Agenda and minutes

Mrs. L. A. S. Pendleton CC, Cabinet Lead Member for Environment and Transport (for Minute 170)

Mr. J. Catt, Co-opted Parent Governor Representative of the Children and Young People’s Service Overview and Scrutiny Committee (for Minute 172)

The minutes of the meeting held on 2 February 2011 were taken as read, confirmed and signed.

The Chief Executive reported that no questions had been received under Standing Order 35.

The Chief Executive reported that no questions had been received under Standing Order 7(3) and 7(5).

The Chairman advised the Committee that he had agreed to consider as an urgent item on the impending sale of paintings by Brooksby College.

The Chairman invited members who wished to do so to declare any interest in respect of items on the agenda for the meeting.

The following members declared an interest in the Local Transport Plan 3 (LTP3) item as members of district/borough councils (minute 170 refers):

Mr. R. Blunt CC
Mr. G. A. Boulter CC

Mrs. R. Camamile CC

Mrs. J. A. Dickinson CC
Mr. S. J. Galton CC

Dr. S. Hill CC
Mr. Max Hunt CC

Mr. P. G. Lewis CC*

Mr. B. L. Pain CC
Mrs. P. Posnett CC

Mr. R. J. Shepherd CC*

* Dr. R. K. A. Feltham CC, together with those members highlighted above, each declared a personal, non-prejudicial interest in respect of any discussions on the LTP3 item that concerned concessionary travel as holders of bus passes.

There were no declarations of the party whip.

The Chief Executive reported that no petitions had been received under Standing Order 36.

The Commission considered this matter, the Chairman having decided that it was of an urgent nature due to the imminent sale of paintings by Brooksby College. Mr. Max Hunt CC had requested that an item be placed on the agenda in order to allow the Commission to fully debate the matter with a view to halting the sale, if this was proven to be necessary.

The Director of Adults and Communities reported that Brooksby College had placed two paintings on the market which had a high expected value. The paintings were attributed to John Boultbee and had a strong Leicestershire provenance, as they depicted Robert Bakewell, a local farmer who was responsible for pioneering work at Dishley Grange, near Loughborough.

It was suggested that, as the County Council had worked with the College in the past on a Robert Bakewell exhibition, there was a possibility that the paintings may have at one stage been loaned to the College from the Council’s collection. However, following investigatory work into the ownership of the paintings, there was clear evidence that the paintings were not in County Council ownership. The Chief Executive of Brooksby College had agreed to work with the County Council in future if other paintings of significant Leicestershire provenance were intended to be sold.

Members commented on the need to be vigilant on this issue in future, as it was possible that some schools might wish to sell pieces of art that formed part of the Council’s collection.

RESOLVED:

(a)               That the position with respect to the impending sale of artwork at Brooksby College be noted;

(b)               That the need to continue to monitor the sale of artwork that had a Leicestershire provenance be recognised.

The Cabinet Lead Member for Environment and Transport has been invited to attend the debate on this item.

The Commission considered a report of the Director of Environment and Transport concerning the final draft version of the Local Transport Plan 3. A copy of the report, marked ‘B’, is filed with these minutes.

The Director reported that the latest version of the Strategy was being considered by the Commission, prior to submission to the Cabinet on 8 March and then the full County Council meeting on 23 March. An up-to-date version of the Strategy, which included the latest amendments following consultation, was circulated to members at the meeting. A copy of this document is filed with these minutes. A briefing had been held for members on 1 March to explain the purpose of the Strategy and where funding would be allocated.

The Director highlighted the following key points:

·                      The Strategy would have to be in place by 1 April 2011 in order to meet the Coalition Government’s deadline;

·                      The principal drivers for the Strategy were the need to support the local economy in light of:

à The present economic conditions and reduced levels of funding;
à The forecast level of population (housing) growth;
à Climate change;

à Accessibility; and
à Health and obesity levels.

·                      The Strategy would feed into the Council’s Sustainable Community Strategy and other key activities of the Council, such as the new Local Economic Partnership;

·                      The Implementation Plan would be taken forward on a three yearly basis, with a yearly refresh. It was suggested that the incremental basis of implementation would enable the Council’s Strategy to evolve and respond to threats and opportunities as they emerged;

·                      The emphasis of the Strategy was based around ensuring the reliability of the network. £9 million of capital funding had been allocated to highway maintenance;

·                      Though Government was discouraging large capital schemes prior to 2015, the externally funded Birstall Park and Ride and the Loughborough Eastern Gateway remained in the 2011/12 Capital Programme.

