RESOLVED: That Councillor Claire Wild be elected as Chairman for the ensuing municipal year.

Apologies were received from Councillor Alan Mosley.

RESOLVED: That Councillor Gwilym Butler be appointed  Vice-Chairman for the ensuing municipal year.

Members are reminded that they must not participate in the discussion or voting on any matter in which they have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest and should leave the room prior to the commencement of the debate.

Members were reminded that they must not participate in the discussion or voting on any matter in which they had a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest and should leave the room prior to the commencement of the debate.

To consider the Minutes of the Performance Management Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 20^th July 2017.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the Performance Management Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 20 July 2017 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive any questions, statements or petitions from the public of which members of the public have given notice.  Deadline for notification for this meeting is 5pm on Monday 18^th September 2017.

Mr Steven Mulloy submitted the following questions and the written responses were tabled at the meeting.

i)      That the existing Developer Contributions SPD and the Type and Affordability of Housing SPD be reviewed.  With regard to the Type and Affordability of Housing SPD  this should seek to incentivise individual landowners and parishes to bring forward land for affordable housing use;

Question: It is my understanding that this was being reviewed last year, but can I ask if any consideration has been given to the Dynamic Viability Index (DVI) which is appended to the SPD, and whether it serves any useful purpose given the issue that was highlighted at a meeting a few years ago with the Head of Planning and portfolio Holder? (See Appendix 1).

Response:  No further consideration has been given to the use of the DVI at this time, but this will form part of the work needed to review the Type & Affordability of Housing SPD in due course;

ii)                That increased effort be directed into promoting Community-led affordable housing schemes;

Question: Has any consideration been given to para 4.66 of Policy CS4 (below) and the lack of use of the 'interactive toolkit' which has only been used by less than 10% of parish councils? Unfortunately, some parish councils are little more than private clubs, so if you want community led affordable housing schemes, surely you need to encourage PC's to carry out intelligent analysis of their communities?

Response: This issue was previously addressed in a response which Mr Mulloy received from Eddie West on 4^th May 2017. Shropshire Council has actively supported a ‘bottom-up’ approach to capture local information about housing need, including through extensive use of the interactive toolkit (in 43 parishes). As a direct result, there are now a number of successful community led schemes throughout the County which have generated tangible outcomes which make additional local provision for affordable housing. In response to demand Shropshire Council is currently advertising a new post to assist communities in developing and promoting community led schemes which accurately reflect local affordable housing need.

iii)               That the Local Plan Member Group be recommended to consider the need to review existing countryside planning policies (CS5 / CS11 / MD7a & b) in relation to the delivery of affordable housing as part of the current Local Plan Review;

Question: Is the committee aware that the main evidence base for AHC and CIL is the 'Affordable Housing Viability Study 2010 (AHVS 2010) which was carried out by Fordham Research, and that the company came out of liquidation to conduct the survey (albeit with a slight name change), then returned to liquidation once the study was completed (see Appendix 2)?The report has a number of errors which really questions its credibility as an evidence base for developer contributions, but when pointed out to the Council is was dismissed as 'death by a thousand details' (see Appendix 3). 

Response:  Shropshire Council is aware of the potential inadequacies of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25.

To consider the report of the S106, CIL and NHB Task and Finish Group, and make recommendations to the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Regulatory Services.

Contact:  Adrian Cooper, Planning Policy & Strategy Manager, Shropshire Council, Adrian.cooper@shropshire.gov.uk

The Planning Policy and Strategy Manager introduced the report from the S106, CIL and NHB Task and Finish Group.  He asked Members to note that this was a short report outlining the work of the group so far and that the Task and Finish Group was ongoing.  Members observed that the report concentrated on legal planning agreements rather than the use and distribution of CIL monies.  

The Planning Policy and Strategy Manager explained that CIL income was only received once development was in progress and not when Planning Permission was granted.  During the previous few years many developers had applied for planning permissions but not commenced building work, this had impacted on the amount of funding received from S106 and CIL agreements.  He continued that the group was considering the ways that developer contributions could be used most effectively to deliver necessary infrastructure projects. 

Members noted that Supplementary Planning documents required amendment following changes in Government guidelines, which were to the detriment of rural areas.  Community led development schemes had been instigated to address this, with planning policies making it easier to obtain exceptions for affordable housing in rural areas. The importance of communities having Place Plans to support their aspirations was discussed.  It was observed that the Government view and aspirations for community led housing projects was unclear and further guidance was awaited.

Members discussed where CIL funding should be spent with discussion of the amount being ring fenced to the area where it was generated. The Chief Executive explained that there were strict criteria in the legislation determining what happened to the funding, with communities receiving their statutory portion as the Neighbourhood Fund, and the Council having discretion on the use of the remaining balance.  Only allowing CIL expenditure in areas where it was generated could lead to an unbalanced provision of service and infrastructure.  A Member observed that many smaller parishes were agreeing to development in the belief that the CIL revenue would be used for local projects and this was not necessarily the case as the Neighbourhood Funds received were often insufficient or could not be used as the community had thought due to onerous conditions attached.

The Planning Policy and Strategy Manager confirmed that Place Plans were to be reviewed and that Parish Plans fed in the Place Plans.  Members questioned the value of Parish Plans and suggested that Neighbourhood Plans suited larger settlements and towns and not smaller parishes. 

Members asked if the amount retained by the Council from CIL revenue to cover administration costs could be used to support Neighbourhood Plans and Housing Surveys.  The Planning Policy and Strategy Manager responded that the Council retained 5% of the revenue received and the costs of administering the service were far greater than the contribution retained.  Despite this, the Council still supported the development of Place Plans, Neighbourhood Plans and Housing Surveys. 

