Decisions

None.

None.

None.

It was RESOLVED:

1.  That, under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as described in paragraphs 1 to 7 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, as amended by SI 2006 No. 88.

2.  That having considered the reasons for the following item being in Part II, it be determined that maintaining the exemption from disclosure of the information contained therein outweighed the public interest in disclosure.

The Committee considered the decisions on the following matters arising from the Executive held on 9 October 2019.

Minutes of the Executive – 11 September 2019

Noted.

Minutes of the Overview & Scrutiny and Select Committees

The Interim Strategic Director undertook to provide Members of the Committee with an update on the latest position in respect of the re-provision of a Post Office in the High Street following the closure of Waitrose.

Future Town, Future Transport: Adoption of a Transport Strategy for Stevenage

In response to a query regarding consideration being given to a limitation on the speed of mobility scooters and electric wheelchairs in the Town Centre to 4mph, the Assistant Director (Planning & Regulatory) confirmed that this would be an aspirational objective achieved through signage and raised awareness of users, rather than through an enforcement regime.

It was further confirmed that the existing use of the Borough’s cycleways was limited to cycles and mopeds up to 49cc.  However, Hertfordshire County Council was investigating an expansion of use in the light of new National Rules on Electric bikes/scooters.

There was general support from the Committee to the imposition of a cycling ban in the Town Centre, although it was recognised that this may need to be achieved through the approval of a By-Law, and that consideration would need to be given to the resourcing of the enforcement of any ban.

The Assistant Director (Planning & Regulatory) stated that the Strategy would be a foundation document as part of any future bids for Stevenage to become a Sustainable Travel Town.  He added that Section 106 monies could be used to contribute towards the transport aspirations set out in the Strategy, provided the each required contribution was relevant to individual planning applications.

A Member commented that, legally, the speed limit on cycleways which ran parallel to major roads was the same limit as that which applied on those roads.  He questioned the safety for cyclists of mopeds and electronic bikes sharing cycleways with those speed limits in place.

A Member was not supportive of the Executive’s comment that the Council’s established approach was for a widening of the A1(M) rather than a SMART motorway, as he felt that this was contradictory to the whole thrust of the Transport Strategy.

A Member strongly endorsed the Executive’s comments regarding a desire for evening bus services to be re-instated in all areas of the town, along with the re-instatement of the circulatory route which served the Lister Hospital.

In terms of the idling of bus engines, the Assistant Director (Planning & Regulatory) explained that the problems had been alleviated over recent months due to the presence in the Bus Station of an operative from the bus company dedicated to minimising the idling of engines.

It was recognised that charging points for electric vehicles would be a future priority, and that appropriate sites should be found outside of the Town Centre.  As well as the possibility of these being installed in some garage block, a Member asked if consideration could be given to their installation as part of the new Kenilworth redevelopment scheme.

A member was concerned that there was no hierarchy of travel included in the Strategy.  If the need to travel by car was reduced, then a modal shift could result.  He felt that this could be achieved through cheaper public transport and greater encouragement for residents to use cycling or walking as alternatives to the car.

Domestic and Communal Gas Contracts

In response to a series of Members’ questions, the Housing & Investment Operations Manager (IHP) replied as follows:

·           The appointed contractors would need to demonstrate that they had experience relating to dealing with the heating and water supply elements of gas-fired systems;

·           Although the number of complaints had reduced and satisfaction levels had increased, lessons had been learnt over the lifetime of the current contract (3 years) and improvements had been built into the new contract specification;

·           Performance of the new contractor(s) would be monitored through a series of Key Performance Indicators, although a residents’ compensation scheme to tackle any poor performance would be in place, and which would be communicated to residents in advance of any gas-related work being carried out;

·           It might be possible to embed in the new contract(s), as part of the “Home MOT” style service, the use of before and after photographs as an aid to ensuring that work had been carried out to appropriate standards.

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Joint Strategy

In reply to a question regarding the surplus capital funding at the end of 2023/24, the Interim Strategic Director advised that during the lifetime of the Strategy there would most likely be a call on this surplus for expenditure on Enterprise Architecture and Digital Strategy items.  He confirmed that, as the Council moved towards “cloud” technology, expenditure on the Strategy would move from capital to revenue budgets.

