Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Kaffy Rice-Oxley and Councillor Barry Dobson.  Councillor Barry Dobson was substituted by Councillor Gloria Johnson.

The AllianceSK representative for this meeting was Councillor Ashley Baxter.

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

Councillor Helen Crawford declared an interest in agenda item 8, LeisureSK Ltd Business Plan and Appointment of Directors as she was being nominated as a director and she left the meeting during consideration of this item.

The minutes of the meeting held on 1 December 2022 were proposed, seconded and AGREED.  The AllianceSK representative was not included in the attendees list and it was stated that they would be added.

To consider updates on Actions agreed at the previous meeting.

The action concerning LeisureSK Ltd was an item on the agenda and the review of the Business Plan template would be considered at the next meeting of the Committee.

A Member asked for an update in respect of the final accounts for Gravitas Housing Ltd and the dissolvement of the Company.  The Chief Finance Officer stated that the final accounts had yet to be confirmed as there were still some outstanding utilities costs and the accounts and dissolvement of the company had yet to go before Cabinet.  It was agreed that once the accounts were final that they would come back before the Committee to reaffirm the dissolvement of the Company.

Ø Action

That once the final accounts for Gravitas Housing Ltd had been signed off that they would come back to the Companies Committee to reaffirm the dissolvement of the Company.

Report on the East Midlands Building Consultancy (EMBC) quarter 2 financial position.

The Assistant Director of Planning presented an update on Quarter 2 of the East Midlands Building Consultancy (EMBC) up to November 2022.

The Building Control Service was unique compared to other services, part of the workload was statutory and accounted for 24% of the workload and fee earning work accounted for 76% of the workload.  These costs were chargeable by the Council, but the Council was in direct competition with independent approved inspectors for this element of the workload.

The East Midlands Building Consultancy was a partnership which started in 2014 between Newark and Sherwood District Council and Rushcliffe Borough Council and South Kesteven District Council.  South Kesteven was the host authority and was responsible for the staffing and management of the service.

Members were referred to Table 1 of the report which showed a year on year comparison of applications received to date.  There had been a peak in June and this had coincided with a change in regulations from 15 June 2022.  The current situation remained positive with fee income higher than expected.

Table 2 within the report showed the split between the number of applications made directly to the Council and the Initial Notices (applications made directly by Approved Inspectors).   The Council were responsible for holding the approved register which showed the number of applications made directly by Approved Inspectors as they had to inform the Council of start and completion dates.   The table showed the market share and although this fluctuated throughout the last few years it was roughly 50%.

Table 3 of the report, which had been refreshed since the figures were reported in October 2022 detailed the income against the budget forecast.  There had been a year on year increase in income over the last three years.  The Business Plan which had been brought before the Committee in October 2022 was due to be reviewed by the EMBC Board in March 2023.

It was noted that interim management arrangements had been in place over the last five years and there was currently a recruitment exercise taking place to recruit a permanent Building Control Manager to lead the EMBC.  Members were asked to note the report.

A question was asked about whether there were any threats to the partnership or opportunities to expand it.  It was stated that currently the partnership was stable and there were no immediate threats.  There were opportunities to expand, although Building Control was currently a tough area. Changes to regulations following the Grenfell incident meant that surveyors had to be competent in terms of qualifications.  Although there were some partnerships in place a lot of authorities still proved their own service.  Opportunities would be explored if they arose.

A further question was asked about staffing resources if the partnership was expanded.  It was stated that this would be a key consideration to take into account and it was likely that staff would TUPE across as happened with Newark and Sherwood and Rushcliffe Borough Council.

The Committee NOTED the report.

This report presents an update for the Council owned company Environment SK Ltd for 2022/23. 

Members received an update from one of the Directors of EnvironmentSK Ltd.  The financial position remained largely unchanged since the update given to the Committee on 7 October 2022.  Under normal circumstances the Committee would be reviewing the Business Plan for EnvironmentSK Ltd for 2023/24. However, work was currently being undertaken to revise and update the ground maintenance specification which meant that there was uncertainty around the future of the Company.    EnvironmentSK Ltd was awaiting instruction from South Kesteven District Council before a Business Plan for 2023/2024 could be submitted.  The Committee would be informed once the position had been clarified.

EnvironmentSK Ltd was expected to be in a balanced financial position for 2022/23.  Due to one of the Directors of the Company being ill the Committee were asked to appoint Alison Hall-Wright to the Board in the short-term going forward.

