing Needs and Standards Manager gave a presentation to Members of the Committee on the progress to date, the actions that are currently underway, and the future action planned over the remaining two and a half years of the strategy.

     

    96.3 Councillor Muller asked whether tenants who currently rented garages would be accommodated by alternative arrangements if existing units were demolished.

     

    96.4 The Housing Needs and Standards Manager responded that a full consultation would take place and that alternative arrangements would be  considered for customers.

     

    96.5 Councillor Dave Muller enquired whether the identified 5 properties for rough sleepers would be similar to the converted shipping containers that were being used by Ipswich Borough Council.

     

    96.6 The Housing Needs and Standards Manager confirmed that they would be modular units but would not be the same as the former shipping containers but that the detail of the exact models could be provided after the meeting.

     

    96.7 Councillor Sue Ayres asked about possibly working together with Officers in the Housing Needs team and Gypsy and Traveller Liaison Group  to get training for other Councillors.

     

    96.8 The Housing Needs and Standards Manager responded that he would welcome the opportunity and work with the group to provide the training as required.

     

    96.9 Councillor Terence Carter asked about the Councils’ Development Acquisitions and why MSDC had 71 less than BDC.

     

    96.10 The Housing Needs and Standards Manager responded that the supply of new affordable housing varied year upon year and that an average would provide a better representation over a 2-5 year period.

     

    96.11 Councillor Carter enquired about internet supply to tenants and what advice would be supplied with regards to securing a better deal for tenants. The Housing Needs and Standards Manager responded that he was unable to answer the question but would consult with the relevant officer and provide a response outside of the meeting.

     

    96.12 Councillor Carter questioned whether the Council would be working with partners to ensure that the modular rough sleeper units would be wheelchair accessible and have access to medical supplies.

     

    96.13 The Housing Needs and Standards Manager responded that there were different levels of accessibility throughout the planning process and that he did not know what level there would be for these units but that Officers would work with any individual user to meet any accessibility needs to ensure that they had adequate housing.

     

    96.14 The Cabinet Member for Housing responded to a point that had been raised earlier regarding the acquisition of homes for housing stock and confirmed that it varied from month to month and that BDC’s Housing Revenue Account (HRA) was in a better position than MSDC’s so could make more acquisitions at this time.

     

    96.15  ...  view the full minutes text for item 96.

    Recorded Vote
    TitleTypeRecorded Vote textResult
    In relation to action point 3.13, This Committee (MSDC) recommends that urgent action is taken, to build improved joined up working with Citizens Advice & recommends that this is a top priority. Furthermore, that consideration is given to creating a jointly funded post by Cabinet, in order to move this priority and critical area forward. Ad-Hoc Carried
    That the content of the action plan was noted and the Committee asked for further information on the day to day activities of the action plan. Ad-Hoc Carried
    That the homes and housing strategy and homelessness and rough sleeping strategy be reviewed twice yearly. Ad-Hoc Carried
  • View Recorded Vote for this item
  • 97.

    JOS/21/8 INFORMATION BULLETIN

    The Information Bulletin is a document that is made available to the public with the published agenda papers.  It can include update information requested by the Committee as well as information that a service considers should be made known to the Committee.

     

    This Information Bulletin contains updates on the following subjects:

     

    Minutes:

    Two information Bulletins were reported to the Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee as detailed below:

    98.

    INFORMATION BULLETIN - CUSTOMER SERVICE UPDATE pdf icon PDF 367 KB

    Minutes:

    98.1 The Corporate Manager for Customer services introduced the information bulletin to the committee and the headline details contained within it and updated Members that the pop-up services in Shotley and Hadleigh would be taking place from the 4 October 2021.

     

    98.2 Councillor Sue Ayres asked what measures were being undertaken to inform Members of the public that the Town Hall was no longer a customer access point as there were on average 10 people a day who were trying to access services from there and what additional communication services were available to residents when they entered the Customer Access Points.

     

    98.3 The Corporate Manager for Customer Services responded that more advertising would be undertaken if this continued and that other forms of communication including sign language would be explored for communicating with residents where required.

     

    98.4 Councillor Melanie Barrett queried the number of residents who had visited the Sudbury Customer Access Point and the Stowmarket Customer Access Point and the reasons for the relative difference in numbers.

     

    98.5 The Corporate Manager for Customer Services responded that historically there had been a higher demand for face-to-face services in Babergh but there had been a greater uptake in telephone appointments in Mid Suffolk and Stowmarket.

     

    In response to a follow-up question from Cllr Barrett the Corporate Manager for Customer Services confirmed that the face-to-face services were always under review and that the council would be bringing back its pop-up services and that in Sudbury 2 days a week and would measure demand in the future.