The Interim Strategic Director commented that the Strategy aimed to achieve financial savings and efficiencies, including the aspiration to reduce the number of SBC/EHDC software systems from 152 to under 100. A rationalised IT system procurement method should also lead to increased efficiencies.

The Interim Strategic Director explained that, although the intention was to move towards cloud technology, this would be a phased approach, as not all the business systems used by SBC/EHDC were currently compatible.  It was important that the capability of the ICT Team remained robust, with sufficient staff to provide resilience in the IT Programme Management, IT Systems and IT Service Desk Teams.

A Member asked the Interim Strategic Director to look again at the approximate 50/50 split in IT costs between SBC and EHDC, in view of EHDC’s higher Council Tax base.

It was acknowledged that all technology had a limited lifecycle, especially ICT hardware and software.  In recent times, SBC had spent in the region of £450,000 per annum on IT, whereas Socitm and Microsoft had advised that the Council should be spending double this amount to keep up to date with latest IT developments.  A root and branch review of IT had been carried out, which had highlighted the lack of investment over the years, with some equipment up to 13 years old, when it should be replaced every 5 years.  The intention going forward would be to introduce a rolling replacement programme, in order to keep pace with ever-changing technology.

At the request of a Member, the Interim Strategic Director undertook to provide Committee Members with the latest position with regard to the new SBC website project, including an estimated date for the new website coming into operation.

Urgent Part I Business

(1)       Public Works Loan Board

The Committee supported the Executive’s extreme disappointment in the Government’s recent announcement of a 1% increase in the Public Works Loan Board’s interest rates.

(2)       Brexit Update

The Interim Strategic Director referred to a Brexit update e-mail he had circulated to Members earlier in the day.  At the Committee’s request, he undertook to circulate the weekly Brexit update bulletins to all other Members of the Council, in addition to the Executive Members.

It was RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meetings of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee held on 16 September 2019 and 23 September 2019 be approved as correct records for signature by the Chair.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Sandra Barr, Laurie Chester, Sarah-Jane McDonough, Andy McGuinness and John Mead.

Councillor Michael Downing declared a non-pecuniary interest in Item 3 – Part I Decisions of the Executive - Future Town Future Transport: Adoption of a Transport Strategy for Stevenage, as he had submitted the response from the Bus Users’ Group as part of the consultation on the Strategy document.

The Committee considered the Part II decisions on the following matter arising from the Executive held on 9 October 2019.

Part II Minutes – Executive – 11 September 2019

Noted.

None.

It was RESOLVED:

1.         That, under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as described in Paragraphs 1 to 7 of Schedule 12A of the Act, as amended by SI 2006 No. 88.

2.         That, having considered the reasons for the following items being in Part II, it be determined that maintaining the exemption from disclosure of the information contained therein outweighed the public interest in disclosure.

It was RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting of the Executive held on 11 September 2019 be approved as a correct record for signature by the Chair.

None.

It was RESOLVED that application no 19/00262/FP be granted planning permission, subject to the conditions as per the recommendations in the report.

It was RESOLVED that application no 19/00294/FPM be granted planning permission, subject to the conditions as per the recommendations in the report.

Officers advised that the appeal relating to 68 Wildwood Lane had been dismissed and that the full details would be reported to the next meeting of the Committee. The decision on 18b Boulton Road was still awaited.

It was RESOLVED that the report be noted.

It was RESOLVED that the report be noted.

It was RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting of the Planning and Development Committee held on 4 September 2019 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillors Lizzy Kelly and Tom Wren.

There were no declarations of interest.

None.

Not required.

None.

(1)       Public Works Loan Board

The Assistant Director (Finance & Estates) advised that the Government had announced an increase of 1% in the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) interest rates.  This would mean that the financial information contained in the emerging Housing Revenue Account Business Plan and the Wholly Owned Housing Company would need significant revision.

The Executive was extremely disappointed at this announcement, especially as there had been no consultation with the Local Government Association (LGA) or local authorities, and as the Government had encouraged councils to borrow at the previously lower interest rates.

The Leader would be raising the matter with the Chair of the LGA Resources Board, and asked the Assistant Director (Finance & Estates) to feed back the Executive’s extreme disappointment to the Local Government Minister and the Treasury.

(2)       Brexit Update

The Interim Strategic Director updated Members on the Council’s “No Deal” Brexit preparations.

