Agenda and minutes

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Venue: Council Offices

Contact: Rebecca Brough  Democratic Services Manager

Items
No. Item

137.

Apologies

To receive any apologies for absence.

Minutes:

An apology for absence was received from Councillor J M Heron.

138.

Appointment of Substitute Members

To note appointments of Substitute Members.

Minutes:

It was noted that in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 4, Councillor P M Wallace had been appointed as substitute member for Councillor J M Heron.

139.

Declarations of Interest pdf icon PDF 37 KB

To receive any declarations of interest from Members in respect of business to be transacted on the agenda.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest made by Members.

140.

Minutes

To confirm the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 16 January 2018 and 27 February 2018 (to follow).

Minutes:

The consideration of the Minutes was deferred to a future meeting.

141.

Public Speaking

Please note that in accordance with the agreed Protocol for Public Speaking at Overview and Scrutiny, the right to speak only applies to agenda items 11 and 13.

 

The right of the public to speak does not apply to the following agenda items: Apologies, Appointment of Substitute Members, Declarations of Interest, Minutes, the Forward Plan, the Scrutiny Work Programme, any agenda item that is not accompanied by a written report and items that are exempt business.

 

Members of the public wishing to speak must register to do so by no later than 2.00 pm on the second working day before the meeting.

 

Minutes:

The Democratic Services Manager advised that no members of the public had registered to speak on items on the agenda to which the public speaking protocol applied.

142.

Decisions of the Cabinet Relating to Recommendations from the Scrutiny (Policy and Performance) Committee

There were no decisions taken by the Cabinet at its meeting held on 5 March 2018 in respect of recommendations from the Scrutiny (Policy and Performance) Committee.

 

Minutes:

There were no decisions to note.

143.

Issues referred to the Committee by Council, Cabinet, Scrutiny (Community and Regeneration) Committee or another Committee

There are no items for consideration.

Minutes:

There were no items for consideration.

144.

Items called-in for Scrutiny or placed on the agenda by a Member of the Committee, any individual Non-Executive Members or Public Petition

(a)    Items placed on the agenda by a Member of the Committee or any individual Non-Executive Member

 

       Any individual Councillor may request that a matter is placed on the agenda of one of the Council's Overview and Scrutiny Committees by providing Democratic Support with notice of the matter prior to the agenda being published.

 

       There are no items for consideration.

 

(b)    Items the subject of Call-In

 

       Executive Decisions may be called-in by the Chairman or Spokesperson of the Scrutiny (Policy and Performance) Committee or any three non-executive members.

 

       There are no items for consideration.

 

(c)    Public Petition

 

       There are no items for consideration.

Minutes:

There were no items for consideration.

145.

Notice of Forthcoming Key Decisions pdf icon PDF 41 KB

It is intended that Members should use the Notice of Forthcoming Key Decisions to identify topics within the remit of the Committee for future scrutiny.

Minutes:

The Democratic Services Manager presented the Notice of Forthcoming Key Decisions to the Committee for its consideration.

 

 

RESOLVED:   That the Notice of Forthcoming Key Decisions be noted.

 

146.

Scrutiny Work Programme pdf icon PDF 85 KB

It is intended that the Committee monitor and prioritise its rolling work programme.

Minutes:

The Democratic Services Manager presented the Scrutiny Work Programme to the Committee for its consideration.

 

 

RESOLVED:  That the Work Programme be noted.

147.

Revised Apprenticeship Policy pdf icon PDF 115 KB

To consider the attached report of the Director of Governance (Monitoring Officer).

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Head of Legal Services presented the report on the Revised Apprenticeship Policy.

 

Members were advised that the Apprenticeship, Graduate Placement and Work Experience Scheme and its policies had been reviewed to ensure they met the new Government Apprenticeship Scheme that was introduced in May 2017. The new Apprenticeship Policy would replace the current policy and sit alongside the existing policies in the Apprenticeship, Graduate Placement and Work Experience Scheme.

 

There would also be a new pay condition introduced recognising the wider spectrum of apprenticeships that were now offered. This would cover from funding band 2 – GCSE level to funding band 15 – masters level.

 

The Council currently had nine apprentices the majority of which were part way through a 2 year apprenticeship. While there was no guaranteed job at the end of the apprenticeship the Council had retained some apprentices.

 

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

148.

Consultation on Public Spaces Protection Order pdf icon PDF 87 KB

To consider the attached report of the Director of Governance.

