Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence received.

To be apprised of any changes to the membership of the Committee in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 4.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 4, the Committee noted the termination of Councillor D Whittington and the appointment of Councillor Mrs M Westley for this meeting only, thereby giving effect to the wishes of the Political Groups.

The Chairman welcomed new Members to the first meeting of the Municipal Year.

Note:  No other business is permitted unless, by reason of special circumstances, which shall be specified at the meeting, the Chairman is of the opinion that the item(s) should be considered as a matter of urgency.

There were no urgent items of business.

If a member requires advice on Declarations of Interest, he/she is advised to contact the Legal and Democratic Services Manager in advance of the meeting.  (For the assistance of members a checklist for use in considering their position on any particular item is included at the end of this agenda sheet.)

There were no declarations of interest.

In accordance with Overview and Scrutiny Committee Procedure Rule 16, Members must declare the existence of any Party Whip, and the nature of it, when considering any matter in the following categories:

-       The review of any decision of the Cabinet or

-       The performance of any Member of the Cabinet

N.B. The Secretary of State believes whipping is incompatible with Overview and Scrutiny.

There were no declarations of Party Whip.

To receive as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 24 February 2022.

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meeting held on 24 February 2022 be received as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Residents of West Lancashire on giving notice, may address the meeting to make representations on any item on the agenda except where the public and press are to be excluded during consideration of the item.  The deadline for submissions is 10.00am on Friday 20 May 2022.  A copy of the public speaking protocol and form to be completed is attached.

There were no items under this heading.

To scrutinise the following Minutes of Cabinet:

8 March 2022

6 April 2022 (Extraordinary)

Consideration was given to the Minutes of Cabinet held on 8 March 2022 and Extraordinary Cabinet on 6 April 2022 as contained on pages 17 to 28 of the Book of Reports.

A question was raised in respect of Minute 82(B) – Corporate Performance Reporting 2022/23 in respect of when the report will be presented to Cabinet, regarding the proposed PI WL 108 'Average waiting time for callers to the Contact Centre' (seconds), to change the proposed target for 2022/23 from 145 to 60 seconds.

The Head of Corporate and Customer Services informed that this will be presented to Cabinet in September 2022.

A question was raised in respect of Minute 82(D) – Corporate Performance Reporting 2022/23 in respect of a proposed new PI to be formulated to reflect staff turnover/vacancy levels, regarding when this would be presented to Cabinet.

The Head of Corporate and Customer Services informed that this will also be presented to Cabinet in September 2022.

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of Cabinet held on 8 March 2022 be noted.

RESOLVED:             That the Minutes of Extraordinary Cabinet held 6 April 2022 be noted.

To consider the report of the Corporate Director of Transformation Housing and Resources.

Consideration was given to the report of the Corporate Director of Transformation Housing and Resources as contained on pages 29 to 60 and 133 to 136 of the Book of Reports.

The Income and Financial Inclusion Manager outlined the report detailing the following:

·         Broad principles for Service Delivery

·         Support good practice and compliance with legislation

·         Support a robust approach to maximise income recovery

·         Key Policy Themes

·         Service Charges

·         Service Charge Recovery

·         Performance and Review

Questions and comments were raised in respect of the following:

·         A desk top pilot carried out on 10% of properties linked to service charge actuals and estimates – would 20-25% be better?  (10% was found to be an appropriate sample as a quick snapshot to monitor the workload)

·         Reserve fund to be 'ring-fenced'

·         Leaseholders to be consulted and encourage responses

·         Issues of subletting – emergency contact information

·         Support of the Policy and is welcomed

RESOLVED: That the Committee considered and approved the Leasehold Housing Management Policy 2022, and that the report be passed to Cabinet for their consideration.

To consider the report of the Corporate Director of Transformation, Housing and Resources.

