Agenda item

(10.20 – 10.40am)

To review the Council’s performance and make any recommendations to Cabinet.

Cllr Shires introduced the report and invited members to ask questions.

It was felt by Cllr Hankins that the RAG (Red Amber Green) classification was too broad and suggested going forward it could be made clearer by including, as a percentage, the progress towards any action being completed, as he believed that would give more information. Cllr Shires felt they had tried various methods in showing progress in her time as a Member and had tried to work with the Committee in getting the best format. This was a 12-month plan, so the green meant they were on track at this point, to reach their outcome within that planned period.

The DSD said he could see the benefits of the suggestions but an obvious challenge around that would be that not all projects were linear so it could get to this stage and only be 10% complete which would raise concerns for the Committee. However, they could still be rated green as that was all it intended to deliver by that point in time as they were due to complete later in the 12 month cycle. Currently, an Officer would be asked if on track to complete on schedule and if they were it would be green, which would seem a fairer representation of where it was when being reported to the Committee.

Cllr Hankins believed all the elements must have a plan in place that clearly laid out the objectives, and the milestones to achieve those outcomes, and he asked that a subjective assessment be provided of those categories.

Cllr Shires said they had previously been criticised for being subjective, and not measurable, so the Committee needed to come to an agreement on what they wanted. The Chair felt she would like more explanation as to why something was amber but asked the Committee if they had any comments.

Cllr Hankins felt the categories were not specific enough and asked for some consideration to add more focus. Cllr Cushing agreed that there was no sign of anything being delivered within the plan and he’d expect to see more reds and ambers, as he believed any plan should have demanding objectives. Cllr Cushing suggested that was where the Committee could add value by asking, why is this action amber or red, and consider what they could then do to get it back on track.

Cllr Shires said the public do care about what was delivered off the back of the action plan. If the Committee wanted a detailed report on every specific thing that would be a lot of information and reports already came through various Committees, including Overview & Scrutiny. They would have to find the best way to direct the Committee to those existing reports.

Cllr Leith wondered if it was worthwhile adding, at CLT’s discretion and barring any confidentiality that needed to be respected, an additional column summarising what remained to be done and providing a timeframe for each stage. It was suggested by Cllr Gray that the Committee convene in private to agree a template that would be a standard for what they needed. The DSD felt that adding additional information to those actions, that were amber or red, giving some context as to what the issues were and why they were rated that way, was a good idea.

In response to the Chair, around a query on the number of new affordable homes that were due to be completed in 2025/26 the HSDM agreed to take away and confirm in writing, but she believed the correct figure was 96.

The Chair also asked about two actions, one on sports pitches and the other on coastal protection schemes, that were amber but no explanation as to why. The DSD explained that in respect of the three 3G pitches, Cromer had been delivered, Fakenham was part of the Fakenham Sports and Leisure Hub provision, and for North Walsham they were waiting on the football club who had not yet signed off on a new lease to reach the threshold for football foundation funding. The Leisure team was meeting with the football club to progress this forward. In terms of coastal protection, the DFR advised there were some snagging issues towards the Mundesley scheme which was led by the local town council and most of those had now been progressed. In terms of the Coastwise programme, which was a very large scheme funded by the EA, the DFR explained it had a very tight delivery timetable with no ability to carry the money forward beyond the end of the programme of the 31^st March 2027, As many of those Coastwise activities were very long term it was always going to be a challenge to meet that deadline, but the Coastal team were having very positive discussions around what type of programme could succeed that current funding.

Cllr Shires felt that Cllr Fletcher raised a pertinent issue on the Rural Position Statement of local services as they strongly believed what is there currently needed to be preserved. Cllr Fletcher wondered if there was a deadline to do this. Cllr Shires agreed the current central Government didn’t appear to understand rurality and metropolitan boroughs appeared more favoured than rural communities. Cllr Shires asked if she could take that away to which Cllr Fletcher agreed.

Cllr Cushing wished to know of the sacrosanctity of the Neighbourhood Plans or was there a threat that the Council, or Government, could override them. Cllr Shires felt they needed to make sure communities understood what a Neighbourhood plan was designed to achieve, and she would recommend any community looking to embark on such a plan to meet with officers from the Planning Policy team as they were very keen to ensure communities were as informed as they could be at the beginning of the journey. Cllr Shires believed Neighbourhood Plans were important for enabling local people to have a voice on what they want for their community, and it was important for Members to facilitate that with the uncertainty of a unitary authority not far away. The DSM added that planning decisions were balanced. Cllr Gray encouraged all Members to engage with the free seminars on Neighbourhood Plans to understand how they are formed. Cllr Hankins thought it would be beneficial to know the benefits of Neighbourhood plans.

Action:

• Cllr Shires to confirm if there is there a deadline for providing a Rural Position Statement of local services to ensure they are preserved as the Council transitions into a new authority.
• CLT to take away the suggestions to make the position clearer around why the reds and ambers are rated that way.

The Committee Noted the contents of the report and provided comments on any items they felt appropriate.