Apologies for absence were received from Councillors T A Bond, P I Carter and K Mills.

It was noted that in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 4, Councillor P J Hawkins had been appointed as substitute member for Councillor K Mills.

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

There were no declarations of interest made by Members.

To confirm the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 3 July 2018, 11 September 2018 and 2 October 2018 (to follow).

The consideration of the Minutes was deferred.

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 13 - 15.

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.

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.

The following decisions were taken by the Cabinet at its meeting held on 5 November 2018 in respect of recommendations from the Scrutiny (Policy and Performance) Committee:

·         Launch of a Local Authority Lottery

Members received the decisions of the Cabinet relating to recommendations made by the Committee.

RESOLVED:  That the Cabinet decisions relating to recommendations from the Scrutiny (Policy and Performance) Committee be noted.

There were no items of business for consideration.

(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.

There were no items of business for consideration.

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.

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

RESOLVED:  That the Work Programme be noted.

To receive an update from the Head of Inward Investment.

The Head of Inward Investment provided an update on Dover Town Centre which included the following matters:

·         That the St James development had acted as a catalyst for investor confidence in Dover. 90% of the site was either occupied or in legal discussions.

·         The Council was investigating how it could link St James to the rest of the town with Maison Dieu acting as the end point.

·         The Council was also looking at how it could bring footfall from the castle into the town, build on the strength of its heritage attractions (Western Heights, Maison Dieu, etc) and strengthen the links to Dover Priory.

·         That the Council was working with Dover Town Team to bring forward a bid for the Coastal Communities Fund.

·         That money was ringfenced in the budget for the regeneration of Dover Town Centre.

·         That the Council was engaging with landowners at key sites in the town to ensure the sites were presentable and to encourage them to participate in the regeneration of the town centre.

RESOLVED: That the update be noted.

To receive an update from the Head of Museums and Tourism.

The Head of Museums and Tourism presented the update on the Accommodation Charter.

Members were advised that the charter had been successful in providing free advertising to those premises that agreed to adhere to the charter standards. However, the Council had taken a pause pending the outcome of the recommendations of the All Party Tourism Committee which had proposed introducing a registration scheme that could be run by local authorities and would replace the current Accommodation Charter.  

RESOLVED: That the update be noted.

To consider the attached report of the Chief Executive.

There were 6 red performance indicators (out of 33 total indicators) for Quarter 2 as follows:

(a)  EKHL1 (Average time taken to re-let council dwellings)

Members were advised that the amount of work required to bring properties back into use had increased as with older tenants there was often a need to modernise the properties. There had also been some workforce issues with the contractor.

(b)  EKHC2 (Rent arrears as percentage of annual debit)

The rollout of Universal Credit continued to have an impact on arrears as households often had limited ability to repay the arrears in the short term and it took longer for them to be cleared.

(c)  EKHC3 (Former tenant arrears as percentage of annual debit)

As for the answer to EKHC2.

(d)  HOU010a (Number of households living in Temporary Accommodation including bed & breakfast) and HOU010b (Number of households in bed and breakfast)

While the number of households in temporary accommodation had increased the proportionate increase in the number of households in bed and breakfast was smaller. The number of properties for use as temporary accommodation had increased for 6 in October 2017 to 23 by the end of Quarter 2.

The Council had seen an increase in the number of private sector tenancies being brought to an end which had resulted in an impact of the Q2 homelessness acceptance figures. The Council had also undertaken enforcement action that resulted in the closure of a HMO in Dover.

(e)  GOV002 (Number of working days/shifts lost due to long term sickness absence over 10 days per FTE)

While the number of days for short term and long term sickness were slightly higher than the previous year both remained relatively low and the rise in long term sickness absence was related to a few cases.

Members asked for further information on the Homelessness Reduction Act and in particular the definition used for ‘vulnerable’.

RESOLVED: (a)     That the Performance Report Quarter 2, 2018/19 be noted.

                        (b)     That the committee receive an update on the Homelessness Reduction Act, including the definition used for ‘vulnerable’.

To consider the attached report of the Director of Finance, Housing and Community.

The Head of Finance presented the report on the Establishment of a Property Company. Members were advised that the establishment of a local property company would provide the Council with a vehicle to invest in both private residential and commercial properties, with the income generated able to be reinvested in the General Fund to support council services.

The company would not be seeking Member approval for each property purchase and there were a number of delegations in place to officers in order to facilitate the purchase of properties.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

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

The Director of Environment and Corporate Assets presented the update report on the East Kent Waste 2021 project.

Members were advised that Folkestone and Hythe District Council wanted to continue working with Dover District Council in respect of the procurement and, following the completion of a detailed review, options were being considered for future development. One option that was being considered was whether to separate street cleaning from the contract and bring it in-house as there was a lot of synergy with the in-house grounds maintenance service.

RESOLVED: That the update be noted.