Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber - Civic Offices, Shute End, Wokingham RG40 1BN

Contact: Neil Carr  Democratic & Electoral Services Specialist

Media

Items
No. Item

13.

Apologies

To receive any apologies for absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were submitted from Paul Fishwick and Rachelle Shepherd-Dubey.

 

Lindsay Ferris attended the meeting as a substitute.

14.

Minutes of Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 258 KB

To confirm the Minutes of the Meeting held on 17 November 2021.

 

Minutes:

The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 17 November 2021 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman, subject to:

 

Minute 19 – Anti-Poverty Strategy – the final paragraph being amended to include the following statement:

 

In relation to the co-production of the strategy, it was highlighted that not all VCS partners feel like they are properly engaged and have a seat at the table to write and develop this strategy.  It was confirmed that this would be happening going forward and a member or members of the VCS will be present at subsequent scrutiny meetings where this is on the agenda”.

 

Minute 20 – Unlawful Encampments – add new Resolution 5) as follows:

 

“5) the Committee receive further information on the outcome of national consultations relating to unlawful encampments”.

15.

Declaration of Interest

To receive any declarations of interest

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

16.

Public Question Time

To answer any public questions

 

A period of 30 minutes will be allowed for members of the public to ask questions submitted under notice.

 

The Council welcomes questions from members of the public about the work of this committee.

 

Subject to meeting certain timescales, questions can relate to general issues concerned with the work of the Committee or an item which is on the Agenda for this meeting.  For full details of the procedure for submitting questions please contact the Democratic Services Section on the numbers given below or go to www.wokingham.gov.uk/publicquestions

Minutes:

There were no public questions.

17.

Member Question Time

17.1

Gary Cowan asked the Chairman the following question:

To answer any member questions

Minutes:

 

Agenda item 63 – Climate Emergency Action Plan.

 

Question

On carbon savings, the report states over the last year Wokingham Borough Council has worked in setting the ground to deliver projects that will increase the generation of renewable energy across the Borough….

 

And also the following:

 

My Journey completed summer and winter competitions in primary schools, and are currently running a film competition for secondary school students; but goes on to say that there are no new actions for this section.

 

My question is then: why did this Council create a situation where children who live In Arborfield Green, including those living directly opposite the new school gates were not allowed to go there and they have all had to be driven to other primary schools miles away from where they live.  How will this achieve carbon saving?

 

Answer

At a strategic level our planning for the Borough’s Strategic Development Locations (or SDLs) has been underpinned by principles of creating sustainable communities that can sustain local access to services and amenities whilst minimising the need to travel.  This is also underpinned by sustainable transport options both within and between SDLs and with existing main towns.  Ensuring primary school provision to meet future anticipated need within these new communities has always been a key priority and, although pre-dating our Climate Emergency, fully in line with the principles of sustainable development by reducing the need to travel and minimising carbon impact.

 

Of course, in detail at any one point in time changing the overall pattern of primary provision and seeking to balance demand versus school places available across the system will never be an exact science and there will always be some anomalies. It is anticipated that these will reduce over time as these new communities mature.

 

With regard to Arborfield Green, the new school premises could not open as a new school in 2021, as there was insufficient local need to ensure that all local schools, including potentially both the Farley Hill Primary School and the Coombes CofE Primary School, in the Arborfield ward, could remain financially sustainable. In theory, relocating the Farley Hill Primary School would enable significant numbers of children from the former Arborfield Garrison, Arborfield Green and Finchwood Park areas to benefit from a school they could walk to, at the earliest opportunity. It also addressed the long-standing issue of some undersized classrooms in the original Farley Hill School building.

 

There has never been any intention that the new school would accommodate all the children living in the garrison area. In all, ninety children living in the garrison area were admitted to Wokingham primary schools in 2021 – accommodating all of them in a new school would have effectively wiped out the intake to a number of schools.

 

In more detail, the decision to build the new school was taken before the pandemic, when experience in Shinfield was that new housing could lead to rapidly rising rolls. The intention was to avoid children having to be driven to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.1

18.

