Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

An apology for absence was submitted from Councillor Laura Blumenthal.

Councillor Alison Swaddle attended the meeting as a substitute.

To confirm the Minutes of the meeting held on 3 July 2023.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 3 July 2023 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

To receive any declarations of interest.

Councillors Neal, Fishwick and Kerr declared that there were members of Cycling UK, however they had taken no part in the group’s response to the draft Local Transport Plan 4.

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

There were no public questions.

To answer any member questions.

In accordance with the agreed procedure the Chairman invited Members to submit questions to the appropriate Members.

Question

All of us in public life share a common duty to protect our local taxpayer’s interest which is critical for sound financial management and key to ensuring that every pound spent by local government is used to support the communities they serve. 

At Exec I asked to see the business case for the purchase of the care home on Barkham Road including all the costs incurred by the Borough Council. 

The reply I was given stated as the Borough Council had signed a non-disclosure agreement I could not have that information.  

There are councils which have got into serious financial difficulties over external investment and have effectively gone bankrupt.

Keeping a tight rein on such spending would appear to be right and proper hence my interest in all external investment not just this one. 

My question is how does this council with due diligence manage its checks and balances on investments such as this to ensure the Councils are properly protected. 

Question:

All of us in public life share a common duty to protect our local taxpayer’s interest which is critical for sound financial management and key to ensuring that every pound spent by local government is used to support the communities they serve. 

At Exec I asked to see the business case for the purchase of the care home on Barkham Road including all the costs incurred by the Borough Council. 

The reply I was given stated as the Borough Council had signed a non-disclosure agreement I could not have that information.  

There are councils which have got into serious financial difficulties over external investment and have effectively gone bankrupt.

Keeping a tight rein on such spending would appear to be right and proper hence my interest in all external investment not just this one. 

My question is how does this Council with due diligence manage its checks and balances on investments such as this to ensure the Councils are properly protected. 

Answer:

Executive and Council prescribed the criteria and process, including those that must be involved in decision-making, for the use of the Property Investment Fund, known latterly as the Community Investment Fund, for acquisitions made within this programme. In all cases external professional expertise has also been used to inform the decision and the strength of Investment. This supplements the opinion of internal subject matter experts.

Performance is reported publicly through O&S performance reporting, quarterly on the Council Website and at high level through Revenue Monitoring and Capital Monitoring (e.g. an exception to expected delivery is a budget variance). Both Internal Audit and External Audit have reviewed our activity and have provided strong assurances on our approach and practices, including compliance with the arrangements approved by Executive and Council. Furthermore, there has been specific scrutiny by O&S on the investment activity. 

Given the commercially sensitive nature of the negotiations on these acquisitions, at times an (often temporary) non-disclosure requirement is in place, to enable these negotiations to conclude in a timely and commercially sensitive way and ensure they represent best value to the Council. A non-disclosure agreement is currently in place with regards to the care home on Barkham Road. The purchase price for the home will become publicly available following the sale, which is expected to complete in September.

Meanwhile, I understand that the Executive Director of Adults, Children and Health has offered to talk you through the Business Case, including the cost of acquisition but this would obviously need to protect the current commercial sensitivities.

Supplementary Question:

The LGA commented on Woking Borough Council’s financial position with debts of £1.8 billion and rising. The LGA went on to say that the investments failed to deliver returns, resulting in unaffordable borrowing, inadequate repayment plans and high value irrecoverable loans. The LGA also said that Local Authorities must not forget their primary purpose is regeneration, for property development it is not. The skills needed by Local Government Leaders must match the challenges and expectations of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.

To consider an update to the ongoing delivery of the Arts and Culture Strategy.

The Committee considered a report, set out in agenda pages 15 to 30, which provided a summary of the work and achievements of the strategy to date.

The report outlined the six priorities to in order to achieve the vision:

1. Enhancing cultural identity and sense of ‘place’.

2. Fostering social interaction and community cohesion.

3. Improving health and well-being.

4. Developing opportunities for children and young people.

5. Supporting economic growth.

6. Maximising partnerships and collaboration.

The Executive Member outlined that this strategy was of significant importance to the corporate vision as it brought with it significant economic and social value. Arts and Culture was what made life worth living, and this strategy was about working strategically across the organisation and community. The Executive Member added that the first senior cultural development officer had recently started in order to progress this strategy.

