Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Andrea Baughan, Qaser Chaudhry, Carl Etholen and Neil Marshall.

Councillor Robin Stuchbury was present as a substitute for Councillor Andrea Baughan.

There were no declarations of interest.

That the minutes of the meeting held on 30 January 2025 be confirmed as a correct record.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 30 January 2025 were confirmed as a correct record.

Public Questions is an opportunity for people who live, work or study in Buckinghamshire to put a question to a Select Committee. The Committee will hear from members of the public who have submitted questions in advance relating to items on the agenda. The Cabinet Member, relevant key partners and responsible officers will be invited to respond.

Further information on how to register can be found here: https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/your-council/get-involved-with-council-decisions/select-committees/

There were no public questions.

Reference was made to Members receiving an email asking a question from the Chairman of North Buckinghamshire Parish Councils Association which did not meet the public question deadline. It was asked that the Association receives a written response.  

Progress made on recommendations of the review into Everyone In & Homelessness in Buckinghamshire

Contributors:

Cllr Mark Winn, Cabinet Member, Homelessness & Regulatory Services

Steve Bambrick, Corporate Director, Planning, Growth and Sustainability

Lisa Michelson, Service Director Housing & Strategy

Thomas Chettle, Head of Housing

The Chairman welcomed the following to the meeting:

Cllr Mark Winn, Cabinet Member, Homelessness & Regulatory Services

Lisa Michelson, Service Director Housing & Strategy

Thomas Chettle, Head of Housing

The Committee received an update on the implementation of the recommendations of this Select Committee’s review of The Legacy of Everyone in and Homelessness in Buckinghamshire. The following points were made:

·       Recommendation1 – The Cabinet Member should ensure that a thorough review of data in the homelessness service is undertaken. The quality and consistency of data within housing and homelessness needs to be improved in order to support further meaningful initiatives in his area. Without robust data it’s impossible to assess impact and effectiveness of the service.

The Cabinet Member reported that a thorough review of data in the homelessness service took place. Improving the quality and consistency of this data is crucial for supporting meaningful initiatives. Without robust data, it's impossible to assess the impact and effectiveness of the service. A series of KPIs and service management dashboards have been developed and are fully integrated and utilised as part of business operations.

·       Recommendation 2 - The Council should use a CRM as the central record of those at risk of homelessness. This would enable different teams and organisations to work together and share up-to-date information on the people they all support. It would lead to a levelling up of the support vulnerable people receive in a cost-efficient way.

The Select Committee was informed that Cabinet agreed this recommendation and the Housing department is updating their software, Locata. After the update, they will collaborate with the Customer Improvement Team to develop a new front-end form in Abavus, enhancing the homeless application process. This project is ongoing and expected to be completed by Summer 2025.

·       Recommendation 3 – A business case should be submitted to Cabinet demonstrating the savings to the Council from investing in preventative homelessness work.

This was agreed in part by Cabinet. Investment in prevention has been included in the FY25/26 budget proposal for the Housing Service. The Cabinet agreed to increase the staffing budget by £800k, which is linked to prevention initiatives and key projects from the Housing Improvement Board. This investment aims to deliver budget savings of £1.5m for FY25/26.

·       Recommendation 4 - The Council should co-ordinate with partners to ensure access to mental health services for those who are at risk of homelessness, or rough sleeping. This should include access to counselling services, substance abuse treatment, and other mental health resources that are available from the NHS and partners.

The Cabinet Member reported this recommendation was agreed by Cabinet. The Council remains committed to addressing homelessness and rough sleeping. A multi-partner complex cases group coordinates mental health and specialist needs for at-risk individuals. The MEAM initiative, following the 'Everybody In' campaign, supports cross-coordination in challenging cases. The Council will continue collaborating with partners to enhance service integration for at-risk households and individuals.

·       Recommendation 5 – Cabinet should maintain funding for the Make Every Adult Matter team  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

To review the number of planning appeals and costs associated with this.

Contributors

Cllr Peter Strachan, Cabinet Member for Planning and Regeneration

Steve Bambrick, Corporate Director, Planning, Growth and Sustainability

Eric Owens, Service Director, Planning and Environment

The Chairman welcomed the following to the meeting:

·       Cllr Peter Strachan, Cabinet Member for Planning and Regeneration

·       Eric Owens, Service Director, Planning and Environment

The Committee was informed that Buckinghamshire Council is one of the largest and busiest Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) in the country, with the biggest (in terms of application workload) councils went to appeal in the year ending March 2024.

Performance in terms of planning appeals was very good but there was a critical point to note, that there was financial pressure on the Council in defending planning appeals.

Reference was made to the robust approach to planning enforcement and seeking to deal with breaches of planning control quickly. This has resulted in a significant rise in the number of planning enforcement notices issued across the Buckinghamshire Council area. A consequence of issuing more Enforcement Notices is more Enforcement Notice Appeals being lodged, which again results in financial pressure on the Council.

The new National Planning Policy Framework has resulted in an increase in speculative planning applications, which will result in an increase in appeals.

Matters raised and Questions

·       A Member raised an issue around possible Government Compulsory Purchase Orders, but it was agreed that this was not relevant to the report before Members.

·       Reference was made for the need to see a break down of delegated decisions by Officers and Planning Committee decisions in terms of performance in relation to those decisions which went to appeal which was previously shared with Planning Committee Members. The Cabinet Member said he would check with this and would share this information with the Select Committee.

·       Reference was made to paragraph 5.1 of the report on costs and the omission of costs of enforcement appeals. In addition, there were costs included in a recent Cabinet report which was not included in the Select Committee report. The Service Director, Planning and Environment replied that the report provided a reflection in terms of costs and a further review could take place into the costings of various appeal costs which could be provided.

·       There needed to be a breakdown of both external and internal appeal costs which should be provided to Members. The NPPF could have a financial impact on the costs of appeals.  The Service Director, Planning and Environment referred to paragraph 5.9 of the report which provided detail of the most expensive appeal inn 2024 (Development at Gomm Valley) but agreed to come back with more refined costings for smaller applications.

·       Clarification was requested of paragraph 2.4 of the report which provided details of the national top ten of planning appeals decided in 2023/24, with Buckinghamshire at the top. The Service Director, Planning and Environment replied that the information highlighted where Buckinghamshire ranked in terms of appeals, of Council areas of varied population sizes and was interesting to see the volume of appeals dealt with.  

·       A Member referred to Enforcement Notices and whether there was data where action took place. The Cabinet Member commented that the item under discussion was about  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To note, a work programming meeting will be held in due course with Select Committee Members to explore topics for the Select Committee to discuss for 2025-26.

The Committee noted that a work programming meeting will be held in due course with Select Committee Members to explore topics for the Select Committee to discuss for 2025-26.

To be confirmed.

The date of the next meeting of the Committee would be agreed at the Annual Council meeting.