     

    98.6 Councillor Paul Ekpenyong suggested that in future the number of telephone appointments also be included within the information presented before Committee and questioned what work was being done on the website to help customers upload information through the website and whether the digital skills support had been launched and what effect it was having.

     

    98.7 The Corporate Manager for Customer Services responded that the telephone appointments would be included in any future information bulletins, and outlined that the website was reviewed regularly especially with regards to feedback which was received, and the digital skills would be launching shortly and would be online training which would be supported by a face to face offer and that a survey regarding this had been sent to the Councils tenants.

     

    98.8 Councillor Alastair McCraw – Cabinet Member for Customers and Digital Transformation (BDC) commented that the average time spent with each customer during a face to face meeting was 30 minutes , and that the Councils’ were providing 4 times as much officer time as was used currently and that this was the right level of service provision for customers.

     

    98.9 Councillor Melanie Barrett commented queried the efficiency of telephone calls when compared with the face to face contact. The Cabinet Member for Customers and Digital Transformation confirmed that most queries were dealt with on first contact and that he would feed back any further information at any further meetings.

     

    98.10 Councillor Keith Scarff commented that there was a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 98.

    99.

    INFORMATION BULLETIN - ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR pdf icon PDF 637 KB

    Minutes:

    99.1 The Community Safety Project Manager and the Community Safety Officer presented the information Bulletin to the Committee outlining the key information in the bulletin which covered the last 9 months:

     

    -        Introduced a new case management system

    -        Training for Councillors

    -        The depth of subjects that ASB covered.

    -        What pro-active work could be undertaken by the Council.

    -        Engaged with external and internal partners in the public sector

    -        That Officers were trying to get their message out to young people and engaging through crucial crew, talking about online safety.

    -        Engineering an ASB Champion who is someone who has gone through the process.

     

    99.2 Councillor Dave Muller enquired whether the Officers met up with the engagement officer for Mid Suffolk, PC Hendrickson. The Community Safety Officer responded that the team already worked with the engagement Officer during the compilation of the Information bulletin but would like to develop that further and raise awareness with street meets with the Police. The Community Safety Project Manager added that officers were a part of an Area Tactical Command Meeting which dealt with high risk crimes as well.

     

    99.3 Councillor Melanie Barrett questioned the officers about mediation that was offered. The Community Safety Project Manager responded that there was a structured and tiered approach when a situation is identified for mediation and a need for a conversation and that  the Councils had a contract with Catch 22 (with effect from 5 August 2021 for a 12 month period) who are trained mediators who will engage, but emphasised the parties have to voluntarily engage in the process and if unsuccessful is taken to the next tier.

     

    99.4 Councillor Paul Ekpenyong questioned whether the report included population growth into the statistics and why there had such a large shift in Suffolk’s numbers. The Community Safety Project Manager responded that the data represented what was reported and outlined that some authorities were better than others in reporting information. The Officer responded that they would take this away and report back outside of the meeting.

     

    99.5  Councillor Paul Ekpenyong queried the comments on the bottom of p78 in relation to the Mental Health Trust and comments on the victim focussed basis. The Community Safety Project Manager responded that Victim First was a golden thread promoted in legislation and mental health was a challenging area and there are different stages for that and measuring capacity under the Care Act when dealing with cases.

     

    99.6 Councillor Margaret Maybury questioned how the officers dealt with motorbikes that were being anti social. The Community Safety Project Manager responded regarding of a PSPO (Public Spaces Protection Order) if the incidents were in public spaces.

     

    99.7 Councillor Sian Dawson questioned whether the council had ever evicted any tenants and whether mediation worked.

     

    99.8 The Community Safety Project Manager responded that mediation was the way to look at all the options that were available to the solve the issues.

     

    99.9 Councillor Terence Carter commented that there was a victim first  ...  view the full minutes text for item 99.

    100.

    JOS/21/9 FORTHCOMING DECISIONS LIST

    To review the Council’s Forthcoming Decisions List and identify any items to be brought before the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

     

    Please note the most up to date version can be found via the Website:

     

    https://www.babergh.gov.uk/the-council/forthcoming-decisions-list/

    Minutes:

    The Forthcoming Decisions list was noted.

    101.

    JOS/21/10 BABERGH OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY WORK PLAN pdf icon PDF 147 KB

    To agree the Work Plan

    Minutes:

    The Babergh Overview and Scrutiny Workplan was noted.

    102.

    JOS/20/ MID SUFFOLK OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY WORK PLAN pdf icon PDF 144 KB

    To agree the Work Plan

    Minutes:

    The Mid Suffolk Overview and Scrutiny Workplan was noted.