Sarah Kerr (Executive Member for Climate Emergency and Resident Services), Frances Haywood (Head of Strategic Housing), and Nicola Peacock (Senior Cultural Development Officer) attended the meeting to answer Member queries.

During the ensuing discussion, Members raised the following points and queries:

·         Whilst the document listed a considerable amount of activity, it was sometimes difficult to understand what the product actually was and what would change in 5 years’ time. Could this be clarified? Executive Member and Officer response – All work that was being undertaken was linked to the vision in the strategy and to the Council’s corporate vision. The strategy would help to facilitate a range of benefits including health and wellbeing and economic benefits. An example of this was the close work being carried out in conjunction with our educational psychologists to ensure a joined up approach;

·         Why was Shinfield Studios not mentioned within the document? Executive Member and Officer response – The list was not exhaustive, and officers were working closely with Shinfield Studios. By the end of the programme it was hoped that the Borough would have a strong cultural identity which would benefit the wider community. There was also a close working relationship with Shinfield Parish Council, including a community engagement strategy;

·         Was there a need for more focus within the strategy? Executive Member and Officer response – Whilst there was always the risk of trying to cover too much ground, it was crucial that the ‘seed was sown’ as quickly as possible. The Senior Cultural Development Officer post was grant funded for a set period of time, and it was vital to embed arts and culture throughout the Borough whilst building up a clear evidence base to enable further funding bids in order to deliver a legacy of arts and culture. An example of particular focus was the close working relationship with the University of Reading, whilst other areas of focus would need to be phased in over time;

·         Could more detail be given regarding the libraries bid on agenda page 18? Officer response – This bid was led by senior officers including Jackie Whitney (Head of Customer Excellence) and Richard  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

To consider a presentation on service delivery within Highways and Transport service, including Customer Service, Potholes and Small Projects.

The Committee considered a presentation, set out in agenda pages 31 to 52, which provided an updated on the service delivery within the Highways and Transport Service.

The presentation outlined that approximately 80 percent of works were carried out by utilities companies, whilst the service was responsible for the maintenance of around 725km of roads (including 9km of motorways, 829km of roadside footways, 53km of off-road cycleways, and 4,500 manholes.

Paul Fishwick (Executive Member for Active travel, Transport and Highways), George Framalicco (Director of Place and Growth), Matthew Gould (Head of Service, Highways and Transport) and Chris Easton (Assistant Director – Highways and Transport) attended the meeting to answer Member queries.

During the ensuing discussion, Members raised the following points and queries:

·         The Committee thanked the team for their hard work on delivering this service, which was not always easy at times;

·         Could further details be given regarding the following points: emails received by customer services, out of hours contact, life extension roadworks projects, and conflicting communications between Reading Buses and Wokingham Borough Council regarding the park and ride parking services. Officer response – Customer services received highways emails which were then processed and forwarded onto the Highways service. Regarding out of hours support, officers were aware of a specific query and were working to address this. The specific query was the responsibility of Thames Water, and officers could not do anything until the site was deemed as unsafe. officers would follow up this matter directly with Thames Water. Officers were looking to develop a standard proforma to help improve communications with regards to preventive treatment works. There was a new customer experience colleague starting who would help identify any gaps in communications and would produce a programme;

·         How were ‘Fix my Street’ reports received and dealt with? Officer response – This service was not affiliated with the Council and officers did not encourage reports via this service as it created additional points of failure. Officers had to manually gather the reports from this service and input them into the Volker Highways system. There were roughly around 200 reports a year via this service, and officers would continue to work with communications colleagues to encourage all users to report directly via the Council’s system;

·         It was noted that the ‘Fix my Street’ data did not automatically disappear when works were complete. Officers had recently contacted the service to get them to clear 14-15 years’ worth of reports. There would not be capacity to continually ask ‘Fix my Street’ to clear specific requests;

·         Did WBC have the powers to dictate where broadband providers placed their cabinets, in order to improve the experience for pedestrians? Officer response – Unfortunately WBC did not have such powers. WBC tended to get notification of installation works close to the date of installation, and officers had very limited powers to object. New roads were built with wide pavements and roads whilst utilities companies were required to install their infrastructure first and to the side of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

To consider the draft Local Transport Plan 4 (LTP4).