Minutes:

The Environmental Protection Manager presented the report on the consultation for a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO).

 

Members were advised that the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 provided local authorities with powers to make PSPOs. These orders were intended to address activities carried out in public spaces which had a detrimental effect on the quality of life of those in the locality.

 

The Council implemented a PSPO in 2015 that related to:

 

(i)            Failing to remove dog faeces (covering the whole District);

(ii)           Failing to put a dog on a lead after being requested to do so by an authorised officer (covering the whole District);

(iii)          Failing to keep a dog on a lead in specified places; and

(iv)         Permitting a dog to enter specified land from which dogs are excluded

 

Under the legislation, a PSPO operated for 3 years unless extended and/or varied and it was proposed that it be extended for another 3 years with minor amendments. The level of the fixed penalty notice would remain at £75 to be paid within 14 days with no reduction for early payment.

 

Members were advised that some initial responses to the consultation had already been received.

 

The following points were raised by Members:

 

·         To ask for the Freeman’s Way play area to be included as a dog exclusion area.

·         In response to a question concerning extending the scope of the PSPO to cover town centre precincts in respect of keeping a dog on a lead it was stated that the Council would encourage consultation responses in respect of this matter.

·         To question if officers were satisfied that the level of enforcement was sufficient given the majority of people were issued with warnings rather than a fixed penalty notice.

 

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

149.

Environmental Enforcement Service Delivery pdf icon PDF 73 KB

To consider the attached report of the Head of Regulatory Services.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Environmental Enforcement Manager presented the report on Environmental Enforcement Service Delivery.

 

It was stated that in November 2016 the Cabinet had agreed to a trial using contractors to patrol the District and issue fixed penalty notices (FPNs) for offences relating to litter and dog fouling. While the initial contract was entered into with Kingdom Services Group Limited for 12 months there was provision for two extensions of 12 months each to the contract. It was proposed that the contract be extended for a further 12 months with a variation to reduce the number of field officers from 3 to 2.

 

There were no direct costs to the Council as the contractors costs were met from monies generated by FPNs. The income generated from FPNs was also used to fund envirocrime initiatives such as the seizure of vehicles involved in fly tipping.

 

In response to concerns expressed by some Members as to whether the service provided best value for money and if contractors were more likely to target easy fines, it was stated that the Council had control over what was enforced and could target the contractors to work on specific areas or tasks.

 

RESOLVED: That it be recommended to Cabinet:

 

(a)  That the current contract be extended by a period of 12 months with a variation to the current terms reducing the amount of field officers from 3 to 2.

 

(b)  That the Committee be provided with a report outlining the costs of operating the service and the revenue generated by the service as well as regular updates on service performance.

150.

Exclusion of the Press and Public pdf icon PDF 40 KB

The recommendation is attached.

 

MATTERS WHICH THE MANAGEMENT TEAM SUGGESTS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED IN PRIVATE AS THE REPORT CONTAINS EXEMPT INFORMATION AS DEFINED WITHIN PART 1 OF SCHEDULE 12A OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972 AS INDICATED AND IN RESPECT OF WHICH THE PROPER OFFICER CONSIDERS THAT THE PUBLIC INTEREST IN MAINTAINING THE EXEMPTION OUTWEIGHS THE PUBLIC INTEREST IN DISCLOSING THE INFORMATION

Minutes:

RESOLVED:       That, under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the remainder of the business on the grounds that the items to be considered involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Act.

151.

Award of Contract for Resurfacing Works to Deal Pier

To consider the attached report of the Director of Environment and Corporate Assets.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Director of Environment and Corporate Assets presented the report on the Award of a Contractor for Resurfacing Works to Deal Pier.

 

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

    Broadcast and Recording of Council Meetings

    1. (a) Where a meeting has been broadcast via the Council’s website a recording of that broadcast will generally be available for viewing on-line for a period of 30 days from the close of the meeting. In normal circumstances this would be within 2 working days of the meeting. However, there may be circumstances where it will take longer.

      (b) The broadcasts and recordings are the copyright of the Council and may not be copied, displayed or published to the public, adapted or dealt with in any other way restricted by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

      (c) The Council will not make available copies of the recordings either in whole or in part other than in compliance with a legal requirement arising under The Freedom of Information Act 2000, UK GDPR, The Data Protection Act 2018 or some other enactment, rule of law or direction of a court or tribunal which is binding on it.

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