To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillor TM James.

To receive details of Members nominated to attend the meeting in place of a Member of the Committee.

No substitutes were present.

To receive any declarations of interest by Members.

8.       An Update from the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner.

Councillor AJM Blackshaw, Non-Pecuniary, Vice-Chairman of the Joint Audit Committee for Warwickshire and West Mercia Police.

Councillor DB Wilcox, Non-Pecuniary, Vice-Chairman of the Police and Crime Panel.

Councillor WLS Bowen, Non-Pecuniary, Member of the Police and Crime Panel.

9.       Hereford Futures Limited.

Councillor JG Jarvis, Non-Pecuniary, Former director of Hereford Futures Limited.

To receive the minutes of the meetings held on 6 January, 13 January (attached) and 15 January 2014 (to follow).

The minutes of the meetings held on 6 January and 13 January 2014 were received.  The minutes of the meeting held on 15 January 2014 would be included in the next agenda.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meetings held on 6 January and 13 January 2014 be approved as correct records and be signed by the Chairman.

To consider suggestions from members of the public on issues the Committee could scrutinise in the future.

(There will be no discussion of the issue at the time when the matter is raised. Consideration will be given to whether it should form part of the Committee’s work programme when compared with other competing priorities.)

The Chairman invited suggestions from members of the public.

Mrs. Morawiecka suggested that, in view of the issues arising from Hereford Futures Limited, consideration should be given to how the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and the Marches Local Transport Board reported into the Council.  The Chairman advised that a Cabinet Member decision in relation to the Marches LEP Economic Plan Submission was imminent and it was the intention of the Committee to establish a Task and Finish Group to look at the governance of the LEP.

Mrs. Wegg-Prosser asked for clarification about the re-prioritising of transport packages.  The Chairman said that, as this was a question, this would be referred to the relevant officer for a response.

To note questions received from the public and the items to which they relate.

(Questions are welcomed for consideration at a Scrutiny Committee meeting so long as the question is directly related to an item listed on the agenda below.  If you have a question you would like to ask then please submit it no later than two working days before the meeting to the officer named on the cover of this agenda).

Attention was drawn to a supplement to the agenda which included responses to questions about Hereford Futures Limited to the 11 November 2013 and 6 January 2014 meetings.  Further questions had been received from Mrs. Morawieka and responses were provided under the Hereford Futures Limited item below.

To consider the Committee’s work programme.

The Chairman reported that:

i.           The Digital Strategy Task and Finish Group had commenced its work on 5 March and a further meeting was due to be held on 20 March 2014.  The Vice-Chairman outlined the work to be undertaken and said that nominations were awaited from the Conservatives and Independents.  The Herefordshire Independents Group Leader advised that Councillor JF Knipe was interested in attending the group.

ii.          A visit was to be arranged to Planning Services for Members, with the intention of establishing a short Task and Finish Group to consider how, following changes to structure of the department, statutory duties were being fulfilled and timescales were being complied with.

iii.         A number of issues were outstanding with the Amey / Balfour Beatty transition and, therefore, any scrutiny work would not be progressed until these issues had been resolved.  The Chairman added that he was due to meet with a Balfour Beatty director and would report back in due course.

A Committee Member advised that work was progressing well on the Task and Finish Group on Household Recycling Centres; this would feed into Worcestershire County Council’s own review.

To receive a presentation from Barrie Sheldon, Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner.

The Chairman welcomed Barrie Sheldon, Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner to the meeting; the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) was recovering from illness and the Committee wished him a speedy recovering.  The Chairman commented on the role of the Committee in relation to scrutinising crime and disorder functions and invited Mr. Sheldon to provide an overview of the work of the Office of the PCC.

Mr. Sheldon gave a verbal report, the principal points included:

1.         There had been focus on the strategic alliance between Warwickshire and West Mercia Police Authorities during the year.

2.         Of the £21 million savings target by the end of 2015/16, £9 million still needed to be saved but the PPC had been assured that the savings would be achieved.

3.         Further savings of £22 million would need to be made after 2015/16.

4.         The police council tax precept had been frozen for the last three years but would be increased by 1.99 per cent from April 2014.

5.         A restructure, in the form of the ‘People Movement Plan’, had been progressed to maintain a strong front line of policing.

6.         West Mercia Police had reserves of £49 million, this would be used to offset the savings required through to 2018/19 and to support an ‘Invest to Save Scheme’, including the digitisation of records through the ‘Athena’ IT system.