Q2 2021-22 Performance Management Report pdf icon PDF 252 KB

To consider the KPI performance report for Q2 of 2021/22 (July to September).

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report, set out at Agenda pages 65 to 82, which gave details of performance management for the period July to September 2021 (Quarter 2). The report gave details of the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) which measured how each service was delivering against its current objectives.

 

Steve Moore (Interim Director, Place and Growth), Will Roper (Customer Insight Analyst and Performance Manager) and Shahid Younis (Deputy Executive Member, Insight and Change) attended the meeting to present the report and answer Member questions.

 

The report included 46 KPIs which were intended to be SMART targets (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely), taking into account historic trend information and benchmarking. The KPIs were assigned a RAG status (Red for on target, Amber for close to target and Red for missing the target).

 

The following KPIs were reported as Red for Quarter 2 of 2021/22:

 

·           KPI AS1: Social work assessments allocated to commence within 7 days of the requests (counted at point of allocation).

 

·           KPI AS4: Safeguarding timeliness – concerns completed within 2 working days.

 

·           KPI AS7: Proportion of people receiving long term care who were subject to a review in the last 12 months.

 

·           KPI RA3: Usage of Wokingham Leisure Centres.

 

·           KPI RA4: Participation in leisure activities to support those who may be experiencing social isolation.

 

The report gave details of the corrective action being taken to address these Red KPIS. Of the five Red KPIs it was confirmed that the three adult social care indicators were deliberately stretching with the intention of driving improvement in the service. The other two Red KPIs related to the leisure service and reflected the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

The report also stated that five KPIs had moved from Amber to Green whilst one KPI had improved from Red to Amber.

 

In the ensuing discussion, Members raised the following points:

 

Children’s Services Challenges (page 22 of the Agenda) – Recruitment of qualified Educational Psychologists creating a capacity issue impacting on EHCP assessment performance. It was suggested that this issue should be referred to the Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny for further consideration. It was agreed that this issue would be considered at the next meeting of the Committee as part of its forward programme.

 

CS6: Percentage of 16/17 year olds Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) (Page 41) – this was a new indicator replacing the previous indicator Percentage of Care Leavers who were NEET. That indicator had set a target of 52% compared with the new target for all 16/17 year olds of 97%. It was queried why the original indicator had been archived without reference to the Committee. It was felt that the KPI should have the same target for care leavers as for all other children. It was confirmed that the Interim Director of Children’s Services would be happy to discuss this and other KPIs highlighted by Members. The process for identifying KPIs was also confirmed. This involved discussion between Directors and the relevant Assistant Directors, followed by agreement  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

19.

Climate Emergency Action Plan pdf icon PDF 894 KB

To consider the six-month update report on progress relating to the Council’s Climate Emergency Action Plan.

Minutes:

The Committee considered the six monthly update to the Council’s Climate Emergency Action Plan, set out at Agenda pages 65 to 82.

 

The report gave details of highlights relating to each section of the Action Plan, along with deliverables planned for the next three months and new actions added to the Action Plan.

 

Gregor Murray (Executive Member for Residents Services, Communications and Emissions), Rhian Hayes (Interim Assistant Director, Housing and Place), Grant Thornton (Category Manager, Economic Prosperity and Place) and Andrew Collins (Specialist Climate Emergency Officer) attended the meeting to present the report and answer Member questions.

 

The report stated that, within the Borough-wide aim to achieve Net Zero, the Council aimed to become a carbon neutral organisation by 2030. A breakdown of the Council’s emissions in areas such as heating, business travel and waste was included in the report. 2021 was the first year in which these figures had been fully accounted for.

 

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Action Plan was noted in areas such as public transport usage, which had still to recover to pre-Covid levels.

 

In the ensuing discussion Members raised the following points:

 

Electric vehicle charging points (Page 70) – further information was requested on the location of EV charging points (on-street and at public car parks) and the way in which they were funded. It was confirmed that a report had been submitted to the Executive recommending that a pilot scheme be introduced (supported by Government funding). Installing charging points at on-street locations was more challenging than off-street. Over 30 potential locations for on-street charging points were being explored across the Borough. Members would be consulted on the potential sites.

