Meeting documents

To approve the minutes of the Healthy Communities PAG held on 12 June 2018.

The minutes of the Healthy Communities PAG held on 12 June 2018 were approved.

There were no declarations of interest.

No written updates received.

No written reports received. Councillor Pepler advised that he hoped to bring a report on the recent meeting of the Buckinghamshire Healthcare Trust to the next Full Council meeting.

The PAG received an update report from the Head of Healthy Communities. Further updates to the report were given as below:

·        The number of properties provided through the Private Sector Leasing Scheme had increased from 8 at the time of writing the report to 13.

·        Debt recovery for nightly booked accommodation costs had risen from 75% to 83%.

·        99% of taxi drivers had now attended mandatory safeguarding training.

An update was requested on noise issues from Heathrow.

It was RESOLVED that the report be noted.

Members received an update report on the Chiltern & South Bucks Community Lottery. It was advised that the Lottery had now been serving as a valuable resource for local voluntary and community groups for 10 months. Pages 24-26 of the agenda pack showed a table of the causes currently involved in the scheme together with the number of tickets sold and annual funds raised. Officers felt that, although the Lottery had benefitted a number of good causes already, there was still work to be done to attract new groups and also increase the engagement with existing causes to help them increase ticket sales.

Councillor Pepler declared an interest due to his involvement in Burnham Youth Club.

An update was requested on the Heart of Bucks and SBDC grant funding allocations further to the report presented to the PAG on 12 June 2018.

It was RESOLVED that the report be noted.

The PAG received a report which set out the draft revised Bucks Home Choice Allocations Policy for consultation. Members’ views were sought on the revised Policy.

RESOLVED:

That following comments from Members the final version of the draft revised Bucks Home Choice Allocations Policy be agreed for consultation by the Head of Healthy Communities in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Healthy Communities and subject to the agreement of Aylesbury Vale District Council, Chiltern District Council and Wycombe District Council.

A report was presented which set out the draft revised Bucks Home Choice Allocations Policy for allocating social housing tenancies. The report sought comments from Members on the Policy and approval for the Head of Healthy Communities to agree the final version of the Policy for consultation.

Members were informed that the Policy had last been reviewed in 2014. It was therefore recommended that the Policy be revised and updated to ensure that it complied with changes in legislation and guidance, including the Homelessness Reduction Act.

Having considered the advice of the PAG, the Portfolio Holder RESOLVED that following comments from Members the final draft Bucks Home Choice Allocations Policy be agreed for consultation by the Head of Healthy Communities in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Healthy Communities and subject to the agreement of Aylesbury Vale District Council, Chiltern District Council and Wycombe District Council.

The PAG received a report which updated Members on the progress of the scheme to provide emergency housing units for temporary accommodation at the Bath Road Depot site. Members were informed that the off-site construction of the units was nearing completion and that the units would be delivered to site shortly. Photographs of the completed units were circulated to Members prior to the meeting.

It was advised that the ground floor units would include wet-rooms for disabled use, and that the units had been designed to be inexpensive to maintain. The accommodation would be managed by Bucks Housing Association following the handover in December 2018. It was noted that the cost of the scheme would be paid back within 13 years due to a reduction in Emergency Housing costs and a lease income from the units.

Members requested an update on repairs to 801 Bath Road following the recent flood.

It was RESOLVED that the report be noted.

Members considered a report to Cabinet which set out the finalised version of the Joint Housing Strategy for Chiltern and South Bucks District Councils. It was noted that comments made by Members as part of the consultation stage had been taken into account when producing the finalised strategy.

It was RESOLVED that the report be noted.

The PAG received a report which presented the updated Chiltern and South Bucks Playing Pitch Strategy following the request from Members for an additional round of public consultation to verify the Strategy’s accuracy. Members were advised that, once agreed, the Strategy would provide a valuable resource to sports clubs, schools and Town & Parish Councils that will support them in securing external funding by demonstrating clear evidence of additional need. It was noted that the Strategy would also inform the emerging Local Plan and would be regularly reviewed once adopted.

Members were advised that, once the Strategy had been approved, it would be promoted within the local community to encourage external grant applications. Groups would also be signposted to relevant funding sources.

It was RESOLVED that the report be noted.

A report was presented which set out the revised Chiltern and South Bucks Open Spaces Strategy following an additional round of consultation with Town & Parish Councils and other key stakeholders to verify the Strategy’s accuracy. Members were advised that the Strategy had previously been presented to the PAG on 22 February 2018 not 12 June 2018 as mentioned in the report.

The PAG were informed that feedback from Town & Parish Councils and other stakeholders had been very useful in informing the Strategy which had been largely positive regarding local space provision. Some issues had been identified around a lack of play provision and signage and promotion of public spaces. Once approved, the Strategy would be distributed to Town & Parish Councils and community groups and would play a key role in informing both the Joint Local Plan and Neighbourhood Plans. Information events would be held before the end of 2018 to promote the Strategy amongst key stakeholders.

Members stressed the importance of promoting public open spaces on a District-wide basis, and it was noted that this would link in with economic development aims. Promoting open spaces would also tie in with the need to promote activities such as walking which play an integral part in supporting The Buckinghamshire Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

It was RESOLVED that the report be noted.

The PAG received a report on the performance of the Leisure Contract with GLL for 2017. Members were informed that the Beacon Centre and the Evreham Sports Centre had generated a turnover in excess of £500,000 with over 170,000 annual visits and had provided the Council with a net income of around £34,000. A successful outreach programme had also been delivered which had targeted hard to reach communities.

It was advised that reductions in staffing costs had not resulted in a reduction in the quality of the service provided and had allowed staff to acquire additional qualifications and skills.

It was RESOLVED that the report be noted.