Meeting documents

None

To disclose any personal or disclosable pecuniary interests.

Mr Bendyshe-Brown declared an interest in the Community Transport Scheme as he is a driver for the Risborough Community Bus.

Of the meeting held on 4 February 2014 to be confirmed as a correct record

The minutes of the meeting held on the Wednesday 4 February 2014 were agreed as a correct record subsequent to the following amendment;

Page 12 – Stephen Lambert to be amended to Steven Lambert.

This is an opportunity for members of the public to put a question or raise an issue of concern, related to Environment, Transport and Locality Services. 

Where possible, the relevant organisation to which the question/issue is directed will be present to give a verbal response.  The member of public will be invited to speak for up to four minutes on their issue.  A maximum of 30 minutes is set aside for the Public Questions slot in total (including responses and any Committee discussion). This may be extended with the Chairman’s discretion. 

For full guidance on Public Questions, including how to register a request to speak during this slot, please follow this link:

http://www.buckscc.gov.uk/about-your-council/scrutiny/get-involved/

There were no public questions.

For the Chairman of the Committee to provide an update to the Committee on recent scrutiny related activity.

The Chairman gave the following update.

Key performance Indicators (KPIs)

Further work has taken place on the KPIs relating to the Transport for Bucks contract. Work is ongoing and is progressing well.  A paper recently issued from the client side of the team will be reviewed.

Strategic Board

The decision should be announced next week about the second member of the Authority on the membership of the Board.

EU funding

Mr Butcher advised that an initial meeting has taken place with Jim Sims and Stephen Walford regarding EU funding and Government grants.  There is more work to be done. A follow up meeting will take place in the next 6-8 weeks.

Members will receive an update on the Green Deal Together Community Interest Company; the company set up so that the Council can use the Government’s National Green Deal scheme to support local people to make home improvements which help save money and energy.

This follows the information paper requested by the committee and considered at their meeting on 25th September.

Alex Day, Senior Sustainability Officer

Papers:

·         Green Deal update

Alex Day, Senior Sustainability Officer was welcomed to the meeting.

Ms Day explained that the Green Deal is a Government flagship programme which aims to tackle the energy efficiency of British properties and is a key measure in the Energy Bill.

The Community Interest Company (CIC) called Green Deal Together (GDT) is now a green deal provider which means they can offer green deal services to customers. GDT are also in the process of securing the legalities needed to provide finance to those who need to borrow finance to pay for the energy efficiency measures they wish to have in their homes.  GDT is looking to soft launch at the end of April taking a few customers who have already been involved in the Green Deal assessment through the whole process with a view to launch the complete service in the summer.

All 15 shareholders are now paid up members of Green Deal Together. Buckinghamshire County Council has representation on the Executive Committee.

During the update the following questions were asked.

There is concern about the number of Board members as if there are too many people on a Board it can be harder to reach a decision.  How many people are Green Deal Together employing, what is the cost and what are they delivering? The number of people that should be on the Board was debated.  Because each shareholder is Local Authority it was felt there was the need to have representation; hence the 15 members. In practice a large amount of the executive duties are made by the Executive Committee (a group of six Directors nominated from the Board).  The Executive Committee currently meets every 3-4 weeks leading up to the launch.  As an organisation, GDT currently employs four members of staff and are looking to recruit a further two people.  There are key points of contact for customer services/relations and the supply chain, as well as a Chief Operating Director and a Partnership Manager who liaises with Local Authority members.

It is possible to have an example of how GDT works in practical terms i.e. what is the process if a business would like to go green. GDT is a Community Interest Company so although it’s Board Members are Local Authorities, it is an organisation that is in the private sector and is very much driven by that perspective.  Green Deal finance is currently not available for businesses as the finance side of the non-domestic part of GDT has not been finalised as yet. An assessment of the property can take place to understand where changes may need to be carried out. There is involvement from Buckinghamshire County Council to make sure that the economic gain stays in the county.

Achievements so far include;

·         60 companies have shown interest in the Green Deal, 20 of which are from Buckinghamshire

·         Businesses have to become Green Deal accredited before they can become involved in Green Deal Together. Workshops to help businesses gain the accreditation status and drop in sessions  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Members will examine the role and responsibilities of Local Enterprise Partnerships and the structure and boundaries in Buckinghamshire.

Martin Tett, Leader

Stephen Walford, Senior Manager PLACE     

Papers:

·         Information paper - LEP

·         LEP Options Paper

Members are asked to consider the options and agree the next steps.

Martin Tett, Leader and Stephen Walford, Senior Manager PLACE were welcomed to the meeting.

Mr Tett began by explaining that the report sets out the background of the LEPs in terms of the partnership with the County Council. Buckinghamshire County Council has been anenthusiastic member of the Thames Valley LEP since its inauguration in 2011, on an equal basis with the four colleague District Councils.

The membership of the Board is balanced with the private sector.  There is a private sector chair which concurs with the Government objective of being business led. Membership includes all five Buckinghamshire Councils and a strong business representation from the private sector. The Thames Valley LEP competes very well with the other LEPS in the country.  It is highly regarded, works well and punches above its weight in terms of the Bucks economy and by being a lead influencer.

During discussions, the following questions were asked.

The Chairman said the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government is very much of the opinion that the LEPs are advisory partnerships rather than Authorities in their own right with budgets.  How does Bucks develop its priorities which then feed in to the LEPs priorities?  Mr Walford explained that there has been a discussion at officer level with the Districts and County. The LEPS are not necessarily to replace what the Authorities are trying to do but to add value. There has been some tension in particular around land use planning where a lot of economic growth is intrinsically linked to land use planning and development.  LEPs have been created to try to accelerate economic growth.  A lot of funding that is being channelled through LEPs has been taken from monies that Local Authorities would have received. There is not much in terms of new monies.

