Agenda and minutes

To receive comments or views from members of the public at the Committee’s discretion.

Mr Worth, who had previously made statements about fixed penalty notices being given in Market Place, Grantham informed members that he had spoken to the Chief Executive who had passed the information to the Chief Executive of Lincolnshire County Council. He added that details of the issue had been passed onto the head of the relevant highways team, who had already responded.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Cosham and Turner.

Members are asked to disclose any interests in matters for consideration at the meeting.

No interests were disclosed.

                                                                                                            (Enclosure)

The action notes of the meeting held on 15 October 2013 were noted with the following amendments:

·         Action note (AN) 30, pg 4, para 1: “Procurement Advisory Board” should be replaced with “Strategic Procurement Board”

·         AN30, pg 4, para 2: Following the definitions of the different savings about which the committee was verbally informed, the following sentence should be added: “Members said that they could not comment on this oral contribution before seeing the whole response of Procurement Lincolnshire to its recommendation.”

·         AN30, pg 5, para 1: “Procurement Advisory Board” should be replaced with “Strategic Procurement Board”

·         AN30, pg 5, para 2: To amend the first sentence to read: “Members recognised that Procurement Lincolnshire had accepted its recommendation in relation to target-setting but referred to the amount of time the Committee had to wait.”

·         AN30, pg 5, para 3: Amend the second sentence to read: “Altering the savings methodology would help Procurement Lincolnshire accurately demonstrate its success/worth.”

·         AN30, pg 5, para 5: references to the “Strategic Procurement Board” should be replaced with “Procurement Advisory Board” and existing references to the “Procurement Advisory Board” should be replaced with “Strategic Procurement Board”

·         AN30, pg 5, para 6: “Strategic Procurement Board” should be replaced with “Procurement Advisory Board”

Members agreed to the proposed changes at bullet points 2, 4 and 5 because they did not feel the original action notes sufficiently reflected the anger felt by the Committee.

Councillors made comments around a number of topics in the action notes.

One member expressed concern regarding the process suggested for raising issues with Procurement Lincolnshire. The Committee was reminded that at its last meeting most members agreed that the most appropriate way to raise a concern was through a single point. The Committee’s knowledge meant it was ideally placed to channel concerns and prevented the potential for the district council representative being overwhelmed. Members requested that the route for feeding into Procurement Lincolnshire be publicised to all Councillors.

Several Councillors referred to the introduction of defibrillators in Council buildings. One member suggested that the best use of public money was to make defibrillators permanently accessible to the public. Officers informed the Committee that the defibrillators would be available in the buildings to which the public most frequently had access, including the arts centres and the Bourne Community Access Point. The Committee was reminded that the remit of the working group was to look at options for Council buildings, not the broader public realm. Reference was made to community schemes which were available in towns and parishes but the distinction was made between the responsibilities and liabilities of the different types of council. It was also suggested that when the defibrillators were in place, the Council should advertise their presence through the local media and SK Today magazine.

The Operations Director informed members that he had set a deadline for the introduction of defibrillators of Christmas 2013. He added that defibrillators would be sited in the selected locations in publicly accessible spaces. He added that he would bring a report back to the Committee on the location of defibrillators and take advice with regard to insurance and liability to develop ways in which the equipment could be made more accessible. He further stated that consideration would be given to ways of informing people defibrillators were available in those centres.

One member asked for an update on the use of revenue raised through the green waste scheme. The Operations Director said he would share details of additional services and hours funded by income from the scheme with the Committee.

Report number PPMO06 by the Head of People, Projects and Performance.         (Enclosure)

The Performance Management Officer introduced report number PPMO06 by the Head of People, Projects and Performance. The report covered the authority’s progress against projects and performance indicators during quarters 1 and 2 (April to September) of 2013/14. Relevant officers were then invited to summarise key priority projects and answer questions.

There were three key projects that fell within the Grow the Economy priority: the Stamford Georgian Festival, Mallard Festival and shop front scheme. While the report highlighted the success of the festivals, officers were asked what lessons had been learned. The Economic Development and Regeneration Lead explained that two different models had been used to deliver the festivals: the Georgian Festival had been delivered by an in-house team while the Mallard Festival had seen the Council sponsor a partnership. Recognition was made that for the sponsoring of a partnership to be successful, an enthusiastic external driver was required. If this was the preferred funding model for future festivals, the right partner would need to be identified. She added that as the festivals developed different models could be deployed to ensure ongoing sustainability. The most appropriate funding model would be determined by the nature and duration of the festival together with any external drivers. The differences in the nature of the Mallard and Georgian Festivals meant it was difficult to evidence which delivery model was the most cost-effective.

Several members made comments about the benefits of tourism to the local economy. One member asked whether the footfall figures had been worked through economic impact models to demonstrate their benefits. It was suggested that all festivals should undergo a mini economic analysis using modelling tools to calculate GDP, local spend and employment. The pride and community cohesion which were generated through festivals was also noted.

One Councillor referred to the shop front scheme and made comments on how well it had been received.

The Operations Director reminded members that the chargeable green waste scheme was in its second year. While membership had almost returned to the level prior to the introduction of a charge, take-up was higher in North Kesteven who introduced a chargeable scheme after South Kesteven. This was attributed to North Kesteven District Council providing a free green waste service for all residents prior to the introduction of charging. Officers were looking at ways to improve take-up in South Kesteven. Members were advised that there were high satisfaction rates with the current scheme. Officers were investigating new ways people could pay, including Direct Debit, and ways to streamline the annual renewal process.

Councillors were informed that for the second year running, Wyndham Park in Grantham had been awarded Green Flag status. Officers said that annual incremental improvements were required, which made retaining the status year-on-year increasingly challenging. Councillors noted that external funding had been granted for the improvement of the paddling pool feature. An application for heritage funding had also been made for the restoration of buildings, features, boundary walls and railings on the basis that the park was a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.

                                                                                                                  (Enclosure)

A number of items were raised for addition to the work programme:

·         Grantham Hospital (Feb 2014)

·         Procurement Lincolnshire (Feb 2014)

·         Single telephone number (Feb 2014)

·         Wind energy

·         Consideration of items for future work programme.

Councillor Mrs Kaberry-Brown informed members there had been two meetings of the Lincolnshire Health Scrutiny Committee and stated that she would leave copies of the paperwork in the Members’ Lounge.

The meeting was closed at 12:08pm.