The Committee considered a report, set out in agenda pages 53 to 298, which provided the draft Local Transport Plan 4 (LTP4).

The report outlined that an updated LTP would be an important part of Wokingham Borough Council’s (WBC’s) ambition to make the Borough a net-zero carbon producer. The LTP would support local priorities, including a prosperous economy, improving the quality of life for residents, and reducing the environmental impact of transport.

The Executive Member highlighted that he wanted the hierarchy of road users to be included in the final document. In addition, the service was awaiting guidance from Central Government, however it was not possible for the service to wait any longer to produce this plan.

Paul Fishwick (Executive Member for Active Travel, Transport and Highways), George Framalicco (Director of Place and Growth), Sofia Charalampidou (Senior Transport Planner) and Robert Curtis (Transport Planning Team Manager) attended the meeting to answer Member queries.

During the ensuing discussion, Members raised the following points and queries:

·         In relation to the low response rate of 0.2% population, was this a cause for concern? How were officers seeking to engage different groups, for example younger age groups? Executive Member and officer response – This level of response was not abnormal based on previous LTP consultations. Further consultation would be carried out, and specific outreach would be offered to secondary schools;

·         Members raised some concern as to what could be extrapolated from such a small sample size;

·         It was noted that there were no proposed changes to the air quality management areas within the Borough. Members noted that the DEFRA site did not show the output or recording of these areas, and we were reliant on them telling us. Officers confirmed that they could liaise with our public protection partnership colleagues regarding this, whilst WBC submitted annual summary reports to DEFRA with regards to two of the three areas in the Borough;

·         Should the LTP4 be promoting scooting on public highways when e-scooting was currently illegal on public highways? Executive Member response – This referred to push-scooters which were allowed on public highways, however the wording could be amended to better reflect this;

·         Members felt that it was very important to see the demographic data, to understand who we had reached and who we had missed. Officers stated that this could be added into the draft LTP4;

·         It was noted that the Executive Member and officers would assess the data received from the consultation and place a special focus on any groups which had been underrepresented in future consultations on the LTP4;

·         It was suggested that an Executive Summary be produced, outlining the conclusions and recommendations of the report to help residents to easily engage with the plan and proposals;

·         It was suggested that officers explore application of more standard market research techniques, in order to reach a wider range of people and to help qualify the data;

·         The Chair suggested that a further session may be required to offer additional overview and scrutiny of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

To consider the Committee’s Action Tracker.

The Committee considered their action tracker, set out in agenda pages 299 to 300.

The Committee noted that the action in relation to the Combatting Drugs Partnership had now been completed.

With regards to the draft Violence Against Women and Girl’s Strategy, Members requested further details of tangible delivery dates and achievements at a future meeting.

It was noted that responses in relation to the Community Safety Partnership would be fed back directly to Members.

It was requested that a briefing note be provided, detailing the performance of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Team, including how many requests were received, how long they took to close, and what level of follow up was ordinarily required.

RESOLVED That the above points be noted.

To consider the Committee’s Work Programme for the remainder of the 2023/24 municipal year.

The Committee considered their Work Programme, set out in agenda pages 301 to 310.

The Committee were advised that the item on the Local Plan Update would need to move to one of the November meetings of the Committee.

The Committee were advised that a further update on the Violence Against Women and Girl’s Strategy would now be scheduled for the January Committee. In addition, the Chair would meet with the Executive Member and appropriate officers in order to discuss the points raised earlier in the meeting with regards to tangible delivery dates and achievements.

The Chair commented that he would speak with officers with regards to potentially scheduling some currently unscheduled topics.

The Committee gave their thanks to the Clerk, Callum Wernham, who would be leaving the Council after nearly 6 years of service. The Committee thanked Callum for his hard work, in particular via his clerking of this Committee for over five years, and wished him well in his future endeavours.

RESOLVED That the above points be noted and reflected in the Committee’s work programme.