The Interim Strategic Director was requested to:

·      Keep a close monitor of the expenditure associated with the Council’s Brexit preparations;

·      Provide a weekly summary of developments to Executive Members;

·      Provide regular monthly updates to all Members; and

·      Provide a list of the officer leads for each of the Brexit preparation work areas to Executive Members.

In response to questions raised by Members on the proposed Strategy:

·      The Assistant Director (Finance & Estates) confirmed that ICT costs were generally shared 50/50 between SBC and East Hertfordshire District Council, although at times SBC contributed a slightly higher proportion due to its larger workforce;

·      The Assistant Director (Finance & Estates) advised that the Revenue costs had been built into the Medium Term Financial Strategy; and that the Capital costs would need to be re-profiled as part of the Capital Strategy;

·      The Chief Executive  gave an assurance that he supported the direction of travel and the level of investment set out in the ICT Strategy, as a root and branch review of ICT provision had been carried out to identify the improvements required;

·      The Strategic Director confirmed that the permanent recruitment process for an Assistant Director post responsible for Transformation and Digital would commence in the coming months;

·      Assurances were given that the new ICT equipment would be fully tested before the existing equipment was de-commissioned;

·      Monitoring of the Strategy would be carried out by the ICT Partnership Board and the Audit Committee, including the monitoring of efficiencies and savings achieved; and

·      IT system providers would be encouraged to move towards cloud based information storage systems, in advance of the Council’s planned move to the Civic Hub.

The Leader stated that improvements to the Council’s IT system was a priority and that significant investment was required to enable the development of a sustainable and resilient IT network to properly serve the residents of Stevenage.  In order to bring this about, Members were informed that the level of investment could result in other priorities being re-profiled or deferred.

The Leader thanked the Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhood & Co-operative Working, the Strategic ICT & Partnership Manager and the IT Team for their work in producing the Strategy.

It was RESOLVED:

1.         That the ICT Partnership’s ICT Strategy 2019 – 2022, attached at Appendix A to the report, be approved.

2.         That delegated authority be granted to the Strategic Director (RP), having consulted the Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhoods and Co-operative Working, to make any further amendments to the ICT Strategy.

3.         That the ICT funding challenges be noted, and the currently known ICT capital investments be prioritised, as summarised in Table 2 at Paragraph 5.1.7 of the report, subject to available funds and the Council’s agreement to their inclusion in the Capital Strategy 2020/21.

4.         That Council be recommended to approve the re-profiling of the ICT Capital Programme over the next five years, as summarised in Table 2 at Paragraph 5.1.7 of the report, as part of the Capital Strategy for 2020/21.

5.         That Council be recommended to prioritise the currently known revenue pressures relating to the ICT Strategy (subject to available funds) through the General Fund and Housing Revenue Account annual budget setting process for 2020/21.

6.         That delegated authority be given to the Strategic Director (TP), having consulted the Portfolio Holders for Neighbourhoods & Co-operative Working and Resources, to negotiate and agree a new ICT Shared Service Agreement with East Hertfordshire District Council.

Reason for Decision:  As contained in report.

Other Options considered: As contained in report.

Members made the following comments/suggested amendments to the Strategy:

·      The Council’s carbon neutral target should be amended from “2050” to “2030”, in line with the recent Climate Change Emergency resolution;

·      Officers were requested to ensure that the next iteration of the Strategy included some form of consolidation with other inter-related Council strategies/policies;

·      It should be made clear in the Strategy that the Council’s established approach was for a widening of the A1(M) rather than a SMART motorway;

·      For clarity, either of the terms “living streets” or “liveable streets” should be used throughout the document, not both;

·      The Strategy needs to flag up that there were no evening bus services in some parts of the town, and a desire that the Council wished these to be re-instated, along with a circulatory route which served the Lister Hospital;

·      The Strategy should include an objective to prevent the idling of bus engines once the proposed new Bus Station came into operation;

·      The Assistant Director (Planning & Regulatory) undertook to provide Executive Members with details of the membership and frequency of meetings of the Disability Panel;

·      In terms of disability issues, consideration be given to a limitation on the speed of mobility scooters and electric wheelchairs in the Town Centre to 4mph;

·      Clarification be provided on precisely which vehicles were permitted to use the Stevenage cycleway system;

·      Going forward, consideration be given to the use of some of the Council’s garage blocks as charging points for electric vehicles; and

·      Officers were requested to review the 2023 targets contained in the document relating to “Park and Ride” and “Electric Bike” schemes.