The Chairman welcomed to the meeting the Cabinet Lead Member for Environment and Transport, Mrs. L. A. S. Pendleton CC, who was present to respond to any questions the Commission had on the Strategy.

Arising from discussion, Mrs. Pendleton and the Director made the following key points:

·                    There was some concern amongst the bus companies about the changes in the way the concessionary scheme was now being run and what they perceived to be reduced funding. It remained a priority to work effectively with bus companies to ensure that services were provided commercially;

·                    There was a clear identified need for journey times to be “predictable”. It was felt that any aims to speed up the network would only produce marginal benefits;

·                    The Council’s commitment to delivering a network of Monday to Saturday daytime bus services operating to an hourly or better timetable within 800m of 95% of County residents was no longer viewed as a target which was affordable;

·                    It was recognised that there was only one Park and Ride scheme proposed in the Strategy, despite a desire to encourage public transport use. A Glenfield Park and Ride had previously been considered and could once again become part of the Strategy in the future, as and when a case could be made and when the economic situation started to improve;

·                    The Department would continue to be alert to the potential for funding through the new Community Infrastructure Levy and the new borrowing powers available to local authorities through the Tax Increment Financing measures, recently announced by the Coalition Government;

·                    Education remained a priority in respect of efforts to ensure road safety. Evidence suggested that ‘Speed Awareness’ courses were more effective than ‘Reducing the Impact of Traffic’  ...  view the full minutes text for item 170.

The Commission considered a report of the Director of Environment and Transport concerning the Policy for charging for licences for Street Cafes as a result of a recommendation by the Commission to establish a ‘Light Touch’ Review of the Policy. A copy of the report, marked ‘C’, is filed with these minutes.

The Director reported that the intention was to proceed with the reduction in charging from £300 to £150. The annual renewal fee would be £100. The Policy had been developed in accordance with national guidance. The matter required the approval of the Cabinet at its meeting on 8 March in order to implement new charges in the new financial year.

Mrs. Page and Mrs. Posnett had been appointed by the Commission to look at the Licencing Policy and, further to the conclusions outlined in the report, highlighted the following issues:

·                    It was felt necessary to stress in the Policy that it covered the whole of the County, rather than just the County’s market towns;

·                    The extent to which the Policy should cover other premises that traded or provided services on the street, such as pubs and green grocers.

The Director clarified that the Policy should only relate to street cafes, as licensing laws for certain premises, particularly those that sold alcohol, were administered by district/borough councils and the issues would have to be considered within that context.

RESOLVED:

(a)               That Mrs. Page and Mrs. Posnett be thanked for their work on the ‘Light Touch’ review of the Street Café Policy and that the Policy be forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration at its meeting on 8 March;

(b)               That the Scrutiny Commissioners be asked to consider with officers whether there is merit in scrutiny considering the question as to whether the street café licencing policy could be extended to cover other premises that trade or provide services on the street.

The Commission considered a report of the ‘Light Touch’ Scrutiny Review Panel setting out the conclusions of the Review of Forced Marriages. A copy of the report, marked ‘D’, is field with these minutes.

The Chairman invited Mr. Lewis and Mr. Catt, who had both served on the Review, to introduce the report. Mr. Lewis and Mr. Catt hoped that the report dealt with the matter sensitively and that the County Council could take the lead on this issue. They thanked Beverley Ireland in Committee Services and officers in the Children and Young People’s Service for their assistance in producing the report.

Members were in agreement that ‘the law of the land’ should take priority on issues of this nature and that the conclusions reached by Mr. Lewis and Mr. Catt were important. The report had received some positive press in the Leicester Mercury and it was felt to be important that the report was stimulating some debate. However, the extent to which the Council was in a position to progress some of the issues raised in the report was unknown, given that many of the recommendations were to be taken forward directly by schools and other agencies. For this reason, it was felt appropriate for the Scrutiny Commissioners to discuss the issue with the Director of Children and Young People’s Service.

RESOLVED:

(a)               That Mr. Lewis and Mr. Catt be thanked for producing a comprehensive report;

(b)               That the Scrutiny Commissioners be asked to discuss the report with the Director of Children and Young People’s Service with a view to establishing the extent to which the Council can actively take the conclusions of the Review forward.

The next meeting of the Commission is scheduled to take place on 20 April 2011 at 2.00pm.

It was NOTED that the next meeting of the Commission would be held on Wednesday 20 April 2011 at 2.00pm.