Items
No. |
Item |
30. |
Declaration of Interests.
Where a Councillor has a Disclosable Pecuniary
Interest the Councillor must declare the interest to the meeting
and leave the room without participating in any discussion or
making a statement on the item, except where a councillor is
permitted to remain as a result of a grant of dispensation.
Minutes:
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31. |
Minutes PDF 242 KB
To sign as a correct record the
minutes of the Performance Monitoring Panel meeting held on 23 July
2024 (enclosed).
Minutes:
AGREED:
That the minutes of the 23 July 2024
Performance Monitoring Panel meeting be signed by the Chairman as a
correct record.
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32. |
Actions PDF 222 KB
An update on actions that arose
at the 23 July 2024 Performance Monitoring Panel meeting and the
tracking of outstanding actions (enclosed).
Minutes:
Consideration was given to the actions which
arose at the 23 July 2024 Performance Monitoring Panel, and the
tracking of outstanding actions.
- Members referred to action 21(a)
24.25 regarding their previous suggestion to visit the CCTV
suite. Arrangements for the visit were currently being explored and
members were encouraged to submit any further expressions of
interest as soon as possible.
- Regarding action 26(b) 24.25,
members were encouraged to complete the survey recently circulated
by ICT.
- Regarding action 54. 22/23,
members expressed further disappointment that responses had not
been received from NHS contacts in respect of the Primary Health
Care item from its meeting held on 23 January 2024.
- The Assistant Director –
Strategic Growth and Development responded that he would escalate
the issue.
AGREED:
That the responses to the actions be
noted.
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33. |
Questions asked under Standing Order 6
Minutes:
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34. |
Tracking of Recommendations
To consider responses of the
Cabinet to reports of the Panel.
Minutes:
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35. |
Items referred from the Policy Development Panel.
Minutes:
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36. |
Key Decision Plan PDF 183 KB
To note the current Key
Decision Plan
Minutes:
Consideration was given to the Key Decision
Plan dated 7 October 2024.
- Regarding the ‘Rental of
various SHDC sites for Battery Box use’ decision, members
queried if the ‘6 sites within the SHDC boundary’ were
those which had already received planning permission or whether
these were additional sites.
- The Assistant Director –
Strategic Growth and Development would seek advice from the
Strategic and Operational Property Manager and report back to the
panel.
- Members referred to the ‘Land
in Holbeach’ decision and queried whether this was on track
to be made by 31 October 2024.
- The Assistant Director –
Strategic Growth and Development responded that the decision would
be made by the end of the year.
- Members referred to the ‘Waste
services delivery model’ decision and queried whether it
would be subject to scrutiny prior to being agreed at Cabinet.
Members wished to be kept informed on this matter.
- Democratic Services would
investigate and report back to the committee.
AGREED:
That the Key Decision Plan be noted.
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37. |
Q1 Performance Report 2024/2025 PDF 268 KB
To provide an update on how the
Council is performing for the period 1 April 2024 to 30 June 2024
(report of the Assistant Director – Corporate
enclosed).
Additional documents:
Minutes:
Consideration was given to the report of the
Assistant Director – Corporate which provided an update on
how the Council is performing for the period 1 April 2024 to 30
June 2024.
The Business Intelligence and Change Manager
introduced the item and highlighted the following points:
- Q1 SHDC Performance Report 2024/25
was at Appendix A;
- Q1 SHDC Trend and Insights Report
2024/25 was at Appendix B;
- Regarding areas on or above target
(green), performance improvements had been experienced in several
areas including in respect of the Council’s investment
properties and safety checks on housing stock;
- Areas of underperformance (red) in
the following areas were accompanied by commentary outlining
progress and improvement plans in place:
- Homelessness Prevention;
- Corporate Complaints;
- Subject Access Requests; and
- Speed of processing new housing
benefit claims.
Members considered the report and made the
following comments:
- Members were encouraged by the
improved performance areas noted within the report.
- Members requested that performance
figures be stated as numerical values rather than solely in
percentage terms. Where changes in performance was stated, such
‘as an increase of five’, the baseline figure also
needed to be stated.
- The Business Intelligence and Change
Manager acknowledged this as a previous request. Information in the
requested format was stated in the report where it had been made
available with more work to do.
- Members requested an explanation of
the 108% performance in respect of homelessness cases successfully
resolved before a customer became homeless.
