Agenda and minutes

To sign as a correct record the minutes of the following meetings:

a)    Joint Performance Monitoring Panel and Policy Development Panel meeting held on 26 January 2023 (enclosed).

b)    Joint Performance Monitoring Panel and Policy Development Panel meeting held on 6 March 2023 (enclosed).

c)    Performance Monitoring Panel meeting held on 14 March 2023 (enclosed).

AGREED:

That the minutes of the following meetings be signed by the Chairman as a correct record:

a)    Joint Performance Monitoring Panel and Policy Development Panel meeting held on 26 January 2023; and

b)    Joint Performance Monitoring Panel and Policy Development Panel meeting held on 6 March 2023; and

c)    Performance Monitoring Panel held on 14 March 2023.

Consideration was given to the actions which arose at the 26 January 2023 Joint Performance Monitoring Panel and Policy Development Panel (Budget Scrutiny) meeting, the 14 March 2023 Performance Monitoring Panel meeting, and the tracking of previous outstanding actions.

Members considered the update and made the following comments:

• Regarding action 22b, members requested that a timetable be provided for the creation of a register of play areas and the development of a Play Area strategy.
• Action 58b noted that an update would follow on CCTV incidents zone analysis data. Members requested that a date be provided as to when this update would be available.
• In relation to action 45, members requested an update on the timetable for the Task Group being set up. If no action was to take place on setting up this Task Group, members needed to be made aware.

AGREED:

That the actions and responses be noted.

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.

There were none.

There were none.

To consider responses of the Cabinet to reports of the Panel.

There were none.

There were none.

To note the current Key Decision Plan

Consideration was given to the Key Decision Plan dated 26 June 2023.

• Members referred to the ‘Procurement of Fuel Supplier’ and asked for an update.
  • An update had been sought from the Head of Environmental Services:
    • ‘Unfortunately, we are not currently in a position to award the contract as we need to do some further due diligence and are working with Procurement on this. During this period, we maintain our original fuel supplier, who is able to provide us fuel at a discount price, so the delay is not impacting service delivery and still maintains a good value for money’.
• Members raised a question in relation to ‘uPVC window and door replacement contract 2023-2026’. Members asked why the windows and doors were being replaced as they were supposed be long lasting and also asked whether there was a rolling programme of replacement.
  • An update had been received from the Projects Surveyor
    • ‘uPVC windows have a life span of 30 years. The age of the existing windows had either reached this age or will have by the end of the contract period. The windows were installed on a planned maintenance programme and had been maintained on a need to basis by our housing repairs team’.
  • The Portfolio Holder for Communities and Operational Housing confirmed that she would seek clarification but stated that windows and doors were not automatically replaced and were surveyed first to ascertain whether a replacement was required.
  • Other members confirmed that uPVC windows and doors did degrade over time due to the plastic becoming brittle.
• Members queried what the ‘Land at Holbeach FEZ’ decision pertained to.
  • The Assistant Director – Strategic Growth and Development confirmed that the decision related to the potential sale of land at Holbeach FEZ. It was confirmed that commercial negotiations were currently ongoing with a potential occupier.

AGREED:

That the Key Decision Plan be noted.

To present the Task Group’s Final Report to the Panel for consideration (report of the Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field Task Group enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of the Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field Task Group which presented the Task Group’s Final Report to the Panel for approval.

The report was introduced by Councillor Paul Redgate, a member of the Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field Task Group, as the Chair of the Task Group, Simon Walsh, was no longer a Councillor. He thanked Councillors Walsh, Brewis and Wilkinson for their work on the Task Group.

The following key points of the report were highlighted:

• The Task Group was reconvened to look at the lighting and lease elements taking into consideration funding requirements for the site.
• The report considered the views of every witness interviewed, the legal position in regard to the deeds and how to get the best value for the site going forward.
• It was recommended that the Council should seek a suitable tenant for Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field and that a lease for at least 7+ years be agreed with a fully ratified contract which stated the tenant must comply with the terms of use as set out in the 1951 deeds.
• The recommendation would keep the facility open to the community at set times and a lease would help with future funding and grants.
• It was noted that the opportunity was there for anyone to come forward and submit a proposal to run the facility.
• The recommendation would also help to safeguard the site for Spalding residents for the future.

Members considered the report and made the following comments:

• Members noted that the successful party needed to demonstrate the delivery of the charitable status of the site.

• Members were encouraged by the recommendation and felt that it would be an opportunity to solve some of the challenges the Council’s had previously faced with the facility.

The Chairman thanked the Task Group for their work and hoped that the way forward may overcome some of the previous difficulties.

AGREED:

That the Final Report of the Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field Task Group be approved by the Panel for consideration by Full Council.

To establish a Joint Scrutiny Task Group and agree the associated scope to undertake the annual scrutiny review of the South & East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership (report of the Assistant Director – Corporate enclosed)

Consideration was given to the report of the Assistant Director – Corporate which sought to establish a Joint Scrutiny Task Group and agree the associated scope to undertake the annual scrutiny review of the South & East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership.

