Agenda item

The Commission considered a report and presentation from the Chief Executive which presented the draft Annual Delivery Report and Performance Compendium for 2017.  A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 10’ and the slides forming the presentation is filed with these minutes.

Arising from discussion the following points were raised:-

(i)          The Commission welcomed the overall message of the report; that the County Council performed well but that there were risks and issues in the future if a fairer funding settlement was not received from the Government.  It was suggested that a summary version of the report, highlighting the key messages, should be produced.

(ii)         The narrative in the Annual Delivery Report was largely intended to look back at performance during the previous year.  However, the Council also had a responsibility to undertake effective forward planning and some of the narrative in the report therefore reflected the emerging priorities for the coming year.

(iii)       The County Council had limited influence over the performance of academies.  This was now the responsibility of the academies themselves and was expected to be driven by market forces.  The County Council had a role through the Leicestershire Education Excellence Partnership (LEEP) and through sharing performance data with schools to help them identify areas for improvement.

(iv)       Concern was expressed by some members that the sections in the Annual Delivery Report relating to economic development and strategic transport included proposals which residents had not yet been consulted on and that the cumulative effect of developments on the landscape, particularly in the south of the county, was not yet understood.  The Commission was assured that the key plans outlined in the report which affected the economy had all previously been considered by the Cabinet and the Scrutiny Commission.  Each stage of the Strategic Growth Plan would also be considered by the Commission prior to being submitted to the Cabinet.  It was acknowledged that the reliance on partnership working to deliver economic development meant that the governance and accountability process for this area were complicated.  However, it was important for the Council to engage effectively with these partnerships, especially regional partnerships such as the Midlands Engine.

(v)        The Government had committed to honouring funding for projects supported by the EU Structural Investment Fund until 2019.  It was thought that a new Shared Prosperity Growth Fund was being developed nationally which would replace EU funding.  The County Council should be able to bid for funding from this.

(vi)       Although the most recent bid for national funding for the Desford Crossroads transport scheme had not been successful, the scheme was still a priority for the County Council and further bids for funding would be made when the opportunity arose.

(vii)     It was suggested that details of the work of the Leicestershire Market Towns Group to help maximise the economic contribution of towns should be reported to a future meeting of the Scrutiny Commission.  The Commission was advised that it would be appropriate to wait until the outcome of the bid for piloting local retention of business rates was known as, if successful, this could result in more funding being available for economic development in market towns.

Mr D C Bill CC asked for it to be placed on record that he opposed the section of the Annual Delivery Report relating to the economy and strategic transport as he felt that consultation with the affected communities on the cumulative impact of development in South Leicestershire had not yet been undertaken.

RESOLVED:

(a)  That the comments now made be submitted to the Cabinet for consideration at its meeting on 24 November;

(b)  That the work of staff across the County Council be recognised and appreciated;

(c)  That officers be requested to submit a report on the work of the Leicestershire Market Towns Group to a future meeting of the Scrutiny Commission.