Agenda and minutes

To receive and record apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Heard and K Smith

There were no declarations of interest.

The Board was given the opportunity to consider and comment upon the Review of Councillor Allowances Report, following the Governance and Logistics Scrutiny and Policy Development’s Panel review of the 2016-2020 Councillor Allowances Scheme.

The Scrutiny Panel Lead (Governance and Logistics) introduced the report and answered member’s questions on the recommendations detailed. The Leader of the Council, Deputy Leader of the Council and Councillor Patrick were invited to take part in the debate.

The following key points were raised during the course of the discussion:

1.    The proposed Special Responsibility Allowance for the Development Management Committee (DMC) Chairman had been calculated using the previous allowance per meeting and the predicted average number of meetings per year for the next four years.

2.    The Scrutiny Board wished to scrutinise and debate future allowance schemes prior to presentation at Full Council.

3.    The Panel had considered the proposed rotating of DMC Chairman as an opportunity to train all DMC members to chair the meeting, but felt that as the Committee in particular attracts public attention and the Chair has a high responsibility role, DMC should have a static Chairman.

4.    The Board discussed other options instead of a rotating Chairman for DMC, such as a 6-month appointment of DMC Chairman or giving other DMC members the opportunity to chair meetings with less contentious applications.

5.    The Board suggested rotating the Chairman for Scrutiny, or giving Panel members the chance to chair Scrutiny Panel meetings which would enable Councillors to develop their chairing skills.

The recommendations set out in the report equated to an £80 rise in the Basic Allowance compared to the 2012-2016 Allowances Scheme.

It was RESOLVED that;

a)     the Council be recommended to amend the Councillor Allowances Scheme as follows;

“Havant Borough Council

Councillor Allowances 2016-2020

            A Councillor may only receive 1 SRA at a time

            No more than 50% of the number of Councillors can receive an SRA

Joint HR Committee Chairman and Vice Chairman rotates annually with EHDC.

*Leaders of any political group, other than the ruling group, compromising two or more members to receive a Special Responsibility Allowance based upon the following formula:

Prior to the next programmed independent review, annual consideration of minor allowance changes will take into account any pay changes applied to staff salaries.

Additional Allowances

Mileage: To be maintained in line with the HMRC rate, currently 45p per mile. Passenger and cycle rates set at 5p per passenger and 20p per mile respectively. Claims to be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 60.

The Board was given an opportunity to consider and comment upon the Review of Close Circuit Television (CCTV) Report, following the CCTV Scrutiny Panel’s review of the Council’s current CCTV system.

The Scrutiny Panel Lead (CCTV) summarised the report and answered member’s question on the recommendations presented to the Board. The Leader of the Council, the Deputy Leader, the Neighbourhoods Development Team Leader and Councillor Pike joined the Board for the debate on this item.

The following key points were raised during the course of the discussion:

1.    Changes in regulations on surveillance meant that many of the current CCTV cameras would fail a Public Interest Assessment.

2.    The Panel’s main concern was the CCTV coverage of the Borough’s Town Centres, but the current system was not effective at covering this and there had been an increase in private surveillance since the Council’s systems were deployed.

3.    There was a dissenting view that the current system was still effective and that all alternative systems should be investigated before the current system was decommissioned.

4.    There was no provision in the 2016/17 budget for CCTV.

5.    The Council had contacted the current Police and Crime Commissioner regarding the continued provision of CCTV and no response had been received. The Council would pursue a response from the in-coming Commissioner following the election.

6.    The Council would be liable to legal action if decommissioned CCTV cameras remained in situ, as they give the public the expectation that surveillance is still being carried out.

7.    There was the potential to sell equipment to cover some of the decommissioning costs.

8.    Discussions had already started with the Meridian Centre regarding the future use of the CCTV cameras attached to the Centre.

The Board discussed both the main and dissenting recommendations given and considered the points raised in the debate.

It was RESOLVED that;

(a)  The Cabinet be advised that the Scrutiny Board reluctantly, after much consideration, accepts that the current CCTV system no longer fulfils a majority of the original objectives, that some existing CCTV cameras may not meet the Surveillance Commissioner’s 2013 code of practice and does not represent value for money for the residents of Havant Borough Council and should be discontinued.

(b)  Cabinet be recommended:

(i)            To request the officers to investigate the feasibility of the Meridian Centre taking control of the Council’s CCTV cameras currently attached to the outside of the Meridian Centre;

(ii)          To seek to ensure that the CCTV system’s cameras at the bus station be incorporated into the bus station’s CCTV system;

(iii)         To endorse a campaign to encourage business/shops to provide better coverage of their premises;

(iv)         To endorse a communication campaign to raise awareness of how safe it is to live in the Borough; and

(v)          That in case crime and anti-social behaviour in the town centres increases to an unacceptable level in the future then alternative modern digital solutions be investigated forthwith.

(c)  That the Cabinet be requested to recommend to Council to:

(i)            Agree  ...  view the full minutes text for item 61.