Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillor Peter Gilbert and from the following portfolio holders: Councillor Andy Crump, Portfolio Holder for Fire & Rescue and Community Safety, Councillor Kam Kaur, Portfolio Holder for Education and Councillor Heather Timms, Portfolio Holder for Environment, Climate & Culture.

None.

The Chair advised that the proposed item on Members’ delegated budgets had been deferred to the November Committee meeting.

To receive the Minutes of the committee meeting held on 21 June 2023.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 21 June 2023 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

None.

Up to 30 minutes of the meeting is available for members of the Committee to put questions to the Portfolio Holders on any matters relevant to the remit of this Committee.

Councillor Jenny Fradgley submitted two questions:

1. Reports in the Guardian suggest pothole repairs are at a 5 year low. Where is Warwickshire on its road maintenance programme? Does WCC have sufficient funds to properly maintain its rural and urban networks?

2. As the Bishopton 500 development progresses please can you update me, and residents, about the land here set aside for educational purposes?

On question 1, Scott Tompkins, Director of Environment, Planning & Transport would circulate a detailed written response from County Highways to the Committee. In summary there had been consistent revenue and capital investment by WCC in the road network. The news article reported data from an ALARM (Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance) survey which showed that several authorities had been struggling to finance repairs and by capitalising these costs it had reduced capacity for road resurfacing schemes. This in turn had reduced the number of pothole repairs, but was not the case in Warwickshire. Data was provided on the increasing number of pothole repairs to evidence this, together with the surveillance undertaken by safety inspectors. The public could report potholes through the Council’s Website via an easy-to-use system.

On question 2, Councillor Martin Watson read from a reply prepared by Councillor Kam Kaur, Portfolio Holder for Education. The land which had been set aside would only be utilised where it was evidenced that the need for a new school came directly from this development. There was significant current and forecast spare capacity at the neighbouring Bishopton Primary School, which meant there was no requirement for a new school and the land could not be drawn down to the County Council. This position had been confirmed to the developers. Councillor Fradgley had a supplementary question, which she would submit directly to the Portfolio Holder, Councillor Kaur. This would be copied to the Chair.

Mark Ryder presented the Economic Development Update, taking members through the following areas:

• Headlines/ Key Summary Points
• Economic Overview. The slight improvements in the overall economic outlook and a slowdown in the growth rate of inflation. It was anticipated that the Bank of England base rate may increase again to 5.5%. In terms of unemployment, the Coventry and Warwickshire (C&W) area was performing well with rates below the national average. Foreign direct investment was highlighted, with C&W seeing 56 new investment projects in 2023, a 24% increase.
• Business and Economy Support. Mark Ryder spoke of the small capital grant scheme, with Council investment securing private sector investment, the latest round totalling £80,000. Linked to this was the Warwickshire Recovery and Investment Fund (WRIF) with the report setting out the loans to business, and the Local Communities and Enterprise Fund had now reached £1.4m in investments.
• Business Support Programmes. A comparison was drawn between the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) which was smaller than the former European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). This had seen a reduction in the amount of support programmes which could be commissioned. There was close work with the district and borough councils which held the SPF to work collectively in commissioning four new programmes.
• Employability and Skills Support. Reference to the good progress with Fair Chance Jobs, where 50 businesses were working with WCC and the launch of a new jobs portal. The new Warwickshire Careers Hub was referenced.
• Development of the Business Centre Portfolio, with renovation works and rent reviews to secure market value rents.
• Sector Development and Inward Investment with a number of case studies being detailed.

Members discussed the following areas:

• On the UK SPF, it was noted that this was delivering some of the ERDF but was questioned if it was a lower percentage than the former scheme. In reply, the challenge was that the funding under the UK SPF which could be applied to business support programmes was at a lower level. The approach was to be innovative and to work with district and borough councils (DBCs) to encourage them to think about business support as an important pillar. The funding rested with the DBCs. A lot of work was taking place within Economy and Skills and to deliver value across the programmes.
• Reference to the Careers Hub. This was based in Nuneaton, and questions were submitted about expansion to other parts of Warwickshire and providing a digital offer. Councillor Watson had met with the team. He outlined the proactive service which was delivered county-wide, including through visits to schools. It was not just focussed on Nuneaton.
• Referring to the section on universities as drivers of trade and investment in the Midlands, the links to colleges was questioned.  They were a key link and a needed to provide training which led to jobs. Mark Ryder confirmed that WCC was engaged with further education colleges, giving examples. Whilst the colleges set their own curriculum based on demand from businesses, the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3(1)

The Committee is invited to review and comment on the final draft of the Sustainable Futures Strategy.  This item provides an update on progress made since reporting to Cabinet in June 2023 and sets out the planned next steps for the Strategy prior to its consideration by Cabinet in November. 

This item was introduced by Steve Smith, currently Director of the Commissioning Support Unit. From October he would join the Communities Directorate and his role would include both Climate Change and Strategic Infrastructure. The draft Sustainable Futures Strategy was being submitted to all the Overview and Scrutiny Committees as part of a detailed engagement process, before its final consideration by Cabinet in November. Key information was provided in the covering report, which outlined the features of the strategy and the use of expert panels. A copy of the draft strategy, the action plan and an update on projects were provided as appendices.

