Venue: Council Chamber, Fenland Hall, County Road, March PE15 8NQ
Contact: Niall Jackson Member Services and Governance Officer
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To confirm and sign the minutes of the meeting of 7th March 2022. Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of 7 March 2022 were confirmed and signed. |
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Update on previous actions. PDF 167 KB Members to receive an update on the previous meeting’s Action Plan. Minutes: Members considered the update on previous actions and made the following comments:
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Progress on Housing Enforcement Policy PDF 3 MB To receive an update on progress on the Housing Enforcement Policy that has been in operation since July 2018. Minutes: Members considered the update on the progress on Housing Enforcement Policy. Dan Horn, Jo Evans and Councillor Hoy were welcomed to the meeting.
Members asked questions, made comments and received responses as follows:
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Thanks P?? To receive an update on the progress made in developing a Creativity and Culture Strategy and further progress since adoption of the Strategy. Minutes: Members considered the update on the Culture Strategy. Phil Hughes, Jaime-Lea Taylor and Councillor Boden were welcomed to the meeting.
Members asked questions, made comments and received responses as follows:
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Commercial Investment Strategy and Investment Board Update PDF 236 KB To provide an update to the Overview and Scrutiny Panel of the work of the Investment Board from April 2021 to March 2022. Minutes: Members considered the Commercial Investment Strategy and Investment Board Update. Peter Catchpole, Councillor Boden and Councillor Tierney were welcomed to the meeting.
Members asked questions, made comments and received responses as follows: · Councillor Mason recognised that things had slowed down recently but it would be interesting to know what developments were likely to proceed in the next year. Councillor Boden replied that he could not give a definitive answer to that question as opportunities crop up unexpectedly, the Council had to be prepared to move quickly on the internal evaluation and with external assistance for assurance when making any decision to move forward. He informed the panel that they had agents to notify them of new opportunities when they present themselves. In terms of planned development over the following year, Councillor Boden advised they were developing the Elms in Chatteris followed by the Nene Waterfront in Wisbech and explained that both projects were being pushed forward together. He stated that lots of the preparation work had already been completed and that they were moving forward on these developments. · Councillor Mason noted that any investment had many consultancy fees and asked where the Council stood regarding consultancy. Councillor Boden explained that they were constrained by being a public body despite having Fenland Futures Limited (FFL) set up as a subsidiary company and commented that this required them to go above and beyond what would be required by a purely commercial organisation. He clarified that with the two projects mentioned, there would be no external consultancy for a valuation if they were undertaken commercially but due to the Council being a public body, they were required to undertake this to show accountability and transparency. Councillor Boden made the point that with the transfer from the Council to its wholly owned subsidiary there were Section 151 legal obligations which could not be satisfied by using inhouse staff as it would not stand up to scrutiny making the use of external consultants absolutely necessary. · Councillor Yeulett asked whether they had made a profit yet and, if so, how much it was. He also asked how they saw the Investment Board’s activity progressing in the current economic climate. Councillor Boden explained that in Council terms they were not and never would be making a profit as they were not a profit-making organisation and in terms of revenue, he informed the panel that, as of yet, they had not started any development and so were not producing any revenue. He explained that the company had not yet completed its first year and had made no sales so there had been no profit, it would show a loss in the first year and that this was always the case for any development company. Councillor Boden stated that the way that the Investment Board works and acts was not affected by the economic environment and that only the potential outcomes of the various opportunities would be affected and whilst it was quite certain that there would be a ... view the full minutes text for item OSC51/21 |
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Task and Finish Group – Portfolio Holder Report PDF 217 KB To set out a proposal for a cross-party scrutiny task and finish group to be established. Minutes: Members considered the Task and Finish Group – Portfolio Holder Report: · Councillor Mason explained that they were looking for three volunteers to examine the KPI’s across the Council and stated that the makeup of the group would be two Conservative members to one independent in line with political proportionality. There was a debate over whether task and finish groups had to be politically proportionate and Amy Brown informed the panel that whilst there was no requirement for the group to be politically proportionate the Council worked on a basis that these groups should be. There was a further debate about whether the group should consist of five members with two Independent Members wishing to be part of the task and finish group. · It was resolved that the group would consist of 3 Members with the Conservative members being Councillor Connor and Councillor Miscandlon and Councillor Hay acting as a substitute where necessary. The independent members were left to decide who would be the main member and who would act as substitute between Councillor Booth and Councillor Wicks.
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Future Work Programme PDF 137 KB To consider the Draft Work Programme for Overview & Scrutiny Panel 2022/23. Minutes: Members considered the Future Work Programme:
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