7.         Consideration was being given to control room issues; there were three control rooms currently and some had out-dated technology.

8.         The number of brigade police stations had been reduced from 20 to 11, enabling savings to be made from sergeant and inspector posts.

9.         Patrol officers had been issued with Tetratabs, a mobile tablet device that would help to reduce the time spent at desks, thereby enabling officers to be  more visible in communities.

10.      The Policing Plan contained eleven objectives; reference was made to those aimed at reducing crime associated with alcohol, drugs and anti-social behaviour.

11.      Road safety was a particular issue for Herefordshire and the community speed watch initiative was about to be reintroduced.

12.      Attention was being given to business crime and rural crime, with workshops held for key stakeholders in order to shape the strategies.

13.      The DPP would become responsible for commissioning victim services from 1 October 2014, supported by additional money from central Government.  The DPP had invested in victim services from the outset, including funding for independent domestic violence and sexual violence advisors.

14.      There was a multi-agency hub strategy to achieve the best outcomes for vulnerable people in Herefordshire, this approach was to be expanded across the alliance area.

15.      Reference was made to the ‘Plebgate’ incident involving Andrew Mitchell MP and to the Stephen Lawrence Independent Review.  The Committee was advised about the role of the professional standards department within West Mercia Police and about the extent of record-keeping and disclosure now required.  It was reported that an Ethics and Integrity Committee was to be established and the College of Policing was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 73.

To inform Members about Hereford Futures Limited (‘HFL’); the council’s financial and other support for HFL; council liabilities going forward; HFL’s achievements; and any matters of general applicability to companies established by the council.

The Vice-Chairman introduced this item by noting the length of time it had taken for the Committee to receive a definitive report on Hereford Futures Limited (HFL) and thanked the Solicitor to the Council for preparing it.

The Solicitor to the Council provided an overview of the different sections of the report, the principal points included:

Company ownership

1.         HFL was a company limited by guarantee.

2.         The HFL Chief Executive had confirmed that all directors of HFL were also members of HCL.  Therefore, the directors of HFL owned the company.

3.         The company was not a ‘regulated company’ for the purposes of the Local Authorities (Companies) Order 1995.  This meant that HFL was neither a ‘council controlled company’ nor a ‘council influenced company’.  It was noted that the company had been a vehicle through which the Council had taken forward its economic regeneration of Hereford City.

Funding of HFL

4.         Appendix 1 set out the funding of HFL by the Council and Advantage West Midlands (AWM).

5.         Although it appeared that the Council had provided just under £2.9 million of funding to HFL, £845,000 of this figure had been ‘passported’ through the Council; £165,000 from Sanctuary Group and £680,000 from Stanhope PLC.  Therefore, the net funding from the Council was just over £2 million.

6.         AWM had provided over £14.5 million of direct funding and rental income contributions.  In addition, some £88 million of private sector funding was being invested in the retail quarter development.  It was commented that there was, therefore, a high rate of return on Council investment, alongside other benefits such as job creation and increased income.

Council’s future liabilities in relation to HFL

7.         Reference was made to a letter dated 30 May 2013 from the Council’s former Chief Finance Officer to the directors of HFL to confirm the Council’s funding commitment and to record that the Council has requested HFL to continue to trade and then wind down the business and affairs of the company.

8.         It was identified in the letter that the Council would ‘provide funding of a maximum value of £695,000 … during the financial years 2013-14 and 2014-15’.  The HFL Chief Executive had advised that the maximum liabilities of the company were unlikely to exceed £525,000.

9.         Assurance had been sought from Worcestershire County Council Pension Fund as to whether there were any residual liabilities arising in respect of the HFL Chief Executive’s pension.  A definitive answer was awaited but this would be circulated by email to Committee Members and to Mrs. Morawiecka once it was received.

HFL’s achievements

10.      The report identified some of the key achievements.

Matters of general applicability to companies established by the Council

11.      The Committee had discussed matters relating to the Freedom of Information Act and the Local Government (Access to Information) Act at previous meetings.

Further to minute 71 above, the Solicitor to the Council drew attention to the supplement to the agenda and commented as follows:

Page 4, response to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 74.

The next scheduled meeting is Monday 12 May 2014 at 10.00 am.

Monday 12 May 2014 at 10.00 am