Consideration was given to the report of the Corporate Director of Transformation, Housing and Resources as contained on pages 61 to 104 of the Book of Reports, which was to provide an update following the agreement as part of the 2022/23 Budget Setting process to fund £260K to support the most vulnerable affected by rising energy costs, to approve the Borough Council's proposed Local Council Tax Discretionary Energy Support Scheme Policy.

The Head of Corporate and Customer Services outlined the report and responded to questions raised by Members in respect of the following:

·         Section 4.5(g)(i) No mention of Pension Credit on list of means tested benefits – This is covered in the existing wording of the Policy Document.  Residents on a low income will be encouraged to apply, and the Pension Credit along with other benefits will specifically be mentioned

·         Section 4.11 – how a credit of £150 to residents Council Tax will affect their future payments? – The amount will reduce off the outstanding account balance and instalments for the rest of the financial year will be recalculated and reduced accordingly

·         Section 9.3 Clarity in Independent Valuation Service – Regulations 13a policy re flooding – The Valuation Tribunal is an appropriate independent route for this under Section 13a Regulations

·         Will Residents in receipt of Single Occupancy also receive £150 - Single Occupancy will receive discount, regardless of whether they are already in receipt of a discount

·         The Discretionary Council Tax Rebate Scheme Policy document S10.1 – anti fraud provision exists – s11.2 – prosecution for false/withheld information will be considered - Proposed amendments to deal with this inconsistency

·          CARF Scheme criteria set by Government make this a difficult relief to apply for – The Team will identify Businesses and support them with their application

·         Implications re means tested assessments on benefits / some benefits fall within income and contribution - Under s13 it is in WLBC discretion to signpost those Applicants.  WLBC will mention ESA contribution in literature sent out so this will be made clear

·         CARF Scheme – How do Businesses prove adversely affected by Covid - Ensuring Government criteria are met, and we include set criteria in the application process

RESOLVED:            

A.        That the Committee considered and noted the content of the Policy to underpinimplementation of the Borough Council's proposed Local Council TaxDiscretionary Energy Support Scheme as appended to the report.

B.        That the Committee note the Policy coverage to underpin the recently

announced Government funded Schemes to support local Council Tax and Business Rate payers in meeting increased energy bills and the financial impact of Covid 19, as appended to the report, and that the following agreed comments of Executive Overview and Scrutiny Committee be passed to Cabinet for their consideration:

1.    That Paragraph 10.1 of the Discretionary Council Tax Rebate Scheme Policy Document to read as follows:

"The Council will not accept deliberate manipulation of this policy or fraud. Any person caught falsifying information to gain a discretion payment, the Council will look  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

It is recommended that members of the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items of business in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 (Financial/Business affairs) of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act and as, in all the circumstances of the case the public interest in maintaining the exemption under Schedule 12A outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

RESOLVED  That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 part 1 of Schedule 12A outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

To consider the report of the Corporate Director of Place and Community.

Consideration was given to the report of the Corporate Director of Place and Community as contained on pages 105 to 118 of the Book of Reports, which was to consider the implementation of a one-year trial for free parking in Ormskirk after 1pm on Mondays and Tuesdays as proposed at budget setting on 23 February 2022.

The Parking and Markets Officer outlined the report and responded to questions raised by Members of the Committee.

RESOLVED: That the Committee considered and noted the report and support the revised recommendations to Cabinet and the revised proposal at section 12 of the report, to be implemented once the Bus Station reopens and close monitoring of the proposal.

To consider the report of the Corporate Director of Place and Community.

Consideration was given to the report of the Corporate Director of Place and Community as contained on pages 119 to 131 and 137 to 141.

The Senior Engineering Officer outlined the report and responded to comments and questions raised by Members.

RESOLVED: That the Committee considered and noted the Motorfest report and that the following agreed comment be forwarded to Cabinet for their consideration:

                        That recommendation 3.3 of the report, as contained on page 137 of the Book of Reports be amended, to remove the word 'nil' and to replace with the word 'reducing'.