Agenda and draft minutes

To receive and record apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Patrick, D Smith and Shimbart.

To confirm the minutes of the Scrutiny Board held on 30 January 2018.

The minutes of the meeting of the Scrutiny Board held on 30 January 2018 were agreed as a correct record.

The information requested at Item 69 (5) and Item 69 (6) would be circulated to all members.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Chairman to report the outcome of meetings attended or  other information arising since the last meeting.

The Chairman reported that he had attended the Cabinet meeting on 7 February 2018 to present the recommendations of the Scrutiny Board relating to the Budget 2018/2019.

The Board considered the report from the Operations, Environmental Services and Norse Scrutiny and Policy Development Panel, setting out its findings and recommendations following a scrutiny review of grass cutting and weed clearance in the Borough.

The Scrutiny Lead for the Operations, Environmental Services and Norse Scrutiny and Policy Development Panel introduced the report and answered members questions. The Operations Director for Norse South East and the Strategic Procurement Project Manager were also invited to join the meeting for the debate on this item.

During the discussion, officers informed the Board that they were confident that the proposed measures would mitigate the risk of past issues reoccurring in relation to the grass cutting and weed clearance programme.

Officers also confirmed they would consider publishing a schedule of works completed online, to enable the public to view the progress of the programme.

RESOLVED that Cabinet be recommended:

a)    To endorse the new monitoring arrangements, as set out on Page 34 of the Review of Grass Cutting and Weed Clearance in the Borough Findings Pack, to improve monitoring of the grass cutting and weed clearance programme;

b)    To request officers to provide regular reports to Councillors on the progress of the grass cutting and weed clearance programme;

c)    To request officers to investigate ways of encouraging Councillors to report any instances of poor or lack of grass cutting / weed clearance to Customer Services, and in turn encourage residents to do the same; and

d)    To request officers to publish an article in Serving You advising residents to contact Customer Services in any instances of poor or lack of grass cutting or weed clearance.

RESOLVED that the Scrutiny Board include a review of the performance of this service in its 2017/18 and 2018/19 work programmes. This review will include a meeting at the commencement of the 2018 programme to discuss the proposed schedule of works and a meeting at the end of the 2018 programme to review how the service has performed during the season.

The Board considered the report from the Communities and Housing Scrutiny and Policy Development Panel, setting out its findings and recommendations following a scrutiny review of the Havant Locality Board and its effectiveness in relation to the Community Trigger.

The representative of the Communities and Housing Scrutiny and Policy Development Panel introduced the report and answered members questions. The Neighbourhoods Development Team Leader and the Cabinet Lead for Environment and Neighbourhood Services were also invited to join the meeting for the debate on this item.

During the course of the discussion, the Cabinet Lead for Environment and Neighbourhood Services advised that clarification on the Cabinet Lead responsibilities in relation to the Community Trigger had been sought.

RESOLVED that Cabinet be recommended:

a)    To request the officers to maximise publicity for the Community Trigger on the Council’s website and the website for the Safer Havant Partnership;

b)    To request the officers to provide a training course on the Community Trigger to all existing Councillors and to include this course as part of the Councillor’s induction programme; and

c)    To request the Leader of the Council to clarify the roles and responsibilities of the Cabinet Leads in relation to Community Safety and in particular anti-social behaviour. Such clarification should include a clearer explanation of the term ‘Community Safety’.

The Board was given an opportunity to consider and comment upon the review of the implementation of recommendations of the scrutiny review on CCTV.

The Neighbourhoods Development Team Leader was invited to join the meeting for the discussion on this item.

RESOLVED that the achievements made in implementing the recommendations of the Board relating to the scrutiny review on CCTV be noted.