- The Business Intelligence and Change
Manager referred to the commentary against this item which stated
an overflow from the previous quarter. The calculation included all
cases closed during period of the report (some of which had been
opened in the previous quarter) against cases opened solely during
the period of the report.
- Members noted the increase in car
parking income and queried whether this had resulted from increased
charges or increased footfall to the town. It was important to
assess whether the increased charges had deterred visitors or not.
In addition, members queried whether the forecasted income had
changed since the implementation of the increased parking fees.
- The Business Intelligence and Change
Manager would investigate these issues and a response would be
circulated to members after the meeting. Visitor numbers would be
included in future reports.
- Members referred to the
‘Kingdom Contract: Number of Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs)
issued for fly tipping’ data and queried the notable increase
in data for the Q4 2023/24 period compared to other quarters. Did
this reflect an upsurge in cases or in enforcement activity?
Following this, members requested a comprehensive report come
forward to the next committee meeting in respect of
the Kingdom contract specifically regarding performance across the
whole district at Parish level and which explained the data
variances.
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38. |
SHDC Peer Review Action Plan Update PDF 348 KB
To
provide members of the panel with an update on current progress
against the actions that were agreed for the SHDC Peer Review
(presentation enclosed).
Minutes:
Consideration was given to the update on
current progress against the actions that were agreed for the SHDC
Peer Review.
The Business Intelligence and Change Manager
introduced the action plan which incorporated the recommendations
from the final report of the SHDC Peer Review follow-up and which
had been circulated to Cabinet and the Corporate Management Team.
The following points were highlighted:
- The SHDC Peer Review follow-up
report was very positive with improvement work specifically noted
in respect of the Housing Revenue Account;
- The following two key areas of focus
had been identified to support the initial recommendations:
- An urgent development of fully
costed options for the waste services transformation options which
considered all implications and enabled decisions to be made.
- Regarding progress: focus work was
already underway with a review of the findings and analysis
expected to take place by 31 October 2024;
- The establishment of a detailed
three-year savings and transformation programme linked to the NTFS
with Corporate ownership and accountability and with agreed
delivery timescales.
- Regarding progress: this action had
been put in place with continual development undertaken by the
Section 151 Officer reported to the Leader, Portfolio Holder for
Finance and at monthly Senior Leadership Team meetings.
- All actions listed on the plan would
be tracked and monitored with colleagues and updates would be
brought forward to Cabinet and the Performance Monitoring Panel as
part of the ongoing monitoring process.
Members considered the update and made the
following comments:
- Members were encouraged by the
positive report but noted the challenges that were raised.
- Members referred to SHDC’s
recruitment site and noted a significant volume of ‘fixed
term contracts’. What was the reason for this?
- The Assistant Director –
Strategic Growth and Development responded that the reasons were
many and variable including where specific posts were externally
funded for a fixed term and where recruitment was needed to cover a
secondment position; and
- The Chairman added that recruitment
and retention was being investigated by the Joint Scrutiny Task
Group and that there was a desire to understand whether any
underlying issues accounted for staff turnover across the
partnership.
- Members queried the recommendation
to ‘adopt a Public Engagement Charter’ which stated
this was awaiting adoption. Was this action completed or not?
- The Business Intelligence and Change
Manager responded that it was his belief the action was now
complete however this would be checked and confirmed.
AGREED:
That the update be noted.
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39. |
South Holland Centre Task Group Update PDF 250 KB
To provide members with an update on the South
Holland Centre (report of the Assistant Director – Leisure
and Culture enclosed).
Additional documents:
Minutes:
Consideration was given to the
report of the Assistant Director – Leisure and Culture which
provided members with an update on the South Holland
Centre.
The Assistant Director –
Leisure and Culture introduced the item which provided an update on
Q1 and Q2 2024/2025 activities of the South Holland Centre and
included the following:
- Background to the
report. The last South Holland Centre Task Group update had been
received by members at a meeting of the Joint Performance
Monitoring Panel and Policy Development Panel held on 18 April
2024;
- Summary of the
financial position;
- Programme
performance;
- Assets and Health and
Safety update;
- Development of the
offer and strategic planning; and
- A marketing update at
Appendix A.
Members considered the update
and made the following comments:
- Members noted that
the income for Q2 was over half of the projected budget and queried
whether an excess for the year was anticipated.
- The Assistant
Director – Leisure and Culture responded that the figure
included sales for events scheduled to take place within both the
current and the following financial year. The figures would be
distinguished at the end of the current financial year.