The Leader asked the Assistant Director (Planning & Regulatory) to meet with a Member who had raised issues with regard to roads crossing cycleways, and whether the Strategy could include an objective striving for reduced bus fares, in order to encourage residents toward a modal shift away for car use.

Members supported an additional recommendation proposed by the Leader that the Strategy be reviewed by the Executive in 12 months’ time, particularly in the light of potential developments during that time with the Climate Change Strategy, including the proposed Citizens’ Panel and People’s Assembly.

It was RESOLVED:

1.         That the responses to the consultation on the draft “Future Town, Future Transport” Strategy be noted.

2.         That the proposed amendments to the draft “Future Town, Future Transport” Strategy made following public consultation be approved.

3.         That the revised “Future Town, Future Transport” Strategy, attached at Appendix B to the report, be adopted as the transport strategy for Stevenage, sitting under the Future Town Future Council Corporate Plan as one of the “place of Choice” strategies.

4.         That the Strategy be reviewed by the Executive in 12 months’ time, particularly in the light of potential developments during that time with the Climate Change Strategy, including the proposed Citizens’ Panel and People’s Assembly.

Reason for Decision:  As contained in the report; and 4. To ensure a robust monitoring and review of the Strategy.

Other Options considered: As contained in the report.

In respect of the Minutes of the meeting of the Environment & Economy Select Committee held on 3 September 2019, the Leader welcomed the recent announcement of the imminent opening of a new Post Office at Bedwell Shops and looked forward to hearing about a venue for a replacement Post Office in Stevenage High Street.

In relation to the Minutes of the meeting of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee held on 16 September 2019, the Assistant Director (Planning & Regulatory) advised that the Independent Examiner’s report into the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) was expected at the end of October 2019, and it was intended to be reported to the Executive in December 2019 and Council in January 2020.  The Portfolio Holder for Resources commented that the FirstCare Sickness Management Service for SBC employees had commenced on 7 October 2019.

With regard to the Minutes of the meeting of the Community Select Committee held on 17 September 2019, the Portfolio Holder for Children, Young People and Leisure thanked Members of the Select Committee for their helpful views and comments on the Sports and Leisure review and encouraged them to continue their involvement going forward.

It was RESOLVED that the Minutes of the following meetings of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee and Select Committees be noted –

Environment & Economy Select Committee – 3 September 2019

Overview & Scrutiny Committee – 16 September 2019

Community Select Committee – 17 September 2019

Overview & Scrutiny Committee (sitting as a Select Committee) – 23 September 2019

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Lloyd Briscoe.

There were no declarations of interest.

It was clarified that it would be the responsibility of the Housing Tenancy Team to liaise with tenants over any issues identified by the Gas Contractors.

It was RESOLVED:

1.         That the procurement approach outlined in the report be agreed.

2.         That the procurement process be commenced.

3.         That a third-party procurement consultant be procured and appointed to support the procurement process.

4.         That the current contracts are extended to July 2020 to allow the incoming contractors to mobilise effectively, paid for from within the existing Housing Revenue Account (HRA) budget.

5.         That the services are procured as two lots within the same open OJEU procurement, with bidders being permitted to bid for either or both, with the lots to be evaluated separately.

6.         That the Strategic Director (RP) be given delegated authority to award and finalise the terms of the contract(s) with the winning bidders after an officer panel has concluded an evaluation of tenders received and having consulted the Portfolio Holder for Housing, Health and Older People.

Reason for Decision: As contained in report.

Other Options considered: As contained in report.

It was RESOLVED that the Part II minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 15 July 2019 are approved as a correct record for signature by the Chair.

None.

None.

It was RESOLVED:

1.  That, under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as described in paragraphs 1 to 7 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, as amended by SI 2006 No. 88.

2.  That having considered the reasons for the following item being in Part II, it be determined that maintaining the exemption from disclosure of the information contained therein outweighed the public interest in disclosure.

The Committee received a report requesting consideration and approval to the permanent appointment to the role of Deputy Chief Executive.

It was RESOLVED that subject to a minor amendment to recommendation (ii), the recommendations contained in the report be approved.

It was RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 15 July 2019 are approved as a correct record for signature by the Chair.

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Phil Bibby, Michael Downing and Richard Henry.

There were no declarations of interest.