Questions were submitted and discussion took place on the following areas:

• The opportunity for solar panel installation on large warehouse rooves. At planning authorities there were applications to site solar farms on agricultural land which caused tension. Steve Smith replied that this was led by planning authorities and the approach in each of the five areas varied. An example was the aim of Warwick District to formulate a net zero supplementary planning document. This would be planning and market led.  There were significant capital costs, but lower running costs. For WCC this was an influencing role. The councillor reiterated the scale of warehouse development in Wellesbourne, the public feedback and it was questioned if stronger persuasion was possible. There was no easy answer as this concerned private investment decisions. Through planning and building regulation, authorities went as far as they could, but this really needed a push at the national level.
• Councillor Watson, the Portfolio Holder engaged with many businesses to raise this. There were a number of influencing factors for businesses. Installation of solar panels was more likely for new developments, but less so for retrospective fitting, with other measures being used instead to reduce energy consumption. A key aspect was the ability of the National Grid to receive the surplus energy generated.  
• It was questioned if the Prime Minister’s announcement on moving ‘green’ targets would impact negatively on the cultural shift required. Steve Smith said this had been raised at the Climate Change Group held earlier in the day. Transport emissions in Warwickshire were significant and around half of these were journeys through the County. They could only be affected by people changing their vehicles over time.
• A discussion about water pipe failures causing wastage. There were endeavours to reduce water wastage and it was questioned whether the Council engaged with Severn Trent Water (STW) to encourage an update of their pipework to reduce such leaks. This was an area where there was more to do. STW had attended the committee providing a useful presentation and it was suggested that a further update would be worthwhile on progress in replacing its pipework. This would be picked up under the work programme item.
• A member spoke about the substantial warehouse developments in North Warwickshire and immediately adjacent to it. Further significant developments were planned in Tamworth. The member noted the point about substation capacity to accept  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

The Committee is asked to consider and comment upon the Quarter 1 2023/24 organisational performance, progress against the Integrated Delivery Plan, and the management of finances and risk.

Mark Ryder, Executive Director for Communities presented this item, which gave a retrospective summary of the Council’s performance at the end of Quarter 1 (April - June 2023) against the strategic priorities and areas of focus set out in the Council Plan 2022-2027. Key sections of the report focussed on:

• Performance against the Performance Management Framework
• Progress on the Integrated Delivery Plan
• Management of Finance
• Management of Risk

In presenting the report, Mark Ryder referred members to the appendices which set out the ‘RAG’ rating of performance against target. He reminded that this was the first quarter report and highlighted the areas on track and those where performance was at risk or not predicted to achieve the target or measure. Additional information and narrative was provided on individual schemes.

Scott Tompkins referred to the finance aspects of the report and a £3.4million projected overspend. Most of this related to home to school transport and was due to additional service demand from students entitled to free school transport, an increase in services for SEND students and inflationary increases. There was a member working group and an improvement project looking at this area. Scott gave a performance summary focussing on those areas where performance was at risk or not predicted to achieve the target or measure. Additional information was provided for each area, specifically around home to school transport, flood risk mitigation and associated works. He highlighted the good performance on highway maintenance contracts with 100% of targets being achieved. He emphasised the supporting key performance indicators which were being achieved consistently by the contractor, Balfour Beatty, in a contract delivered across Warwickshire, Solihull and Coventry. It was subject to close scrutiny by a Highways Maintenance Board which included the portfolio holders of each authority. This service was in the top ten nationally in terms of performance. Tree planting was also highlighted, particularly the need to accelerate tree planting to hit the required target of planting one tree for every resident in Warwickshire.

Discussion took place and questions were submitted as follows:

• The delays in Section 278 developer funded schemes was discussed. Scott Tompkins explained that as soon as the agreement was concluded it was added to the capital programme, but the developer may not complete the scheme for some time, so it showed as a delay. Scott outlined some of the factors which could contribute. In essence this provided a forecast of monies being received that would be spent on schemes. He provided context of the excellent performance for the previous year on the capital programme expenditure and forecast to outturn.
• There were concerns about cuts to the Trading Standards budgets which a member linked to increases in complaints. Members became aware of illegal activity within their divisions, but the service had limited responsive capacity. Comment was sought on the increase in complaint levels, which Scott Tompkins offered to research and a written briefing would be circulated to members. He drew comparison to the significant budget cuts which some local authorities  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The Committee considered its work programme. It was agreed that Severn Trent Water be invited to a future committee meeting to provide an update.

Mark Ryder reminded members of the average speed camera pilot scheme. He suggested that the Chair and spokesperson meeting discuss the timing of this update to the Committee, to enable adequate data to be provided.

An update was sought about bus services and timetables. This could be discussed at the next Chair and spokesperson meeting. Mark Ryder referred to an allocation of funding which could be a part of such an update.

Linked to this, a member referred to computerised bus information at bus stops, asking if this was feasible for rural bus stops in Warwickshire. Councillor Sinclair was in attendance. He advised that the Bus Working Group had been looking at this issue, developing a bid from Community Infrastructure Levy funding. Officers had undertaken a County-wide audit of bus stops identifying priority bus stops on key routes. A bid was being finalised for such automated signage which was seen as a key priority. Whilst other digital means were available, having a physical sign at the bus stop was important for many commuters. The Chair agreed this would be discussed further at the Chair and Spokesperson meeting. Councillor Feeney was also a member of this working group, which was undertaking good work, but was not known about by many members. A short update for the Committee may be useful. A further point was electric buses on the local bus routes and the need for charging points. The Chair suggested that a briefing note be provided in the first instance.

None.