 

Local Plan Update (Page 77) – confirmation was sought that the supplementary planning guidance underpinning the updated Local Plan would include a commitment to net zero development, clean energy generation and maintenance of trees. It was confirmed that the Local Plan Update would have to comply with the Government’s National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) – the Government’s planning policies and how they should be applied. The Council had the power to set standards for carbon neutral buildings but needed to be aware of the impact, for example additional building costs. Further information would be provided for Members on the Council’s powers to require solar panels on new homes.

 

The report (Page 69) referred to Transport as one of the key sectors contributing towards emissions in the Borough. Two of the most important targets in the Action Plan related to reducing the number of cars on the road and the distance travelled by residents. Yet there was little in the report on these two issues. It was confirmed that the report was the six-monthly update. There would be much more detail in the annual update report, submitted to Council in July. In the meantime, officers confirmed that a more detailed update on the Transport elements of the Climate Emergency Action Plan would be submitted to the February 2022 meeting of the Committee.

 

In  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

20.

Tree Strategy pdf icon PDF 264 KB

To consider proposals and a timeframe for the development of a Borough-wide Tree Strategy.

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report, set out at Agenda pages 83 to 90, which gave details of the emerging Tree Strategy for the Borough. The Strategy would provide improved direction for tree management and guide the Council’s approach to trees across the Borough.

 

Fran Hobson (Service Manager, Green and Blue Infrastructure) and Laura Buck (Green Infrastructure Special Project Manager) attended the meeting to present the report and answer Member questions.

 

The report stated that the Tree Strategy would set out how the Council would manage its statutory responsibilities for trees and woodlands (including Council-owned trees), replanting policy, new planting schemes (including the 250k tree Climate Emergency project) and woodland management. The strategy would also cover the issues relating to the maintenance of newly planted trees in new development locations.

 

An early engagement survey had been carried out in November 2021 with the aim of gathering views from residents and other stakeholders about the key areas to be addressed in the strategy. The report gave details of the priorities identified in the survey, including species diversity, community involvement, preference for planting schemes, maintenance of newly planted trees and the creation and management of woodlands.

 

The report set out the proposed timeline for developing and agreeing the Tree Strategy. It was anticipated that the draft Tree Strategy would be ready for review in July 2022 with the aim of publishing the agreed strategy in January 2023.

 

In the ensuing discussion, Members raised the following points:

 

What was the process for residents to express an interest in planting a tree in their garden? It was confirmed that residents should contact Laura Buck at WBC – laura.buck@wokingham.gov.uk

Information was also set out on the Council’s Engage platform.

 

The report referred to the establishment of a cross-party working group to steer the content of the Tree Strategy, with a suggested first meeting in February 2022. What was the process for identifying Members to sit on the working group? It was suggested that all Members be offered the opportunity to join the working group after liaison with the Group Leaders.

 

An important issue was the effective maintenance of new trees planted by developers. This was highlighted by residents in the early engagement survey. It was confirmed that the service was looking to recruit two additional officers which would increase capacity to address this and other issues. The Tree Strategy would also focus on this issue including the maintenance programme for the 250k tree Climate Emergency project.

 

Whilst the emerging Tree Strategy was welcome, it was too late for many new development sites in the south of the Borough where developers had not maintained newly planted trees and common areas. It was confirmed that lessons learned from these developments would be addressed in the Tree Strategy. A key issue was closer working relationships with Town and Parish Councils and local community/voluntary groups.

 

Recent incidents involving the loss of trees raised the question of the enforcement powers available to the Council. It was confirmed that the Council did  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

21.

Tree Protection & Biodiversity Task & Finish Group - Update pdf icon PDF 239 KB

To consider an update report on the work of the Tree Protection and Biodiversity Task & Finish Group.

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report, set out at Agenda pages 91 to 96, which gave details of progress made by the Tree Protection and Biodiversity Task and Finish Group.

 

The report stated that the Task and Finish Group had been approved by the Committee in July 2021. The Group met for the first time in late August 2021 and agreed its terms of reference which were set out in the report. The terms of reference were subsequently amended to include discussion of the November 2021 Council Motion on the potential declaration of an Ecological Emergency.