The report was introduced by the Assistant Director – Strategic Growth and Development on behalf of the Scrutiny & Policy Officer and stated that annual joint scrutiny was agreed in the Memorandum of Agreement when the Partnership was formed. The purpose was to review progress of the Partnership, to understand its effectiveness and identify opportunities for further development.

Appendix A set out the scope of scrutiny which needed to be agreed by the Panel. The Panel also needed to agree to the appointment of one member from the Performance Monitoring Panel to join the Task Group alongside the Chairman and Vice Chairman of PMP.

The Chairman stated that he had been part of the Joint Task Group last year and many of the recommendations made had been partly or fully implemented. It had been an interesting experience to talk to officers of different levels within the Partnership about different perceptions of what the ambitions of the Partnership were and the Task Group had been chaired extremely well by Councillor Mossop from ELDC.

The Chairman requested nominations from the Panel to join the Task Group and Councillor C Brewis was duly appointed to the Task Group.

The Task Group’s scope was also approved by the Panel.

AGREED:

1. That the scope at Appendix A be agreed to enable the scrutiny exercise to commence promptly in late September.
2. That Councillor C Brewis be appointed from the Panel to join the Task Group alongside the Chairman (Councillor B Alcock) and Vice-Chairman (Councillor M Booth).

To approve the scoping documents for the proposed joint scrutiny topics for 23/24; and to agree the appointment of three Members to each of those Joint Task and Finish Groups (report of the Assistant Director – Corporate enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of the Assistant Director – Corporate which sought approval of the scoping documents for the proposed joint scrutiny topics for 23/24 and agreement to appoint three Members to each of those Joint Task and Finish Groups.

The report was introduced by the Assistant Director – Strategic Growth and Development on behalf of the Scrutiny & Policy Officer and stated that the report outlined the proposed joint scrutiny topics for the Partnership for 23/24 and the establishment of a Joint Task and Finish Group for each topic. The topics included had previously been considered by scrutiny committees at each Council, but the report brought forward more detail on each topic and requested appointments to the Joint Task Groups.

Appendix A provided an overview of the proposed Partnership scrutiny work plan. Appendices B and C set out the scopes of the proposed Task and Finish Groups for Public Transport and Enviro-Crime which both needed to be agreed by the Panel and appointments made to.

It was noted that there would be a pause in the work of the Public Transport Task Group in order to look at current recommendations made in the interim report of the Task Group before re-convening this group.

AGREED:

1. That the topics and associated scopes, as set out at Appendices B -C, be agreed with each Task and Finish group authorised to review the scopes and determine the detailed lines of enquiry and witnesses.
2. That the Panel agrees to appoint three Members to both the Public Transport and Enviro Crime Enforcement Contract Task Group as follows:

·         Public Transport:

o   Councillor L Eldridge

o   Councillor J Reynolds

o   Councillor C Brewis

·         Enviro Crime Enforcement Contract

o   Councillor N Chapman

o   Councillor P Barnes

o   Councillor S Chauhan

To provide an update on how the Council is performing for the period 1^st January 2023 to 31^st March 2023 (report of the Assistant Director – Corporate enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of the Assistant Director – Corporate which provided an update on how the Council was performing for the period 1^st January 2023 to 31^st March 2023.

The report was introduced by the Assistant Director – Strategic Growth and Development on behalf of the Business Intelligence and Change Manager which provided an overview of how the Council was performing against its key performance indicators. Full details were provided at Appendix A to the report.

The key points of the report were outlined:

• Improvements in performance had been seen since Q3, particularly for Food Health and Safety, but further progress was required in the following areas which were below target:
  • Customer Contact;
  • Leisure - number of gym and swimming pool visitors; and
  • Homelessness.

Members considered the report and made the following comments:

• Members were concerned about the worrying trend in the declining number of gym and swimming pool visitors.
• Members had a continuing concern about the homelessness performance and stressed a need for the authority to think outside of the box in terms of new initiatives to help prevent this issue.
  • The Portfolio Holder for Communities and Operational Housing commented that the figures from Q4 showed that the homelessness team were moving into a stronger position. There had already been a few changes implemented by the Homelessness Reduction Manager to ways of working. The Portfolio Holder was confident that the team were moving in the right direction and would be in a much better position in the next quarter.
• Members requested that more details be provided on how many homelessness cases were currently open and where these cases were located within the district.
  • The Portfolio Holder for Communities and Operational Housing responded to say that there was now a strong homelessness team in place and the project workers were very capable and knowledgeable when helping and giving advice to those engaging with the service. She noted that there may be an increase in homelessness cases due to the cost of living crisis but that the team were working hard to improve procedures going forward. She hoped that the statistics for this performance indicator would improve in due course.
• Members requested information on the proportion of homeless people the team were working with that were not native to South Holland. This would help members to understand the bigger picture of the homelessness issue.
  • The Portfolio Holder for Communities and Operational Housing responded that these figures could be asked for and sourced for members.
• Members queried whether homelessness officers engaged with the voluntary sector to aid their work.
  • The Portfolio Holder for Communities and Operational Housing confirmed that the team did engage with the voluntary sector to help people to regain stability. The team were also looking to engage with the Council’s Domestic Abuse Officers to better support people coming from those situations.
• Members asked if the performance figures for homelessness at Boston Borough Council and East Lindsey District Council were similar to South Holland’s and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

To update members of the Performance Monitoring Panel on the South Holland Centre action plan (report of the Assistant Director – Leisure and Culture enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of the Assistant Director – Leisure and Culture which provided an update to members of the Performance Monitoring Panel on the South Holland Centre action plan.

