To consider the committee’s work programme.

An updated work programme was submitted for consideration.  The Chairman drew attention to the following:

i.             To enable the committee to consider housing related items and to receive an item on the Local transport plan, it was proposed that an additional meeting be held on Monday 7 December 2015.

ii.            The Chairman was due to discuss the Community infrastructure levy (CIL) with officers to identify the best way forward in terms of further scrutiny input. 

iii.          An all member seminar, to be led by the scrutiny chairs, was being arranged towards the end of November on the Devolution offer.

iv.          A seminar was being arranged for members of the committee in December to include presentations on the Accommodation strategy and on Digital strategy.

A committee member asked that, as chair of the previous phases of the CIL task and finish group, she be involved in the Chairman’s discussions with officers as referred to in paragraph ii) above.

RESOLVED: That

(a)     The draft work programme be noted; and

(b)     An additional committee meeting be arranged for Monday 7 December 2015 at 2.00pm.

To consider the committee’s work programme.

A draft work programme was submitted for consideration.  The Chairman drew attention to the following:

·             the Smallholdings estate task and finish group was completing its review and its report would be submitted for consideration by the committee on 27 October 2015;

·             various other changes had been made to the work programme, as shown at paragraph 6 of the report; and

§    in anticipation of the next round of consultation, it was intended that a member workshop be held on the Community infrastructure levy (CIL).

The Deputy Leader, referring to planned agenda items for the 17 November 2015 meeting, said that additional work was being undertaken on the Housing strategy and was unlikely to available in the timescale identified.

A committee member considered that there was outstanding work for the CIL task and finish group to complete.  The Chairman said that he would seek further officer advice on the matter.

A committee member questioned progress with a Digital strategy task and finish group.  The committee was advised that, in view of the time that had elapsed since the group had been commissioned, a seminar would be arranged to update members on the current position and to help identify any specific areas where future scrutiny activity could be focussed.  The Director of economy, communities and corporate said that it was for the committee to decide how it wished to prioritise the work programme.  A committee member requested that a briefing note be prepared.

RESOLVED: That the

(a)         the draft work programme be noted; and

(b)        a briefing note be prepared on digital issues.

To consider the committee’s work programme and related scrutiny activities.

A draft work programme was submitted for consideration.  The Chairman drew attention to the following:

1.      It was recommended that the September 2015 meeting be moved back to provide additional time for the task and finish group on the smallholdings estate to engage with tenants and stakeholders and to prepare its report.

2.      To inform any future activity on football provision and on Hereford racecourse, it was envisaged that reports would be received in January 2016 on Edgar Street Athletic Ground and on property matters.

3.      Arrangements were being made for an all member transportation workshop.

4.      The work programme would be adjusted to reflect the other matters identified during the meeting.

A committee member commented on: the potential of the Understanding Herefordshire report to inform future, independent work programming; and the need to review the committee’s topic selection criteria to ensure that issues were gathered and assessed on their merits rather than being filtered in the linear way suggested by the flow diagram and to reassess the meaning and approach to the ‘Will scrutiny involvement be duplicating some other work?’ box.

RESOLVED: That

(a)         the draft work programme, as amended, be noted; and

(b)        the meeting scheduled for Tuesday 8 September 2015 be moved to Wednesday 30 September 2015 at 10.00 am.

To consider the committee’s work programme for the year and to allocate activities to task and finish groups, as deemed necessary.

A draft work programme was submitted for consideration.  The Chairman said that the committee needed to be mindful of the need for the work programme to be manageable, allowing space for urgent or call-in items.  The Chairman drew attention to the following matters:

1.       An item on Home to School Transport, identified in the draft work programme for 8 September 2015, would be rescheduled for 19 January 2016; this would enable the update to include data and analysis from the new academic year.

2.       An item on Community Safety, identified for 19 January 2016, would be rescheduled for the 8 March 2016.

3.       An additional meeting was proposed for 27 October 2015 to consider the Community Infrastructure Levy Draft Charging Schedule.

4.       Some scrutiny work might be undertaken on football provision and on Hereford racecourse but these issues would need further consideration at subsequent committee meetings.

5.       It was proposed that a task and finish group on the smallholdings estate be established.  The Chairman said that this would be a major task, to be undertaken within a relatively short time frame, and would need to consider the best outcomes for tenants and for the people of Herefordshire.

The Director of Resources drew attention to the contents of the draft scoping statement for the smallholdings estate review, Appendix 3 to the report, and comments were invited from committee members. 

The principal points of the discussion included:

a.       The Chairman commented on the smallholdings estate in the wider context of council assets and suggested that another key question to be included was ‘What are the benefits to agriculture in Herefordshire’.

b.       A committee member questioned whether the work of the group would be constrained by the scale of asset sales envisaged in the Medium Term Financial Strategy.  In response, the Director of Economy, Communities and Corporate said that no assumptions had been made about the nature of asset sales.

c.       A committee member felt that clarity was needed about the ‘What will not be included’ section of the scoping statement before it was finalised.  The Chairman said that this could be reviewed in detail at the group’s first meeting. 

d.       A member in attendance commented on the absence of national or local policy on food security and this aspect could be considered by the group.  A committee member added that the review needed to align with relevant policies in the Core Strategy, particularly around land use and the environment.

e.       A committee member commented that tenants needed certainty about the options available and about timescales.

f.       The following were identified as members of the group, Councillors Bartlett, Bowen (Chairman), Cooper, Hardwick, Harlow, Harvey and Williams.  Consideration was given to the inclusion of non-committee members on the group but, on balance, it was felt that the identified membership should be sufficient but other members might be asked to contribute as witnesses.

g.       The Chairman said that a meeting would be convened as soon as possible to consider further the scoping statement, the arrangements  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9