Agenda and minutes

To agree the minutes of the previous meeting.

There were no minutes to sign.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillors Adshead, Ashbourn, E Collins, Matthews and Ransley.

Councillor R Sutton substituted on behalf of Councillor Adshead

To receive any declarations of interest.

There were no declarations of interest.

There was no public participation.

None.

Councillor Anderson asked if the Assistant Directors had anything to add from the presentation members had just heard.

J Doe said there was nothing major to add since the presentation he gave to the committee in December. He said there was a slight improvement in planning fees, a large application had come through at Maylands therefore increasing the income. The pressures in building control are being alleviated with apprentice and trainee posts being created. There has been a decrease in land charges income but this reflects the slight downturn in the market. This could be seasonal as the market tends to slow over the Christmas period.
Also, the Housing White Paper was released by the government today and it allows local authorities to potentially increase planning fees by 20% by July 2017.

M Gaynor said that no legislation was needed for this.

J Doe said there is no detail yet but this income will be ring fenced for planning services.

Councillor Anderson asked if a separate report could be brought to this committee on the detail of the White Paper.

M Gaynor said we will have to wait for clarification from government but a report will need to go to Housing and Community OSC anyway. Even though it is a Housing white paper, it has a huge focus on the delivery of housing which incudes the planning service.

D Austin gave an overview of his department. In December he ran through savings in his area which are all shown in the papers. One change is the termination of the Primary Authority Partnership (PAP).

Councillor Anderson asked if D Austin could explain what ‘cessation of Primary Authority function’ means.

D Austin said that members might be aware of the PAP with Tesco. Other local authorities have these types of agreements. The partnership was not covering costs and there were some legal cases across the country. In the North East, there was a legal case involving Greggs and the provision of toilets in their stores. This case meant two local authorities were facing each other in court. D Austin said he wasn’t directly involved in the negotiations to terminate the partnership but it was clear it was the right thing to do.

Councillor C Wyatt-Lowe said this partnership was formed when she was a Cabinet member and it is a shame it has ended. Does this leave a gap in the budget?

D Austin said it does not indicate the shortages. Staffing costs were £90,000 but the income was £120,000. This does not show the overheads and with a small team in Environmental Health, it was difficult to provide back up when things went wrong.

Councillor Anderson said he was fearful of the objectivity of the partnership when it was first formed and that it would put huge pressure on authority staff.

Councillor Hicks asked what the partnership focussed on.

D Austin said it focussed on food preparation areas and food hygiene. These partnerships can focus on a variety of issues -  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

The next meeting will be held on Tuesday 14^th March which will be the last meeting of the civic year. A new work programme for the 2017/18 year will be formed in May. Markyate Surgery update and a report on the Housing White Paper will be included on the new work programme.