The report was introduced by the South Holland Centre Manager and the Portfolio Holder for Communities and Operational Housing.

The Portfolio Holder stated that she had recently taken on responsibility for the South Holland Centre and that she was dedicated to implementing the action plan attached at Appendix 1. The South Holland Centre Manager had already completed some good work in regard to the business plan that would be shortly forthcoming.

The South Holland Centre Manager highlighted the following key areas of the report:

• Update on the action plan
• Financial update on the budget for SHC.
• Programming and Events
• Building and maintenance
• Marketing Plan

Members considered the report and made the following comments:

• In reference to point 5.13.1, members queried whether there were other types of events that could be held in the South Holland Centre that could benefit resident’s health and wellbeing.
  • The South Holland Centre Manager confirmed that other types of events were slowly being introduced within the opening hours the Centre currently operated. She confirmed that she was happy to discuss any suggestions members have for other types of events outside of the meeting.
• Members asked why there was no reference to engagement with Parish Councils as part of the marketing plan. They felt that this engagement could assist with increasing number of visitors to the South Holland Centre.
  • The South Holland Centre Manager confirmed that she would make a note of this and take it back for consideration.
  • The Portfolio Holder for Communities and Operational Housing added that the mailing list for the South Holland Centre was made up of 12,000 residents from all areas of the district and beyond the South Holland area. Newspaper advertising was also district wide. She suggested that Parish Council’s could be added to the mailing list.
• Members were pleased to see that most of the Task Group’s recommendations had been progressed and complimented the South Holland Centre Manager for her work in helping the Centre head in the right direction.
• Members queried why the Centre’s budget included a £4,000 charge for support services per week and requested clarification as to whether this figure was correct.
  • The Portfolio Holder for Communities and Operational Housing confirmed that the support services recharge figure had been raised and expected that this would be adjusted. She believed that the figure was based on the number of employees the Centre had and as this employee number had been reduced, the support services recharge should be reduced accordingly.
• Members stated that the Task Group had been anxious for a business plan to be created in a short space of time, but this had unfortunately not happened. They had also been insistent that a mission statement needed to be developed to raise the profile of the Centre and more work needed to take place for this  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

To provide the Panel with an update on volleyball equipment provision (report of the Assistant Director – Leisure and Culture enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of the Assistant Director – Leisure and Culture which provided the Panel with an update on volleyball equipment provision.

The report was introduced by the Interim Cultural Services Manager who highlighted the following key points:

• The issue with the volleyball equipment had been identified at the end of March by a club who used the volleyball court at the Peele Leisure Centre on a regular basis.
• Works to repair the court had been quoted as being over £1,000 with a lead-in time of 2 months.
• Parkwood, as the operator, offered alternative options and a discount to the club but this was not taken up.
• Replacement posts for the volleyball court were ordered by Parkwood in line with their company policy and procedure but the delivery date was pushed back.
• Officers worked with Parkwood to find an alternative supplier for the replacements posts and new posts were installed on site in June.
• Upon investigation, it was found that the costs of any repairs to the court would sit with University Academy Long Sutton. Parkwood would be meeting with the Academy and SHDC officers to look at a way forward for repair and maintenance needs.

Members considered the report and made the following comments:

• Members felt a poor service had been delivered by Parkwood in this instance and there was no urgency to repair the court. It was disappointing that it had taken so long to fix the issue.
• Members expressed that the Peele Leisure Centre was a vital facility that needed to be treated seriously as it was the local facility for residents in the eastern part of the district who would otherwise go to Kings Lynn or Wisbech
• Members hoped that the leisure contract would be better enforced in the future and any matter arising would be resolved quickly.

AGREED:

That the current position for the provision of Volleyball equipment at the Peele Leisure Centre be noted.

There were none.

DECISION:

That under section 100A (4) 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 defined in Paragraph 3 of part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

The Panel will be provided with a verbal update on the progress being made to mobilise the Health and Wellbeing Hub project.

The Assistant Director – Strategic Growth and Development and the Head of Special Projects – Leisure will be in attendance to provide the update.

The Panel received a presentation led by the Assistant Director – Strategic Growth and Development, the Head of Special Projects – Leisure and the Senior Strategic Growth & Development Officer which provided an update on the progress being made to mobilise the Health and Wellbeing Hub Project.

AGREED:

That the update be noted.