Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Phil Bibby CC.

There were no declarations of interest.

A Member asked whether the meeting was being livestreamed. They were advised that due to resourcing, Planning and Development Committee meetings were being livestreamed instead as owing to greater public interest in the Planning meetings and limitations of Officer resource in being able to livestream all meetings.

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 17 October 2023.

It was RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 12 October 2023 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chair.

To consider the following Part I Decisions of the Executive taken on 15 November 2023.

2.    Minutes – 12 October 2023

3.    Minutes of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee and Select Committees

4.    Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Business Plan Review 2023

5.    Housing Asset Management Strategy 2023 – 2028

6.    Second Quarter Revenue Budget Monitoring 2023/24

7.    First and Second Quarter Capital Budget Monitoring 2023/24

8.    Mid-Year Treasury Management Review 2023/24

9.    Balancing the Budget Options 2024/25

10.Urgent Part I Business

Notice of Decisions to follow.

2.    MINUTES – 12 OCTOBER 2023

Noted.

3.    MINUTES OF THE OVERVIEW & SCRUTINY COMMITTEE AND SELECT COMMITTEES

Noted.

4.    HOUSING REVENUE ACCOUNT (HRA) BUSINESS PLAN REVIEW 2023

Members were advised that the report detailed the work that had been carried out on the HRA business plan revision and followed consultation with the Executive on the 15^th November. There had also been a presentation to the Community Select Committee on the 19^th October. The recommendations in the report formed the basis of the HRA budget 2024/25 which would be presented to the Executive in December.

The Strategic Director (CF) reminded Members there was a Modern Member Programme on the HRA Business Plan being held in December.

5.    HOUSING ASSET MANAGEMENT STRATEGY 2023 - 2028

The Committee was advised that the report was seeking approval of the Housing Asset Management Strategy (HAMS) 2023 – 2028 and set out the framework on investment into the existing SBC housing stock. This included investment priorities and how the Council met the new requirements.

In response to questions, the Strategic Director (RP) advised:

·         There were communication plans with both the HRA and HAMS on how the Council shared the strategies over the next 15 months. There had been consultation with the Community Select Committee on how to communicate this and aimed to show the positive work the housing service was undertaking.

·         More detail on the criteria for housing stock surveys could be provided to Members. It was oriented around the Decent Homes Standard and the Stevenage Standard was also applied. The government was potentially changing the Decent Homes Standard so the criteria is likely to change again in the future.

6.    SECOND QUARTER REVENUE BUDGET MONITORING 2023/24

Members were advised that the Executive approved the General Fund and Housing Revenue Budget for Quarter 2. There was a net increase in the General Fund of £1,850 and an underspend of £1.229m from the HRA. This was due to two key decisions, firstly, not to take out borrowing within the first 6 months of the year, and the interest earnt on balances due to the interest rates increasing. The budget does not include the recent pay award, and this would be included in the Quarter 3 report.

In response to questions, the Strategic Director (CF) and the Assistant Director (Finance) advised:

·         There would be an ongoing assessment of the commercial viability of the skip service and work to generate additional business.

·         The increase in income generated related to the investment earnings on the current balance.

·         Officers were looking at using agencies for specific activities such as seasonal work, but this would always fluctuate, and the recruitment market remains challenging. In terms of agencies, Officers confirmed that seasonal agency staff are not more expensive than employing directly, however in was professional roles, day rates are usually more expensive than permanent employment. 

7.    FIRST AND SECOND QUARTER CAPITAL BUDGET MONITORING 2023/24

The Committee were advised that this report was approved by the Executive. There was a net change  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

As per the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s work programme, Members are invited to receive a presentation on the 2021 Census data for Stevenage, looking at the changes that have taken place during the past twenty years and to discuss how the Council approaches capturing demographic data and how that data is used to shape services.

Presentation attached.

The Corporate Policy and Performance Manager and the Corporate Policy and Research Officer gave a presentation on the 2021 Census Data for Stevenage which was published as part of the meeting agenda pack. The Policy team produced an update on Stevenage demographic data yearly, and review the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) objectives every 4 years. The presentation looked at the 9 protected characteristic groups taken from census data and showed the changes from 2001, 2011 and 2021.

In response to a range of questions from a Member, Officers advised that as of May next year there will be boundary changes so the ward statistics could change. The way the data had been presented in the meeting was an overview for presentation purposes and that the in-depth detail was contained in the full report. There was a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment which looked at opportunities to explore deprivation.

A Member suggested the website should offer alternative languages. The Corporate Policy and Performance Manager advised that they were exploring the SBC online offer and ensuring it was accessible for everyone.

Members suggested communications around the EDI Officer Group and the EDGG should be improved so more people knew about them. The Corporate Policy and Performance Manager advised that the EDI Officer Group was for Officers only and they were still promoting it, but it was slowly growing. Cllr Hollywell added that the EDGG collaborated with Officers and people in HR and was a Member and staff led group mainly around governance. It was reported at every annual Council.

In response to a question, the Corporate Policy and Research Officer defined the term ‘legal partnerships’ as marriages or civil partnerships and was the terminology and definition used in the census.

In response to various questions from a Member the Corporate Policy and Performance Manager advised:

·         The team wanted to look at ward level data and profiles, but it required a lot of time and effort but would be considered.

·         Religion was included as it was a protected characteristic. Further analysis could be done around this, but it would depend on what resources were available to undertake this work.

·         There was data surrounding employment of Stevenage residents and there were links referenced at the end of the presentation that gave further information on this.

·         A key topic within the EDI Action Plan was the annual review process against big activities and how the Council performed on these impacted what they did next. They were monitoring all activities, and this was key to feedback and progress.

A member spoke strongly regarding the presentation of some of the information within the report, suggesting a different format for some information, and mentioning that the formatting of printed copies of the presentation clipped material from the slides. The Officers advised that the data presented was based on census data and reiterated that more detail of the data was found in the full report. The Strategic Director (TP) offered to walk through the data and graphs in a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

To consider any urgent Part I Decisions authorised by the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

There was none.

To consider any Part I business accepted by the Chair as urgent.

There was none.

To consider the following motions:

1.       That under Section 100A 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 – 7 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act as amended by Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006.

2.       That Members consider the reasons for the following reports being in Part II and determine whether or not maintaining the exemption from disclosure of the information contained therein outweighs the public interest in disclosure.

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 item of business on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as described in paragraphs 1-7 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Acts as amended by Local Government (Access to information) (Variation) Order 2006

(2)  That Members consider the reasons for the following reports (if any) being in Part II and determine whether or not maintaining the exemption from disclosure of the information contained therein outweighs the public interest in disclosure.

To approve as a correct record the Part II Minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 17 October 2023.

It was RESOLVED: That the Part II Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 17 October 2023 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chair.

To consider the following Part II Decisions of the Executive taken on 15 November 2023.

12. Part II Minutes – Executive – 12 October 2023

13. Major Development Project (Kenilworth Close) Update

14. Review of Shared ICT Service Resourcing (SOCITM Report)

15. General Fund Capital Strategy Overview – Priorities Versus Funding Requirement 2023/24 – 2029/30

16. Urgent Part II Business

Notice of Decisions to follow.

Noted.

To consider any urgent Part II Decisions authorised by the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

There was none.

To consider any Part II business accepted by the Chair as urgent.

There was none.