In terms of priorities, from a County Council perspective transport priorities will be determined by Cabinet Member decision.  There was the requirement last year to set up a Local Transport Body to look at transport priorities. The County Council, LEP and District Councils have produced a list of priorities for the Strategic Economic Plan based on deliverability.  One key items of feedback from Government was how the Strategic Economic Plan is being brought forward in terms of delivery.  This is intended to be a six year delivery programme from 2015/2016 to 2020/21.

The diagram of the LEP structure, roles and responsibilities does not include the Local Transport Body (LTB).  It would be useful to know how the LTB relates to the Thames Valley LEP and South East Midlands LEP (SEMLEP). Mr Walford explained that the LTB isn’t included in the diagram as there are continuing discussions about the use and validity of the piece of governance going forward.  There was a requirement to set up the LTB which was based in the geography of Buckinghamshire. The Government wanted to funnel the part of the Transport Major Scheme money that wasn’t competitive i.e. that part that was going to be allocated  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Members will discuss the work that Community Impact Bucks have carried out on behalf of the Council in relation to community transport. They will consider the role that community transport plays, key challenges, examples of where schemes have been successful and further development opportunities.

Paul O’Hare, Community Impact Bucks

Angie Sarchet, Community and Cohesion Manager

Papers:

Community Transport Hub summary

Links:

·         Community Car Scheme Toolkit:http://tinyurl.com/qgutsjo

·         Community Bus Toolkit:http://tinyurl.com/pu2gzxh

Paul O’Hare, Community Impact Bucks and Angie Sarchet, Community and Cohesion Manager were welcomed to the meeting.

Mr O’Hare explained that the Committee received an update about public transport in July 2013 during which Community Transport was identified as an element of public transport within the county. This includes an element of work in the community by Buckinghamshire County Council over the last few years.  The report gives details of the current schemes and where they are taking place in the county.

Community Impact Bucks has supported community transport for a number of years. Funding has also come from a number of sources over the years.  This includes Buckinghamshire County Council, the National Countryside Agency and District Councils.

Community Impact Bucks currently manages and run the Community Transport Hub which works closely with all the community car schemes across the county.  There are approximately 46 schemes that serve Bucks although the scheme may not be based in Bucks i.e. a scheme in Leighton Buzzard goes to Edlesborough.  Taxi token scheme one operated at Parish Council level in Gerrards Cross.

The Community Transport Hub is currently jointly funded by Buckinghamshire County Council and Buckinghamshire NHS Trust.  The contact for funding expires in May 2014.

[Subsequent to the meeting Mr O’Hare advised that the contract for funding expires at the end of June 2014)

The Hub operates and runs a free phone number for members of the public to call between 9am-4.pm Monday to Friday to help them with their transport needs.  Once a call is taken help can be given to signpost the individual to the most relevant service to suit their needs i.e. community transport providers such as Dial-A-Ride and local voluntary car scheme.  The vast majority of the calls are from elderly and vulnerable people who need to get to a GP or hospital appointment. 

The Community Impact Bucks Team arranged a week of publicity around Buckinghamshire to promote the ‘Give a Lift Week’ and encourage communities to look at setting up a scheme in their area.

A promotional video on community transport was produced in partnership with Bucks County Council.  The video highlights the benefits of running a community transport scheme and the difference it make to those people who use the services and those who volunteer their time.

There were 21 attendees at a recent Community Transport Scheme training day.  This included training on manual handling, first aid and doorstop crime. The awareness raising session was built on a training needs analysis carried out by Community Impact Bucks. 

Work has taken place with several communities i.e. Downley, Iver and Stoke Hammond to look at setting up a community car scheme and to look at specific needs and identify if the Community Car scheme is right for them.

Work is taken place in partnership with Buckinghamshire Community Foundation to provide information and advice about the Community Transport Challenge Fund i.e. how to apply for funding and what the funding covers.

During the update the following questions  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The following paper is for information;

·         Letter to the Cabinet Member for Environment – Committee recommendations regarding ‘Fracking’

Members of the Committee noted the letter of recommendation to the Cabinet Members for Environment and Planning.

For Members to discuss the Committee’s work programme and proposals for future items.

Members were referred to the work programme and asked to note the following items.

April meeting

·         An information paper has been requested on the Localities aspect of the Committee work.  The Cabinet Member for Community Engagement and Service Delivery Manager will be attending the meeting to give an update on key changes to library services, possible implications and ideas for the future.

·         The Carbon Strategy has been included in the work programme as the Committee requested information on the LED street lighting programme.

·         An information paper is being produced on the role and remit of the Crime and Disorder Committee and the Police and Crime Panel

The next meeting is due to take place on Tuesday 8 April 2014 in Mezzanine 2, County Offices, Aylesbury at 10.00am.  There will be a pre-meeting for Committee Members at 9.30am.

Future meeting dates for 2014

Tuesday 13 May

Tuesday 17 June

Tuesday 2 September

Tuesday 14 October

Tuesday 18 November

The next meeting is due to take place on Tuesday 8 April 2014 in Mezzanine 2, County Offices, Aylesbury.  There will be a pre-meeting for Committee Members are 9.30am.

Proposed dates for 2014

Tuesday 13 May

Tuesday 17 June

Tuesday 2 September

Tuesday 14 October

Tuesday 18 November