- Members referred to
the previous question/response and restated their request that the
receipt of information normally expected within a Business Plan
would be helpful in order to understand and monitor performance of
the South Holland Centre, specifically a prediction of the
financial year-end position and its comparison with historical
financial figures. As financial performance was currently monitored
in arrears, this did not enable the identification of trends or
timely mitigations to be implemented, if needed. In addition, some
of the financial information stated within the report, such as the
2024/25 budget for ‘employees indirect expenses of minus
£9,800’ did not appear to be meaningfully
presented.
- The Assistant
Director – Leisure and Culture responded:
- That the service
operated within the council’s financial procedure rules and
the figures were presented and managed accordingly;
- That income received
for events taking place in the following financial year would be
shown separately in the year-end accounts and taken forward to the
next financial year as part of the budget setting
process;
- That
a breakdown and explanation of the employees indirect expenses
would be obtained and circulated after the
meeting; and
- That the Section 151
Officer had requested that future reports to members clarified the
direct costs of the South Holland Centre against indirect
costs/recharges and thereby presenting a clearer picture of
controllable costs.
- In response, whilst
Members acknowledged that the South Holland Centre operated within
the ‘constraints’ of the local authority accounting
process, they reiterated their request that the presented figures
needed to inform members of the day-to-day running costs of the
South Holland Centre and include a prediction of the current year
performance;
- Whilst the report was
encouraging in part, concerns were expressed regarding performance
trends in some areas. Members sought assurance that monitoring
processes were in place which identified performance issues/trends
early, thereby enabling the timely implementation of mitigations
where necessary. More ...
view the full minutes text for item 39.
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40. |
Economic Development and Inward Investment Update PDF 212 KB
To
consider the Economic Development and Inward Investment update for
South Holland (report of the Assistant Director – Strategic
Growth and Development enclosed).
Minutes:
Consideration was given to the report of the
Assistant Director – Strategic Growth and Development which
considered the Economic Development and Inward Investment update
for South Holland.
The Assistant Director – Strategic
Growth and Development introduced the report which sought to
provide members with a high-level update on relevant activities,
including:
- S&ELCP Growth and Prosperity
plan;
- Business engagement and
intelligence;
- Business support activities;
- Inward Investment;
- Key Economic Projects and
Initiatives;
- Skills;
- Strategic Engagement; and
- Future Focus.
Members considered the update and made the
following comments:
- Members referred to point 8.1 of the
report in respect of strategic engagement and queried SHDC’s
engagement with Cadent following concerns raised from experiences
at a local level, and whether the engagement with National Grid
Energy Distribution (NGED) conflicted with the Motion
‘Preservation of Fenland landscape and Recognition of
South Holland as a Critical Food Producing Area’ recently
supported at Council.
- The Assistant Director –
Strategic Growth and Development responded that:
- Cadent were leading on a hydrogen
pipeline network to service commercial activity, with a first phase
focussing on a number of UK city regions. SHDC’s engagement
with the organisation sought to raise the profile of South
Lincolnshire as a key agri-food and logistics cluster and to link
the activities of Cadent with the ambitions of the South
Lincolnshire area; and
- Engagement activities sought to
influence the investment plans of NGED in respect of widening local
power distribution within the district and the wider partnership
area and therefore support growth. Such engagement did not conflict
with the Motion agreed at Council as this related to the activity
of the National Grid in respect of the transmission network and
association pylons.
- Members queried if there were any
indications regarding inward investment for Spalding town centre,
and whether engagement work with Boston College covered the
Spalding site.
- The Assistant Director –
Strategic Growth and Development confirmed both points.
- Members referred to the Sutton
Bridge Power Station and requested whether updates were known
regarding its potential recommissioning.
- The Assistant Director –
Strategic Growth and Development confirmed that there were no
further updates but that the situation would be closely
monitored.
- Members referred to the
‘Spalding Gateway and Clay Lake’ key economic projects
and initiatives at point 6.1, and queried whether activity with
land owners represented new or ongoing engagement.
- The Assistant Director –
Strategic Growth and Development confirmed that the detail within
the report related to a continuation of the same strategy from the
same land owner, following the planning permission that was awarded
for the site in 2023.
- Members noted the 65% occupancy for
‘Hub’ building and queried whether this was on target.
Were the businesses locally based?
