Meeting documents

To sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 16 June 2015.

The Minutes of the Services Overview Committee meeting held on 16 June 2015 copies of which had been previously circulated, were approved and signed by the Chairman of the Committee, as a correct record.

Councillor E Culverhouse declared a personal interest in Item 8 - Service Level Agreement grant to Citizen’s Advice Bureau. Nature of interest - Councillor Culverhouse was the Council’s representative on the Chiltern Citizen’s Advice Bureau.

The Head of Healthy Communities advised the Committee that Public Health England published updated health profiles for all district councils on 2 June 2015; and the report provided the profile for Chiltern and drew the Committee’s attention and highlighted areas of concern.

The Health Profiles were produced annually, and the age of the data reported within the reports varied according to availability of information.  The report detailed the highlights of the Health Profiles and members attention was drawn to the areas of concern for the Chiltern District which were:-

·         Obesity and excess weight in adults was only just below national and regional averages; as was sexually transmitted diseases and infant mortality

·         Hip fractures in people aged 65 and over and excess winter deaths was close to the national averages

·         Incidences of melanoma were higher than both the regional and national averages

·         The number of new cases of tuberculosis per 100,000 population of 5.7 (previously 5.4) continued to be lower than the England average and about the same as the regional average; which needed to be reviewed over a longer period of time to monitor trends.

Members were advised that the heath profile information would help to inform service planning, where applicable.  It was noted that the overall profile for Chiltern did not always represent issues within specific wards and this involved more targeted work by officers.

The Committee considered the results of the health profile and the actions of the relevant Council departments to respond to areas of concern which included targeted activities and well as general promotion of activities together with the opportunities to work with other organisations to develop solutions.  This also involved funding options for community groups and Parish Councils to develop activities within a specific locality.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

The Acting Chief Executive presented the report which outlined the performance of Council services against performance indicators and service objectives during April to June 2015.

Members were advised of key pressure areas highlighted in the report which related to homelessness, affordable housing and impact of changes to the benefit scheme.  It was also noted that recycling figures were below target and further improvement was being sought including a programme of work to analyse recycling figures on a round to round basis. 

The Acting Chief Executive pointed out that the leavers figure was up to 21.3% and this was higher than expected and this was being monitored through exit interviews.

RECOMMENDED:

That Cabinet note the content of the report.

The Principal Strategic Environment Officer presented the report which provided an overview and summary of the Chiltern District Council Green House Gas (GHG) Reprot for 2014/15.

RECOMMENDED:

i)             That Cabinet note the ongoing reduction in carbon emissions had been maintained for the year 2014/15, and in doing so, continue to meet the Council’s reduction target;

ii)            That Cabinet note the risks and opportunities for GHG emissions in relation to the shared service agenda moving forward; and

iii)           That Cabinet note the Chiltern GHG Report detailed in Appendix 1 as submitted to the Department of Energy & Climate Change by the deadline of 31 July 2015.

The Head of Healthy Communities presented the report which outlined the work of the Chiltern Citizens Advice Bureau and sought the Committee’s views on the request to Cabinet to agree the award of funding to the CAB for the period 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2019.

The Committee was advised that the work of the CAB contributed directly to the Housing and Homelessness prevention strategies and was a key partner in reducing the risk of homelessness.  In 2014/15 the CAB prevented 39 cases of homelessness where clients were facing an imminent prospect of repossession due to rent and mortgage arrears.  Due to the intervention of the CAB there is a beneficial impact for the residents of Chiltern and also reduced the impact and cost incurred by Council services.

RECOMMENDED:

i)     That Cabinet agrees to support the Chiltern Citizens Advice Service draft business plan with funding of £122,900 for the period 1 April 2016 - 31 March 2019;

ii)    That a further £12,500 be earmarked for specific projects subject to submission and approval of a detailed business plan from Chiltern Citizens Advice Bureau; and

iii)   That delegated authority be granted to the Head of Healthy Communities to agree the Service Level Agreement in consultation with the relevant Portfolio Holder.

The Head of Healthy Communities presented the report which updated members on the implications of the draft Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015; to seek approval to amend the Scheme of Delegation and prepare a Statement of Principles in respect of the power to impose a Penalty Charge for failure to comply with a remedial notice.

RECOMMENDED:-

i)             That the requirement, subject to parliamentary approval, for residential landlords to install smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in their rented properties be noted;

ii)            That Cabinet agree to give delegated authority to the Head of Healthy Communities to enforce the Regulations and the Scheme of Delegations be amended accordingly;

iii)           That Cabinet authorise the Head of Healthy Communities to prepare and agree a Statement of Principles in respect of the fixed penalty charge for failure to comply with a remedial notice in consultation with the Portfolio Holder; and

iv)          That Cabinet agree to setting the fixed penalty charge at the maximum amount of £5000 where a landlord had failed to comply with a remedial notice.

Paragraph 3 - Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular  person (including the authority holding that information)

The Head of Healthy Communities presented a report which updated the Committee on the procurement of software to secure the continuation of the Bucks Home Choice system beyond the end of the current agreement with Locata in January 2016.  Members were advised that the implementation of the Locata system was a significant project with a significant funding contribution but the system remains fit for purpose and had been part of the Service Review Business Case to continue for a period of 18 months and then review.  Due to the continued success of the system it was considered that the Locata system be retained and a further review undertaken in 2 years.

RECOMMENDATIONS

i)             That the position regarding the procurement of software to secure the contribution of the Bucks Home Choice system be noted; and

ii)            That Management Team had agreed an exemption to the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules.