Agenda and draft minutes

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

There was no public participation.

To confirm and sign as a correct record the Minutes of the Meeting of the Prosperous Communities Committee held on Tuesday, 29 October 2024

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Meeting of the Prosperous Communities Committee held on 29 October 2024 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

Members may make any declarations at this point but may also make them at any time during the course of the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

Setting out current position of previously agreed actions as at 4 November 2024

With no comments, questions or requirement for a vote, the Matters Arising Schedule, setting out the current position of previously agreed actions as at 4 November 2024, was DULY NOTED.

The Committee heard from the Change, Projects and Performance Officer who presented the progress and delivery report setting out the performance across the council for quarter two, including the performance improvement plan, covering the period July to September 2024. Members were advised there had been one amendment to the report since papers had been published. This was following the agreement of the 2024/25 pay award for staff and meant that measure COF03 – Overall Council Budget Forecast Outturn had reduced to 0.87% with a forecast net underspend of £160k.

In relation to the overall performance, it was explained that 81% of all measures were either exceeding or within agreed tolerance of their targets, compared to 83.7% measures in quarter one. The Officer highlighted the details contained within the performance improvement plan, explaining that the Council Tax Collection Rate and NNDR Collection Rate both reported within tolerance for quarter two and so had been removed from the performance improvement plan, although would continue to be closely monitored. New additions to the plan included the percentage of households spending more than 42 nights in B&B accommodation. The Committee heard it was expected to feature as the target was set at zero, in line with guidance and what the Council needed to strive to achieve. It was recognised that this was a challenging target, with the only temporary accommodation in Cross Street, but the Temporary Accommodation project was now in motion which would provide additional units, with two of these being out of the Gainsborough area.

The percentage of food standards agency inspections completed was also a new addition to the performance improvement plan. This measure was one that Members had been informed of, as it was raised within the annual work plan in May. The Manager had provided an update for the performance improvement plan, however there was a mid-year report due at the Regulatory Committee in December, and so a more detailed update would be made following that report. Members were assured, however, that with increased capacity within the team, it was expected that inspection numbers would begin to increase over the next quarter.

The final new addition to the plan was T24 savings delivered. It was explained this was an annual cumulative target, which was being monitored against the current position, and a position statement would be provided as part of the quarter three update.

It was explained that there were two measures which remained in the Performance Improvement Plan. Those were: the Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs) measures and Market Stalls. In relation to the DFGs, it was not expected that the performance of these measures would change given the budget position, the focus being on lobbying for fair distribution of funding, with this due to resuming following the elections in May 2025. When looking at the data regarding the market stalls, it was noted that whilst Saturday market reported above target, this was due to the supporting event program and an additional four antique traders who had registered  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38.

Councillor S. Bunney, as Chairman of the Cross-Party Environment and Sustainability Member Working Group, was invited to introduce the Council’s third Environment & Sustainability update report. He provided the Committee with a summary of the activity undertaken since the previous annual report, including but not limited to, the installation of solar panels, the creation of orchards, and the development of communal spaces for gatherings. The Lincs Warmer Homes Officers had attended over 50 community events across West Lindsey and the wider partnership area, with their role being to provide home energy advice to residents, including bespoke advice during home visits and grant referrals where appropriate. 

In acknowledging that the Council’s waste fleet was one of highest emitters of Co2, the Council had adopted its first ever vehicle decarbonisation strategy.  Working with Officers and Members of the Environment and Sustainability Working Group to develop the strategy, it provided a clear framework for decision making which allowed a full and detailed assessment of all aspects of any future vehicle purchase, allowing future procurement to respond to technological developments whilst also continuing to balance excellent customer service and financial stability. It was highlighted that for a second year in a row the Council had reported a further 5% decrease in its operational emissions, which included the fleet and operational buildings.

Members heard that the report provided a summary of activity and initiatives undertaken across the Council in relation to delivering against the refreshed Environment and Sustainability Strategy, which was adopted this year. The overarching aim of the Strategy remained clear, which was for West Lindsey District Council to become a carbon net zero council and district as soon as possible before 2050. The Action Plan provided detail of the proposed activity required to meet this target, as well as acknowledging the importance of the co-benefits in doing so, including money, jobs, growth, better quality of life and health and wellbeing through connectedness with natural environment. Within the report, the updates were grouped by the ten themes of the Climate and Sustainability Strategy, and activities had been developed closely with all services through the business planning process.

Councillor Bunney concluded by providing his personal perspective, that, given the recent changes in national and international politics, it was key to focus on targets and actions rather than being lost in words and politics. He explained that the Administration Group intended to identify areas of focus against which it would be possible to demonstrate the successes being achieved.

The Chairman extended his thanks to Councillor Bunney, and equally those who were involved in the working group. He expressed his agreement with the intention to identify targets and demonstrable actions, also requesting that Members be provided with a breakdown of initiatives in their ward areas. It was confirmed that the State of the District report was being digitised and could include this breakdown of actions per area.

It was recognised that work was being undertaken across the district by private organisations as well as initiatives supported by the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.

With no questions or comments, the work plan was DULY NOTED.