- The Assistant Director –
Strategic Growth and Development responded that current occupancy
exceeded L.C.C. targeted expectations. A dedicated engagement
manager was in place to support and encourage businesses across the
area to engage with the FEZ project;
- A mix of local and national
businesses utilised the Hub building as a base for local projects.
This approach was ...
view the full minutes text for item 40.
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41. |
Visitor Economy Briefing Note PDF 153 KB
To
consider the Visitor Economy Briefing Note and its impact on the
commencement of the Visitor Economy Task Group (Briefing Note of
the Assistant Director – Economic Growth
enclosed).
Minutes:
Consideration was given to the briefing note
of the Assistant Director – Economic Growth and its impact on
the commencement of the Visitor Economy Task Group.
The Chairman introduced the item by asking
members to consider whether the approach suggested within the
briefing note negated the requirement for the commencement of the
South Holland Visitor Economy Task Group, which members agreed to
set up at the 22 May 2024 Performance Monitoring Panel meeting.
The Assistant Director – Economic Growth
introduced the briefing note which outlined the benefits to South
Holland of having a Destination Management Plan (DMP), and the
following main points were highlighted:
- That work had recently been
undertaken to produce an overarching visitor economy strategy (DMP)
for Greater Lincolnshire and the S&ELCP;
- This work had culminated in the
production of a Greater Lincolnshire Destination Management Plan
and a ‘place-based’ S&ELCP Destination Management
Plan which would be presented to the Policy Development Panel at an
upcoming meeting;
- The DMPs aimed to bring stakeholder
organisations together (such as councils, businesses and
communities) to ensure that the visitor economy was attractive and
resilient for the future;
- Funding secured by the destination
management organisation ‘Destination Lincolnshire’
ensured that focus work could take place at South Holland with a
clear action plan for the district. South Holland would be
supported in the same way as other areas in Lincolnshire including
research into the visitor economy, engagement with businesses and
development and promotion of the area; and
- The benefits of the DMP for the
district linked with other developments including the new Cultural
Strategy and the Heritage Strategy for Spalding.
Members considered the update and made the
following comments:
- Members stated that the Task Group
was initiated to look into the visitor economy in the whole of
South Holland. Each ward had specific history and a timeline of
detailed action for the South Holland district was called for.
Members wished to avoid the duplication of work but also needed to
be convinced that the DMP would enable focus at a
‘place-based’ level.
- The Assistant Director –
Economic Growth confirmed that a piece of work had been undertaken
for the whole of South Holland area. Visitor research had
identified the strengths and challenges which were absolutely
specific to South Holland;
- The plan would incorporate an
overarching vision but with a place-based action plan for each area
with tangible outputs; and
- Visitors would also be attracted to
the area through the art and culture work funded through Arts
Council England.
- Members agreed that commencement of
the Visitor Economy Task Group, agreed at the 22 May 2024
Performance Monitoring Panel meeting, be paused, pending the
outcome of the report being presented to Policy Development Panel
members. The task group could commence in the future if members
deemed this to be necessary.
AGREED:
a)
That the contents of the briefing note be noted; and
b)
That the commencement of the Performance Monitoring Panel Visitor
Economy Task Group be paused, and that the task group be reinstated
...
view the full minutes text for item 41.
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42. |
Performance Monitoring Panel Work Programme PDF 94 KB
To set out the Work Programme
of the Performance Monitoring Panel (report of the Assistant
Director – Governance enclosed).
Additional documents:
Minutes:
Consideration was given to the report of the
Assistant Director – Governance which set out the Work
Programme of the Performance Monitoring Panel.
The Democratic Services Officer introduced the
report and highlighted the following main points:
- Appendix A detailed the forthcoming
meeting dates and expected items; and
- Appendix B outlined Task Group
information
- As a result of discussions at the
previous agenda item, the Visitor Economy Task Group would be moved
to the pending items.
The Chairman and Vice Chairman stated that
they would liaise with the Democratic Services Officer after the
meeting to identify any pending historic task groups which were no
longer relevant and therefore could be removed from Appendix B.
AGREED:
That the Performance Monitoring Panel Work
Programme be noted.
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43. |
Any other items which the Chairman decides are urgent
NOTE:
No other business is permitted unless by reason of special
circumstances, which shall be specified in the minutes, the
Chairman is of the opinion that the item(s) should be considered as
a matter of urgency.
Minutes:
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