 

The report stated that the Task and Finish Group had been established in line with the political balance arrangements. Councillor Chris Bowring had been elected Chairman at the first meeting.

 

The Task and Finish Group had met several times and held discussions with a number of witnesses including WBC officers, Town and Parish Councils and the Wokingham District Veteran Tree Association. The Group had also considered a case study relating to the loss of circa 450 mature trees at Bearwood Lake.

 

The report stated that the Task and Finish Group would continue to meet with a view to submitting its final report to the Committee in February or March 2022. The Group’s recommendations on the Council Motion relating to the declaration of an Ecological Emergency would be submitted to full Council for consideration.

 

In the ensuing discussion Members raised the following points:

 

The Task and Finish Group terms of reference referred a review of best practice. Could this include best practice from other countries? It was confirmed that this point would be discussed with the Task and Finish Group.

 

A suggested witness for the Task and Finish Group was a representative from the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT). It was confirmed that BBOWT would be contacted about joining a meeting of the Task and Finish Group.

 

RESOLVED That:

 

1)     the progress report on the work of the Tree Protection and Biodiversity Task and Finish Group be noted;

 

2)     any evidence or details of potential witnesses for consideration by the Task and Finish Group be submitted to Neil Carr in Democratic Services.

22.

Development of the O&S work programmes for 2022-23 pdf icon PDF 243 KB

To consider the process and timeline for developing the Overview and Scrutiny Committee work programmes for 2022/23.

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report, set out at Agenda pages 97 to 102, which gave details of the process for developing the Overview and Scrutiny Committee work programmes for 2022/23.

 

The report stated that, in line with best practice, the work programmes would be developed between January and March 2022 on the following basis:

 

January/February – initial consultation with Overview and Scrutiny Members, Executive Members, senior officers, partner organisations, Town and Parish Councils, residents and community/voluntary groups;

 

March – final work programmes to be agreed by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee;

 

April – publication and implementation of the work programmes.

 

Members highlighted the need for separation of meeting dates in the Council calendar to enable time for comments/recommendations from the Committee to be included in reports to the Executive.

 

RESOLVED That:

 

1)     the process for developing the Overview and Scrutiny work programmes for 2022/23, as set out in the report, be approved;

 

2)     the 2022/23 work programmes be approved at the Committee’s meeting in March 2022;

 

3)     each Overview and Scrutiny Committee carry out one or more detailed Scrutiny reviews during 2022/23;

 

4)     future versions of the draft Council Calendar of Meetings be submitted to the Committee for comment before approval by full Council.

23.

Executive Forward Programme and Individual Executive Member Decision Forward Programme pdf icon PDF 341 KB

To consider the current published versions of the Executive Forward Programme and the Individual Executive Member Decision Forward Programme.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a copy of the Executive Forward Programme and the Individual Executive Member Decision Forward Programme, as set out at Agenda pages 103 to 112.

 

RESOLVED That the Executive and Individual Executive Member Decision Forward Programmes be noted.

 

24.

Overview & Scrutiny Committee Work Programmes pdf icon PDF 291 KB

To discuss the current work programme of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee and Overview and Scrutiny Committees.

Minutes:

The Committee considered its Forward Work Programme and that of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees, as set out on Agenda pages 113 to 124.

 

The Chairman advised Members that an extraordinary “Call-In” meeting of the Management Committee would be held on Tuesday 8 February at 7.30pm.

 

RESOLVED That:

 

1)     the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Forward Programmes be noted;

 

2)     the report of the Tree Protection and Biodiversity Task and Finish Group be added to the Management Committee’s Forward Programme.

25.

Action Tracker Report pdf icon PDF 246 KB

To consider the latest Action Tracker report.

Minutes:

The Committee considered the latest Action Tracker report, set out at Agenda pages 125 to 128.

 

RESOLVED That:

 

1)     the Action Tracker report be noted;

 

2)     the Chairman write to the Chief Executive in relation to setting up meetings with the Executive and CLT as per the Executive-Scrutiny Protocol.