Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors D J Parks, M Rose and C F Woodgate.

It was noted that in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 4, Councillors S M S Mamjan and S Hill had been appointed as substitute members for Councillors D J Parks and C F Woodgate respectively.

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 12 June 2023 (to follow).

The Minutes of the meeting held on 12 June 2023 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive the Cabinet decisions in respect of recommendations of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

There were no decisions of the Cabinet relating to recommendations made by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to consider.

To receive any public petitions or issues referred by Council, Cabinet or another Committee.

(a)   Petition – Wave Sculpture

The Council has received a valid petition in accordance with its adopted petition scheme. The petition has 60 signatures from residents of the Dover district. The petition calls upon the Council to:

“We, the undersigned residents of Deal, would like the Wave Sculpture replaced at the end of the pier as it used to be before being removed for repair.”

The petition organiser has 10 minutes to address the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in support of the petition.

In accordance with the petition scheme, the Committee has the following options open to it:

•       Consider the petition and forward it to the Cabinet, Council or a Committee of the Council or an officer within the Council for consideration;

•       Consider the petition and forward it to another body or organisation outside the Council for consideration and response;

•       Consider the petition and invite the petition organiser to provide additional information to assist it in reaching a decision on the action to be taken in relation to the petition;

•       Consider the petition and request additional information from officers to assist it in reaching a decision on the action to be taken in relation to the petition; or

•       Consider the petition and agree to take no further action.

Petition – Wave Sculpture

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee received the petition organised by Helga Wood in respect of the Wave Sculpture on Deal Pier. The petition stated that:

“We, the undersigned residents of Deal, would like the Wave Sculpture replaced at the end of the pier as it used to be before being removed for repair.”

Members were advised that the sculpture was symbolic of Deal’s maritime history and part of the town’s history. It was thought that the costs to repair and restore it to its place on the pier were not significant. The sculpture had been a part of the pier since the 1970s.

Officers advised that the sculpture was currently being held at the Elms Vale store and had been removed as part of the restoration works to the pier that had taken it back to closer to its 1950s/1960s appearance. The decision to do this had been supported by the Council’s heritage officer. These restoration works had seen the commissioning of a new clock for the pier which was larger than the original clock and as a consequence the wave sculpture could not be restored until modifications were made to fit it around the new clock. Members were advised that the value of the sculpture to the community was recognised by the Council, and a quotation was being obtain to restore and adjust the wave sculpture to fit around the new clock.

The consensus view of the members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee was that the wave sculpture should be restored to the pier and they welcomed the news that it was the intention to this once repair and adjustment works had been completed.

It was moved by Councillor C A Vinson, duly seconded by Councillor D R Friend, and

RESOLVED: That the petition be noted and the Strategic Director (Place and Environment) be asked to ensure that steps were taken to restore the Wave Sculpture to Deal Pier.

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

The Democratic and Corporate Services Manager advised Members that officers at Kent County Council (KCC) had been contacted concerning the proposed closure of the Richborough Household Waste site and invited to attend a meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee but had declined to do so.

It was agreed that the KCC Cabinet Member should be invited to a meeting of the committee once the timeframe for proposals in respect of the future of household waste sites was published.

RESOLVED:       That the Work Programme be noted, subject to an invitation being sent to the KCC Cabinet Member responsible for Household Waste Sites being invited to attend a meeting of the committee once the timetable for the consultation on the future of the Deal and Richborough household waste sites was known.

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 10, 11, 12 and 13.

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

The Democratic and Corporate 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.

To consider the attached report of the Strategic Director (Corporate and Regulatory).

The Strategic Director (Corporate and Regulatory) presented the report on the Update to the Corporate Complaints Policy.

Members were advised that the changes to the policy were as follows:

·         The first amendment relates to the ‘designated person’ third stage of housing complaints. This was not unexpected as the Government had announced its intention to change the legislation at the time the Complaints Policy was last update.

·         The second amendment related to guidance issued by the Housing Ombudsman which the Council had not previously included within its Complaints Policy but commonly happened as a matter of practice. This was to require that all Stage 1 complaints received a written response (either by letter or email).

·         The third amendment was to set a limit as to the duration of an extension on a Stage 1 complaint’s timescale for a response. All Stage 1 complaints had a 10-working day timescale to respond to the complainant with the potential to extend this if required. However, the length of the extension was not set in the current policy.

Members noted the report.

To consider the attached report of the Procurement Manager.

The Procurement Manager presented the report on the Adoption of Procurement Strategy 2023 – 2026. The proposed Procurement Strategy was intended to set the overall context for procurement across the Council over the next three years incorporating the latest government procurement legislation and initiatives alongside the Council’s priorities, aims and objectives.

In response to questions from Members, it was stated that social value was considered in the procurement process and that steps had been taken to ensure that while due diligence was necessary, the procurement process was proportionate and offered opportunities to local suppliers.

Members welcomed the proposed Procurement Strategy and discussed the monitoring that would be used in respect of it.

It was agreed to note the report.

To consider the attached report of the Head of Place, Growth, Investment and Creative Services.

The Head of Growth and Place presented the report on the Dover Beacon/Bench Street Projects.

Members were advised that the project was progressing well and that the lead design consultant had been appointed at the start of June. The contract for the demolition of the buildings on the site had been awarded at the end of May 2023 and the contractors had taken possession of the site on 19th June 2023. Additionally, Members would be kept involved in the process through the Dover Town & Beacon Project Advisory Group.

The Council was seeking expressions of interest from potential tenants and had already received some bids. The deadline for expressions of interest was 17 July 2023.

Members raised the following points:

·         The potential impact of the archaeology on the development.

·         Whether funding deadlines could be met and what the consequences would be if they could not be met.

·         To express disappointment that the Council would not be a pathfinder authority.

·         The importance of ensuring that the project was commercially viable when complete. It was stated that this was the intent.

Members noted the report.

To consider the attached report of the Strategic Director (Corporate and Regulatory).

The Strategic Director (Corporate and Regulatory) presented the Strategic Performance Dashboard for Quarter 1, 2023/24.

Members discussed the following points:

·         To welcome the recovery in the level of usage of the leisure centre following the pandemic. It was noted that this would have an impact potentially on the Tides project.

·         To note that the level of recycling had declined since Quarter 1 2020/21 from 49.9% to 41.1%. In response it was stated that this situation was repeated in many local authorities with recycling levels in the low 40%s. There was still a lot of residual waste that could be recycled.

·         To express concern over street cleansing with Q4 2022/23 showing the 13.88% of streets contained litter against a target of less than 5%. In response it was stated that officers had met with Veolia over this matter and set out what improvements were required. This would continue to be monitored through regular meetings.

·         To welcome improvements in the level of housing rent arrears.

Members noted the report.

It was moved by Councillor C A Vinson, duly seconded by Councillor H M Williams and

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.

To consider the attached report of the Head of Property Assets.

The Head of Property Assets presented the report on Responsive Repairs, Voids and Associated Services Contract 2011-2025.

Members noted the report.