Meeting documents

To sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 23 January 2018.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 23 January 2018 were agreed and signed by the Chairman.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Committee were advised that the “Mill Meadow Bridge”, “Amersham Multi-Storey Car Park” and “King George V House parking” items had been removed from the Cabinet 28 Day notice and would be deferred to a future Cabinet meeting. It was noted that the “Ten year plan for King George V House” item had been considered by the Corporate Asset Management Group.

RESOLVED

That the 28 Day Notice for Cabinet be noted.

Note: Councillor M Harrold entered the meeting at 6.34pm.

The Committee received a report which provided an update on the outcomes of the Performance Indicator Review and set out the proposed changes to reporting. No major changes had been made since 2017/18 except that indicators would be reported jointly where possible to reflect joint services. Where this was not possible attempts had been made to align indicators to ensure data sets are similar across the two Councils.

In relation to the target for Council Tax collection, Members were advised that the current figure of 82.8% represented the total amount collected to Quarter 3, and that by the end of Quarter 4 it was expected that the target of 99% would be met.

The Committee felt that performance targets for customer satisfaction at leisure centres should be increased, and that any actions taken should be in response to surveys received. It was suggested that for licensing surveys it would be helpful to express the satisfaction rating as a percentage of returned surveys. An additional performance indicator could be added to target increasing the number of licensing surveys returned.

Members requested that data be made available showing the number of planning applications which are amended on a monthly basis.

RESOLVED

That the Committee was in agreement with the recommendation outlined in the report being put forward to Cabinet on 1 May 2018.

Note: Councillor V Martin entered the meeting at 6.36pm.

The Committee received a report which outlined the performance of Council services against pre-agreed performance indicators and service objectives for quarter 3 of 2017-18. The Performance and Policy Officer provided a verbal update to the Committee which included updates to targets which had now been met in Healthy Communities and Environment. Availability of ICT systems to staff was below target due primarily to problems with servers supporting the vWorkspace desktop environment which had now been resolved by Business Support.

During the discussion, key points raised included:

·       Performance figures were not benchmarked against other local authorities for comparison but it was advised that it may be possible for some key performance indicators to be compared on an annual basis against other District Councils. Concerns were raised that other authorities may measure against targets differently which could lead to unfair comparisons, so it may not be realistic to benchmark all indicators.

·       It was noted that, whilst the number of voluntary leavers was relatively high, this was decreasing and there were underlying causes which had led to a higher than expected figure, including that a number of staff had been transferred to Derwent under TUPE at the beginning of the year. Members also felt that the competitive planning market and uncertainty over Modernising Local Government in Bucks may have contributed to higher figures.

·       The Committee were advised that schemes were in development to increase the provision of affordable housing within the District, and that the Council was looking to work with external partners to maximise opportunities for affordable housing delivery where possible.

·       The Committee commented that officers should explore ways to ensure Members received Performance Reports in a more timely manner.

RESOLVed:

That the report be noted.

The Committee considered a report which provided an update to Members on the receipt and expenditure of section 106 affordable housing contributions. The report included a breakdown of funds collected, expenditure committed to existing schemes and proposed funding allocations.

During the discussion, key points raised included:

·         Members were advised that changes to the National Planning Policy Framework had reduced the amount of affordable housing contributions received by the Council. However, it was noted that the default position of the Council was to require affordable housing to be delivered on site as part of larger developments where possible.

·         A concern was raised that viability issues were frequently being used by developers as a reason not to develop affordable housing on site. The Committee were advised that the criteria for requiring affordable housing development was set by central government and reviewed on a case-by-case basis. However, it was noted that developers were increasingly being challenged by surveyors on land valuations.

·         In relation to rent levels on social housing, Members were informed that rents on newer developments were generally higher than those charged on older properties, which may make it more difficult to attract tenants. It was noted that development costs made it a challenge to set rents at reasonable levels, however the Council was committed to achieving the best outcome for affordable housing provision.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee was in agreement with the recommendation outlined in the report being put forward to Cabinet on 1 May 2018.