In response to a Member’s question regarding which developments were subject to CIL agreements, the Planning Policy and Strategy Manager agreed that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.

To receive any questions of which members of the Council have given notice.  Deadline for notification for this meeting is 5pm on Monday 18^th September 2017.

There were no questions from Members.

To receive a verbal update from the Head of Human Resources and Development on the progress of the Digital Transformation Programme.

Contact:  Michele Leith, Head of Human Resources and Development, Michele.leith@shropshire.gov.uk

The Head of Human Resources and Development gave a verbal update on the progress of the Digital Transformation Programme and agreed to distribute a briefing note to Members after the meeting [copy attached to the signed minutes].

In response to a Member’s question, the Head of Human Resources and Development anticipated that the delay in the going live date for ERP would not have a significant impact.

A Member asked for further information on the situation regarding staff resources, the Head of Human Resources and Development confirmed that there was adequate budget for the provision of staff resources. She added that in-house training was a good solution as there was not a sufficient supply of people with the requisite skills in the current workforce market.

The Head of Human Resources and Development agreed to provide briefing notes of progress for future meetings of the Committee. 

RESOLVED:

 That the verbal report of the Head of Human Resources and Development be noted.

To consider the Quarter 1 Performance Report 2017/18, attached marked:9.

Contact: Tom Dodds, Performance Manager, tom.dodds@shropshire.gov.uk

The Performance Manager introduced the Quarter 1 Performance Report which had been considered by Cabinet at its meeting of 6^th September 2017. Members noted that all areas covered by the report demonstrated a level of stability. He drew Members’ attention to the rise in visitor numbers for the tourism sector and theatres, changes in the way that the NHS report delayed transfer of care times and the penalties for not doing so, and the on-going rise in the numbers of people killed or seriously injured in road accidents.  He suggested that Members access the new Shropshire Performance Portal, which he described as being in its early stages and anticipated that it would develop and improve with the progression of the Digital Transformation Programme. 

In answer to a Member’s question regarding road accidents and the decreasing staff levels since 2007/8, the Performance Manager explained that Shropshire was performing well when compared with other local authorities and that the necessary level of service was being maintained despite fewer staff. He continued that the road traffic accident statistics were being more closely examined to ascertain if there were consistent trends which could be targeted.  Members noted that further information on this issue would be presented at a future meeting.

Member commented on the Shropshire Performance Portal, and a Member observed that some reports she expected to find there, such as those on school progress were not available.  Members welcomed the portal but expressed hope that it would develop with time and more data would become available and accessible more quickly as the system improved. Members also observed that they would welcome more detailed data with the inclusion of more detailed subsets. 

Members discussed the flu vaccine programme and the financial consequences of not being adequately prepared or public complacency in the absence of a flu epidemic.  Members noted that the target rate of 60% inoculation had been achieved. 

RESOLVED:

 That the Quarter 1 Performance Report be noted.

To receive a verbal update on the Financial Strategy from the Head of Finance, Governance and Assurance.

Contact James Walton, Head of Finance, Governance and Assurance, james.walton@shropshire.gov.uk

The Head of Finance, Governance and Assurance gave a verbal update on the progress of the Financial Strategy.  Member noted that a number of factors had delayed its progress and it was due to be considered by Cabinet on 18^th October 2017.  Although all other milestones remained in place as scheduled. 

The Head of Finance, Governance and Assurance explained that there was uncertainty over the retention of 100% of Business Rates following the delay in legislation due to the General Election in June and this had had an impact on the Financial Strategy.  He continued that in the report to be considered by Cabinet on 18^th October 2017, the revised anticipated funding gap would be presented with a plan to manage it through the Economic Growth Plan and Commerciality Strategy.  He added that 18 schemes were already in place. 

Members noted that Cabinet had met with Grant Thornton, the Council’s external auditors where concerns had been raised regarding the identified Value for Money conclusions.

Grant Thornton had allowed access to CFO insights provided by CIFFA and themselves.  This gave access to benchmarking of costs across all authorities. Shropshire demonstrated low expenditure per head of population and was in the bottom quintile algorithm for all service expenditure. 

The Head of Finance, Governance and Assurance continued that the Financial Strategy would be presented to the Performance Management Scrutiny Committee at its meeting on 22^nd November, before being considered by Cabinet on 6^th December and then by Council on 14^th December 2017.  Members noted that this was a tight timescale and gave little time for a considered response to be presented by the Performance Management Scrutiny Committee.  It was suggested that the November meeting of the committee should be brought forward to allow more time for this.  

In response to a Member’s question the Head of Finance, Governance and Assurance confirmed that he anticipated an overspend of £4.2m for the current financial year.  He continued that Directors were addressing this.  Members were advised that using more one-off savings to address the funding gap in this financial year would result in them not being available in subsequent years.  He continued that in previous years the anticipated overspend had been reduced throughout the year and he expected that this pattern would be repeated. 

The Chief Executive reminded Members that the Council had a duty to protect people living in Shropshire, and short term actions to reduce spending could have long term impacts through increased costs.  It was important that the Council avoided service failure. 

RESOLVED:

The Financial Strategy be considered at the next meeting of the Committee.

The Committee is scheduled to next meet at 2.00pm on 22^nd November 2017.

RESOLVED:

That the next meeting of the Committee be rescheduled to an alternative date to allow adequate time for the preparation of a response to the Financial Strategy if required.