Councillor Mason welcomed members of the public and press watching the livestream of the Overview & Scrutiny meeting via YouTube due to Government guidance on social distancing. The meeting was held in accordance with the provision set out in the Local Authorities and Police and Crime Panels (Coronavirus) (Flexibility of Local Authority and Police and Crime Panel Meetings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020 and with Fenland District Council’s Virtual Meeting Protocol.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held 13 July 2020.

The minutes of the meeting of 13 July 2020 were confirmed.

Members to receive an update on the previous meeting’s Action Plan.

Councillor Mason advised members that the Overview and Scrutiny Panel had agreed earlier in the year to set up a sub committee to review the Anglia Revenue Partnership, this was under the Chairmanship of Councillor Anne Hay and she will be presenting the findings to the Committee in December.

Members to receive a presentation from Clarion

Councillor Mason welcomed Sally Greetham, Daniel Read and Yvonne Ogden from Clarion Housing and thanked them for their attendance at today’s meeting.

Colleagues from Clarion provided a presentation to Members, outlining the various key projects and their work programme over the past year and looking forward.

Members asked questions, made comments and received responses as follows:

1.    Councillor Skoulding asked Daniel Read whether he was aware of the unfinished road in Lake Close in March, which commenced 6 years ago and made the point that following a previous Overview and Scrutiny meeting, assurances had been given that Anglian Water had approved the work and Cambridgeshire Highways would then be in a position to look at the road, with the works to be completed by Summer 2019, but to date have not yet started. Councillor Skoulding stated that he is aware that there has been damage caused to cars and there have also been instances of children becoming injured. He added that letters have been sent to residents advising them that the delay is due to the Highway Authority and he would ask that a follow up letter is sent to all the residents giving them an update of when the works will commence. Daniel Read stated that he is happy for a response to be circulated following the meeting.

2.    Councillor Connor questioned why Clarion does not seem able to respond to issues such as neighbour disputes in a timely manner, referring to an issue which was only resolved when the Environmental Health Team and Dan Horn intervened. Councillor Connor requested that elected members be provided with a direct contact number and dedicated person to be able to report issues and concerns to. Sally Greetham stated that it is always disappointing to hear when customers have received poor levels of service, the operating model that Clarion uses has slightly changed and there is now a central contact centre where issues are reported to, which should mean that the lower level anti-social behaviour cases should be passed to the local teams for quicker intervention. She added that there is also a dedicated email address for member enquiries. Councillor Connor agreed to contact Sally Greetham outside of the meeting.

3.    Councillor Miscandlon expressed the view that whilst he is pleased to hear that Clarion have an online service, consideration needs to be given to those customers who do not have access to a computer, or good IT literacy. Sally Greetham agreed with Councillor Miscandlon’s comments and said that customers do still have the option to contact them by phone.

4.      Councillor Miscandlon referred to a customer complaint last year, concerning an area of overgrown vegetation and fallen detritus, with the customer trying on numerous occasions to contact Clarion and being advised that the contractor had been to the location and cleared the area. Councillor Miscandlon asked whether follow up inspections are carried out to verify whether works have been carried out following a complaint? Sally Greetham advised that inspections are carried  ...  view the full minutes text for item OSC11/20

This report sets out the Council's progress in delivering the corporate objectives from April 2020 to July 2020. This is to ensure that Members have the most up to date information possible.

Members considered the progress of the Corporate Priority, Communities, presented by Councillor Hoy.

Members asked questions, made comments and received responses as follows:

1.    Councillor Miscandlon stated that in the report it states that officers have worked with 79 landlords, which appears to be a limited number, given the scale of the private rented properties in the district, and he would like an understanding of the work carried out with unregistered landlords to encourage them to register and to ensure good sound rental housing, which impacts on the health and wellbeing of their tenants. Councillor Hoy expressed the view that the numbers are low, compared to last year when the number was 95, but that it is for a much shorter period, and that due to Covid 19, formal inspections on properties has not been able to take place. She stated that with regard to registration, there is no formal landlord registration scheme or any licensing type of scheme in place apart from houses in multiple occupancy (HMO), however, the Landlord Forum which took place in early March, which was used to explain the new enforcement approach, appears to be working well and landlords seem to be taking action. Councillor Hoy stated that the mandatory HMO licensing which was introduced last year, initially meant that people were slow to sign up, however, because they now realise there are penalties if they do not register, there has been an increase in the number of registrations. She expressed the opinion that it has been successful and will be reviewed pre-budget time and she hopes that this approach will focus on the bad landlords.