One Member asked if it was possible to have an update on the review. Clarity was sought in relation to the question asked and a review of the work taking place relating to EnvironmentSK Ltd was asked for before it went to the Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

The Director stated that the future of EnvironmentSK Ltd was uncertain at the present time whilst the review was taking place and until the Company heard from the Council it was difficult to plan for 2023/24.

Disbelief was expressed by one Member as it was felt that some work should have already been undertaken looking at both best case and worst case scenarios relating to grounds maintenance depending upon the way forward for the Company once a decision was made by the Council.

Reference was made to the Cabinet Member for Finance and it was stated that Councillor Adam Stokes was attending the meeting as a Director of EnvironmentSK Ltd and not as a member of the Cabinet.  The Director of EnvironmentSK Ltd was asked if he would resign as a Director of EnvironmentSK Ltd in relation to any decision over the future of the Company to which the Director replied that he would remain a Director.

Further discussion followed in respect of EnvironmentSK Ltd, fulfilling the contracts in place with Parish Councils and the tight timescale between the Joint OSC and the Cabinet meeting which was the following day.  It was again stated that until the future direction of the company was known forward planning was difficult, the company was a wholly own company of the Council and it was for the Council to make the final decision.

The issue of Directors of EnvironmentSK Ltd was then discussed and it was felt by some Members that there was a conflict of interest in that the Chairman of the Governance and Audit Committee was also a director of EnvironmentSK Ltd. The Assistant Director of Governance and Deputy Monitoring Officer stated that legal advice had been sought and there was no conflict being a director and also the Chairman of Governance and Audit Committee.  The onus was on the person as to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 85.

To present the audited accounts for 2021/2022 for LeisureSK Ltd and the company Business Plan for financial year 2023/24.

Members were informed that if they wanted to speak in connection with the exempt appendices then the meeting would have to go into closed session.

A Member requested that the Committee discussed the recommendation which dealt with the appointment of directors to LeisureSK Ltd and the reasons for the appointments first, this was agreed.

Members had received a report at the last meeting of the Committee on the financial and operating position of LeisureSK Ltd and a draft copy of the 2021/22 accounts.  Appended to the report before Members was the final audited accounts for LeisureSK Ltd for the period April 2021 to March 2022.  The report also sought the appointment of two Directors to the company and the approval of the Business Plan for 2023/24.

Matt Chamberlain was introduced to the Committee who was LeisureSK Ltd’s Contract Manager and the author of the Business Plan before the Committee.

The Chairman thanked those Officers who had worked on the Business Plan.

Discussion on the appointment of Directors followed with one Member referencing the sudden departure of the previous two Directors who were Cabinet Members (Leader and Deputy Leader) together with a third Cabinet Member who had resigned as a director the day before the last meeting of the Companies Committee, but whose resignation had not been relayed to the Committee. The Member wanted to know what skills and abilities the Members put forward had and what knowledge and business acumen they had in respect of the leisure sector.

(14:47 Karen Bradford, Director of LeisureSK Ltd arrived)

It was also noted that as one of the proposed Directors was the Chairman of Governance and Audit Committee that he should not be near any directorship of a Council wholly owned company.  The other proposed Director was currently the Chairman of the District Council and also the Chairman of an Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OSC) and therefore if LeisureSK Ltd was discussed at a meeting of the OSC then she would have to declare an interest and leave the room.  He asked why these two Members had been put forward.

As Members had expressed concern about being notified when a director resigned from one of the Council’s wholly owned companies, the Chairman proposed that an email be sent to all Members making them aware of any director resignation. This proposal was seconded and the Vice-Chairman stated that it should be done immediately a resignation was received.   Other Members agreed with the proposal and on being put to the vote it was AGREED.

Decision

That on the receipt of a resignation by a Director of a Council owned Company, all Members are to be notified by email of the resignation with immediate effect.

The Committee were notified that the Companies Committee appointed the Directors.  With regard to the two nominees, the Terms of Reference for the Governance and Audit Committee did not include oversight of the Council’s wholly owned companies, that was the remit of the Companies Committee.  If any Member felt that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 86.

The Chairman confirmed that the following issues would be added to the Work Programme for March:

·       Final accounts sign off Gravitas Housing Ltd if available.

·       Review of the Business Plan template for wholly owned Council companies.

No other business was discussed.

The meeting closed at 15:37.