Agenda and minutes

Minutes of the meeting held on 31 January 2018 (previously circulated).

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Ordinary and Budget meetings held on 31 January 2018 be signed as correct records.

Items which in the opinion of the Chairman should be considered at the meeting as matters of urgency.

There was no matter raised as a matter of urgency.

Members of the public may make representations/presentations on any substantive matter listed in the published agenda for this meeting, as set out hereunder, relating to a specific matter or an examination of services or facilities provided or to be provided.

In accordance with the Council’s Public Participation Rules, the Committee received and acknowledged oral representations made by Mr G Cashmore on a matter to be considered by the Committee that day, namely the Broadband and Mobile Phone Connectivity Task Group Final Report.

The Chair responded, thanking Mr G Cashmore for his representations which would be taken into account by the Committee during its subsequent deliberations.

Final Report of the Task Group (CSO/18/12), attached.

(Councillor Barker attended in accordance with Standing Order 25(1) and spoke to this item at the invitation of the Committee)

The Committee received the final Report of the Task Group (CSO/18/12) which set out its findings and recommendations relating to Broadband and Mobile Connectivity in Devon.

In discussion with Members, the following points, in particular, were noted:

·         the Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS) public consultation on gainshare was now available on the CDS website;

·         the Consultation would inform how best to utilise the gainshare monies;

·         the latest CDS briefing had been circulated to Members in advance of this meeting;

·         the transparency and accountability of the CDS Board meetings;

·         24,000 remaining premises to connect in Devon;

·         CDS would be relaunching its voucher scheme, with one difference, that would allow people to aggregate their vouchers;

·         Airband and Gigaclear were being encouraged to become more proactive in listening to communities;

·         ‘gainshare’ was a term created by BT; and

·         that recommendation 3 in the Report should, in the heading, also refer to Take-up Clawback.

RESOLVED

(a)   that Recommendation 3 in the Report be amended so that the heading reads ‘Meaningful Consultation on Gainshare and Take-up Clawback’;

(b)   that the Report be endorsed and its recommendations commended to the Cabinet; and

(c)   that the Broadband and Mobile Connectivity Task Group continue to monitor and scrutinise the work that CDS and the Council are doing across Devon, with a greater emphasis on mobile phone connectivity.

Report of the Chair of the Task Group (CSO/18/14), attached.

(Councillor Barker attended in accordance with Standing Order 25(1) and spoke to this item at the invitation of the Committee and Councillor Greenslade attended in accordance with Standing Order 25(2) and spoke to this item)

The Committee received the Report of the Task Group (CSO/18/14) on progress made following the former Place Scrutiny Committee’s Agriculture Task Group Report published in January 2017 and subsequently endorsed by Cabinet in February 2017. 

In discussion, the following points were made:

·         the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) had now published its consultation on the Future for Food, Farming and the Environment and the Council would be preparing a response before its deadline of 8 May;

·         the report of the South West Rural Productivity Commission had been well received in Westminster and the Heart of the South West, Cornwall & Isles of Scilly, Wiltshire and Dorset LEPs were establishing a South West Productivity Task Force to take forward the Commission’s recommendations highlighting the critical challenges; and

·         the successful Farmwise event held at Westpoint in September 2017.

·         that recommendation 1 in the Appendix to the Report should reflect that Government funding was agreed until 2022, although the Committee acknowledged that the recommendations in the Appendix had been made at the former Place Scrutiny Committee in January 2017; and

·         that recommendation 2 in the Appendix to the Report relating to fair and consistent pricing was unrealistic.

RESOLVED that an update be provided to a future meeting to include details of the Council’s response to the DEFRA consultation.

Report of the Head of Scrutiny (CSO/18/15), attached.

The Committee received the Report of the Head of Scrutiny (CSO/18/15) on the prevalence of gambling in Great Britain and Devon and the impact of gambling from a Public Health perspective.

The following points were noted in discussion with Members, namely:

·         surprise that gambling was not considered a public health issue;

·         no data was collected on the effects of advertising (if any) and the potential for research here; and

·         the importance of awareness and ensuring the correct help was available for those individuals and families affected by gambling.

RESOLVED that the Health and Adult Care Scrutiny Committee be invited to join a half-day Spotlight Review to investigate the negative effects that gambling had on people in Devon.

Joint Report of the Chief Officer for Highways, Infrastructure Development & Waste, and the Head of Digital Transformation & Business Support (HIW/18/19), attached.

The Committee received the Joint Report of the Chief Officer for Highways, Infrastructure Development and Waste and the Head of Digital Transformation and Business Support (HIW/18/19) which provided information on the Exeter Schools PFI Contract and the South West Devon Waste Partnership PFI Contract.

Report of the County Treasurer (CT/18/30), attached.

The Committee received the Report of the County Treasurer (CT/18/30) on the draft Corporate Infrastructure and Regulatory Services Audit Plan for 2018/19 outlining the proposed audit reviews and associated risks and fraud prevention, detection and internal audit governance.

Members noted the low number of days allocated for internal audit activity in relation to Highways; and asked if an audit could be carried out on Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS). The County Treasurer undertook to revert to the Committee on whether this fell within Devon County Council’s or Somerset County Council’s remit.

RESOLVED that audit reports be brought to a future meeting concerning Highways, to include the road safety strategy, and ICT Continuity and Disaster Recovery.

Report of the County Treasurer, attached.

The Committee noted the Report of the County Treasurer which summarised the risk management position and highlighted the current risks and actions in progress by management.

Members noted that the Gender Pay Gap reporting was not included within the risk register and the County Treasurer confirmed that Devon Audit Partnership would be working with the Council to ensure the correct information was included.

In accordance with previous practice, Scrutiny Committees are requested to review the list of forthcoming business and determine which items are to be included in the Work Programme. The Scrutiny Work Programme can be found at:

https://new.devon.gov.uk/democracy/committee-meetings/scrutiny-committees/scrutiny-work-programme/

The Committee may also wish to review the content of the Cabinet Forward Plan to see if there are any specific items therein it might wish to explore further. The Cabinet Forward Plan can be found at:

http://democracy.devon.gov.uk/mgPlansHome.aspx?bcr=1

RESOLVED that the following topics also be added to the work programme for future consideration:

Items:

Gender Pay Gap

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service – Masterclass

Devon and Cornwall Police – update on Project Genesis

Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership – 12 month update

Task Groups:

Skanska Performance and wider issues (Councillors Ball, Edgell, Saywell and Shaw)

Council Speed Limit Policy (Councillors Dewhirst, Bloxham and Hook and a request to other Scrutiny Committee members

Wednesday 21 June 2017 and that a provisional date be agreed for Wednesday, 15 November at 10.30am.

Please use link below for County Council Calendar of Meetings:

http://democracy.devon.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CommitteeId=175