2.    Councillor Miscandlon asked what action is being taken to bring the empty properties across the district back into use? Councillor Hoy stated that an officer is now in post to address this issue, which has proved to be successful. She stated that there were 400 properties across the districts which have been empty for over 6 months and since the officer has been in post, 52 of those empty properties have been brought back into use.

3.    Councillor Cornwell asked for clarification with regard to the figures at the bottom of page 3 of the report in connection with private sector housing. Councillor Hoy provided an explanation to members with regard to the meaning of the income and expenditure listed and also outlined the various processes that are in place in order for monies to be paid to the Council.

4.      Councillor Wicks asked what enforcement takes place with regard to dog fouling? Carol Pilson stated that this issue would fall within Councillor Murphy’s portfolio for environment, but she would be happy to give an overview. She stated that the Council is keen to promote responsible dog ownership; it has recently carried out some consultation with regard to its Public Spaces Protection Orders, where an overwhelming response was received from the public who wanted to retain them going forward, and the Council also promotes the Green Dog Walkers  ...  view the full minutes text for item OSC12/20

To update Members on the annual statistics in relation to the Local Government and Health and Social Care Ombudsman (LGO) and the Council's corporate '3Cs' procedure. This explains how we deal with the comments, compliments, correspondence and complaints we receive.

Councillor Tierney presented the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) Annual Review of Complaints report to members.

Members asked questions, made comments and received responses as follows:

1.    Councilllor Booth asked in future can the report provide a breakdown to identify what service areas receive complaints, so that members can have a better understanding of the type of complaints that are received.

Members agreed to note the report.

To consider the Draft Work Programme for Overview & Scrutiny Panel 2020/21.

Members considered the Future Work Programme.

Councillor Mason reminded members that officers had been tasked with ascertaining if representatives from Anglian Water would be willing to attend a future meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel. Confirmation has now been received that representatives are willing to attend a future meeting the date of which has yet to be confirmed. He stated that Anna Goodall is compiling a list of questions which have been submitted by members to put to Anglian Water.

Members asked questions, made comments and received responses as follows:

1.      Councillor Miscandlon stated that it would be helpful if a list of those questions submitted by members could be circulated to the Overview and Scrutiny Panel to ensure that there is no duplication in questions. Anna Goodall agreed to circulate the list and stated that, if members were in agreement, then all other members would be invited to submit questions that the Panel could put forward to Anglian Water.

Councillor Mason reminded members that, during the Overview and Scrutiny Panel meeting on 13^th July, the Council Tax Support scheme was discussed, with the report seeking a recommendation from the Overview and Scrutiny Panel regarding whether any proposed changes to the Council Tax Support Scheme should be considered.

Councillor Mason stated that any recommendation arising from the Overview and Scrutiny Panel discussions would subsequently be considered by Cabinet as part of their decision making regarding any consultation proposals for the scheme and any proposed changes to the Council Tax Support Scheme would have to be subject to a statutory public consultation period prior to any final decisions being implemented in 2021/22.

Councillor Mason stated that the Council Tax Support Scheme was not included on the Forward Plan as it was not clear if any changes to the Council Tax Support Scheme would be proposed. In order for Cabinet to consider the Overview and Scrutiny recommendations he was asked to utilise the urgency powers delegated to him as the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel, which subsequently require consideration by the Overview and Scrutiny Panel to ensure effective transparency regarding decision making. He added that it is also worthy of note that Cabinet have not made any final decisions in relation to the Council Tax Support Scheme, but have decided what should be included as part of the statutory consultation in relation to the scheme.

Members asked questions, made comments and received responses as follows:

1.    Councillor Booth stated that members should note that it is a statutory requirement that items are placed on the Forward Plan at least 28 days in advance of consideration and that is why the Chairman was required to use his urgent powers of delegation on this occasion.

(The Chairman agreed to this item being discussed as a matter of urgency to avoid undue delay in the Panel being updated)