Agenda and minutes

Up to 15 minutes are allowed for public participation.  Participants are restricted to 3 minutes each.

There was no public participation.

The Chairman explained there were two sets of minutes, one for approving and one for noting. Having been moved and seconded it was

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Meeting of the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee held on Thursday, 7 September 2023 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

With no requirement for a vote, the minutes of the meeting of the Joint Staff Consultative Committee also held on 7 September 2023 were NOTED.

Members may make declarations of Interest at this point or may make them at any point in the meeting.

Councillor O. Bierley declared a non-pecuniary interest in relation to agenda item 6b, the LEAD paper, in that he was a Trustee of Age UK Lindsey.

Setting out current position of previously agreed actions as at 13 September 2023.

With no comments or questions from Members, and no requirement for a vote, the Matters Arising Schedule, setting out the position of previously agreed actions as at 13 September 2023, was DULY NOTED.

The Committee gave consideration to a report presented by the Section 151 Officer, in relation to Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs). It was highlighted the report had been through the Prosperous Communities Committee on 12 September 2023, and Members were requested to approve the resulting recommendations. Members heard that FPNs provide an additional income for the Council, which helped to offset some of the costs incurred in delivering the services that were relevant within the report. The additional income gained via any approved increase of fees would only further help the Council to cover additional costs that were incurred. The FPNs were not factored into the overall budgets within the service and there was no ‘in year target’ for the issuing of these. Upon approval, the Fixed Penalty Notices fees and charges schedule would be updated to reflect the amended rates.

The Chairman thanked the Officer for a clear and concise summary. Members of the Committee referenced the discussions at the meeting of the Prosperous Communities Committee and summarised the importance of making a statement as a Council regarding zero tolerance to anti-social behaviours such as littering and fly-tipping. The importance of the environmental impact of such issues was also highlighted.

Members of the Committee expressed their support for the recommendations from the Prosperous Communities Committee and, having been prosed and seconded, the Chairman took the vote. It was unanimously

            RESOLVED that:

a)    the fixed penalty charge for fly-tipping be increased to £1,000, with no reduction offered for early payment; and  

b)    the fixed penalty charge for a household waste duty of care offence be increased to £600, with no reduction for early payment; and

c)    the fixed penalty charge for a littering or graffiti offence be increased to £500, with no reduction for early payment; and  

d)    the amended charges come into effect from 1 October 2023.

The Committee heard from the Senior Homes, Health and Wellbeing Officer regarding a report seeking to provide a comprehensive overview of the Local Energy Advice Demonstrator (LEAD) grant application, the funding of £304,000 awarded, and the proposed new energy advice service to be established as a result. It was explained that the funding would be used to employ dedicated advisors to provide advice and support to people living in hard-to-modify homes, and to increase uptake of other government funding initiatives, such as the Great British Insulation Scheme, Home Upgrade Grant, Energy Company Obligation and Boiler Upgrade Scheme. Access to energy efficiency information on the Council website was demonstrated for Members, following requests for the information to be easily accessible, with further details provided as to how the proposed dedicated advisors would work with other organisations as well to maximise their reach.

The Chairman thanked the Senior Homes, Health and Wellbeing Officer for her presentation of the scheme, and highlighted how valuable the service would be. Members of the Committee were equally supportive of the proposals.

Concerns were raised regarding how best to work with those who might not otherwise be aware of such schemes, for example those who do not use the internet or actively search for such information. This difficulty was recognised and the cross-agency working was highlighted with a view to both making contact with those most vulnerable and in need, whilst also avoiding duplicating work already undertaken by others, for example, ‘Better Housing, Better Health’. It was reiterated that this would be dedicated resource to access those people who might not otherwise gain assistance.

In response to questions from Members, it was explained that the administration role within the proposal was expected to also assist with funding applications, as that could prove difficult for some. Additionally, the restrictions of working across such a large geographical area were recognised, however that would be managed by engaging with other agencies. Members were reassured there would be associated performance measures and Officers would be reviewing the success of the scheme.

With Members of the Committee extending their thanks to Officers involved and vocalising their support, the paper was duly moved, seconded, and put to the vote. Unanimously, it was

            RESOLVED that:

a)    the receipt of £304,000 of funding to deliver the Local Energy Advice via the Demonstrator Scheme in Central and South Lincolnshire, be noted; and

b)    approval be given to enter into a Service Level Agreement with North Kesteven District Council for the delivery of the scheme and receipt of funding; and

c)    the following fixed-term roles be approved and recruited to following completion of the Service level Agreement as detailed above:  

                                                      i.        1 x Home Energy Advice Manager

                                                    ii.        2 x Home Energy Advisors

                                                   iii.        1 x Administrative Support Officer

The Committee gave consideration to a report regarding the review of the RIPA policy. It was explained that the document was based upon the requirements of The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, as amended, (‘RIPA’), and the Home Office’s Codes of Practice on Covert Surveillance, Covert Human Intelligence Sources (CHIS) and the Acquisition and Disclosure of Communications Data. The RIPA Policy was last updated in July 2017 with the proposed revised policy incorporating minor amendments, such as numbering and headers, as well as the inclusion of two new sections. The first was ‘RIPA and the use of the internet and social media’ which was absent in the 2017 version of the policy, the second was ‘Acquisition of Communications Data’ which was also absent within the 2017 Policy and concerned the acquisition of telecommunications and postal data.

Members were supportive of the report and revised policy, with the importance also highlighted. Members requested that the Environment Agency be included as a named partner, with Officers undertaking to make this inclusion. With regard to the cost of training, it was confirmed this would be met within the corporate training budget.

Having been moved and seconded, the Chairman took the vote and it was again, unanimously

            RESOLVED that:

a)    the updated and revised RIPA Policy 2023 be approved; and

b)    RIPA training for the Chief Executive, Monitoring Officer, Directors and Enforcement Officers be commissioned and provided during 2023-2024, and an application for such be made to the Corporate Training Budget; and

c)    RIPA refresher training be undertaken annually and material, such as past but relevant recorded training, be available on the Council’s Learning Platform; and

d)    the RIPA Policy be reviewed on an annual basis by the Monitoring Officer who will report to Management Team in September each year and to the subsequent meeting of the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee.

The Committee heard from the Senior Democratic and Civic Officer regarding proposed amendments to the published Committee Timetable, namely, that the meeting of the Prosperous Communities Committee scheduled to be held on Tuesday 31 October 2023 be rescheduled and held on Thursday 26 October 2023. The reason for this proposed amendment was in order to allow for Senior Member and Officer attendance at the Judicial Review Hearing being held in London on 321 October.

Members were in support of the proposal, and, having been moved, seconded and voted upon it was unanimously

RESOLVED that for reasons of flexibility to attend the Judicial Review, the following change to the 2023/24 Committee Timetable be approved:

a)    the meeting of the Prosperous Communities Committee currently scheduled for Tuesday, 31 October 2023, be moved to Thursday, 26 October 2023.

Members were reminded there was an additional meeting scheduled on 12 October 2023. With no other comment or questions, the work plan was DULY NOTED.

To resolve that under Section 100 (A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

RESOLVED that under Section 100 (A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

Note:              The meeting entered closed session at 7.14pm

Members of the Committee heard details from the Section 151 Officer regarding the provision of additional information from the Leisure Provider, as had been requested by the Committee. On receipt of this information, the request was considered fulfilled.

Members voiced their thanks for the information and, with no vote required, it was DULY NOTED.